Pulau Tikus

This photo journal, another in the Penang 2008 series, features the middle-class suburb of Pulau Tikus which is best known for it’s two majestic temples across the street from each other - the upright & sleeping Buddha temples. It’s also where the upscale shopping complex, Gurney Plaza is located. The suburb is located just west of Georgetown with Burmah Road as its main street.

This area, once the home of “Millionaire Row”, had more than its share of fabulous mansions & bungalows at one time, especially ... (more)

The two famous temples
across the street from each other on Lorong Burmah. This is the Burmese one....

different angle.
Founded in 1803, this large temple has an upright (standing) Buddha statue...

This Thai (Siamese) temple,
known as the 'reclining or sleeping Buddha temple', is across the...

Another shrine
on the large property.

"Bangkok Lane" (bl)
is located just one street west of Lorong Burmah where the two temples are...

bl2 - 40 link houses
Lorong Bangkok is elegantly lined with 40 link houses that were...

bl3 - looking NW toward
Jalan Kelawai, Gurney Drive, & the waterfront.

bl3 - The street is even prettier
at night when the lights in the houses sparkle through the colored glass panes.

bl4 - nice windows, shutters
& balconies.

bl5
The architecture is a successful example of link housing which...

bl6
Another photo gallery of Bangkok Lane can be found here:...

"Jalan Kelawai" (jk)
is an east-west street which begins at the Gurney Drive roundabout...

jk2 - this is a heritage property (1918)
This classic bungalow, dated 1918, was built by a Jew named D'Mordicai....

jk3 - an attractive yellow bungalow
Pulau Tikus was in its prime during the period when the Straits Chinese &...

jk4 - a recycled bungalow

jk5 - a badminton academy

jk6 - another lovely bungalow

jk7 - one of many attractive
upscale highrises in this area. There are several on Gurney Drive as well....

jk8 - love that dome

"Jalan Concordia" - Miao Xiang Lin,
a Taiwanese style Buddhist Institute. Concordia is a short road...

"Gurney Drive" looking west toward
Tanjung Tokong & the land reclamation project there.

Looking east toward Georgetown,
& Penang Hill (center right), & the mainland shore (left).

"Burmah Road" between
Lorong Burmah & Jalan Pangkor.

The "Follow Me" building
is a restored old mansion. ("Follow Me" is a Malaysian multinational...

Another attractive restored old mansion
This one now belongs to Soka Gakkai Malaysia (SGM), a value-creation society...

The new Perkeso building
Perkeso is a government social security agency under the Human Resources...

article published 07/03/2008

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You've really captured the essence of the place Lorraine, it takes me back there and I can smell it right now (you know what I mean!!) P>S> In Reply to Eva M: yes, there is golf on Penang, two golf courses if I remember rightly.
— Jon Russell, July 4, 2008

Thanks Savid....
oops, I lknew better. Have corrected them all ;o)
— Lorraine Brecht, July 4, 2008

Lorraine, thanks for sharing your beautiful photos of Pulau Tikus with us. Just a remind for you. The "Larong" you use in your description should be "Lorong" in Malay which means "Lane" in English.
— Savid Tai, July 4, 2008

Love the houses ...
but am surprised they call them bungalows. In North America one story houses are bungalows. But love the link houses and especially the yellow house. Your photo tour sure makes it tempting to pay a visit. Can you find out about golf??
— Eva M, July 3, 2008

wow I love the temples and mansions!
Thanks for the excellent introduction. Land use and development seem to be in conflict with heritage protection in many places. The buildings and the Bangkok Lane are just gorgeous, reminding me of Melaka.
— Ben Hsu, July 3, 2008

Rainy I can see why the Temples are in your top 10 list . They are stunningly beautiful . Another superb article and thank you .
— Margaret Sherwood, July 3, 2008

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