I had heard great things about Penang, and was really excited to go. After a 6 hour bus ride from Kuala Lumpur, we arrived at the bus terminal and grabbed some dinner. Penang has a fantastic reputation for food and it’s hawker stalls, and our first meal definitely lived up to the hype.
Without much of a plan, we got up early and decided that we’d explore. George Town isn’t too big, so we set off on foot from our hostel and headed over to Fort Cornwallis. I’ve been to a ton of forts as a Tour guide and am always amazed how much history is housed in them, so I was actually really looking forward to this one. Even though it’s the largest standing fort in Malaysia, it was ended up being pretty boring – the fort never engaged in battle. Not much of anything seemed to have happened there. It was built by the British Military, but was only ever used as an administrative site rather than a defensive fort. Shan and I went through the fort museum and then headed out to find some actual history. We figured there was bound to be something interesting since Georgetown is listed as a UNESCO heritage site.
Next we ended up among some of the clan houses in Chinatown. We headed into Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi and were blown away by the intricate ornamental decorations throughout the entire building. It was the clan house of the Khoo family who emigrated from South China in the early 1850s. Tucked right next to Chinatown was Little India. We decided it was time for some lunch and found a little south Indian place on one of the corners. It was probably one of the best Indian meals I’ve had outside of India and transported me right back to Madurai when my fragrant meal was served to me on a banana leaf.
Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi
We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Chinatown and Little India and ended up stumbling upon the famous Cheong Fatt Ze Mansion (also know as the Blue Mansion because of it’s striking indigo colour) – which is also a UNESCO heritage site. We contemplated going inside, but instead were drawn to the iced tea truck outside it’s gates. We relaxed in the park across the street with our ice teas before heading back to our hostel to freshen up.
Our final stop in George Town was the Red Garden night market for some of Penang’s famed hawker food. We found a plastic table and settled in for some fantastic food from the surrounding stalls set up almost like a food court. We stuffed ourselves with amazing fishead curry, Char Koay Teow (stir fried flat noodles with bean sprouts) and satay (meat on a stick).
pumped for dinner at the Red Garden night market
Having spent a couple days in Penang staring at the ocean, it was time for us to head to the beach and enjoy it. We bought ferry tickets that afternoon and packed up for an early morning departure to yet another island – Langkawi.
Keaner Travels 