BELIEVE it or not, the steps leading from Air Itam town centre to the Kek Lok Si temple on Crane Hill in Penang is a shopping heaven. 

At least 20 stalls line both sides of the steps, selling things from cowboy hats and miniature pagodas to nutmeg delicacies and Chinese opera masks. 

Here, T-shirts are sold from as low as RM4 - depending on one's bargaining skill. If you ask for an item's price, chances are the minute you walk away from the stall, the shopkeeper will call you back and lower the price. 

For trader Lai Kok Hin, one of his most saleable items is fake human excrement that looks just like the real thing. 

Grinning cheekily, the 72-year-old said: “For fun, one can buy it and put on his boss' seat. Just pay for RM3.80 for a good laugh.

Lai also sells miniature mahjong sets, dainty Chinese fans, fridge magnets, model warplanes, cartoon masks and toys in his stall. 

“I was a fried noodle hawker but decided to retire after 30 years, in 1999. To pass time, I took over this stall from my father,” he said. 

Another trader T.K. Yee who sells T-shirts, feng shui amulets and home decor said his family had been operating the stall for the past 40 years. 

“Most of the shops here are open from 9am to 6pm. There is no fixed day for our rest day as we can take off whenever we want to,” he said, adding that he could earn RM20 on a good day but there were days when they were just swatting flies. 

K.B. Loh, in his 40s, has been selling water spinach (kangkung) and bread since his teens to tourist to feed the tortoises in a pond at the temple. 

“I also change the water in the pond every two days,” he said, adding that some of the tortoises were released by Buddhist devotees to fulfil vows.  

Among the tourists spotted was Tony Boerma from the Netherlands who was browsing for souvenirs at one of the temple's shops. 

“There are so many things to see here and I get to observe the Buddhist culture,” said the 43-year-old machinery director. 

The Smith family from Australia also enjoyed their visit to the temple. 

The father, Bratt, 44, said he was fascinated with the temple's picturesque ceiling which he likened to that of the Vatican City's Sistine Chapel in Italy. 

“This is also the first Chinese temple which I have visited. However, we have not heard of it before this visit. It happened to be part of our one-day tour on the island,” he said, adding that they were also going to the Penang Butterfly Farm and Penang Bird Park. 

One of the temple's most intriguing attractions is the 30.2m-high bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) which was unveiled in 1999. 

It took two years to build the statues and another three years to fully complete the RM70mil project, which also included a colossal arch to house the mammoth monument. 

Temple abbot Rev Seck Jit Heng said it took 25 years to realise the project, first mooted by the then abbot, the late Rev Bai Sen, in 1974. 

Rev Seck said a white porcelain statue was built in 1977 but heavy rain damaged the RM1.8mil statue which was further damaged in a fire in 1993.