Once again it took us forever to get moving this morning. There is something about an Airbnb that just makes us so lazy in the mornings. There’s no breakfast buffet to go to, and plenty of room to spread out. We finally left at about 11am and got a taxi to the base of the Penang Hill funicular. Right as he was driving off someone approached us and pointed to the sign.

Closed until the 16th. So we moved on to the second plan of the day, visiting Ken Lok Si Temple. We tried to explain it without using the word “temple” but slipped up and Millie of course whined “not another boring temple!!”

We walked about 20 minutes through Penang backstreets to get to the base of this cable car. It was hot and humid so we took some breaks and got cold drinks at 7-11.

We arrived at the base and got our tickets to the top. It is a series of inclined elevators (exactly what they sound like) and golf cart rides that take you to the top. We could have walked but it was way too hot.

We reached the top and explored around. There is a giant sculpture in the middle of the temple complex that takes your breath away with its scale, but it’s impossible to capture in photos.

At every turn there was an opportunity to buy something. It’s very pay-to-pray. You have to buy intense to light, tiles to put a prayer on the roof, the ability to write a prayer request in a book, etc. Even the temple had been converted into a gift shop of sorts.

These prayer ribbons all made me laugh. My analytical brain looked at it like a user research experiment. Which categories have sold the most ribbons? The money and prosperity ones are all more popular than health and love.

We each chose one. Nick chose “world peace” due to all of the conflict happening globally. I chose “coming & going safely” for our trip. Millie chose “listen to your mother” because she can’t read and I told her that would be a good one.

We walked around a bit and she used a truly awful toilet. She is a pro at these now and barely even complains. She used to dramatically gag or just hold it.

We rode back down again and watched turtles for a while, then took a taxi to George Town. Millie has been requesting pizza for a few days and we made it happen for her. After our pizza, we started a self-guided walking tour of George Town, which is the main city on Penang.

Look at this cool kid.

We walked along Chew Jetty. The history is that when the British started charging merchants land use taxes, the Chinese built their businesses out onto the water to avoid paying taxes. Now there are shops all along it on stilts.

We walked back along Armenian street, through the Chinese streets, and then into Little India. These are all just blocks apart and so distinct from each other. Penang is a melting pot.

Right around here, Millie walked at full speed in to a pole. If it was a cartoon she would have had stars orbiting around her head. She hit it so hard that I was looking for signs of her being concussed. She is fine but it put a stop to the walking tour that we were all feeling done with anyway.

We returned to our Airbnb and played on the roof deck until it was time to start getting ready for bed.