George Town – August 2022
I arrive in George Town after a 12-hour journey from Krabi, Thailand. After passing customs at the train station of the border town Padang Besar, I take the Komuter train to Butterworth, where I change to the ferry to reach my final destination on Penang Island. My first impression of Malaysia: public transport is cheap and reliable, and the people are very friendly. My second impression upon arriving in George Town and walking to my hostel: the country is incredibly diverse. I walk past a Hindu temple and a church, while down the street, the Muezzin at the local mosque is calling the Muslim community to the Maghrib prayer.
I drop my bag at the hostel and follow the recommendation of two fellow travellers to look for a place to eat on Chulia Street. On the way there, I stop at a bank to withdraw some money for my stay on the Perhentian Islands. The choice between the RHB Islamic Bank and CIMB Islamic Bank indicate, that I am in the Muslim quarter of George Town. Indeed, as I cross the street, I spot a Pakistani shop with Arabic writing above it‘s green doors. As I turn around the next corner and onto Chulia Street, I walk past a Malay restaurant and, caught up with looking at their menu, almost fall down the couple of steps separating the restaurant from an Indian supermarket blasting a cheerful Bollywood song. The men in their white polo shirts working the register loudly sing along as I pass.
I now reach at the main restaurant area where one can choose between Chinese, Indian, Malay and tons of western food options. But what immediately catches my eye is a small Shawarma shop with a Middle Eastern café next to it selling fresh Kunafa. I place my orders for dinner and desert and, happy as a little kid, walk back to the hostel with my food packed in layers of plastic. The Jordanian-Egyptian girl sitting next to me at the dinner table is intrigued by the sight of the Kunafa and I‘m soon on my way back to the food stalls. This time we walk down popular „Love Lane“ which is lined with lively bars. But tonight we‘re exchanging travel stories and recommendations, while relaxing on a traditional Central Asian Tapchan. We even learn that both of us crossed paths with the same guy a few months earlier in Sicily.
The next day, despite the heat, I end up walking all around central George Town. My morning stroll first takes me to a nice coffee place and after to Cheong Fatt Tze’s “Blue Mansion”, only to learn that it‘s closed due to a private event. So I continue to aimlessly wander around the streets, finding a beautiful Chinese temple and old merchant houses with tiled entrances covered by colourful arcades. By noon, I reach Jalan Pintal Tali. On this street in Chinatown, there used to be traditional rope spinner shops. Nowadays, Chinese merchants sell all kinds of goods. At the end of the road, I turn right, in search of lunch.
I read about a noodle shop online, which unfortunately and like many other small restaurants in the area, had to close due to the economic consequences of the long lockdown. But there are still plenty of food stalls and restaurants to enjoy a delicious meal in George Town. And for this lunch, I choose to skip the queues at the famous Laksa place on Lebuh Keng Kwee and instead go for the “Dimsum Valet” on the other side of the alley. They have a great selection of dumplings and I can highly recommend their “Paus”. Fully fuelled, I head back to my hostel for a break from the afternoon heat. On the way, I buy some fresh fruits from a street stall.
I snack away on the fruits while reading and around 3pm start my quest for my visit to Penang Hill. First stop: corner of Chulia Street and Love Lane. A tiny sign indicates that there’s a bus stop here, and only a few minutes later I flag down No. 201 to Pekan Air Itam. The cheerful bus driver informs me that he can’t give any change and kindly lets me pass paying a few Sen less. He also tells me where to get off after my 40-minute ride through the George Town suburbs. Walking through an alley lined with street food stalls, I slowly ascend towards the colourful Kek Lok Si Buddhist Temple.
Its impressive Pagoda and the Kuan Yin statue can be seen from far away. I pass the turtle pond and arrive at what looks like the entrance to a car park. With the ongoing construction work, this second impression of the temple is a little bit of a letdown. However, I do not let that stop me and ask my way through to the internal courtyard. I spend a good hour wandering around, admiring the mixed architectural style including Chinese and Thai details and the view of the city. Then, the dark rain clouds seem to race straight toward me. Though my ultimate goal of the day – sunset on Penang Hill – seems to be in danger, I make my way back down to the main road.
After 20 minutes, I finally reach the bottom station of the funicular station. I pay the 15 MR for my ticket up, still considering walking back down. With a good hour left until the sun was scheduled to set, I explore the hilltop and watch some monkeys play in the lush trees towering above George Town. I was sweating all day, walking through the sea-level streets. But now at 800 m.a.s.l. with the wind blowing, I actually wouldn’t mind wearing a jumper. Of course, I didn’t bring one and because of the still dark clouds still hovering to the west of the island, the sunset isn’t great either. So I decide to catch the funicular down after all and head back to the city centre.
For my second and last day in George Town I have planned out a little more relaxed program. I start off the morning with a walk to the Clan Jetties of Penang. On the way I stop to look at various murals and wire street art. My favourites are the art pieces which combine a painting with everyday objects or the building’s façade to tell a story. I slowly progress to the eastern end of Pulau Penang and reach the pictures Chew Jetty. Like all the other 7 jetties on Penang, this stilt house village with a pier at its end, has been built by Chinese immigrants in the 19th century. I walk down the raised wooden walkway and here and there peek into the small houses on either side.
While a couple of them have been turned into souvenir shops or noodle restaurants, most are still used as family homes. At one corner, I hear 2 old ladies having a lively conversation in Chinese. They chatter and laugh, and I’d love to be able to understand what they’re saying. But I can’t make out a word, and so I continue my stroll towards Yeoh Jetty. The most southern of the bunch has caught my eye because it’s home to a quite big Buddhist temple right on the water. There is a pleasant breeze blowing at the water front and meditative music playing from loudspeakers in the back of the temple. I sit down at one of the tables on the edge and watch the wind play with the small Chinese lanterns strung up above the number of white Buddha statues.
After this little break, I head back into the bustling streets of Chinatown. Last on my to-do list to be completed before my stay on the Perhentian Islands is a fresh haircut. My hair has got too long for the tropical climate, and so I spend a relaxing couple o hours at De Love Hair salon. Afterwards, I treat myself to the most delicious mousse au chocolate I have had in a while. Then I retreat to my hostel for a couple of hours before hitting the streets again in time for sunset. The girl I met the first night told me about a spot at the shorefront, where there are usually only some local fishermen and few tourists watching the sun go down. I get myself some Keema from a Pakistani street food place and then head to the stones at the water.
While I dig into my dinner, I see the dark rain clouds slowly approaching from the mainland, bringing with them a beautiful rainbow. I quickly eat up and under the last rays of sunshine walk to the Blue Mansion. I learned that apart from the restaurant, they also have a bar. The grand 19th century building is just as stunning from inside as from outside. The upper floors are only accessible for hotel guests or if you go on the daily guided tour. So I have a look at the ground floor rooms before sitting down for an Amaretto Sour. Just as I begin the short walk back to my hostel, the clouds break, and I am drenched in no time. But hey, this is what you get for travelling in South East Asia during the rainy season.
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