Ever noticed how the best travel memories often start with a mistake? That’s exactly how I stumbled into one of the most symbolically rich and unexpectedly magical places I’ve visited: the Blue Mansion in George Town, Penang.
A Misguided Taxi and a Perfectly Timed Tour
Not sure about you, but I find most of my holidays don’t quite pan out the way I imagined. It doesn’t matter how much research or double checking I do, something or someone throws a spanner into the works. Some spanners have been costly, others massively inconvenient and exhausting, and a whole bunch hilarious enough to weather it out.
My favourite metaphorical spanners though are the ones that lead me to somewhere or something that completely captures my imagination. The Blue Mansion happens to be one of those places – so as confusing as it was for the taxi driver to drop me and my husband off at the wrong house, it was definitely meant to be.
Of course I didn’t know that until we joined the last guided tour for the day (they only do two). On reflection, the random taxi drop off was perfectly timed! I really am slow sometimes.
Everything Changed With Two Tiny Bats
So, what was it that turned everything around?
Bats: two tiny bat carvings in the top corner of the Foyer to be precise. I know what you are thinking, jeez she’s easy to please, and maybe a little bat s*** crazy. And, you’d be right on both counts – owning it!
But, I kid you not, up until the moment the tour guide pointed out the teeny-tiny bats, I was happily screening out his words and taking photos of Art Nouveau stained glass windows and the tiled floor, but then BAAAAATS!!
I’m not bat-obsessed (though Batfink was a cartoon favourite), but lately I’ve been noticing bats more and more. Maybe it’s because friends told me they had Micro Bats in their attic, or maybe bats are just my new Real World Messengers. Whatever the reason, they seem to show up at just the right time.
Think I’m just seeing things? Try this:
Next time you are heading to work, out shopping or whatever it is that you like to get up to – keep an eye out for these featherless Real World Messengers because they turn up in the most surprising of places.
Symbolism, Souvenirs, and Batfink Wisdom
During my travels around South East Asia for example, I found images of Bats on everything from temples and shrines to key rings. They were especially prolific in Chinese influenced communities. After some online sleuthing I discovered that since the word for Bat sounds like the word for fortune in Chinese, bats are now believed to bring good luck – they are symbols of wealth.
Bat | Symbolism & Spiritual Meaning
Symbolic/Spiritual Meaning
- Good fortune & prosperity
- Happiness & joy
- Longevity
- Protection
- Transition & rebirth
Cultural Significance
- Five bats together represent the “Five Blessings”: longevity, wealth, health, love of virtue, and a peaceful death
- In Western cultures, bats have often represented darkness and the unknown
- For many indigenous cultures, bats symbolize rebirth and intuition
The bat’s ability to navigate in darkness using echolocation reminds us that sometimes we need to trust our inner guidance when the path isn’t visually clear. Much like Feng Shui masters who sense energetic flows invisible to most, bats perceive what others cannot.
What’s This Got to Do with the Blue Mansion?
Well, a lot because the original owner of the Blue Mansion, Cheong Fatt Tze a.k.a. The Rockefeller of the East, was massively into Feng Shui. He purposefully built his home to take advantage of any good energy in his neighbourhood and to Bat off any that didn’t bring in the most beautiful of business deals. At the height of his career this savvy businessman and philanthropist was worth an estimated $2.4 billion USD in today’s term. Little does Trump know, the Art of the Deal is actually Feng Shui.
Secret Squirrel Routes & Straits Eclectic Style
Moving on from the majestic foyer, our guide led us through some highly ornate rooms into the heart of the house – the courtyard. It was at this point I totally tuned out the guide and hatched a plan to ditch the group to explore on my own.
Not because the guide was boring but because the tour was huuge and a whole bunch of non-tour people kept piling in behind. In my experience, lots of people means limited opportunity to take photos of the weird & wonderful stuff I like to snap.
Let me know if you want to see my collection of trash bag and discarded packaging photos I have imaginatively titled ‘Every Day/Ugly Beauty’ and I will do a separate blog article. You’d be surprised how stunning some rubbish can be. No, really!
Anyway, while I was cat mapping my escape ‘find weird stuff’ route, I picked up on the fact that the Blue Mansion is a stunning example of Straits Chinese Eclectic Style that fuses the best the East and West had to offer at that time. No expense was spared – this Rockefeller imported fancy cast iron railings from Scotland, European louvered windows, Cantonese timber lattices and brought in Feng Shui Masters and builders to ensure his home was the best on the block.
