Penang and the Hipster Heritage

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Penang is an island located on the west coast of North-Malaysia. Historically, Penang is as famous as Malacca due to its role in past trade colonies, and also due to the status of the island before WW2, as headquarters of the Chinese Nationalist movement under Dr. Sun Yatsen. Many airlines operate the 1h30 flight to Penang from Singapore and this trip is very enjoyable on a weekend.

The main town in Penang is George Town, and the first thing to do is to just stroll the main streets (such as the UNESCO World Heritage Zone & Armenian Street) to enjoy the Malay life-style, eat some great street-food, and visit the street wall-paintings which have given a new status of George Town as a contemporary 'Hipster' town.

There are also a lot of Heritage traditional houses worth visiting such as the old 'blue-Mansion' which use to be owned by a rich Chinese businessman. The guided visit is very interesting.

I recommend visiting Penang Hill to enjoy great views over the city. It is possible to trek all the way down through lush jungle.

Near Penang Hill, the huge Kek Lok Si-Temple is definitely worth visiting as well. This Buddhist temple is one of the biggest in south east Asia.