The Reclining Buddha Temple

This temple, Wat Chaiyamangalaram, is popular among visitors to Penang. There is no facilities for wheelchair users. I hope the photos here will give you a rough idea of what to expect if you want to visit this place.

This is the entrance to the temple compound. Usually it is open for cars to go in. But parking lots are very limited.

The Buddha is inside this main hall. You will face your first barrier (marked X) as you approach this building.

The next barrier is at the door. The step is quite high. 

The main hall is flat and smooth once you are inside. There are other smaller buildings beside the main hall and there are full of steps. (See photos below.)

This is typical of the temples in Penang. Under the Uniform Building By-laws, places of worship are supposed to be disabled friendly. But so far, I don't see any significant improvement.

(Date of visit : 26 March 2013)

Yeng Keng Hotel

The funny thing about Yeng Keng Hotel is that it has an accessible toilet, but no wheelchair user can enter the hotel. I checked and found that there are barriers at all the entrances. (See the layout below. "X" in red represents barrier.) So what is the logic of the accessible toilet? Just to complied with the building by-laws?

Note the "MIND YOUR STEP" warning shown below.

The accessible toilet was badly designed. The door opens inwards (see photo below). I was unable to close the door when I was inside.

Wrong type of grab bars were used and they were fixed to the floor (see the yellow arrow in the photo below). They prevent users from transferring from wheelchairs to the toilet bowl. 

There is a ramp near the entrance of the restaurant (see photo below). I tested it and found it too narrow, especially at the corner. The toilet inside the restaurant is very small and completely inaccessible.

Yeng Keng Hotel is not wheelchair friendly at all. Don't go there.

(Date of visit : 26 March 2013)

Greetings to all of you.

Although I do not have many followers, I notice that some of you come from countries far away from Malaysia. I do not know who you are but I want to wish you a happy 2013. If possible, do drop me a line and tell me a bit about yourself.

Suffolk House Penang

The Suffolk House of Penang (more information in the link HERE) is a good example of how a heritage building can be made wheelchair friendly. Notably a lift was installed at this building so that mobility impaired people can go to the first floor of the building.

The disabled people’s toilet that is located away from the mainly building is beautifully designed. The passage way to the toilet and the lift is completely wheelchair friendly. Ask if you cannot find the lift or the toilet.

However, I do not like the pathway that leads visitors from the gate to the wooden ramp at the entrance. This pathway is made up of small granite stones and it is difficult for the small front wheels of my wheelchair to negotiate. I had to move “back to front” to reach the wooden ramp. (According to a friend, the building owner made the pathway in this manner to reflect the original path of the building. Apparently when Suffolk House was built some 200 years ago, there were no such thing as tar road then. So granite pathway was the norm at that time.) I was told later by the guard that mobility impaired visitors can drive their cars near to the wooden ramp so as to avoid the problems of negotiating the pathway. (I visited the place on the 3rd Dec.2012)

Macalister Manson

I took a quick look at the Macalister Manson (www.macalistermansion.com) last week. I only managed to take photos of its disabled friendly toilet as I was in a hurry.

It was raining when I arrived but luckily the main entrance was fully shaded. A car park for disabled people was clearly marked and visible. The hotel is wheelchair friendly at the ground floor but NOT the first floor where all the rooms are located. So you can go there for lunch, tea or dinner only.

The toilet for disabled people is spacious and beautifully designed. The only thing I don’t like is the mirror. You can't see yourself clearly if you are sitting on a wheelchair.

A Lift For Your Home?

Since young, I have always wanted a lift for my home. May be it was because all my family members were able to go to the upper floor of my father's house except me. But a lift at home was something unheard of when I was young.

But lucky for us, time has changed and I think home lifts have also become relatively cheaper. I saw a home lift advertisement  in the newspaper today. I called the company and was told that the estimated cost of installing a small lift is about RM 120,000. The office is in KL but they have service people in Penang.

You can go to the company's website via the link HERE or:

http://drightsource.com/company/a/amalcon/DOMUSLIFT-RESIDENTIAL-HOME-LIFT.html

(Please note that I post the information here because it may be useful to some of my readers. I do not know the company and cannot vouch for there services and products. There may also be other companies in Malaysia that provide similar products.)

Infotainment And Disabled Access

Most people don't like to read about disabled access because they are dry serious issues. Some of us in Penang are trying a new approach --- infotainment (information + entertainment). We made a video of disabled people dancing Gangnam Style and posted it in Youtube (Please search okupenang or Gangnam Disabled Style for it). We got more than 1300 views in 2 weeks. Here is the link to the video.

You can also go there via:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnB21mEDmys&feature=plcp