JoCharvel’s 1st SE Asian trip – Part 2 – Fascinating Penang!

After 4 days filled with sun, beach and “open water” on the gorgeous Perhentian Island, we had a quick layover in Muslim-centric Kota Bharu, before we switched over to the other main part of our trip – Penang! If the first part of our trip was pampered by tropical paradise, then the second part in Penang was dazzled and indulged by the Malaysian multiculturalism, delicious street food, exquisite Nyonya cuisine, and the lively art scene! Both Jo and I agreed that we had a fantastic time in Penang, and it is absolutely worth visiting!

If the Canada is seen as a melting pot to the Canadian multiculturalism, then Penang is a big piece of three-colour jelly, where Malays, Indians and Chinese maintain their distinct identities prominently, sometimes even ostentatiously. On the day we arrived in Penang, it happened to be the “Ghost Festival” (Yu Lan ), which ghosts and spirits are said to visit the human world on this day. 

Traditionally, Chinese people would worship and pay tribute to ghosts by offering food, paper money, and even entertainment. This tradition has largely disappeared in most of China and HK today, but it is still going strong here in Malaysia! Walking around town, we noticed that joss paper and money are burned everywhere, and in addition, many shows are put on to entertain ghosts with some of the performers even flew in from China. It is probably safe to say that the Chinese population here is among the most traditional in the world.

 (actors pay tribute to spirits before performance)

(performance on stage)

Another great example of the multiculturalism is the “walk of faith”, a self-guided tour that traverses through the core of George Town while spotting sites of various religions and legacies. The amazing part of this walk is that the sites are totally unique to each other, yet they are so closely located, with some of them just few meters apart.

(Church of Assumption) 

 (St George Church)

 (觀音廟)

 (Hindu Shrine)

 (Hindu Temple)

 (Islam Mosque strongly influenced by Indian style)

 (my favourite, 韓江家廟)

 (Indian Muslim Shrine)

(Taoist Temple)

Penang is renowned for its food. Thanks to its multiculturalism, Penang not only offers authentic food from Chinese, Indian and Malay cultures, it also cultivated new breeds of fusion cuisines like Nyonya food. I am not usually a foodie, and definitely don’t take food pictures everywhere I go, but in Penang, I became so appreciative to the delicious food culture – no wonder Penang is also called Food Paradise of Asia!!!

 (肉骨茶, in Kota Bharu actually)

 (Delicious street food)

 (Exquisite Nyonya food)

(What's left after a feast, beautifully delicious)

The last thing I have to mention is the vibrant art scene that developed in Penang. Paintings and other forms of art works dotted the old town, many of which serve to tell the rich history of the city! The City even published a map that identifies the locations of the art works – much like the “Gnome hunt” in Wroclaw, Poland, except this one allows you to discover the city’s history too!!