Thean Hou Temple, Kuala Lumpur

The Thean Hou Temple is a temple to the sea goddess Mazu (also known as Thean Hou or "Queen of Heaven", hence the name of the Temple) located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The temple was built by the Hainanese (people from Hainan in Southern China) living in Malaysia and the property belongs to and is run by the Selangor & Federal Territory Hainan Association.

On 30th Aug 1981, members of the association laid the foundation stone for the Thean Hou Temple, on 1.67 acres of land atop Robson Hill in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Six years and RM 7 million later, the 4 storey Thean Hou Temple was finally completed and officially opened on 3rd September 1989.

The road up to the temple is along Persiaran Endah, off the busy 6-lane Jalan Syed Putra which connects Kuala Lumpur to the Federal Highway. The easiest way to get there is by car or private transport, as it is quite a steep walk up the hill and the nearest monorail station at Tun Sambanthan is a long walk away. 

However, if you do decide to take the monorail, you would need to get off at Tun Sambanthan, cross the Klang River and Jalan Syed Putra by the overhead pedestrian bridge to get to the Kuen Cheng High School on the other side. Then it is a 1.4km walk along the busy Jalan Syed Putra until you come to the Persiaran Endah intersection up the hill.

The temple is a modern building, but has traditional design elements from Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism incorporated into the architecture. Multi-tiered roofs, ornate carvings and other embellishments make the overall appearance rather pleasing to the eye.

The Entrance Gateway

The front entrance of the temple is through a multi-arched gateway with red pillars, which is the symbolic colour of prosperity and good fortune. On the first level are souvenir stalls and a canteen. Going up the staircase leads you to the multi-purpose hall and administration offices.

The Prayer Hall

From the opposite side of the courtyard.

The internal courtyard

The third floor of the temple is where the main prayer hall is. As the temple is dedicated to Mazu, her sculpture occupies the central position of the main shrine. Next to Mazu are the Goddess of the Waterfront, Shui Wei Sheng Niang, a Hainanese deity and Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.

Going up to the fourth floor is the actually the roof of the walkways below, and gives a view to the internal courtyard below and also externally out to the spectacular view of the Kuala Lumpur skyline beyond. Even the Petronas Twin Towers can be seen in the distance.

Multi-tiered roof of the Prayer Hall.

Roof over the staircase tower

KL Skyline with the KL Tower and Petronas Twin Towers.

Dragons on the roof eaves.

On the temple grounds itself, tourists can view the sculptures and paintings depicting myths relating to Mazu and other Chinese legends such as the 12 Zodiac animals and Yue Lao, the God of Marriage and Love. There is also a herb garden and tortoise pond to the rear of the temple. 

Tortoise Pond.

Thean Hou Temple

Address: 65, Persiaran Endah, Off Jalan Syed Putra, 50460 Kuala Lumpur.

Opening Hours: Monday-Sunday; 8am to 10pm

Kampung Kuantan Fireflies, Selangor

There are many places where you can see fireflies throughout Malaysia, but probably the most famous are the ones at Kampung Kuantan, near Kuala Selangor.

One of the reasons for its popularity is the fact that it is only about 65km from the capital city of Kuala Lumpur, and that it can also be combined with a trip to the old stronghold of Bukit Melawati in Kuala Selangor where you see the silver-leaf monkeys as well as having a seafood dinner at Pasir Penambang on the banks of the Selangor river.

There really is no good public transport options to Kampung Kuantan, so it is best visited by self-driving or engaging a driver/tour operator to take you there. If you drive there yourself, it is not too difficult, as it is a tolled highway for most of the way, and there is ample free parking places at Kampung Kuantan. However, driving back will be in the dark, so if you are not comfortable doing that, get a driver.

Viewing times start from after sundown, i.e. about 7:30pm to 10:30pm onwards; so there is absolutely no point in arriving any earlier than that. After parking your car in the carpark, walk along the road to the river. You will pass a food court on the left and then see the administration building on the right. Enter the building to buy your tickets.

The ticket counter.

Tickets are sold per sampan, which is the local name for the traditional rowboat. As of October 2016, the boat ticket costs RM53 (including GST) and the sampan can fit a maximum of 4 persons. Hence if your party consists of less than 4 people, a good tip would be for you to see if there are any other people outside willing to share the costs of the boat before buying the ticket, as it would still cost RM53 regardless if you are 1 person or 4.

The tickets are sold per boat, and one boat fits a maximum of 4 people.

One sampan ticket costs RM53 (as per October 2016).

Once you have bought your tickets, make your way to the queue, where you will be asked to wear the life jackets.

Wearing life jackets.

After wearing the life jackets, you will wait for the sampan to come to the jetty one by one.

The Sampan.

Once your sampan arrives, you clamber onboard and take your seat.

Getting on the sampan from the floating pontoon.

Then off you go into the night, as the boatman rows you away downstream towards the other bank of the Selangor river.

Off you go into the night.

On the banks of the river, grow mangrove trees called berembang in the local malay language. It is these trees that attract the fireflies or "kelip-kelip" (as they are known locally), At night the fireflies gather at the trees to eat the leaves and glow with a dim greenish light that glows in synchronicity. The purpose of these flashing lights are evidently to attract a mate.

The boatman will row you from tree to tree to observe the glow of the fireflies gathered on the berembang. The effect is beautiful, as the trees look like christmas trees lit up with dim lights against the darkness.

Unfortunately, cameras are of not much use here, and taking pictures of the fireflies are nearly impossible due to the pitch blackness. So just relax and take in the sight of fireflies.

Bear in mind that there will be some mosquitoes, as it is dusk on the river; and although it is night, the heat and humidity is still there, as there is very little wind. The whole trip will take between 15 to 30 minutes, and the boatman will row you back to the start point of your journey.

Back to the jetty.

The Kampung Kuantan fireflies is a nice trip to take in conjunction with other sights in the Kuala Selangor area.

It is best to visit during dark nights with no moon; and obviously avoid rainy nights. As with any tourist attraction, weekends will have more visitors.