The island of Penang is a cultural crossroads, where the British, Malays, Chinese and Indians have all left their mark, leaving a heady cocktail of tea shops, temples and low-slung townhouses, colourful night markets, Chinese mansions and some of Asia’s finest food.
The island state is known as the food capital of Malaysia, revered especially for its street food, which draws on the island’s Chinese, Indian and Malay influences.
Low-slung townhouses, narrow alleyways, tea shops, temples, Chinese mansions and Little India districts make a visit to George Town eminently rewarding.
A funicular railway leads to the top of Penang Hill, Malaysia’s first colonial hill station. A foot trail down winds through Penang’s last remaining rainforest.
Not far from Penang Hill is Kek Lok Si Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, whose design is said to be Burmese at the top, Chinese at the bottom and Thai in between.
A stroll around the remains of Fort Cornwallis gives a sense of its former importance as a strategic stronghold, built on the site where the British first dropped anchor in Penang in 1786.
You get a little of everything in Penang. Malaysia’s mother cultures of Chinese, Indian and Malay are more inextricably mixed here than in any other state, topped up with the vestiges of British colonial rule. Travellers today are frequently charmed by its quaint colonial style, lively local atmosphere and mesmerising melting pot of cultures and cuisines.
A UNESCO World Heritage site with a big personality, George Town is for many the embodiment of Penang: a faded but incredibly charming colonial outpost, where trishaws trundle down charming narrow streets lined with incense-filled temples, Chinese shopfronts and British Raj-era buildings. Yet there’s more to Penang than simply the state capital. Beyond lies a landscape of jungles, lakes, beaches, temples, a national park and even a hill station in which to escape the heat.
The E&O, as the hotel is known around the world, sits on the seafront in the heart of historic George Town on the island of Penang. Opened in the late 19th century, the Eastern & Oriental quickly became a fashionable address on the Grand Tour of Asia; today it is an iconic Penang institution.
One of Asia's original beach resorts, the Shangri-la Rasa Sayang is a convenient escape on the north coast of Penang. The Rasa Wing offers a little exclusive pools and a dedicated lounge for that extra exclusivity. It's an ideal location to switch off and relax as part of an exploration of Malaysia's cities and islands.