KL celebrates Wesak Day

Tomorrow is Wesak Day, the day that Buddhists commemorate the Birth, Enlightenment and the Passing of the Buddha. Various temples will be holding their religious activities. If you are in town, you are welcomed at all temples. You may do a good deed by helping out or just by donating to the needy.

Jejarom's Buddhist Temple - Fo Guang Shan

The arch of creeper plants that greets visitors is the main entrance to the temple

ONE of the most beautiful Buddhist Temples in the country lies in the district of Jenjarom in Selangor, roughly 60km from the city centre towards the south. Called the Fo Guang Shan Dong Zen, it is a hive of activity during weekends and the Chinese New Year. On Wesak Day, it is a centre of activities as Buddhist pay homage to Lord Buddha.

To get there, simply head use the Shah Alam Expressway in the direction of West Port or Pulau Indah (follow the signboard) until you see the Banting-Pulau Indah sign. This is the Pandamaran interchange. Keep left and go up the ramp and left.

Keep going in the direction of Morib, passing through Bangi Town, then industrial township of Teluk Panglima Garang, and then junction to Pulau Carey (Carey Island). Keep left and head towards Morib. The next town is Jenjarom.

Watch out for the police station on the right. This is where you turn right into Sg Buaya, where the temple is located. After entering the road, drive straight for about one kilometre when the Dong Zen building will come into sight on your right.

Lots of parking are available outside the temple. If you cannot find your way or are lost between KL and Morib, just give them at call at 03-3191 1533.

Red lanterns give this temple an Oriental touch.

One of the Arahat statues along the courtyard of the temple.
There are more than a dozen of them all over.

The dragon urn lies outside the main shrine of the temple. Visitors are only
given a joss stick to offer their prayers to the Buddha. The joss stick is to be
planted in this main urn outside the shrine.

This is the main shrine where the largest Buddha statue is housed.

Bukit Tinggi - Good for Day Trip

Entrance gateway welcoming you to Bukit Tinggi Village, Bentong.

Bukit Tinggi, Bentong, lies off the East Coast Highway north of Kuala Lumpur. The village lies to the right if you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, roughly about 50km from city centre. If you are driving from KL, look out for the signboard that says Bukit Tinggi and Selesa Hillhomes. Go off the expressway to your left and you will come to a T-junction. Take the road to your right and go underneath the expressway into a tunnel and you will emerge at the otherside of the expressway.


Village view, Bukit Tinggi. There is a steep incline of about 25 degrees for the roads. Make sure you are fit to walk.

Roads of newly built restaurants and hawker stalls will greet your eyes. Keep driving till you come to the bend in the road where it moves uphill to a settlement. This is the Bukit Tinggi Village. You should park your car at the foothill and walk.


Plenty of hawkers selling fruits and local vegetables. Try their watercress. Young and crunchy. Passion fruits are plentiful too. And all are quite cheap.

There is nothing much here, except for a reservoir tank and a police station. It's a small Chinese village where you can get cheap food and vegetables, particularly local fruits like passion fruit, guava and jackfruit - believed to be grown here and in Janda Baik.


Ever seen red bananas? Plenty in Bukit Tinggi.

Bukit Tinggi is famous for their cheap food, but many restaurants are now run by foreigners employed by locals. On our trip here recently, we refused to stop at the traditionally crowded ones. We spoke to locals and were duly informed that the food of these are no longer prepared by their original owners. And could be quite expensive because of the crowd.


Cheap food found here in Bukit Tinggi. Service good, too.

We stopped by a small restaurant, ordered a plate of fried watercress (speciality here), asam cuttlefish, wild boar curry and steamed towfoo. The bill came to only RM40. Would have cost at least RM60 downstream at the more popular restaurants. If you are going here, and wish to try their speciality - freshwater fish - please confirm the price first. They can cost quite a bomb depending on the season.

Vegetables are also very cheap - three bundles of various vegetables cost only RM5.


Steamed/boiled groundnuts. Good to eat, healthy too.


Gourd vine with its yield.