The Christian Cemetery on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, not far from the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, is an interesting place to pass some time in the cool shade of mature frangipani trees. The cemetery is the final resting place of Captain Francis Light, the founder of Penang, as well as many other community leaders from Penang's early years.
A shady lane of Frangipani trees through the cemetery
It's interesting to note that many of these people died around the age of 30. The causes are not stated, but most are believed to have died from malaria which resulted from the clearing of the forests.
View of the cemetery's many graves in various states of disrepair
Many of the old tombs are huge, ornate affairs that seem to demonstrate a Victorian obsession with death. Captain Light's tomb is suprising simple, suggesting that he was not considered as important in his own time as he is now.