"It was a clear evening as I got out of the bus taking a jump from the last step feeling content that I reached Penang but this moment was short lived as I realized, it was an unknown land and even though I made it up till here but the destination is still to be reached…
I asked a youngster standing by on the platform which bus will take me to ‘Georgetown’. He advised me to take the circular bus that touched major metropolitan areas. I took his advice and got off at the Komtar bus stop and headed for what I thought was north reaching Jalan Burma. From there with guide from few locals, I reached the local Police Headquarters which was easily identifiable on the map. As I walked down the street I read on the entrance to a road running leftward ‘Lebuh Campbell’ written in golden letters on a arch-like support with Chinese cravings. I headed this way and I was overwhelmed by the façade of the shops that ran the length of the road which was a blend of Oriental and Chinese influence. I saw bright colored crescents hanging over the road as it ended. The Kapitan Keling Mosque - one of the oldest mosque with its minaret standing tall having a small shining crescent on top that was visible from far away - was at the intersection of the two streets Lebuh Campbell (becomes Lebuh Buckingham) and Lebuh Pitt, the main cultural center of Georgetown. A stone by the mosque read this area inhabits various communities who are descendants of Chinese, Indian Muslims and Hindus living next to each other in perfect religious harmony for more than two centuries. As I continued on the street I also discovered the same as the Mosque was followed by a Hindu temple ‘Wat Chayamangkalaram’ on the right and few steps ahead was the Chinese temple ‘Kuan Yin’. I went inside the Chinese temple since the Hindu temple was closed and saw people holding votive candles to their foreheads praying, some placing them in a sand filled pot, while some were writing their wishes on paper tablets and putting them next to the holy statues. The holy statues were covered in beautiful red and golden clothes, the statue in the middle was wearing a crown and holding a stick in his right hand. I got out from the temple only to see an amazing stage-play being carried out in temple courtyard depicting the scene of a Chinese court that was conducting an argument about the engagement of Emperor’s only daughter. The sun was setting so I had to move on for next destination on the street ‘St. George’s Church’, but to my luck was closed for tourists, being under maintenance. As I moved ahead, my ears were fascinated by the Maghreb Azaan, I therefore decided to return to offer prayers at the Kapitan Kling Mosque which I had avoided earlier with hope of exploring it at next prayers.”
