Episode 842 – Penang at a Leisurely Pace: Day 4 (A Clan & A Reunion)

Mother-of-pearl inlay on one of the second floor benches at Campbell House.

We started the day with another lovely breakfast, including time for conversation with Kumar. He, along with Aimee and Harini at reception, plus the young owners of the hotel, and all of the other staff have really made us feel at home here. Apparently we are unusual in that most people stay 1-3 nights, not ten, and that is giving us a unique opportunity to get to know one another a bit.

Today we treated Campbell House like “home”, spending most of the day working at the desk, reading in the library, and lounging on the terrace until mid afternoon when we headed to Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, a stunning Chinese clan house, temple, and museum.

We were given a glossy book that helped explain the significance of the things we were going to see.

The first building we passed was open to reveal a place to worship the ancestors. It is called Ee Kok Tong.

Inside it were gold ancestral tablets.

The Ee Kok Tong was attached on one side to the Clan Meeting House and Offices, which we were not allowed to enter.

On opposite sides of the courtyard are the Opera Stage, which we could photograph but not enter, and the main temple, called the Leong San Tong, containing several separate areas with different functions.

The main temple, consisting of a Prayer Pavilion, Central Hall, Rear Corridor, the main Ee Kok Tong (ancestral hall), and the Hock Teik Soo.

The ground level of the temple has been turned into a museum and education centre, where in addition to the history of the clan’s arrival in Penang there are genealogical charts going back 1000 years!

Each generation uses a different middle name, making it easy to place individuals in their generation,

The 7th generation all have “Boon”, the 8th all have “Kay”

The Gencalogy of the Sin Kang Khoo and Chan clans, which consists of 25 volumes, was updated and published in 1867.

The design on one of the lanterns looked like EB … for Edward Brooks!

We learned that the 1999 movie Anna and the King, a remake of Anna and the King of Siam, was partially filmed here when the government of Thailand refused 20th Century Fox permission to film in what was previously called Siam.

A mockup of the kitchen. The main temple would have been the site not only of wedding ceremonies but also the ensuing celebrations.

Back outside, we ascended the staircase to the Prayer Pavilion,

The figures either side of the staircase.

From the veranda we entered the central hall.

The frescoes on the side walls depict the 36 heavenly guards.

We exited through a rear side door from the central hall into the rear corridor, where huge murals, done in simple Chinese brush painting, contrast starkly to all the glittering gold and ornate sculpture. The murals are almost 100 years old and are considered some of Penang’s most important heritage treasures.

The murals are huge, and the corridor is narrow, making it impossible to stand far enough back for a good photo. Of course, they were never designed to be photographed.

We headed into the Hock Teik Soo, which was a kind of space we’d never seen in a temple before. The altar was familiar enough, but the gold plaques on the walls were definitely not.

In the Hock Teik Soo the educational accomplishments of the male members of the clan are featured. Education is revered for both men and women, and yet the tradition of only recognizing the males persists.

We took one last look at the ornate exterior, focusing on the roof, where pieces of mirror are incorporated into the design to make it glisten in sunlight.

After touring the museum and temple, we took a Grab to Quayside Penang, the condominium complex that Lynn and KB, expats from Florida who we first got to know in Mérida Mexico three years ago, now call home.

The modern expat-dense community is a far cry from George Town’s old colonial centre. Lynn and KB’s complex with its manicured gardens, palm trees, swimming pools, and pristine exterior looks much like a South Carolina or Florida gated resort transplanted directly into Penang. The most striking difference is that the Malaysian security guards stand up every time a resident passes them.

From the windows of their 16th floor corner unit the views of the beach and city skyline are spectacular …

…but Ted was more impressed by the Brahminy Kite (red-backed sea eagle) flying by!

After showing us their lovely digs, they also introduced us to John and Stacey, friends and also expats, and the six of us went for drinks at a cute little beach bar called Oceano Symphony, that had a bit of quirky Chinese décor.