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Published: January 15th 2013
Since the world did not come to an end on December 21
st, it was time for us to get serious again and shift back into active sightseeing mode, making sure we took advantage of the rich culture around us. This is when we left the lovely Tanjung Bungah and moved to more spartan digs in the centre of Georgetown, Penang’s capital city.
Though the apartment we moved into was clean and had a fabulous view over the historical “heritage” district, it was considerably plainer than the previous one and located in yet another soulless high-rise. This building, situated above the enormous “Time Square” shopping centre, was simply too massive and lacked any kind of charm or appeal. While it was great to have our own kitchen and living room, not to mention TWO bedrooms… plus a supermarket just ten floors below us and yet again a pleasant pool and playground for the kids, we found ourselves longing for something with a little more atmosphere and representing the interesting historical legacy of this town. After a few days, we decided to pay the
Noordin Mews a visit and see what we could shake up in terms of rooms. I had come
across this retro chic little Bed and Breakfast during my internet search the month before and had passed them up due to lack of availability for the full dates we had originally been seeking. But now that we were willing to endure a more nomadic visit to the island, perhaps we could squeeze ourselves in for a period of time. Sure enough, they had a week open in early January and so we booked it. We would nevertheless spend Christmas in the Times Square apartment. We then committed ourselves to visit friends in Kuala Lumpur a few days on either side of New Years Eve and found a wonderful deal at the
Lone Pine Hotel for our final week on the island. As we knew we were headed to Singapore next and that was already all planned out, for the first time in our four month trip, we finally had all our accommodations and travel arrangements lined up. It felt liberating to no longer have to scour the internet for hotel rooms… No more Agoda! No more TripAdvisor!
Now it was time to get to know Penang. Up until this point, the only thing I really knew about this
island was that it was the birthplace of the brilliant man who designed my wedding shoes: the venerable Jimmy Choo. But I suspected there was more to do and see here than worship at his shrine- and yes, that does exist and I did seek it out! In fact, Georgetown was classified as a World Heritage Site in 2008. We therefore had high expectations of being charmed by Georgetown much as we were by Hoi An and Luang Prabang, both towns enjoying similar UNESCO honours. And while the old Chinese shop-houses and colourful cyclos (called rickshaws here) do indeed resemble closely those we saw in Vietnam, the town did not lend itself to the same casual strolling and old world charm of Hoi An, nor the relaxed, rural atmosphere of Luang Prapang. So getting to know and appreciate Georgetown did not come easily.
Our initial reaction to Georgetown was one of mixed emotions. We didn’t quite know what to make of it. As much as the North of the island had impressed us with all its modern high-rises, we appreciated Georgetown for its notable lack of tall buildings. But likewise, it also seemed to lack the lustre of the
North. But the very fact that our feelings were somewhat divided and confused over this place seems appropriate and to the theme of Georgetown, because “MIXED” is simply the best word to apply here. Much like for the island of Penang as a whole, Georgetown embodies an extraordinary mix of… well… everything. It contains many different cultures, styles, old and new, rich and poor, beautiful and ugly, chaotic and peaceful. It’s one mixed up place! But the very features that make it somewhat hard to visit and fall in love with at first- its gritty authenticity, become the reason it is so appealing. Penang exists and thrives quite independently from tourism. It therefore doesn’t pander to the tastes and needs of outside visitors, like Hoi An and Luang Prapang did. Penang is like a self-righteous strong-willed old lady who refuses to grow old gracefully and yet oozes inimitable character and independence. She’s not gracious and won’t cater to our demands for convenience and order. But she is full of wisdom and a certain bohemian aesthetic from another era and world. And this is why, we didn’t like her so much at first, but in the end, we absolutely love Penang!
It’s madness, really… We complain about it as much as we rave about it, but all in all… it’s grown on us incredibly and we truly wish we could stay longer... if not simply, for good.
From a cultural point of view, Penang is an impressive blend of indigenous Malay, Chinese, and Indian, with some European and even a bit of Australian speckled in. Co-existence may be the better word than blend or the much-used “melting pot”, as each group seems to retain its own strong identity and traditions, as well as spiritual practices. And yet, they all interact and live intertwined lives in a way we have rarely seen in other countries. Ask anyone of them if they are Indian or Chinese and they will answer that they are Malaysian. While the Chinese-Malaysians may dominate in numbers and influence here in Penang, it is not in the least bit apparent which group is the most prosperous today. On any given public bus ride, we found an even mix of each group, all communicating amicably in English. A waiter or taxi driver can be just as easily Indian as he can be Chinese. And we even came across a
beggar of European origins. A telling example of this harmonious multi-culturalism was the Jewish cemetery we found around the corner from a mosque, guarded respectfully by a Hindu family. If there is any rivalry, animosity or tension among these different Penangites, it certainly isn’t apparent to outsiders. And speaking as a true outsider, but one that has been to mainland Malaysia, India, and China, I find Penang encompasses the best that all three of those places have to offer. Everything I loved about the culture and people in Beijing, Delhi, or Kuala Lumpur, I find here… and more!
