The world heritage-listed city George Town in Malaysia, has an exciting mix of cultures and customs. This lively city on the island of Penang, has a wonderfully diverse collection of people, food and architecture. Geographically, the island lies on the Malacca Straight 355kms north of Kuala Lumpur.
Penang Island originates from trade routes established from Great Britain and Europe through the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and the Malay Archipelago to China. As trade diminished, and development ceased the buildings in George Town Malaysia were left virtually untouched. This led to its listing as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 2008.
We loved exploring the decaying beauty of George Town’s ‘old town’. Street after street of centuries-old shop houses, with faded signage and facades. Many of the buildings in the heritage quarter of George Town haven’t changed much for many years.
George Town is known for its 3D street art. Walking tours take you around the old town past the artwork that depicts everyday life in the city. Created by Lithuanian artist Ernst Zacharevic, whose work mainly incorporates Malaysian children at play.
The streets are absolutely teeming with life and are an exciting place to be. Beautifully colonnaded terraces decorated with a mismatch of technicolor tiles are interspersed with simple buildings housing family businesses.
You can tell a lot about a city from its food and George Town is one of the culinary jewels of Asia. A variety of cuisines like Nyonya, [a blend of Chinese with Malaysian spices], Chinese, Indian and Malaysian and French nouvelle all thrive in this city. No wonder they call Penang the food capital of Malaysia.
Location
Our local Tip
For a wonderfully authentic place to stay, check out Seven Terraces. This wonderfully appointed boutique hotel (with welcoming staff) really made our holiday a memorable one. The hotel’s Kebaya Dining Room serves delicious Indochinese and Peranakan food on the most beautiful crockery.