In total the Blue Mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases, and 220 timber louvre windows. And, as it now serves as museum and hotel it also has a bar, restaurant and a cute gift shop. Man, I love a gift shop so I made sure to add that to my secret squirrel route.
Fun Fact – the exterior wasn’t painted blue because of Feng Shui (colour wasn’t part of the system back then), but simply because Cheong wanted his house to stand out among the whitewashed neighbours. Bold move that is still working today!
The Art of Getting Busted (With Style)
Anyway, I was proven right about the group size when we were guided towards a small room on the first floor for a family history lesson, and a third of the group was forced to slip into the back pockets of those ahead of them. My husband managed to squeeze in so I left him to make notes while I sloped off to find the good stuff…to take photos of.
Thanks to some great curating, there is a lot of cool stuff to poke a stick or phone camera at. I was very taken with a pink chamber pot, some old booze bottles, and the roof tiles. But, the room full of gorgeous patterned dresses worn by Cheong Fatt Tze’s eight wives was my favourite. It was a textile-lovers dream!
Side Note – I love patterns…and tiles,…and other weird/pretty design stuff. Lucky for me, Penang is home to loads of gorgeous examples of Peranakan tiles which I most definitely will write about, one day.
Everywhere I looked I found symbolic imagery – if they weren’t carved or cast into something, they were painted on. Absolutely stunning! Even the weird looking bats on the restaurant door.
As ninja-like as I thought I was being, I was busted by the tour guide. Apparently, it’s super easy to spot the only person walking the opposite direction to his ever expanding entourage. My husband pretended not to know me. I admit, not for the first time.
I ditched them again and went to the gift shop. That was a dangerous move. It’s full of more gorgeous stuff, that you can actually pick up and take home in a nice gift bag.
Needless to say, I now have a tonne of photos of random things, zero knowledge of Cheong Fatt Tze’s family tree (my husband resigned as secretary after I got busted ditching the group), and a very nice scarf that inspired something special.
From Mansion Doors to Scarf Magic: My Out & About Creative Spark
Remember when I said I love patterns and scarves? Well, the Blue Mansion’s influence didn’t end with my visit.
All that rich symbolism throughout the house sparked a little something in my creative brain – especially the gold Wu Lou Gourds (more about these powerful symbols in an upcoming Oracle Insights post!). Back at our place I set to sketching out different elements from my random Blue Mansion photos to see what new shapes or patterns I could make from them. As you can see I had a lot of fun but settled on designing a new scarf for their gift shop.
Let me introduce my Out & About Blue Mansion ‘Celebration’ scarf!
As you can see I have designed a scarf that showcases the main Wu Lou shape along with flowing botanical elements representing organic energy, harmony and prosperity along with a geometric border that is a nod to the stunning decorations found on the external roof awning of the Blue Mansion.
The coral, teal, and gold palette is a fresher homage to the mansion’s overall decorative elements.
Creating this design is my way of carrying a piece of the Blue Mansion’s fortune-attracting energy with me.
If you haven’t tried sketching I highly recommend it – not only do you get to re-experience your adventures, you might discover the magic of patterns…everywhere!
So… Did I Become a Feng Shui Nerd After This?
Of course I did, I love learning. That same evening I dovetailed onto a bunch of Feng Shui websites that eventually led me to Joey Yap.
Three online courses and his two-day 2025 Feng Shui & Astrology conference in Singapore later, it’s safe to say that I am hooked. I’m no expert by any means but I can say with some degree of authority that the 3 legged Money Frogs weighing down my notes, is not part of traditional Feng Shui. And, that paying attention to the teeeny tiniest of things – like two little bat carvings can open doors to new experiences.
Also, our intuitive selves will always find fun ways to highlight exactly what we need to see, even when we’re busy planning secret escape routes from tour guides.
Sometimes getting lost, whether by taxi driver confusion or your own wandering curiosity, is exactly how you find what you didn’t know you were looking for. The Blue Mansion taught me that the universe speaks through the tiniest details—if we’re willing to notice them.
Next time you find yourself on an unexpected detour or staring at something that randomly catches your attention, pause. It might just be your intuition’s playful way of nudging you toward your next adventure.
Check this out!
Want to see more glorious photos of The Blue Mansion and learn a little about it’s restoration then head this way – A tech executive’s journey to preserve Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang
Interested to read about another time I was nudged into action then this blog article is for you – Oracle Insights | Animal Allies: Turtle Dove