Free Bird

Outside this Buddhist temple in Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia were a large number of cages with birds which puzzled me. Apparently as I later found out people who are devout Buddhists usually free fishes and birds on their birthdays or when they are seriously ill, believing that this meritorious act will prolong their lives. This belief may have originated from a story in the Buddhist scripture.

Ipoh Song Bird

Keeping caged song birds is a very common hobby in Malaysia and this caged bird was seen hanging in a small back alley of Ipoh. You often see many Chinese men gathering in an area with their favorite birds in cages all hung up high above so they can all admire the birds and listen to their songs. Sometimes the cages can be highly decorative and can be used in their own right as a house decoration.