The ruins of St. Paul’s Church rest on the top of St. Paul’s hill overlooking Malacca (UNESCO world heritage site).
Interior of St. Paul’s Church. All photos by John Hunter, see more of my photos of Malaysia.
The is part of the Malacca Museum Complex comprising the A Famosa ruins, the Stadthuys and other historical buildings.
Overlooking the A Famosa ruins (about in the center of the photo) from St. Paul’s Hill.
The original church was a simple chapel built in 1521.
The Sri Mahamariamman Hindu Temple is located at 163 Jalan Tun H.S. Lee Kuala Lumpur, in Chinatown. It is Malaysia’s oldest functioning Hindu temple, dating back to 1873.
The current structure was built in 1968.
The Siew San Teng (Tau Pek Kong) Temple in Kuching, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia has retained this spot since 1770. It is across the street from the Kuching river walk (and the small Chinese history museum). The temple itself has been renovated and rebuilt many times.
View of the river from Siew San Teng Temple. The museum is visible on the left of the photo.
The Bahagian Mosque (“Divisional Mosque”) is located just past the river walk in Kuching. Also known as Kuching City Mosque, the mosque was built in the late 1960s to replace the original State Mosque that was erected on the same site in the mid-19th century.
The mosque is surrounded by a Muslim cemetary.
The pink mosque is Kuching’s largest and stands as an important historical landmark in the city. Its magnificent gilded Mughal-style domes are its most distinct trademark, rising high above the city’s skyline. Gilded half-domes that match the domes on its roof grace its windows.
Masjid Bahagian Kuching is believed to be the state’s oldest and first-ever mosque, a memento from the time when Islam first arrived in Sarawak. It can accommodate up to 4,000 worshippers at a time.
Related: Sultan Abu Baker Mosque, Johor Bahru – Masjid Jamek, Kuala Lumpur – National Mosque of Malaysia in KL
The Sultan Abu Baker Mosque was constructed upon a hill overlooking the Johor Straits between 1892 and 1900 and is the state mosque for Johor. The mosque can accommodate 3,000 worshippers.
Sultan Abu Baker Mosque. All photos are by John Hunter.
I recommended taking a short trip to visit and walking around the grounds. You can walk to old town from without much trouble (I would guess it is less than 2 km from old town), obviously you can drive or take a taxi if you prefer.
This square building and two large rectangular buildings of the same style sit on the non-Straits side of the Mosque.
The Chingay parade is held of the 21st day of the Chinese New year. In 2014 that will be February 20th.
Here are my photos from 2013 Chingay afternoon parade. The afternoon parade starts at 11 AM or so on the previous day – so on February 19th this year) as deity statues from the Old Chinese Temple are carried out to get ready for the evening parade.
The biggest parade is the night parade but there is also a parade during the day. The evening parade covers 10 km and starts about 7 PM, I believe; it will finish after midnight.
The Johor Bahru parade is also called The Parade of the Deities as the Temple deity statues are taken on a journey from the Temple to bless the city with peace, prosperity and harmony (the Chingay parades in Singapore and Penang are non-secular as I understand it).
The National Mosque (Masjid Negara) is located in downtown Kuala Lumpur. The Mosque was opened in 1965 and can accommodate 15,000 worshippers. Islam is the official religion of Malaysia.
Even when you can’t enter the Mosque itself the surrounding grounds provide nice views.
Masjid Jamek is a Mosque one block from Merdeka Square in downtown Kuala Lumpur that was built in 1907.
The Sultan Abdul Samad Building, was designed by the same architect and shares a similar style. That building sits between the mosque and Merdeka Square.
The webcast includes audio of the Adhan (“call to prayers”).
The mosque sits at the confluence of Gombak and Klang rivers.
The Cheng Hoon Teng temple (Temple of Green Cloud) is a Chinese temple practicing the three doctrinal systems of Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It is the oldest functioning temple in Malaysia; built in 1673.
Ceramic art on the temple roof
The ceramic tile roofs are great.
Batu caves is one of the most popular Hindu shrines outside India, dedicated to Lord Murugan. It is the focal point of Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia. To reach the caves you must climb 272 concrete steps up the limestone formation that make up this site.
The stairway to Batu Caves.
The caves are in Kuala Lumpor (technically a bit north of the city) but reachable by commuter train, Komuter train Batu Caves-Port Klang Route. The cost is 2 MYR (less than $UD 1).
Inside Batu Caves. The cave is partially covered with several large opening on top.
The video shows a view of the caves. The water is from water seeping down from the ceiling (it hadn’t rained that day). There are also several large openings letting in light from above. The main area with the temples has very high ceilings.