Old Streets At Penang

The Streets Of Georgetown

A fascinating fusion of eastern and western influences, Penang is Malaysia’s most tourist-visited destination. The island manages to embrace modernity while retaining its colonial traditions; due to its well-preserved heritage buildings Penang’s capital, Georgetown, has been accorded a listing as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Although Georgetown’s landscape is dominated by Chinese storefronts most in need of a good paint job there are also swanky shopping complexes, refurbished Chinese manors, rowdy pubs and artsy boutiques, cafes and studios. The city is a mainstay on the Malaysian tourist scene yet it is also a popular expat enclave; besides that, the food here a hotchpotch of Indian curry and Chinese noodles is for many the best in Malaysia.

Noteworthy as the only state in Malaysia to have a Chinese majority population, Penang’s sub-culture is a mixture of Asia itself. Rather than feeling mono-ethnic, it exemplifies the country’s colonial past and mixed-heritage future brilliantly. It isn’t Malaysia’s most beautiful state yet it does posses a certain charm – the oldest of the British Straits settlements, this state is arguably one of its most tolerant and cosmopolitan.

Georgetown, Penang’s capital on the north-eastern corner of the island, is dotted with idiosyncratic Chinese shop lots, narrow roads, old-fashioned colonial-era mansions, clan houses, numerous schools, ornate temples and Little India districts. It goes without saying that the city is an exceedingly rewarding destination – skirting the conurbation is a landscape of beaches, forests and lakes.