When Aric suggested to go on an overnight trip to Kulai, I didn’t even know the location of that town. Actually, it is in Johore, near Johor Bharu, a 4-5 hour drive from where we live! He said that we would visit the Putuo Village, which features an interesting Chinese temple.

It is not really a village, located in a bamboo forest, quite far from Kulai town. There was a cafe where we had coffee and some snacks.

The temple is next to the cafe.

To enter the temple, we had to cross a bridge over a canal, decorated with lanterns in rainbow colors.

There are two guardians at the entrance, one male and one female. See if you can spot the difference.

A big surprise for me. A huge dragon made of bamboo hung from the ceiling in the entrance hall. No surprise for Aric, as this was why he wanted to visit the temple in the first place, his zodiac sign being a dragon.

Later, I read on the Internet that this work of art was only placed here during the CNY 2024, a Year of the Dragon. Made by an Indonesian craftsman who worked on it for six months. An amazing creation.

Entering the main hall, there were more surprises. The temple is dedicated to Guan Yin, the goddess of compassion in Mahayana Buddhism, but here she is shown as the female manifestation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. The other surprise was the bamboo architecture, which reminded me of Gothic cathedrals in Europe. Fascinating.

The beautiful statue, with eighteen arms, is the largest in Malaysia. At the back of the hall, there is another statue with even more arms.

We bought a candle, and I offered it to the goddess. Out of respect, although I am not a Buddhist.

In the court, there was a wishing tree. You have to throw the red ribbon up and hope that it will get caught in one of the branches.

We bought one, and Aric managed to get it stuck, after several tries.

It was a pleasure to walk around and enjoy the serene atmosphere. Everywhere colorful rainbow flags. There was also a gallery with prayer wheels.

We found a traditional statue of Guan- Yin. Aric is bathing the (baby) Buddha, a traditional ritual during Wesak, the Buddha’s birthday.

A separate shrine for the God of Wealth, -important for Chinese devotees. The dragon looks fierce and unfriendly.

After spending quite some time in the temple, we went to the second attraction of Putuo Village, the Purple Bamboo Valley. In a picturesque bamboo forest, several attractions have been constructed, often utilizing bamboo, making them perfect for taking pictures. We paid a small entrance fee,

Sun and Moon in the bamboo forest.

Very attractive and peaceful.

Concrete steps allow you to climb several attractions. The snake statue is probably a new addition, because this year is the Year of the Snake. We visited the valley on a weekday, and there were not many visitors. Of course, we took many pictures.

The forest also has some shrines. The decoration is about the Mid-Autumn festival and may be temporary.

The temple is only a few hundred meters away and connected via a walkway, decorated with rainbow flags.

After spending many hours in the Putuo Village, we were a bit dehydrated. Before going to our hotel in Kulai, we went to a cafe for an ABD and a rojak

Our hotel was in a new part of the town, a very small room, but clean.

Using the WIFI in our hotel, I searched for more information about the Putuo Village. It began around 2005 as a small Buddhist site dedicated to Guan Yin. Around 2015, a major renovation started, using local bamboo. This renovation is continuing. The name Putuo comes from Mount Putuo, a sacred mountain in China, the “residence” of Guan Yin. Many temples there, and also a famous Purple Bamboo Forest.

We decided to visit the temple again the next morning, after breakfast in Kulai.

We were curious about the bamboo architecture and about how the dragon was made from bamboo.

Here are two details of the dragon. The whole creature has been “woven” from bamboo! Absolutely amazing.

About the architecture, it looks like the roof of the temple is supported by bamboo. But when you look carefully, you will see that behind the bamboo there is a metal structure. And the fanlike “pillars” may have been filled with cement, for strength.

We found a scale model of the temple in the entrance hall. Aric managed to take a picture inside this model.

In a Chinese temple, you will often find divination tools to gain insight, guidance, or answers about the future. This Mahayana Buddhist temple is no exception. On a table, we found two examples, Poe blocks and Chinese Fortune sticks. The Poe blocks have a flat and a curved side. When you throw a pair on the floor, while making a wish, it matters how they fall, flat side up or curved side up. One flat, the other one curved, is positive. The fortune sticks are numbered, you shake the container until one stick falls out. Then you read the message.

Another interesting shrine is the Datok Kong shrine in the temple grounds.

We walked around the temple to admire the architecture. Notice the Datok Kong shrine, next to the temple. Those shrines, dedicated to a local deity, were built before the construction of the main temple started.

After this second visit, we left a bit reluctantly for the long drive back home. Altogether, we drove more than 700 km in two days, but it was worth the effort.