penang

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.

Besides the impressive reclining Buddha, you can find many other smaller shrines of Buddha, and Thai deities. There is also series of painted images portraying story of the Lord Gautama Buddha. The floor of the temple is laid with tiles of lotus patterns - lotus is a symbol in Buddhism.

This is the largest Buddhist temple in Penang. The colossal size is due to the reputed third longest reclining Buddha in the world. Measuring some 33 metres (108ft) from toe to tip of headgear, Wat Chaiya's reclining Buddha takes pride of place alongside other Buddha colossi found in Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and China.The Wat Chaiya was built in 1845 on five acres of land donated by Queen Victoria to the Thai community.
The architecture is authentic down to the last bit of gold paint on the pagodas - so much so that one feels transported to another place and time when wandering about the sprawling grounds. Like the Burmese temple across the road, one is likely to encounter mythical beings and religious icons which dot the grounds.Walking towards the main temple, visitors are greeted by awesome looking green-faced beings standing guard before the temple entrance. Crawling at their feet are 2 huge dragon-headed serpents. Unlike the western culture (read Caucasian), Oriental mythology teaches that serpents and dragons are propitious beings and not to be feared.
The significance behind the reclining Buddha in the Wat Chaiya, with the head resting in the palm of the right hand, with the head pointing northwards, signifies enlightenment or Nirvana. Underneath the reclining Buddha are niches where ashes of the deceased are kept.