Visiting the Floating Mosque in Penang

Now, while I do not have any interest in religion, I do have a liking for architecture, and as a result, I have visited many places of worship all over the planet. And yes, while I have no religion, I always treat those who do with respect.

When it comes to religion, I live by, "I have no religion, good for me", "you have religion, good for you", in other words, live and let live.

So, with that out of the way, before arriving on Penang Island, I was told that with my liking of architecture, the Floating Mosque is something I really needed to see, to make sure I did not go at the weekend to avoid the crowds, and to remember the camera.

Now, as I said, this is far from the first Mosque I have visited, and yes, Islamic architecture is of special interest to me, and from what I was told, this was a good example.

Here's some trivia: I find the Muslim call to prayer very relaxing, although, as I said above, I am not a religious person.

Moving on, while on Penang Island, I was staying in the Jen Hotel, which was quite a distance from the mosque, so after getting some breakfast, I fired up the Grab app and ordered a car.

For those who don't know, Grab is like Uber; it's much cheaper and seems safer than some taxis.

Not that I have much experience with taxis in Penang, but after the warnings about being ripped off in Kuala Lumpur, I will stick to Grab, which I have used in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore with zero issues.

I was expecting to head down to the lobby and wait around for the car, but nope, in less than five minutes, the app told me my ride had already arrived. Now that was fast, so I grabbed my cameras, phone, water bottle and headed for the lobby.

Heading off toward the Mosque, and talking to the driver who was very friendly, telling me all about places to see on the trip, and even asking if I minded him getting fuel on the trip.

Traffic was not good, so the trip took a while, not that it's a problem; it's a fixed price, the driver was friendly, and the car had air conditioning. And yes, I did give the driver a tip and positive feedback through the app.

About halfway there, I had a doh moment, when I looked at my camera and saw there was no memory card and the battery was low. The battery was not a problem, as I always have a spare; the memory card was bad. I use 512GB SD cards that hold thousands of photos, so I have never needed to carry a spare. Oh well, I will buy one, failing that, I have the Action Camera and my Phone, so while annoying, it was not the end of the world.

Now, before heading inside, the question is, why is this called the "Floating Mosque", and yes, I know the above sign hints at the answer.

From the sign, some history and construction.

And yes, I do know the above information taken from the signage is an interesting read; it's been translated from another language, so while I could correct it, I left it as is for authenticity.

Anyhow, the Mosque is not actually floating, but it's built on stilts over the ocean and linked to the shore by a walkway.

The above shot shows that the Mosque is built just off the shore in shallow water on stilts. And yes, very annoying as the sun went behind the clouds just as I took it and refused to give me the lighting I wanted for a better shot.

Again, time to come clean, the above photo has had some quality time in Photoshop, to remove some objects, correct the perspective and fix the colour.

Time to head inside and get out of the heat. Heading along the walkway to the entrance, there was a desk for visitors, and I was wearing shorts, and the requirements for entry being covered legs, they offered me a Sarong, which I accepted willingly.

Yes, the requirement for leg covering is not new, as I have visited many mosques over the years. It's just one of those things you need to respect when visiting places of worship.

The staff at the visitor desk were very friendly and were happy to talk about the Mosque, and confirmed I was allowed to take photos and videos if I wanted to. And yes, other Mosques allowed photos, but it's always a good idea to ask, as things change.

Heading inside, I was expecting a large room and maybe some art, just like one I visited in Singapore, but no, what I saw was stunning, a large, bright, domed room with stained glass windows.

Stained glass in a Mosque, not sure I have ever seen this before, but with the Islamic segmentation, it was very impressive.

Impressive, but my phone camera did not do it justice, and since this visit, I have added a 360-degree camera which should make it even better. And yes, both the above shots have seen some Photoshop work, removing people and objects, correcting perspective and colour.

Heading outside and returning the Sarong with thanks, I decided to see what the outside was like, and with a walkway all around the mosque, a real no-brainer, ignore the heat and direct sun and look around.

Not the best photo, but not too bad given I used my action camera, which, while excellent with video, with stills, it's ok, not great, just ok. And yes, this shot has had some quality time with Photoshop, but this time mainly perspective and colour corrections.

Now, before leaving the Mosque, the question is, what do I think? Was it worth the visit?

Put simply, yes, and that's not just my liking of Islamic architecture; the interior was stunning, the location was near ideal, and the staff were friendly and keen to pass on their knowledge.

As for me, next time I am in Penang, I will return, and make sure to bring the 360-degree camera and memory card for the DSLR. Well worth the visit.

The final question is how to get back to my hotel in the heat and humidity, well, most people would just book another grab car, but me being me, I decided to walk, and yes, I was fully aware it was a 10km walk.

Not really a problem for me, as I have talked about many times, I do not feel the heat or humidity, I am known for walking long distances, covered in sunscreen and having plenty of water.

Checking Google Maps, the walk was straightforward: follow the main road, which, as it happened, went past a few places I wanted to see and several large shopping centres.

Now, before you even think about doing this walk, some PSA for you:

• The traffic is nuts, not as bad as Kuala Lumpur, but still nuts, and take it from me, do not attempt to cross the street, the cars actually aim for you, not that you need to cross, just stay on the same side as the mosque, it's safer.
• Keep an eye out for motorbikes on the footpaths that exist. While they are usually careful, it can be a surprise when you round a blind corner to be confronted by one of them. I had a few near misses, but after being careful and using common sense, I made it through ok.
• Do not expect footpaths for the whole walk; at some places, you need to walk in the road, so be careful.
• Until you get to the large shopping centres, there are very few places to get water.
• Do not wear headphones, or go into smartphone zombie mode, if you want to make it alive.

Remember my warnings about traffic and the lack of footpaths, but if you are careful and exercise common sense, you will be fine, and trust me, you will see more than you would from a car.

That out of the way, the walk for me was good, as for once, I was in no hurry, so I just took my time and took in the surroundings. 🚶

This walk would typically take me about 2 hours, but in this case, I spent about twice that, which did include visiting several shopping centres and a very brief visit to a beach during a very high tide.

Not much of a beach, so I must have been right, thinking it was high tide, so just another case of bad timing, as I would have liked to look around. Oh well, something for the next visit.

The original plan when visiting the mosque was to walk on the beach on the way back, but I totally forgot to check the weather and tides. Again, something to note for the next visit.