The history of Penang is as colourful and mixed up as its residents and you can easily feel it as you walk the streets of Georgetown. The heritage section of town literally feels like an urban time capsule. Every building seems to have its hidden story and you can’t help but be intrigued by them. While the prevailing architectural influence seems to be Chinese, there is plenty of colonial influence apparent. And much depends on the section of town you are in. Some roads, just outside the heritage section and closer to the seafront “Gurney Drive”, are lined with beautiful old
colonial mansions in various states of disrepair or renovation. Right on the ocean-front, despite the expanding collection of modern sky-high condominiums, you can still come across a few of the more grandiose original 19
th century mansions that never got knocked down. But in the heritage section of town, the townhouse style Chinese shop-house reigns supreme and thanks to the UNESCO World Heritage award, they no longer can be knocked down. In fact, quite the opposite trend is occurring, thankfully. There is a renovation boom that is seeing lots of the finer houses revamped and lovingly transformed. Our bed and breakfast, as well as many other hotels cropping up around town, are perfect examples of this.
On our last evening in Georgetown, we stumbled across a tiny little restaurant just down the road from the Noordin Mews called
The Little Nest Heaven. This restaurant is situated in the front room of a classic Chinese shop-house that has been in the same family since its construction. The owner explained that four generations of his family have resided there so far and the food on offer was traditional, home-cooked “Nyonya” style food. The term Nyonya means grandmother or lady, referring very specifically
to the Peranakan or Straits Chinese descended from late 15th and 16th-century immigrants from Southern China who had intermarried with native Malays. During colonial times, most of the Peranakan were quite loyal to the British colonial powers and enjoyed a rather privileged position in society, often becoming quite wealthy businessmen. The size and certain external features (tiles, columns, etc.) of their shop-houses were indications of the prosperity of the family who occupied it. This particular family was one that had been quite wealthy due to the prosperous business of collecting and selling edible bird nests to a Chinese market. Hearing all about the ongoing bird nest business, as well as the strict traditions associated with Nyonya culture and how it was influenced by their relationship with the British was fascinating. The owner gave us a private tour of his 85 year old home, pointing out each feature specific to Chinese shop-houses and explaining that his was among only 1% in town which still possessed all the key characteristics defining this type of home. The Nyonya food was also quite delicious and the evening as a whole was a delightful insight into the fabric of Penang culture and history.
There
are countless sights to visit in Georgetown, enough to keep us busy for the whole week we were staying at the Noordin Mews, before retreating back to the beaches of Batu Ferringi. While visiting some of the older, well preserved (or renovated) homes such as
Khoo Kongsi- renamed by our kids as “the Red House”,
Cheong Fatt Tze- “The Blue House”, or the
Pinang Peranakan Mansion- “The Green House”, our favourite attraction in town was probably the streets themselves. Mostly lined with the fantastic shop-houses in varied colours and stages of decline, as well as plenty of eclectic stores and businesses, the streets were a treat to explore. There is also a wonderful collection of street art across town, including a series of eight
UNESCO-commissioned murals painted by the Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic. Seeking out his often quite humorous works of art across town became somewhat of a treasure hunt. And we were not alone in this game, as each time we finally located one of the treasures, there was a small crowd amassed in front, taking photos. Also scattered around the heritage zone are a series of excellent
iron rod sculptures mounted on various walls, depicting amusing caricatures and
a brief story that offers more insights on local history and traditions. These are the work of Malaysian cartoonist, Tan Mun Kian, as part of a project called “Marking Georgetown” that was sponsored by the Penang Island Municipal Council.
As we ventured out towards a restaurant on our first evening staying in the historical district, we were reminded fairly promptly how tricky it is to walk through this town. There just aren’t that many sidewalks and traffic can be unpredictable and disorganized. We therefore opted to rent bicycles for a few days, which we were lucky enough to find with good quality children’s seats attached. While this nevertheless proved pretty much as stressful as walking, at least it got us from A to B faster and it spared us the frequent requests to be carried from our less than intrepid toddler. Furthermore, biking around town introduced the fun option of letting ourselves get lost and discover new hidden corners of town, something that occurred on a daily basis. One such example was the
clan jetties. These are several clusters of homes built on stilts over the sea, existing since over a century. Each cluster belongs to a specific family
of traders and fishermen, the most prominent being the Chew Family. As luck would have it, we also found one of the Zacharevic murals hidden along the Chew Jetty. It was also like this that we stumbled across the handsome
Fort Cornwallis, built by Georgetown’s founder, the British Captain Francis Light. Likewise, we only found out later that those lovely seafront colonial buildings across the large green
Esplanade from the Fort now operate as Georgetown’s
City Hall and
Town Hall. The latter was also used for several scenes of the Jodie Foster movie,
Anna and the King, since the Thai government forbid its filming in Thailand. In fact, Penang’s colonial architecture has served as backdrops for several big International productions, including also the epic
Indochine, with Catherine Deneuve.
Peddling around town also spared us the awkward experience of riding in rickshaws and the frustration of quibbling over taxi rates. Comically enough, all taxis have a large sign on their doors stating “This is a metered taxi. Haggling is Prohibited”, yet we never did find a taxi willing to use their meter… and several who were rather rude with us when we dared to suggest their prices were not reasonable
(and they really weren’t!) Luckily enough, we were able to rely on the very functional and ultra cheap public bus system for any distances we deemed too long or hectic to try by bicycle. Some of the buses operating in the heritage zone were even entirely free, offered as a shuttle service for tourists, but clearly utilized mostly by locals. So perhaps Penang is not so indifferent to tourists after all… Or could it be that we are simply turning into proud Penangites?
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Susan Jenny
non-member comment
Malaysia is winning then?
From all your comments, it seems that you are preferring Penang to many of the other places you have visited. It will be interesting to discuss your whole trip with you in the months to come and see if you change your minds. Meanwhile we just love the photos and imagining you getting off the airplane in Geneva....soon.... to share your memories in person.