Malaysia - Penang and Georgetown

Penang or Georgetown as the main city is known by, is just off the north west coast of Malaysia. It has been touted as one of the places to visit in 2016, with the city centre noted as a UNESCO world heritage site, and known for its food, we thought we would pop in to take a look before heading north via Langkawi and then the Thai Andaman islands.

The old streets of George Town

The journey from KL was simple. We bought our train ticket to Butterworth - the closest station to the island and the port from where we would catch the ferry. We had hoped for an overnight train as the journey is about 6 hours, but sadly, it no longer stops there, so the 16:00 from KL getting in at 21:45 did us well and it was comfy and clean.

Our train

The train arrives into Butterworth very near the ferry, so it was a simple 5-10 minute walk from the station (follow the signs). You will need exact change 1.20 MYR, as the barrier works like a slot machine, but there is a money changer there so no worries.

The ferry left about 22:00, which worked out perfectly and saved us a lot of time.  The journey itself takes about 10-20 minutes and is very straight forward. There is a passenger area of sorts squeezed onto the car deck which is a little different. These ferries have been running back and forth for near on 100 years and I think it is one of the oldest ferries of its type in the world (not quite the star ferry of HK or Manly ferry of Sydney, but it was nice enough).

All aboard

Our accommodation was a guesthouse about 15-20 minute walk from the terminal. The streets were fairly quiet at that time of night as you would expect, but with the odd karaoke and food court still buzzing.

The guesthouse was in what is known as the buffer zone (more on that later) and housed in one of the old homes which are typical of Georgetown. The owners had recently restored it and it was a really lovely place to stay for a few days. They had gone into so much detail, even highlighting on each map on the side where the guesthouse was.

Guesthouse 109 - a hidden treasure

As with most places we visit, we like to have a good wander around the city to 'get our bearings' and see what it is all about. One thing Georgetown is that it is excellent for its information. There are lots of super maps of the town, showing all the major sites and the information centre even put on a free historical tour - which we joined.

Traditional hat maker

The city UNESCO area is split into two - the core and buffer zones.  This is to ensure future development does not encroach of the protected part of the city. 

Chinese area

The small streets are lined with colonial buildings and homes with a spread of Chinese clan houses, religious buildings and, on the coast, stilt homes on old jetty's. 

Jetty living

There is also a recognised street art (graffiti) scene, which makes walking around the city a bit like a treasure hunt which was fun. Some of the graffiti is more like art and sculpture, rather than the random tag here and there, with inspiration coming from the people and objects around them.

Art around town

On any street you will see different communities living with each other, but with a clear divide in food, people and language - Christian, Mulim, Hindu (Indian), Chinese and numerous other religions. However, they (so we are to believe) live harmoniously and actually worship each other's gods, when necessary.

In the middle of several blocks you will find clan houses. These secret, but quite obvious houses when you get up high, are focused on specific Chinese clans. The most famous and indeed most impressive is Khoo Konsi (10 MYR). The detail on the stone and wood carvings is immense and the paintings an interesting insight into clan life.  There is also an interesting museum in the basement worth visiting. 

Khoo Konsi clan house

On one of the days we picked up the 201 bus (2 MYR) to head to Kek Lok Si Temple (free). After a quick and rather heavy thunderstorm (and a hair cut for me at an Indian barbers (6 MYR, just £1!), we headed up to the temple. 

£1 hair cut

The temple was one of the highlights of Penang. There are several stupors (the main one is particularly impressive (2 MYR) and many many Buddha statues, of different sizes, shapes and outlooks.

Kek Lok Si

One element of the temple which was quite reflective and a nice touch was the wishing tree. You could pick a wish printed on a coloured ribbon for a small fee and hang it on a wishing tree branch. 

Pick a wish...

We chose 'Coming and going safely' which we thought was rather appropriate (lets hope it comes true).

...an appropriate one!

Penang is also known for its food. This was one thing Chris was really looking forward to. We tried as many different dishes as we could, with Laksa, Satay and Roti Chani coming out on top. 

Assam Laksa

Most of the dishes are served in the food courts dotted around the city. To sit you will need to buy a drink, but this is normally a couple of MYR. You would go up to a food stall, order your food, tell them where you are and they will deliver it to your table and take payment. Normally dishes are between 4 and 7 MYR and very reasonable for good food. 

Rice pancakes mmm!

After a few days it was time to move on. Georgetown was a great place to explore, and there was plenty more we could have done whilst we were there. We could see why it was on the list of places to visit for 2016, and were glad we did!

1986 (Year of the Tiger), 1985 (Year of the Ox)

We picked up the Langkawi ferry from Langkawi-ferry.com for about 70 MYR pp and proceeded to the jetty. The ferry isn't the most luxurious you will ever find, but it did the job. You can sit outside which is nice or you have the option of watching a movie. If you sit low down in the boat you will feel the waves a little more, but you will get more seats, allowing you to get some rest - which we made the most of!

Onward...