Penang: Picture Imperfect.
Walking the streets of Georgetown, Penang makes you feel like you have landed inside the pages of an Asian comic book. The fusion of cultures, vivid colours, diverse architecture, and large dash of colonial history, bursting proudly out of the winding maze of streets, creates a zany vibe that all feels a bit unreal.
Georgetown’s cool oozes out of every cracked, uneven paving stone, every bit of flaking plaster and every ornate shuttered window. Add to this a dusting of inspiring street art and you have yourself a recipe for a deliciously exotic Malaysian cocktail.
After having an unexpected gem of a trip to Kuala Lumpur in 2018, we decided to return to Malaysia in 2019, tagging a few days onto the end of a five week trip to South East Asia. Choosing the island of Penang for its delectable cuisine, its rich cultural backbone, its heavenly imperfection, and especially for its capital, Georgetown.
We booked into Parkroyal, Penang, as recommended by our friend, Rafi, in Parkroyal KL. Usually, we always prefer simpler accommodation to a resort. For us, resorts feel uncomfortably staged, maybe even artificial. But Parkroyal Penang was different. Absolutely perfect if you enjoy the facility factor and luxury of resort stays and if you really want a relaxing vacation. Parkroyal also came with with a healthy dose of realism, which allowed us to still feel in the thick of it.
As soon as you step outside, you enter a completely new world, of flaws, of poverty, of reality. And of prehistoric monitor lizards plodding down open drains. Resorts don’t usually encourage you to explore the local area or spend your money in the local eateries and shops, supporting the local economy. They can prevent you from really seeing what a place has to offer – its rawness, its imperfections and its true magnificence included.
And in a world where the need for more sustainable tourism is the new driver of change, giving back to the local community is one small way to help counterbalance the impact of our carbon footprint when travelling. We like to consider our occasional purchases as a small investment in the local economy. If, in return, we get a beautifully hand crafted bag, piece of jewellery or delicious plate of something, well that’s just a bonus to the meal that a hard-working local can then proudly provide for their family.
So this place offered us the best of both worlds – the kids absolutely loved it, and as polished as it was, a quick step outside threw us into Malaysia’s rawness, on a rickety, cranky, flat-tyred tandem bicycle.
Parkroyal Penang had everything a family could possibly want – pools, waterparks, restaurants, tandem bicycles, kids club, and a shop with a very helpful and knowledgeable sales assistant, especially when it came to delicate medical matters.
“For western stomach, only two. Come back if you need more.”
We’d travelled to Penang, via KL, after spending three weeks in Bali. Rhino was suffering from a serious dose of Bali belly and spent much of the first day admiring the wood panelled walls of the bathroom. The sales assistant recommended a box of Chinese medicine, in the form of little balls, to alleviate the issue.
I have no idea what was in those magic little pellets but it certainly did the trick. Two doses in and Rhino was even ready to tuck into the cuisine offerings of Little India!
We always love the excitement of looking forward to a trip, counting down the days together and spending Sunday afternoons watching YouTube videos to jump into the atmosphere of a place. Mark Wiens is one of our favourites – his passion for food is infectious and his recommendations come from years of travel just for food experience. No other person on this planet appreciates food the way he does. One Sunday we watched, salivating, as he tucked into the most delicious Tandoori Chicken in Kapitan restaurant, Little India. You always know it’s really good, when he does that little dip of the head approval. Tandoori Chicken at Kapitan was on our list.
As we strolled around Georgetown and found our way to Little India, we looked up and there was Kapitan, standing proud in all its modesty on the corner of the street. It was busy, packed with locals, buzzing with noise and the smells of spices infused the air. We placed our order of tandoori chicken, curry, rice, a couple of naan, plus several litres of water to cool us down from the sweltering humidity, and sat awaiting the much anticipated meal.
There was nothing remotely fancy about this place, and that is exactly why we loved it. The most succulent, juicy, tasty, fiery red tandoori chicken I have ever eaten and will never forget. And the total bill came to £11 for a family of four. I even checked it twice. The best food we have ever eaten in Asia has always come from a rough-around-the-edges restaurant, with plastic chairs and canteen style tables.
When the food is this good, no veil of smoke and mirrors is needed.
Batu Ferringhi lies on the northern coast of Penang island and looks out to the Straits of Malacca, backing onto rainforest and Mount Jerei to the West. Due to its location, Penang was one of Malaysia’s worst hit areas in the 2004 Indian Ocean ‘Boxing Day’ tsunami.
Taxi drivers have taught us so much over years of travel. They talk proudly about their home, have great stories to tell and certainly make for the best and most interesting local guides.
