Penang Culture Something Old And Something New

A well-known vacation spot in South East Asia, Penang is located on the northwest coast of Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. Contrary to my fixation on travelling to new places because I want to experience different cultures, I have been to Penang. A few times, but only as a child with Amma.

This time I went to Penang with Fafa.

It was still early morning when we reached Penang airport. On the ride to Georgetown, where we would be spending our first few days, I saw many eye-catching things like a culture centre, free schools, and Burma Road (are there many Burmese in Penang?). Penang looked like a whole little charming town.

Cultural heritage and vintage Old-town Penang sounded promising. We reached our hotel, put our luggage down, and started to explore the town. It was convenient because we were staying at the centre of it.

After lunch of the most raved Malaysian food in Penang Nasi Kandar, we walked to Komtar. On the way, we passed by the Chowrasta market. This market offered many knick-knacks, including food and souvenirs.

Komtar

The tallest building in Penang, Komtar, is a multipurpose commercial building.

For little me, years ago, Komtar was shopping in heaven. I fondly remembered Komtar. I remember when my Amma took me there every day in Penang and the many exciting shops I saw.

Standing in front of it, I wondered where all those shops I remembered were. I only saw a few restaurants outside; it had a huge supermarket, a pharmacy, a clothing department store, and a few questionable shops inside, but that’s that.

This Komtar was not the Komtar I had in my mind.

Ten minutes inside, I needed to step outside. I wish I hadn’t gotten to see this Komtar. My memory had a much better Komtar than the one I visited a few minutes ago. Sad, I needed stress snacking, so we sat at a Georgetown coffee shop. I ordered a chicken curry and bread to ease the pain while Fafa ordered his local favourite, white coffee.

Penang Georgetown

Georgetown is another UNESCO world heritage site I visited. It meant I would be crossing one off of my list. It’s known for its colonial environment with many well-kept buildings, shophouses, street markets and the iconic Penang Blue Mansion.

In the evening, we went out to explore the happening part of Georgetown, Chulia Street, one of the oldest streets in Penang. According to the tour pamphlet I managed to read during the ride to the hotel, Chulia Street is one of the most happening places in Penang; therefore, we needed to see it.

After some exploring and questioning, we found Chulia Street’s beginning and started to walk down it. A cozy backpackers’ hostel was worth checking out called Syok@Chulia Street.

On this street, I saw many hostels, moneychangers, and visa application places. Going to Langkawi or even Thailand is pretty easy from Penang.

After some time, we began wondering, “Where are the happening places?“

We saw a few “chill-out” places. One was called Kafe Monaliza BBQ Cafe (???) with an enormous Monalisa painting, claiming to be a Parisian cafe. But it utterly lacked the charm of a typical cafe, let alone a French one. So we walked some more. And yes, we saw westerners there, so we were in the correct place, but it wasn’t what we expected.

Then it sank in. Penang is heaven for backpackers, not so much for the regular, suitcase-dragging, travel-culture-experiences-chasing people like us. There was a silver lining to our aimless walk; I found Hong Ping Hotel. This was where I stayed with my family twenty years ago, and the same hotel/motel was standing still.

With colourful shops, a strong incense smell, sequins everywhere, and songs blasting on the radio, Little India was on the other end of Chulia Street. We explored a bit and decided to go back.

The highlight of the night was the rickshaw ride back to the hotel. It had been so long since I rode on a rickshaw, and it brought back more memories.

I still don’t know whether I liked Penang twenty years ago Penang more. Maybe it will be easier to decide tomorrow, with a day trip planned by Raff, our accidental tour guide.

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.