Happy 4th of July! - Kek Lo Si Temple

Today we helped chaperon a school trip to Kek Lok Si, the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia. It was built in 1890 (though construction seems to be ongoing) and is situated high on a hill. Our school bus barely made it up the long and winding road, at one one point wanting to reverse down the hill and to take an alternate route! It was a beautiful temple, but for me lacked a feeling of spirituality. Dotted throughout the temple were numerous gifts shops and vendors and the commercialism just took away from the overall appeal. The kids were like students on any trip, some intently working on the assignment, others wandering away and all of them more interested in buying candy and gifts than anything else. Overall, it was a great trip and a wonderful opportunity to see students in a different setting as well as learn more about the rich culture and heritage of the Malay people.

The students.

The turtles.

The Temple

The gifts.

A wishing ribbon. Buy one for 1RM and place on the wishing tree.

The giant buddha at the top. Must take a funicular to get to this point.