"My beautiful island home!" Penang by sklc

The Penang bridge is 13.5 km and is the best option for tourists to enter the island by road. OF course, Penang boasts of an international port, and international airport and a regular ferry service as well. Being an island, Penang has everything you could ever want. Beaches, hills, island laidback lifestyle, cheap but delicious food, bargain buys, modern cities, traditional villages, friendly people, sunny skies and best of all, interesting street life!! If you come to Malaysia, you must come to Penang to experience the cultures of the three main races - the Malays, the Chinese and the Indians. Festivals are actively celebrated here so if you hear of one, you might not want to miss the celebration in Penang.

Sunset on the North East Coast.

Seafood is fresh because we have our own fishermen! The sea is blessed with all sorts of shrimp, shellfish, mackerel, garoupa, squids and crabs. Go anywhere along the coast and you'll be spoilt for choice. Don't end up eating chicken here! Don't worry, Penang is not a rural place. It is a modern city with its own governor and chief minister. Penang is an international destination for tourists, businessmen, students and honeymooners. A perfect paradise of sorts.

Monkeying around

The main Chinese dialect spoken in Penang is Hockkien. *chiak pa boey?* - have you eaten. *ho chiak* delicious. *chu char* a la carte with rice n dishes. *lim chui* drink. *lim jiu* drink beer. *lim teh* drink tea. *kui lui* how much?. *goh puat* 50 sen. *goh khor* five ringgit. *khor pua* RM 1.50. *goh puar* five plates. *goh au* five glasses/cups. *ko-pi* coffee. Well, I guess only the monkeys here don't speak Hockkien. There are monkeys in the hills. Occasionally they become pets or just become a public nuisance. Got bitten by one before when I was a child, at the Botanical Gardens.

• Pros:Beautiful scenery, delicious food and excellent shopping
• Cons:Public transport is unreliable, rent a car!
• In a nutshell:Penang is home to many, even if they weren't born here!