Our Malaysia tour has been a memorable trip. We experienced standing on tallest tower in Kuala Lumpur, thrill of seeing wild animals in night trek in Taman Negara, enjoying strawberry picking in sleepy Cameron Highland and then dancing-drinking our heart out in George Town.
After enjoying the quiet sleepy hillside town Cameroon Highland, George Town was a pleasant surprise. The best way to sum up my experience with George Town is huge colonial buildings, warm cafes, graffitti, heritage mansions to stay and enjoying night life at pubs. The historical core of George Town has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. Due to the intermingling of the various ethnicities and religions that arrived on its shores, George Town acquired a large eclectic assortment of colonial and Asian architectural styles.
George Town is also known as silicon valley of east with industrial and entrepreneurial hub giving a constant inflow of young people who time again wants to chill and have fun. Historically as well, George Town has hosted many industrialist and businessmen in the city who build their nest which were are now part of heritage of this town. The tourist side of the city has no trace of any corporate vibes, leaving tourist with truly refreshed mind. For this article, I have explored only the tourist side of the city to see, eat & stay.
SEE
Sunset at the clan Jetties is a series of six jetties that form part of the Penang Heritage Trail – is billed as one of the last bastions of old Chinese settlements on the island. Initially a wood yard littered with planks and firewood, after the construction of the Quay in 1882, the waterfront was developed with short public landing stages (jetties). These jetties are beautiful place to catch the sun melting in the ocean. Most of the jetty residents have converted part of their house into shops or cafes. So while exploring these jetties take a bite of ice cream while buying George town souvenir cotton bags or just grab awesome soup noodles at one of the cafes.
Street Art is one thing that you will be able to see no matter which part of town you are in coz its spread like butter. In 2012 Penang’s municipal council hired London-trained Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic to create art and make strolling through Georgetown’s streets exciting. The artist breathed life into some of the atmospheric Chinese shop-houses around the inner city through his art.
Blue Mansion is a heritage house that is now part of Unesco’s heritage site list of Penang and has an interesting historic story to tell. Read details about it here.
Dance on love street George Town gets very lively by night and best place to witness is Love street wherein people are pouring out of the pubs and shaking their legs in rhythm and guitarist play their instruments as if its the last day on earth.
Khoo Khongsi is one of the oldest clan houses home to Khoo family which displays the influence of Chinese in Malaysia in architecture and design. The interior is dominated by incredible murals depicting birthdays, weddings and, most impressively, the 36 celestial guardians. On the last Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening of each month, the structure is illuminated and entrance is free from 6.30pm to 9pm. As impressive as it is today, Khoo Kongsi was once even more ostentatious; the structure caught fire on the night it was completed in 1901, an event put down to divine jealousy. The present building dates from 1906.
Hin Bus Depot The remains of the former bus depot is now creative zone for artist who put up open art gallery for some muse. Its beautiful way to spend a lovely late afternoon.
EAT
Lok Lok This is one of the ultimate street food that I have had in Asia. It is a mind blowing take on tiny meat pieces stabbed in skewers are cooked in hot boiling water and then smeared with sauces. To my surprise, there aren’t many blogs mentioning this dish in street food list but oh boy, I WAS HOOKED. However, when you search for the name specifically you will find some videos as well. MUST TRY. Read a detailed blog post dedicated to this food here.
Laksa is a Malaysian dish of Chinese origin, consisting of rice noodles served in a curry sauce or hot soup.
Nasi Lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaf. It is commonly found in Malaysia & is their national dish.
Char Kway Teow literally means stir fried rice cake stripes is a popular dish that gets most drooling.
Fruit Stalls spread all across the town are beautiful way to taste the natures given tropical fruits of the region. We are big sucker for fruits. Since this is a coastal town, it can get really humid and scorching due to which we ended up living on fruits for lunches.
China House This block-wide amalgamation of shophouses is home to a variety of dining, drinking and shopping options. It all starts splendidly with the buzzy bakery cafe, Kopi C, serving scrumptious baked goods, serious coffee and great light meals, and it just gets better from there. Watch out for their live band night. Read more about it here.
Lorong Baru Hawkers Stalls is the favorite place for locals to grab their delicious street food. Prepare to battle for a spot if you’re visiting at the weekend. We especially enjoyed the char koay kak.
STAY
East Indies Mansion is a 200+ years old heritage home which is curated with lots of love and eye for details. We loved in this place and definitely felt at home with their amazing people. Read a detailed blog post with photos here.
Blue Mansion also has a stay option which is on expensive side but lets you experience the luxuries of a merchant’s house. Read more about it here.
Yeng Keng Hotel is another heritage turned to a hotel which has a pool also. Check them out on Agoda for some good rates.
There are some amazing homestays to explore on airbnb as well.
Check my complete Malaysia tour .
Here is a visual tour of our trip to this artistic city:
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