Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Penang World Heritage Site Part 1

Chulia Street is located in the heart of George Town, right in the middle of the UNESCO Heritage Site. Staying at Chulia Heritage Hotel was really a good choice, location wise.

Staring from our hotel, we toured around the UNESCO World Heritage Site at 9 am, heading westwards until we reached Penang Road. After taking our breakfast at one of the coffee shops there, we turned into Lebuh Leith (Leith Street) to visit Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. We turned back to Muntri Road, then reached Lebuh Light (Light Street) through Lorong Love (Love Lane). From Light Street, we travelled into Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street), had our lunch at a kopitiam and, visited Peranakan Mansion before we make our stop at Khoo Kongsi along the street. We stepped our foot back into our hotel at around 4 pm, covering a distance of 4.5 km, by foot.

Along our way, we saw different types of old shops, which their age can be determined by their architecture styles. The Southern Chinese style (upper left) was the oldest shops that we could identify, which were built between 1840-1890. Early Strait style shops (upper right) can be found at Love Lane. They were built between 1890-1910. We came across some shops built in Late Strait style (lower left) at Muntri Road, while Early Modern style shops are everywhere across George Town area. We learned the knowledge about architecture styles of the shops from this penang shophouses blog.

We reached this blue building at the end of Leith Road around 10 am.  It was a mansion, which now serves as a boutique hotel. This edifice has won several international awards, which include the highly recognized "Most Excellent Heritage Conservation Award", which was given by UNESCO. It is a popular movie filming site as well. More information about Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion can be found at its official website. We didn't go into the mansion, as the first tour started only at 11 am. We need to pay RM12 per person for the tour. Many had mentioned that the tour is somehow overrated. Our advice, why not take a look on their comments, and then, make your own decision.

We came across this Hainan Temple, which was built in 1895 at Muntri Road. This temple serves the goddess of Mazu. What you can't miss about this temple is the fine sculptures on it's walls and the pillars (as some of them can be seen at the pillars of the arch). 

 The Goldsmith's Guild (upper left) at Muntri Road and Carpenter's Guild (upper right) at Love Lane are two of the oldest trade associations in Penang. We entered the Carpenter's Guild and saw a very fine sculpture was hanged in the middle of the guild (lower right). Love Lane is an old street, which the name might has the connection to the illicit liaison of mistress, which was once quite popular at the street.

We met this historical Church of Assumption at the junction between Love Lane and Light Road, which was built more than 160 years ago in 1860. This church can accommodate more than 1000 congregation in a single mass.

The pictures designed with stained glass in the church are the lighting windows, decorative pictures, and the story tellers.

St. John Church is located just beside Penang Church of Assumption. This should be a very popular place wedding photo taking. How did we know about that? Take a look on the notice below...

 Commercial photography and pre-wedding photography is NOT ALLOWED.

We were not posing commercial nor pre-wedding purposes. So, taking photo there was allowed. :p A helpful tour guide, Gary, volunteered to take this photo for us. He is specialized in Penang tour. Take a look on his blog here. Or contact him at garyleop@yahoo.com.

We took a short rest in front of Penang Town Hall, as the pedestrian path over there was well shaded. There are three main heritage sites beside Light Street- Penang Town Hall, Penang and Fort Cornwallis. Penang Town Hall was built in 1880. It was once been called the "Ang Mo Gong Kuang", or The Meeting Place of the Foreigners by the locals.

The Building of Penang Municipal Council was built in 1903, and still functional until today.

We reached the entrance of Fort Cornwallis, with the sun blazing 90 degree above us. This is the fort which was built by Francis Light in 1786.  Lucky, and we were saved from the stinging heat by the trees planted inside the fort.

The building of Fort Cornwallis marked the starting of British colonization in Penang. From what we can see, many of the cannons are facing the sea, make the fort a powerful British stand against the Malay army from the peninsular mainland. The design of the fort showed that Francis Light had the intention to take over Penang by force, from the very beginning of his plan. A small chapel was built in the fort (lower left), while some parts of the wall were reconstructed (lower right).

Along Light Road, we turned right when we met this sixty feet tower. The tower was built in commemorating the Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1902 (the construction started in 1897, but the Queen died before the completion of the tower). The building was sponsored by Cheah Cheng Eok, one of the richest men in Penang at that time.

We took a lunch break at an air conditioned Kopitiam, next to Standard Chartered. We continued our journey along Beach Street after the lunch. Follow us now!

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Penang World Heritage Site Part 2

Penang World Heritage Site is located in George Town. We started our exploration from Chulia Street to Light Street before we took our lunch. Then, we continued our journey into Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street). It is one of the oldest street in George Town. Along the street, we saw banks, food shops, eateries, boutiques, and many more. We visited Peranakan Mansion, Little India, and Khoo Kongsi which are located in vicinity to the street.

We passed by Standard Chartered Bank after Penang Clock Tower. We took our lunch at the Kopitiam beside Standard Chartered Bank.

