Top left: The temple of Kek Loh Si after the rain. The colors were so vibrant. Top right: At another temple in Georgetown, this Buddha stood quite tall. I am about as tall as the squiggle that looks like a lion's tail on the wall either side of the buddha. Behind this wall, there were smaller (human-size) buddhas donated by many different countries. Right: This wall at Kek Loh Si had large Chinese characters in red. It made quite a visual impact despite not being able to read it. The Chinese have, I believe above anyone else, mastered the display of the complementary red and green. It was around Penang that I talked to so many locals. I even met a Muslim man at the museum who went so far as to find a durian for me to try. I had mentioned how I was disappointed that it was not in season and therefore, not so easy to find. He got on his motorbike and came back 40 minutes later. He was excited that I lived in Japan, because his fiance was Japanese. He was such an interesting person, like so many I met. He was one of a handful that made my trip really great.
While on Penang, I went to the butterfly garden where I saw over 3,000 butterflies in a small closed-in garden. Some of the butterflies even mistook me for a flower, finding landing sites allover me. Below: This was one of the most interesting ones I saw. This picture is smaller than the actual size of the butterfly which was about the same size as my hand. Bottom right: This was the most prevelent butterfly in the garden. It was very striking against the red flowers.

Copyright H.Krebs 2000