It's not exactly a big secret, but Penang is perhaps the most overlooked destination in Malaysia, if not all of Asia. Business people probably know Penang as a significant manufacturing base for high technology companies such as Dell Computer and Hewlett Packard. Maybe it's actually because of this that many leisure travelers don't even consider Penang as a destination.
Inside the Pernakan Mansion
In reality, Penang has more to offer than just about any other single destination in Southeast Asia. It has perhaps the largest and best preserved colonial-era old town, with excellent examples of Chinese clan houses, colonial homes, public buildings and private mansions. In addition, there are tropical beaches and huge temples.
Penang Orientation
Captain Light first established Fort Cornwallis on the northeastern corner of the island, and the city of Georgetown was laid out around it. The city was named after King George III, the ruler of England at the time, and Light actually renamed the island to 'Prince of Wales' island.
The city grew organically outward from Fort Cornwallis, with waves of immigrants coming to settle from all over Asia and Europe. Each ethnic group was assigned its own street, although this segregation was less rigid and formal than in other colonial outposts such as Hong Kong and Singapore. Anybody with the money could buy any piece of land from a willing seller.
Map of Pulai Penang
In the countryside around Georgetown, 'country estates' were established by gentlemen farmers for growing spices such as clove and nutmeg. Hill stations like Penang Hill were established on some of the mountains in the center of the island where city people could escape the heat - and pestilence - of the tropical summers.
The developed beaches lie west of Georgetown along the island's north and northwestern coasts. Recent development has expanded south of Georgetown towards the international airport and the long toll bridge to the mainland.
Penang is a busy international hub, so there are a lot of ways to get there.
Planes Air travel is the natural choice to get to Penang. The national carrier, Malaysia Air System, flies between Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Thai and Singapore airlines also offer direct flights from their respective countries. For more information about the airport and airlines, see the Asia Airports guide to Penang International Airport. See the airport transfers page for information about getting from the airport to Georgetown.
Penang has a large selection of hotels in a wide range of locations and prices. The grand dame of the hotels is the historic Eastern and Oriental on city's ocean front not far from Fort Cornwallis. Built in 1885, the hotel was the first and foremost hotel built by the Sarkies brothers who went on to build Raffles in Singapore and The Strand in Rangoon. Contrary to what you'll read in Lonely Planet's 2001 guidebook, the hotel has in fact been fully restored to its former glory.
Getting around Penang is relatively easy. If you choose one of the many hotels in or on the edge of the Georgetown preservation area, then you can easily explore the old town on foot. There are also several shops around town that will rent bicycles or motorcycles if walking doesn't appeal.
For destinations further afield, taxis are plentiful and cheap. They are all metered, and haggling is supposed to be banned (which doesn't mean it doesn't happen).
Statue of Captain Francis Light, in the grounds of the state museum Penang (spelled Pinang in Malay) was once part of the sultanate of Kedah, but in 1786 Captain Francis Light landed on the island and felt it would make a suitable base for the British East India Company in the Malay states. He arranged to rent the island and nearby mainland from the sultan of Kedah for the sum of 10,000 Spanish dollars per year.
While the island has an amazingly constant temperature, Penang's tropical location subjects it to annual monsoons. There is a 'light' monsoon from April to July, with the heavy rains coming in August and lasting through to November. The dry season lasts from December to March.
Historical Weather Patterns for Penang Average Monthly Highs & Lows (°C) Average Monthly Rainfall (cm)
Penang's beaches are not nearly the draw card they once were. Due to industrialization and heavy shipping traffic, the water is not very clean nor are the beaches all that scenic. The developed beaches lie along the western end of the north coast.
Penang's main beach sounds like the venue for a Star Trek convention: Batu Ferringhi. There are a number of resorts here, and depending on when you book and when you plan to stay, you may be able to get some very good deals.
The Chocolate Boutique - for all things chocolate! Penang is not exactly a shoppers paradise, but there are potentially some interesting things to buy depending on your tastes. In the malls and shops around the base of the Komtar, you'll find cameras, electronics, and clothes. Along Jalan Penang heading away from the Komtar towards the Eastern & Oriental hotel, you'll find shops selling luggage, the old wet market, Indian saris and assorted local handicrafts.
In its day, the mansion of the Chinese-born Geong Fatt Tze was perhaps the largest and definitely the most opulent in all of Penang. After nearly 75 years of decay, the mansion was rescued from the wrecking ball and restored to its former glory by a private group of Penang business people.
The old fashioned rickshaws on the porch Cheong Fatt Tze was born in China to a family of teachers and farmers.
Perhaps the main attraction to Penang is the old historic district of Georgetown. Here you'll find examples of colonial era straits architecture. Due to the many ethnic groups which settled here from the very beginning, there are examples of not only Georgian civic buildings, but also Chinese mansions, Indian temples and Achehnese mosques.
If you're into this kind of stuff, you can easily spend a couple of days looking around all that old Georgetown has to offer.
Looking down on the temple from a lower part of the tower The sprawling Buddhist temple of Kek Lok Si climbs up a hillside near the village of Air Itam, now really a suburb of Georgetown. The temple was begun in 1890 and, from all appearances, construction really hasn't ever stopped. The temple is supposedly the largest in Malaysia.
The rambling temple consists of many prayer halls, pagodas, bell towers and just about every other typical temple structure you can think of, in varying styles from Burmese to Chinese to Thai.
The Khoo Kongsi (Khoo clan house) is perhaps the largest of the many clan and congregation houses in Penang. It is, like many of the clan houses, sort of hidden in the center of a block surrounded by ordinary shophouses. The entrance is just off Lebuh Cannon, near the Malay Mosque.
The Khoo clan that built this Kongsi originated from Sin Kang village in the Hokkien province of China. They actually began migrating overseas in the sixteenth century.
To escape the heat of tropical Georgetown, do what many of the early colonial settlers did when the air got a little too thick: head up to the top of the 830 meter (2,750 foot) Penang Hill. The early tourists had to be carried on sedan chairs, if they could afford it, but the way to go is to take the funicular railway. The rail station at the base of the hill is a short 10 minute walk from Kek Lok Si temple, so you can easily visit both sights on the same day.
The Penang State Museum in Georgetown The Penang State Museum is on Jalan Farquhar, more or less behind the state court buildings and not far from the Padang. It's one of the better museums in Malaysia and is worth a visit. If for no other reason, the museum is a cool respite from the hot tropical sun.
The museum is housed in an old colonial-era building. Well, half of it anyway.
Planes arrive at Penang's International airport (airport code: PEN) at the southern end of the island. It's about half an hour by taxi to reach Georgetown, depending on traffic. The fare is fixed at about RM 45 for taxis from the airport to the city, or you can book a transfer in advance through the links below.
There are well over 30 hotels along Batu Ferringhi beach, in most every price range. I've made a small selection below of the big hotels. The Holiday Inn is the most centrally located, in almost the center of the beach. The Hard Rock is at one end and it probably a little quieter.
Hard Rock Hotel Penang Lone Pine Resort Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-La Penang
The Yap clan house (kongsi). Near one end of Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, where it intersects Lebuh Armenian, is the small Kongsi (clan house) of the Yap family. Next to the Kongsi is the Tua Pek Kong Temple, dedicated to the Chinese God of Prosperity. The temple was once the base of the Tua Pek Kong secret society.
