Penang was just a one day stop on my way to the Perhentian Islands. And it was a good one. The bus driver dropped us off in Chinatown upon request. Hostels are plentiful available so is food and cafés.
On my one and only day in Georgetown I had planned to follow the Artwalk that is currently beeing installed. Basically an artist has mad iron pieces telling stories about each street where they are put up. In addition there are some Banksy-like wall paintings scattered all over the heart of Georgetown. I really liked the walk and spent four hours exploring the streets. Most of the streets are lined with Archway-Houses on either side. Especially in the scorching hot midday heat the archways are a welcome feature.
Georgetown (the part I saw) is dominated by Chinese, Restaurants, shops, traders and hawkers all Chinese. So to mix it up I got myself a mango lassi and cheese naan bread as a late afternoon snack. I remembered some of the streets from my last visit three years ago. I noticed some change, especially with the Chinese owned establishments – typical always busy working. Also one of the nice Chinese temples got turned into a money making machine, fenced off, souvenir stalls and so on sprung up.
All in all I really liked Georgetown and as such Penang.
At ten in the evening I took a minivan to the Perhentian Island. Had I known what I was in for, I would have not booked it. More on this in the next post.
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