Thaipusam Celebrations on the Island of Penang

I was passing through the island of Penang, staying in the backpacker ghetto in Georgetown, when some locals clued us in to a Hindu festival that was being held today. I learned later the festival is called Thaipusam, and it's apparently a bigger to-do in Singapore and Malaysia than is is in India. I walked for hours following the self-mortifying penitents, I prayed with a coconut full of bananas and incense, and I climbed the holy mountain at the end of the trail for one final moment of reflection. The locals lined the streets with music, food, and general feelings of happiness and welcome.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• thaipusam
• hindu
• celebration
• penang
• georgetown
• malaysia
• holiday
• festival

[DarkBastion]

Glad you liked the videos. The more I heard about Thaipusam, and the more I read about it, the more I realized just how diverse the celebrations are all around the world.

[Satanicallyapproved]

I'm from Singapore and most of the stuff like the chariot pulling nad big spears have been banned by the govt...but i seriously think the singapore kavadis look nicer than the M'sia ones but the celebrations are WAY BIGGER than in s'pore

[Satanicallyapproved]

I used to go every year to penang thaipusam...school commitments too much...had to stop