Penang Peranakan Mansion is a building in light green. It is located at Lebuh Gereja (Church Street), 100 meters away from Beach Street. We can access the building only through its side door.

This mansion is decorated exquisitely by carved doors, windows, balustrades and antique furniture.

The fine embroidery portrait of the owners of this mansion- Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee (郑景贵) and his wife. In year 1841.

Chung came to Malaysia from China and worked as a tin mining coolie in Perak. His effort in learning English was well paid, when he was promoted as a leader in Chinese dominated mining field. He was promoted as the Chinese Kapitan, one of the top ranked Chinese leader in Peninsular, when his leadership was noticed by the British Govenor. His life is a role model to all of us- the success will only be achieved by those who are willing to work hard. More information about this Chinese leader is available at Wikipedia. This Penang Peranakan Mansion is definitely a must visit place in Penang. The admission fee for adult is RM10 per person, while it's free for children. The opening hours are 9:30 am - 5 pm, including public holidays. You can visit the Official Website of Penang Peranakan Mansion for more information. By the way, the only officially recorded Chinese Kapitan in Malaysian history is Yap Ah Loy, the Kapitan of Klang Valley.

Antique furniture is everywhere (upper left). Backyard of the mansion was built for the servants (upper right). In olden days, servants were prohibited to use the main staircase of the mansion. The nyonya workers in the kitchen serve the visitors with the nyonya kuih (delicacies), as shown in lower right. According to our tour guide, once got promoted, Chung hired the best craftsmen from China to build a temple for his ancestors. The temple is now located just beside the mansion. The photo on lower left shows the fine sculptures on the wall of the temple.

Our resourceful guide told us the stories about the sons of the Kapitan in the temple. All of them (in the photos beside our tour guide) have moved to other countries.

We spent around one hour at Penang Peranakan Mansion. Then, we walk across Little India to Khoo Kongsi, which is located 800 meters from the mansion. Unlike the mansion, Khoo Kongsi didn't prepare a tour guide for us. So, we had to walk around the site on our own. We found that the information stated in the exhibition hall of the kongsi was very substantial, but it's too much for weary visitors, like us. We couldn't stand there for hours just to read all the descriptions about the history of the buildings. We entered the kongsi with a fee of RM10 per adult, opens daily from 9 am - 5 pm daily, including public holidays. Must visit? Sure, for this is the biggest clan kongsi in Penang. More information is available at the Official Website of Khoo Kongsi.

Khoo Kongsi is not only a temple, but a complex of more than 60 buildings. The kongsi, or company, was set up long ago to help Khoo clan immigrants to settle down in Penang. At the middle of the kongsi stands the temple of Khoo Kongsi- Leong San Tong.

The whole temple of Khoo Kongsi is indeed a masterpiece of art, which exhibits fine and exquisite Chinese carpentry and craftsmanship.

The roof (upper row) and the wall (lower right) of the temple were decorated with many fine sculptures. Some of the sculptures have their own stories behind, such as the one at the lower right show the 24 ways of how Chinese pay their respect to their parents. There are two Singh sculptures guarding the entrance of the temple, alluding the occupation of Singh people in early days of Penang.

The whole complex of Khoo Kongsi. The number one marks the location of Leong San Tong.

We took some time to linger around Little India in George Town, which mainly refers to the  area around Queen Street, King Street, and Market Street. Little India that consists of both elements of "historical" and "Indian" is the uniqueness of this area. Laundry, food, gold and jewellery, CD and VCD, money changers, etc. You name it, you got it. This is the best Little India that we have ever visited in Malaysia.

We visited Pengkalan Weld (Weld Port Road) on our last day at Penang. By the sea, the heritage sites around the road blended the sea into their elements of attraction. The ferry service that has served Penang faithfully since 1920's (upper left), sea port that serves as the boarding point to the cruises (upper right), and Chew Jetty (lower row) are our points of interest. Chew Jetty, as one of the World Heritage sites, has battled its way through the vast development of sea view condos and shopping centers. We could feel the simplicity of the Penangites in olden days at the jetty. For us, it is a must visit site in George Town.

Penang Bridge can clearly be seen from Chew Jetty.

Sun Yat Seng, one of the great revolutionist of China, was once resided in Penang, while operating several companies to fuel the rally to overthrow the Manchurian Government. We have the opportunity to take a glance on his residence at Armenian Street, George Town. We didn't go into the house as the house is now owned by someone, who has no connection to Sun. More information about Sun's activity in Penang is available at Lestari Heritage Network.

The Kapitan Keling Mosque is a prominent edifice that we can't overlook if we travel around Chulia Street or Cannon Street. It is one of the oldest mosque in Malaysia, which was built in 1801, serves as the place of worship for Indian Muslim for over 200 years, until today. The mosque has very unique domes in black.

