George Town, Penang, Malaysia

Early yesterday, Wednesday, March 28, we arrived in George Town, Malaysia, for a 1-day visit.  George Town is Malaysia's second largest city and is located at the northeastern tip of the island of Penang 222 miles north of Kuala Lumpur where we were the day before.

When I pulled the curtains back in our room, I saw this rising sun.

Soon thereafter, when it quickly became brighter, there appeared the proverbial pilot boat and tug.

  

This was yet another busy port, but much smaller than several of those we've recently been to elsewhere.

                                       

A few facts about George Town and Penang island and some clarifications and additions regarding Malaysia itself.  (I got much of this information from our various local guides.)  George Town is the oldest settlement in Malaysia.  It was recognized as a city in 1957 by Queen Elizabeth II and is named for the late King George III.  Its historical center became a UNESCO site in 2008.  Penang is one of Malaysia's 13 states and George Town is its capital.  The population of Penang island, which is a part of Penang state, is 1.75 million and of George Town about 1 million.  Britain first excercised sovereignty over Penang island in 1786 when it was ceded by the Sultanate of Kedah to the British East India Company.  Like the rest of Malaysia, Penang and George Town are multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious.  I mentioned in Tuesday's blog that Malaysia is officially a muslim state but governed by secular law.  I should also note that, although officially a muslim state, Malaysia's constitution guarantees freedom of religion and religious practice.  George Town itself has many Buddhist temples and some churches.

Tourism is big business on Penang island, which is also a magnet for retirees.  Moreover, the island is the largest supplier of micro chips in the world, with over 100,000 residents employed in that industry which is principally located in one particular part of the island called "Silicon Valley."  Penang's unemployment rate is below 3%.  Last year its economy grew at the rate of 5.9%.  The island abuts the Malacca Strait through which over half of the world's oil tanker traffic passes.

We signed up for a morning tour called "George Town Scenic Drive,"  a 3-hour introduction to the city.  Unlike our experience the day before in Kuala Lumpur, we began (and ended) our tour in bright sunny weather.  It was hot and humid, but that's been the case for weeks now.  At least there was a nice breeze in the air.  At the end of the tour we were driven back to the ship where we had lunch and then headed back into town on our own on foot.  We spent most of our walking time in the ethnic neighborhoods of Little India and Chinatown.

We realized once we disembarked and made our way through and out of the port that we were docked at quite an elaborate pier.

                                          

We boarded our bus and began our drive around the city.  It was still early in the morning and people seemed to be enjoying some breakfast and probably coffee.  We passed a beautiful clock tower and flower shop.

                    

The architecture is quite varied.  Not a surprise considering the several contributing ethnic influences as well as that of the British.

                          

There were several examples of old elegant mansions that had fallen into disrepair.

                                     

At one end of the city along the shoreline there are the usual upscale hi-rise apartments and condominiums.  Our guide told us that the residents of several of these buildings are very unhappy these days because the city is reclaiming a considerable amount of land right in front of them, some of which will be dedicated as public space, but the rest made available for private development, which means more hi-rises that will likely obscure their views.

               

The fact that UNESCO status and other laws prohibit the removal of certain designated historic houses hasn't stopped developers who have simply bought them up and then built behind, above, and all around them.

  

There are a number of luxury hotels in George Town, one of which (Eastern & Oriental Hotel) has a particularly long history.  It was built by the same developer who built the Raffels Hotel in Singapore.

    

The numerous Buddhist and Taoist temples in town reflect the considerable Chinese ethnic population there.

      


As I mentioned earlier, there are churches too, just not as many.

Some of the usual suspects, found absolutely everywhere throughout southeast Asia, are in George Town too.

  

Next to George Town's beautiful City Hall (see the cover photo at the top) is another appealing building called Town Hall which is a second city administration building.

There are a number of atrtractive public green spaces in town as well.

    

Along the waterfront there is an old fort and a naval station with a beautiful old ship in the background.

                                   

As we walked through Chinatown we noticed a building with signage indicating that it is Chinatown's town hall.  Across the street is the George Town Symphony Hall.

  

It became very clear that there is no shortage of lawyers in George Town.

                                                    

After an overnight sail, we arrived early this morning in Phuket, Thailand ,for what was essentially a half-day visit.  More about that in my next post.