"Pearl of the Orient" a Penang Travel Page by aberacadabra

The only reason why local holidaymakers head up to Penang is, not for the local beach, history, or scenery; but for food. This little island has the honorable reputation for the best Malaysian food in Malaysia. It is also architecturally well endowed with old colonial houses, ancient mosques and ornate chinese clan houses. Add a variety of interesting Buddhist temples (think Bangkok) with an equally exasperating traffic snarl and you get the picture of what this quaint island is like. Penang gets quite crowded during the local school holidays, and with consideration of the perpetually bad traffic, the best time to visit is anytime when there are no public holidays.