Georgetown, Penang

We left KL on Friday morning, taking a train from KL Sentral to Butterworth, a journey of 4hrs 15 mins. We had booked business class, which was still very cheap, but meant that we had an air-conditioned lounge at the station in which to wait and that we were served food and drink on board. It was all extremely comfortable and a great way to see more of the country - plus it arrived bang on time into Butterworth. There, it was an easy connection to the ferry across to Georgetown on Penang Island and a short taxi ride to our hotel. We enjoyed a quick swim before cocktails and canapés, which are included in our room rate.

Kit had been working during the week, but rejoined us this weekend in Penang, as a combined Christmas/birthday treat. His flight time in to Penang from Singapore meant that he didn’t arrive at the hotel until about 11pm, but we were able to say hello on arrival before we all headed off to bed.

On Saturday morning, after breakfast, we set off for a self-guided walking tour of the UNESCO-listed centre of Georgetown, our third (and final) Straits Settlement of the trip.

Our route, suggested by the trusty Lonely Planet, took us via the courthouse to the Padang and the town hall, and then on via Little India and some well-known street art to the Chinese clan houses.

The clan houses (Kongsi) were established by Chinese immigrants, fleeing war and hard times in China as a focus for their village/family group. The first photo below is of Cheah Kongsi, the others of the obviously more wealthy Khoo Kongsi.

We also saw the house from which Dr Sun Yat Sen planned the 1911 revolution in China.

Then back to the hotel and a restful afternoon by the pool, looking out over the Andaman sea.

Today, Sunday, we had organised a taxi through the hotel to get us around some of the sites on the periphery of Georgetown. The hourly rate is 50 ringgit, so about £8.50, so it was a really handy way of getting around. We had a quick stop at Fort Cornwallis to see the statue of Francis Light - the founder of Georgetown and really also the co-founder of Singapore, though Raffles hogged all the limelight. His son, William Light, founded Adelaide - hence the twinning of Georgetown and Adelaide visible on the picture of the Town Hall above.

Then on to Burmese and Thai temples…

…before making our way to Kek Lok Si, one of the biggest Chinese temples in Malaysia. They started building works in 1890 and haven’t really stopped since, gradually taking over more and more of the hillside.

Then to Penang Hill for a light lunch, overlooking Penang before returning to the hotel for a lazy afternoon. Kit has just left for the airport to fly back to Singapore and we are going to have a quiet evening before our flight to Bangkok tomorrow.

Before I finish on Penang, Diana and I have both been very much enjoying reading books by Tan Twan Eng, who was born here and now lives in KL and Cape Town. He has written three historical novels set here in Penang and whilst they were written and published in a different order we decided to read them in chronological order based on the period in which each book is set. The House of Doors, whilst starting and finishing in 1940s South Africa, is almost entirely set in Penang in the 1910s and 1920s. The Gift of Rain is set here in the run-up to WW2, but with various references to China under Empress Cixi. We haven’t got to The Garden of Evening Mists yet, but I believe this is set post-WW2 as the Japanese were called to account for war crimes. Can thoroughly recommend the first two and I’m sure the last one will be equally fascinating.