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OK I must admit to
being a Penang freak. I love the place. Not the traffic jams or the
lousy beaches or bloody KOMTAR where I still get lost after all these
years of visiting.
No, for me the charm lies
in the narrow winding streets of Georgetown, in streets named Love Lane
and Rope Walk and how you find Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and
Christianity worshipped in what can best be described as a God Crawl.
The charm is in the west of the island, in Fort Cornwallis, in a Malay
Railways building, in the food, the smells, the sounds.
Let's start at the
archetypal Penang street Jalan Masjid Kapitan Kiling or Pitt Street.
Starting down by the north end we have St George's Church. Inspired by
Captain Smith, who likewise inspired my walk, work began in 1817 on this
flat roofed place of worship and today pretty much stands unchanged. A
Greek gazebo stands in memorial to Francis Light, the man who settled
Penang for the British.
Next up is the Chinese
temple to Kuan Yin, a patron saint to sea voyagers so it is little
surprise this was the first temple built by the early Chinese
immigrants. The temple is not easy to miss, incense often burns here and
there are nearly always large numbers of pigeons crapping everywhere.
Time for a new God. Oddly
enough opposite the Chinese temple stood the offices of the Opium Farm,
a colonial idea whereby the supply and distribution of opium was
auctioned off to a monopoly, guaranteeing a healthy return for both
farmer and government. The next spiritual God, or Gods, can be found at
Mariamman Temple, a Hindu complex dating back to 1833.
The Kapitan Kiling
Mosque from which the road takes one of it's names dominates the street.
This was initially built in 1801 and extended in the 1930's.
| Places To Stay
- From the flop houses of Lebuh Chulia to the grandeur of the
E&O Hotel, Georgetown has prices to suit all budgets. If you
fancy staying out at Batu Ferringhi then there are the usual
beach front hotels there. |
Getting Around - There is a bus service which unfortunately
doesn't cover the whole island. Other than that there are taxis
and rickshaws for which of course you have to negotiate.
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Food of course is one
of the delights of visiting here. Road side stalls sell a variety of
Chinese, Malay and Indian snacks and meals like roti, matarbak
and chicken rice. Guerney Drive is home to some famous seafood stalls
while my own favourite is The Kashmir beneath the Oriental Hotel.
A couple of useful
websites are www.pht.org.my but they
never answer e mails. Their office has a few useful newsletters and
books as does the hill railway carriage that doubles as a shop at the
Penang museum. A Penang dedicated Message Board can be found
here.
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