"Penang- The Pearl of The Orient" a Penang Travel Page by preadhead

Being a visitor in Georgetown is like stepping into a time warp. There are so many buildings, houses and shops, that have not really changed much in one hundred years or so. There are new buildings and the juxtaposition of old and new is a little strange at times,but the old buildings are still highly valued and there is a concerted government and private enterprise effort to maintain Georgetown's unique historical character.
The cultural makeup of Georgetown is an eclectic mix of many Asian nations. Predominantly these most beautiful people originate from India and China but many have come from other parts of Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore. Many settled from European countries too. It is a very old multi cultural society strongly affected by the impact of colonialism.

My favourite places to visit in Georgetown are Little India, China Town, the antique shops along Chulia Street the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion and the Hainan Temple. For a more contemporary experience, I also enjoyed the shopping available at Prangin Mall and Komtar.

I loved visiting Cheong Fatt Tze's favourite home, which has now been restored and is used as a small hotel. If you get the chance, attend the one hour tour at either 11 am or 3pm each day and pay 10rn and you will be rewarded with a very entertaining and informative tour given by a very theatrical Chinese lady who has nothing but the utmost respect for everything the mansion stands for. The building was designed using Feng Shui principles and is a crazy mix of various turn of the 19 century styles of architecture. Cheong Fatt Tze imported clay floor tiles from Bristol, amazingly colourful Victorian style lead lights from England and he employed master craftsmen from China to carve the intricate woodwork. There are three dimensional scenes on the outsides of the building decorated with shards of broken glazed pottery. The craftsmanship is amazing and has stood the test of time well. I was only able to take photographs of the outside of the building as internal photography is prohibited. The blue lime wash paint is the original colour, but not the original paintwork. If you have the opportunity, this is one tour you should not miss. Right next door to the mansion is an ultra modern sky scraper hotel (see photo) an example of the old and new sitting almost strangely side by side.

There are so many temples in Penang, but I really liked this one in particular. I didn't go inside but I was told that it was okay to do so by a local Chinese business man. These buildings are so very spiritual that I was not prepared for the fact that I would feel as though I was intruding if I went inside while people were worshipping. Therefore I chose to observe from outside.
The Hainan Temple is in Lebuh Muntri, not far from Leith Street. It is between the Carpenters Guild and the Benggali Mosque. The present structure dates from 1895 and the "Temple of the Heavenly Queen" is dedicated to seafarers. The Temple was renovated in 1995 as part of the "working together for heritage program".