Largest Floating Kolam at Golden Sands Resort

Largest Floating Kolam in Malaysia (10 October 2017)


Shangri-La's Golden Sands Resort, Penang, entered the Malaysia Book of Records for the first time on 10 October, 2017, by hosting the largest floating kolam கோலம் in Malaysia. This is in conjunction with the 2017 Deepavali celebrations.

Although Deepavali is a festival observed by those of the Hindu faith, creating this largest floating kolam involved the contribution of volunteers from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities. They include members of the Penang Hindu Association as well as employees of Golden Sands Resort.

The kolam is made by pasting dried coconut flakes and flowers onto styrofoam. Great care had to be taken to ensure that the coloured flakes do not get into contact with the water of the pool, as this will cause smearing. The use of coconut flakes instead of rice is because it is a disposed material that is much cheaper to source. Nonetheless, the total material cost came up to around RM25,000.

Assembling the kolam was like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle. Unlike most traditional kolams, which are circular, this kolam is made to depict a beautiful peacock with a resplendant tail fanning out. Bobbling on the surface of the pool are some 15 lotus flowers in full bloom, in addition to some 5,000 bulbs of fresh flowers.

A total of one hundred volunteers laboured for 10 consecutive days to assemble the kolam, which covers an area of 638 square meters. According to Golden Sands Resort hotel manager, Mr Noel D'Couto, "The project would not be possible without the support and crucial help from voluntary groups such as members of the Penang Hindu Association and hotel staff."



Largest Floating Kolam in Malaysia (10 October 2017)


Largest Floating Kolam in Malaysia (10 October 2017)


The kolam is so big that it is difficult to see it in its entirety. (10 October 2017)


Members of the Penang Hindu Association, along with employees of Golden Sands Resort, assembling the kolam. (10 October 2017)


Guests at the officiating of the largest floating kolam. (10 October 2017)


Here I am with the largest floating kolam in the country. (10 October 2017)

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.