Oct. 23, 2022
Penang Island with Georg Town
Penang Island is situated in Northwest Malaysia and is connected with the mainland by two bridges: one 13,5 and the other 24 km long. The capital, George Town, once a free port, is today one of the most important economic and political towns. In 2008, George Town was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it became one of the most important touristic cities. Due to the various ethnicities and religions that came to the city, George Town acquired a large eclectic assortment of colonial and Asian architectural styles. It is also known for its distinct street food with which it became Malaysia’s gastronomic capital.
I came to Penang Island by private transportation. Due to not so good road from Cameron
Highlands and heavy traffic, it took us five hours to get to my hotel, which was 15 km outside George Town. As a fan of the outdoors, I planned to do some tracking in the Penang National Park. The rainy days changed my plans and I am grateful for that.
Another part of George Town that paid my attention was the historic floating villages' so-called Clan Jetties. They are historic Chinese villages built out over the water on long jetties. Each Jetty belongs to a single family, with dozens of wooden houses on each Jetty. Today there are six jetties, four were destroyed by a fire. The most well-known and the only one open to visitors is the Chew Jetty.
I discovered George town on foot in all possible directions. As the city has really good and cheap public transportation, I went to the city by bus. George Town has a lot of historical buildings, most of them beautifully renovated. As Penang island is a mixture of different cultures and religions the city has a lot of religious objects. But most of all I was impressed by its street art. I returned to the streets with their wall paintings, and the streets with small shops with handmade products several times. One of the most impressive streets for me was Armenia street. It is home to the famous Children on Bicycle mural by Ernest Zacharevic and various other forms of street and shophouses that sell antiques and souvenirs.
As you see I was really impressed by George Town. For sure, it’s my favorite city on my trip so far. Of course, I couldn’t resist doing some hiking. I went to Penang hill. It is a resort near George Town with the highest peak at 833 m, which can be reached by a funicular railway or by several trails. After taking a bus, I started to walk uphill, but soon I discovered, that I took the wrong (read longer) way.
It can happen even to the best!!! Shortly after starting ascending I met a monkey, sitting on the road. She started to approach and she was probably telling me, that she is hungry. Well, I didn’t understand her grumbling, I just pulled a banana out of my backpack, and the problem was solved.
I did another trail in Penang Natural Park. But, as I mentioned in my previous blog, the paths in Malaysia are nice but poorly maintained. They just put up a board with a notice- the path is temporarily closed due to maintenance….that can last years, I suppose.
I could proceed with walking with a little higher tempo. In two hours I was on the top of the hill, and the view of the city was beautiful. I drank some mango juice and went down. With a railway!!!
I finished my visit to Malaysia with a fruit farm near my hotel, a good 8km above the village Teluk Bahang. They have the largest collection of tropical fruits, around 200 species. I took a guided tour, saw about 10 of them, and at the end ate a nice plate of different kinds of fruits. Delicious!
Summary of Penang and George Town:
- beside the nice nature and beaches, that was the most impressive part of my visit to Malaysia
- George Town is my No.1 of all the towns I visited during the trip
- don’t worry about how to get to the town and around it; they have very great public transportation by buses (use the app Moovit)
- don’t forget to visit Armenian street
- try to find all the street paintings - you can get a map of them
- go to little India and maybe get yourself done canna tattoo
- visit some of the religious places, maybe one of each religion, as there are too many to see them all
- go to Clan Jetty
- in the evening try some street food, no fear to get digestion problems
My next stop and the last is Cambodia. I don’t know what to expect…