Post #175 1 June 2018

Gentlefolk,

This post describes our visit to Penang (Malaysia) 22 - 26 April 2018.

In 1786 Francis Light took possession of Penang Island on behalf of the East India Company and the British Crown, and founded the capital, Georgetown. It prospered, and later part of the mainland was added. In 1957 Malaysia got independence from Britain.

Penang is a State on the west coast of Malaysia.  It comprises Penang Island (sometimes called "The Pearl of the Orient") and a stretch along the mainland called Seberang Perai. Penang Island covers an area of 293 square kilometers (approx 25 km x 10km) and a population of 723,000 while Seberang Perai has an area of 751 sq km and a population of 835,000.

The population is 41% Malay (Bumiputera), 40% Chinese, 10% Indian, 9% Foreign (mainly retirees).
Georgetown is majority Chinese.

Vera & I first went to Penang in 1973 - 45 years ago - and were captivated by its simple charm; we visited again in 1989 and 2014, and liked it still.

About 5 years ago Vera's cousin, Liong Handoko and his wife Pina moved from Germany (where he worked as a doctor) to retire in Penang under a Government program called "Malaysia my second home" to attract relatively wealthy Western retirees.  We decided to visit them after our tour of Iran.

Penang's location in Asia.

Penang is a State on the West Coast of Malaysia.  It comprises Penang Island and Seberang Perai on the Mainland; connected by two bridges and a ferry service. 

A view of Georgetown, the main city on Penang Island. Many new high-rise buildings built and under construction; a hive of activity. The interesting old Chinatown area has been preserved. The city has many fine hotels, including the iconic Eastern & Oriental (E & O) Hotel.

We stayed with Liong and Pina in their lovely apartment on the 28th floor of the Bayu Batu Tower in a beach area called Batu Feringgi.

Ocean view from their balcony on the 28th floor.  They rarely use airconditioning - usually ceiling fans will do.

Inside their modern, high quality apartment. Beautiful 40 meter pool downstairs.

Liong, Pina and Vera.  The temperature was around 30C during the day, and around 20C at night.  Liong said that his normal wardrobe all year was shorts and t-shirt and sandals - how great is that?

The beach at Batu Feringgi Beach 10 minutes walk from the apartment. Lots of water activities on the beach. Many local Tamil Indians were relaxing on the beach.

Fresh coconuts while watching the action on Batu Feringgi Beach - doesn't get much better than this!  The temperature is mild year-round; Liong said that his normal daily wear is T-shirt, shorts and thongs!

That night we had dinner at Hiway Restaurant; we ate outside - comfortable temperature. Delicious food and relatively inexpensive. Penang s a gourmet's paradise.

Fish dish at Hiway Restaurant.

The next morning we did a hike around the Penang Botanical Garden, on the lower slopes of Penang Hill (the top is 830m above sea level); good to see so many people exercising. 

Some of the vegetation was quite thick, tropical.

Fountain and water lilies in the Botanical Gardens.

From the Botanical Gardens we went for Yum Cha / Dim Sum.  Very popular, the place was packed at 10am.

Lots of choices for Yum Cha. Great food.

The chicken feet were delicious.

Parts of  old China Town have been refurbished very nicely.

The oldest mosque in Georgetown.

Mesjid Kapitan Keling.

One of the many old Chinese temples.

Dr Sun Yat Sen (better known in China as Sun Zhong Shan), the father of the Republic of China and its first President, spent time in Penang planning the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty.

This wall painting is a favorite spot for visitors to take photos in Chinatown.

Another tourist posing.

Vera with a Temple Dog.

Another tastefully-refurbished establishment in Chinatown.

We had dinner at this Indian restaurant.

Some of the food on offer in the Indian restaurant.

It was about 9.30pm, but the Indian Restaurant was busy with customers. 

We did a hike in the National Park in the north-western corner of Penang Island.

It was real, dense, tropical jungle.

Vera, Liong and Pina. How did the early settlers manage to negotiate terrain like this?  We could never do it except for the man-made paths.  Fortunately no leaches in this forest (Liong said that were were leaches in forests on the Mainland where he has hiked, but not here).

After the early-morning hike in the National Park we had Dim Sum (aka Yum Cha) again.
; different place, but just as good.  Liong & Pina are foodies, and know all the great eateries. 

Some of the offerings in this restaurant - it specialised in seafood.

The "price list" at the Dim Sum restaurant. The exchange rate was about US$1 = Ringgit 3.6, so most servings cost less than US$1.

Liong and Pina saw us off at Penang Airport, for our flight to Singapore (1.5 hours).  We spent a most enjoyable 3 days/4 nights with them. 

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We spent a most enjoyable 3 days / 4 nights with Pina and Liong. They are wonderful hosts - it was fun exploring Penang with the help of 'locals'. This relaxed interlude was just what we needed after the busy, and pretty intense (but good) time we had in Iran.

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We were off to Singapore, the subject of my next post.

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Best wishes, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Alex Olah & Vera Olah
Canberra Australia
Friday, 1 June 2018