Pulau Jerejak - Penang

Pulau Jerejak is only minutes away from Penang city life yet tucked away among the magnificence of a lush tropical rainforest; also known as the "virgin jungle" island as it is one of the few reamining preserves of primary forest in Malaysia.

A virtually undisturbed island graced with the rich diversity of 362ha of over 210 species of flora and fauna. Towering tropical trees, lingering lianas and exotic orchids prove to be shelters to some of the most remarkable living creatures, such as the Monitor Lizard and the White-Bellied Sea Eagle.

The island also boasts of an ancient emerald environment, older than the equatorial forests of the Amazon or the Congo, thus producing a marvellous ecosystem that is both inspiring and engaging. Equally intriguing is the island's hisory as a penal colony – a mystical tourch tot he surounding pristine nature.

Jerejak Resort and Spa

Located directly across from Penang, Jerejak Resort and Spa is a wonderful stopover when you visit the Northern hub of Malaysia.

The resort is graced with the rich diversity of flora and fauna. This is one getaway where time seems to have stopped – if only to preserve the natural wonders of the island. Pulau Jerejak also boasts of a ancient emerald environment, older than the equatorial forests of the Amazon or the Congo with an ecosystem that is both inspiring and engaging. With such an interesting backdrop, one can easily indulge in your wild side at the Adventure Village or simply rejuvenate mind, body and soul at the Spa Village.

The choice is entirely yours!

Penang Bridge

The Penang Bridge (Jambatan Pulau Pinang in Malay) E 36 is a dual-carriageway toll bridge that connects Gelugor on the island of Penang and Seberang Prai on the mainland of Malaysia on the Malay Peninsula. The bridge is also linked to the North-South Expressway in Prai and Jelutong Expressway in Penang. It was officially opened to traffic on September 14, 1985. The total length of the bridge is 13.5 km (8.4 miles), making it among the longest bridges in the world, the longest bridge in the country as well as a national landmark. Penang Bridge Sdn Bhd is the concession holder which manages it. The bridge was designed by a local Penang resident, Tan Sri Datuk Professor Ir. Chin Fung Kee, a well known authority in geotechnical engineering and former acting Vice Chancellor of the University of Malaya.

Before 1985, transportation between the island and the mainland was solely dependent on the state-owned Penang Ferry Service that runs between Butterworth and George Town.
Similar to the ferry services in Penang, toll is only paid when heading to the island. There is no charge for leaving the island.

Currently, the Penang Bridge is being expanded from 4 lanes to 6 lanes to accommodate the increasing traffic on the bridge. A proposal for a second bridge, the Penang Second Bridge, has been approved by the Malaysian federal government and included as one of the Ninth Malaysia Plan national projects. Construction work of the new Penang Second Bridge began in November 2007, and the target completion date is before the end of 2010.

The bridge has an SOS emergency feature and traffic CCTV. The Gelugor Complex Interchange is the largest highway interchange in Malaysia.

The Snake Temple - Penang

The Snake Temple

or the Temple of the Azure Cloud

Probably the only one of its kind in the world. The temple honours a resident named Chor Soo Kong, who had healing powers. He was a Buddhist monk, who moved to Penang. Some devotees from as far away as Singapore and Taiwan come to pray in the temple on Chor Soo Kong's birthday (the sixth day of the first lunar month). The temple was built in about 1850 and is dedicated to Char Soo Kong. The statue of the deified healer was brought to Penang by a monk from China. The legend is that this pious monk gave shelter to the snakes of the jungle; when the temple was completed, the snakes moved

The Snake Temple is located at Sungai Kluang near Bayan Lepas airport in the Penang Island.Many tourists visit the Snake Temple. Buses stop, tourists get out and have a quick look at the snakes in the temple.Walking to the temple you find souvenir stands on both sides of you.Here you can buy your camera film or just a nice souvenir. In front of the Snake Temple is a big incense burner, where they burn large incense.
Inside the temple, in the Main Prayer Hall, is filled with the smoke of burning incense Some people say that the snakes get paralysed by the incense.In a bowl are eggs. That's the food for the snakes, but they are nut hungry.

Although poisonous, these snakes are not known to bite. Devotees refer to them as `officers' of the deity and regard them as `holy and harmless'.They tell us that no one was ever bitten by a snake.

On the right site we can give a donation for the temple. You have to sign a book and to write down your donation.Looking at the book it must be very profitable to own a temple like this.

At the back of the temple is a snake pool. Not filled with water, but with fruit trees.At the first sight I see no snakes over here.But if you have a close look than you will see snakes coiled on the branches of the tree.

At the back of the temple complex was a man, who assured me the snakes inside the temple were not de-fanged and were all extremely venomous.They were not doped in any way, but were simply friendly spirit snakes, who used to live in the surrounding Penang jungle and as development increased and the surrounding trees were felled came to find refuge in the Temple and were its guardian spirits.


He told no had ever been bitten since the snakes began coming. The snake temple is free to enter and is a very interesting and unusual stop and well worth the trouble.

When you're leaving the Snake Temple are photographers, who want to take pictures of you with snakes draped around your head and neck.