Malaysia - Part 1 Penang

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A short flight to Penang, an island in Malaysia, on Air Asia from the other main airport in Bangkok. Hotel transfer through rush hour to the Areca Hotel in George Town, capital of the island. The hotel is comprised of 12 renovated pre war shop houses of which there are 6 styles in Penang built from 1790’s up to to 1970’s. We had a Heritage Loft room with lovely internal coloured glass, beautiful wooden floors, comfortable beds and Chinese furniture plus a handy room inside the main room which we stored our luggage in and made tea 😉

Very well placed for exploring the town which is a World Heritage Site with more than 5000 buildings and a real fusion of Indian,Thai, Malaysian and Chinese cultures with some British Colonial influence still evident. It is also well known for its street art which started 10 years ago when the state government commissioned a local studio to do a series of 3D steel cartoon depicting customs and heritage. It was then added to in 2012 when a Lithuanian was asked to do paintings and he incorporated some objects including a bicycle.

It was a wonderful place to wander around in and with so many choices of where to eat, it was really mind blowing 🤪 We ate tapas with an Asian twist on our first night, Chinese the second and at a night food market on the 3rd. We filled our days finding the art pieces, admiring the eclectic architecture and eating cake ( obviously for the purpose of research ). On our last day we took the bus Air Itam to take the funicular to the top of Penang Hill. There are various things to do at the top but we chose to visit The Habitat which is a rainforest reserve with a suspended walkway and the possibility of spotting native birds and animals. We had a close encounter with 3 long tailed Macaques! We had bought some sour dough chicken pie which were delicious. We stayed for the sunset which offered spectacular views of most of the island. No need for dinner so off to bed before heading to Langkawi and relaxing beach time 👍

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Comments

[Brian Hellyer]

Malaysia
One of my favourites and a very underrated country. The mix of cultures follows its time as a British Colony and My fav places are Cameron Highlands in the west which is spectacular, and Kuantan on the east coast which has a stunning beach. Enjoy a great and diverse country

[Pippa Taylor]

Nostalgia
Patrick was born in Penang because his father was stationed there- we went there in 1979 and loved it. Your photos show that lots hasn’t changed at all!