One driver told us how he’d taken a day off from his work in a hotel on that 26th December, 2004 and went for a few drinks in the hotel. Feeling the shake, he assumed it was the beer he’d been drinking, before noticing the water in the pool shifting in squares and then spilling over the sides. He, his friends and his colleagues looked out and could see a movement in the sea – lines of white stacked in the distance and they immediately realised the tsunami was coming. He knew to run back into the hotel, and run up to the top to avoid the water, where he stood and helplessly watched the water swarm in. He survived to tell the tale. Sadly, 52 other souls in Penang, did not. A sobering reminder of the fragility of life for all those living close proximity to the ring of fire.
Do you have snakes here?
Batu Ferringhi’s urbanisation started in the 1970’s and the sea quality has deteriorated hugely as a result of the sprawling development. The area now has a Box jellyfish infestation and on arrival, we were advised not to swim in the sea. One morning we walked along the beach to see inky black waves tumbling on the sand. Most likely caused by some unknown source of pollution, the murky waves rolled in for a day and then bizarrely, cleared completely. Malaysia recently made headlines for being the ‘garbage truck of the world’, and I wondered if this smoky sea was completely caused by mankind and also completely avoidable.
Yes big snakes.
These shameful murky waters surprisingly didn’t cause as much of a commotion among the guests as the morning the swimming pool was temporarily closed. We stood looking out at the heavy rain to see a pool attendant precariously balanced on a horizontal ladder resting on either edge of the pool, to allow him to access the landscaped area in the centre. Just as we were engrossed by the spectacle, a 3ft monitor lizard shot out of the trees and gave chase. There was much hysteria among the guests, and much panic from the staff as they tried to catch this poor frightened creature.
After dodging capture, he swam through the water and scuttled inside the lobby, darting in and out of the arches, before finally surrendering to gentle capture. And it was another surreal moment where we realised that no matter how perfectly western the resort looked, we were right in the thick of what was once a land entirely covered in dense Malaysian rainforest. And who were we, as tourists, to deny this creature a home?
I drive over a snake on the road and feel bad that I killed it. Then I see in my rear view mirror, it’s so big, it slithers away. All my taxi driver friends say the same thing.
821m above Georgetown, and generally about five degrees cooler, Bukit Bendera (Penang Hill) remains the last patch of tropical rainforest in Penang, and holds protected status. Once reserved for growing strawberries, the ridge at the top is known as Strawberry Hill. We took the funicular railway to the top, where we pondered the logistics of building the colonial style houses at such altitude, with so many access obstacles. We meandered through the rainforest admiring the flora and fauna and catching sight of the largest butterfly we have ever seen, stopping at David Brown’s British Colonial restaurant terrace for some lunch and taking in incredible views. Penang is super humid in August and the drop in temperature was just what we needed to escape it for a day. The views from the top are spectacular, as is the funicular railway, and the whole rainforest experience.
Georgetown is undeniably Penang’s shining star. The fusion of indigenous and colonial cultures flows through every aspect of the town, from its architecture to its cuisine and even its bilingual street names. More than sixty years after Malaysia gained independence from Britain, the colonial influence still holds strong and harmoniously sits alongside a fusion of Malay, Chinese and Indian cultures. Pops of bold colour decorate the buildings and splatter the streets in the form of ornate temples, Chinese lanterns, shop offerings from spices to crafts and the pièce de la résistance, Georgetown’s famous street art.
Bursting out of Georgetown’s walls is a display of life-sized, charming, striking street art. The original 2010 steel art commission by Sculpture at Work was enhanced by the contribution of Asia’s Banksy, Ernest Zacharevic in 2012, with his object-infused paintings, and his 2013 addition, 101 kittens. The street art brings the already beautiful streets of Georgetown to life and adds a fun dimension for little ones and big ones alike. We loved spotting the most iconic pieces and as we followed Georgetown’s Street Art Map, we felt as lost as Alice in her marvellous Wonderland. It may be faded by the strength of the sun and flaking in parts, but the art remains magical and depicts the lives of the locals in a warming and humorous way. This experience alone makes a trip to Georgetown not just worth it, but necessary.
Our five week trip to South East Asia was so far removed from our everyday reality that it did indeed feel like life in a comic book. Our eyes had been opened and our hearts warmed by all the wonderful and all the uncomfortable things we’d seen and heard.
Penang’s streets are steamy. Steamy from its humidity, its fiery Tandoori Chicken, its smoking street art and its wildlife. And steam is uncomfortable. We sought ways to escape from the discomfort and felt a sense of relief at the top of the much cooler Penang Hill, just as the girls did when they tucked into their ice cream ball to cool off and relieve the intensity of the humidity.
But experiencing the steam, the discomfort, is where we learn the really important stuff.
Empathy.
Humility.
Gratitude.
So, thank you Penang – for being steamy, and wild, and beautiful, and imperfect.
And thank you for showing us all of you.
