Penang

Why Penang works

George Town, Penang's capital, earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008 for its exceptional mix of colonial and Asian architecture built up over more than two centuries as a British trading post at the crossroads of Chinese, Indian, Malay, and European communities. Armenian Street and its surrounding lanes are covered in murals by Lithuanian-born street artist Ernest Zacharevic, whose Children on a Bicycle piece has become one of Malaysia's most photographed pieces of public art. The Khoo Kongsi clan temple, an elaborately carved and gilded Chinese clanhouse dating to the 1850s, represents one of the finest examples of Southern Chinese temple architecture outside China itself. Little India, centred on Lebuh Chulia and Lebuh Pasar, fills with the scent of incense and spices from its Hindu temples and South Indian restaurants, while the blue-painted Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, built by a 19th-century Chinese business magnate using feng shui principles, offers guided tours through one of the city's most striking heritage buildings. Penang's street food reputation is arguably unmatched in Malaysia — char kway teow, asam laksa, and Hokkien mee are all closely associated with the island, sold from hawker stalls that have often operated at the same corner for generations. Penang Hill's funicular railway offers a cooler-climate escape and sunset views over George Town and the strait separating the island from the mainland.

Trip Snapshot

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