We strolled around the heritage area for two days. If you want our overall comment on the heritage site, short and clear- it is rich and full of surprises! Well,  that was not our first time in George Town, yet it has so many new things to offer, which we have overlooked in our previous visits. Now, we can proclaim that we know George Town better, but more yet to be learnt. That's a place that we will revisit again.

What to expect in George Town Heritage Area:
  • Friendly and helpful folks, especially when we need assistance to get the right direction.
  • Trishaw service is available, in case you don't want to labour your feet.
  • Motorbike, bicycle, and car rental services are everywhere.
  • Various Chinese food. Halal food and Nasi Kandar is available in mamak eateries.
  • Street is basically safe, even at night (doesn't mean that we can totally ignore our own safety).
  • Most of the banks and money changers are clustered at Beach Street, Chulia Street, and Little India.
  • Very hot during day time, if it's not raining. A hat or unbrella, enough drinking water, and a comfortable foot wear are crucial to ensure a pleasant trip. We can get an effective map at the airport, and it's free of charge.
Find out more about Penang World Heritage Site at TourismPenang.net, VisitPenang Official Website (very useful. Event calender, food trail, and tour guide are free to download). A brief but very interactive tourism map by PenangTourism.net can be accessed here. A detailed Penang Tourism Map (which we have used all the time during our trip) can be downloaded here. How about the accommodation and food at Penang?

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Penang Accomodation and Food

Penang is a beautiful island. For those who wish to enjoy the beautiful beach in Penang, we would recommend you all to stay at the hotels at Feringghi Beach. Feringghi Beach is approximately 14 km from George Town. If we take a taxi from the town, it will take around 15 - 20 minutes to reach the beach, and it takes longer by bus.

There are several hotels along Feringghi Beach- Shangri-La Rasa Sayang Resort, Holiday Inn, Parkroyal Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Bayview Beach Hotel. We have stayed in Bayview Beach Hotel. As compared to other major hotels, Bayview has the economic advantage, flat screen, bath tub, room with a lot of space to move around (we stayed in Hillview Deluxe), balcony, etc. Location wise, it is a little bit at the western corner of the tourism belt (which Shangri-La Rasa Sayang located at the eastern corner). Bayview is definitely in our recommendation list for those who wish to enjoy a stay by the beach. You can read more about our experience in Batu Feringghi here.

This is how Bayview Beach Hotel looks like from Feringghi Beach.

We had the opportunity to take a look on the room at Parkroyal. 42' flatscreen, mini bar, well decorated with romantic atmosphere, but it is approximately twice the price of Bayview Beach. Parkroyal is located closer to the tourism hot spot of Feringghi Beach, compared to Bayview Beach. Both hotels are 10 minutes apart, by foot.

Both Parkroyal and Bayview Beach have nice pools. Upper left shows the pool at Parkroyal. There are plenty of space to enjoy sun bath (upper right). Room (lower right) and balcony at Parkroyal look nice.

The website of the hotels at Feringghi Beach are available at:
We stayed at Batu Feringghi for one night, and moved to Chulia Heritage Hotel at George Town. The hotel is small (formerly a mansion). We stayed in a deluxe queen with attached bathroom. The room at the hotel is uncomfortably small, with very limited space to move around. However, it's clean, tidy, with just enough amenity to get a night sleep. Location wise, unbeatable, right in the middle of the heritage site. We came over with some other hotels, which, who knows, might be a good choice as well:
Penang is famous with it's Char Kuey Tiow, fried oyster, rojak, Nasi Kandar (Kandar Rice), and many more, which made our program at night basically, eating all the way down the street.

Penang Char Kuey Teow (upper row) is one of the most favourite food, for both visitors and the locals. It is offered in many food courts. We favoured the char kuey teow at the outdoor food court at Gurney Drive the most. The food court offers nice Penang Rojak (lower right), tau fu fah, fried oyster, and Penang Assam Laksa. For Nasi Kandar (lower left), or the steamed rice with curry and other side dishes,  Restoran Kassim Mustafa at Chulia Street is a good one.

An experienced veteran is one of the guarantees of good taste. The cook told us that they always run out of oyster after 9 pm. So, if you wish to try the fried oyster at Gurney Drive, you better be early.

Crowdy, crowdy, crowdy, are the three words that we would use to describe the food court at Gurney Street. Do you believe that this photo was taken in a midst of downpour?

Wanton (or wonton) noodle (upper left), wanton noodle with soup and beef (upper right), chendol (lower right), and popiah were some other delicacies that we tried in Penang.

We bought food from the hawkers beside the road once in a while. We ordered Penang Char Kuey Teow from this stall at Chulia Street, when we were on our way back to our hotel.

Fresh fruit juice for sale at Chulia Street! We really like the ambra juice from this stall.

Penang is really an excellent island for a break. Beautiful beach, well preserved heritage, friendly locals, and delighting food. We heard a lot about food around Penang, but well, our stomach do have a limit. We would like to save the rest for our next trip. If you wish to share something about food and accomodation in Penang, you are most welcomed to share them in your comments.

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