Penang, Part 3: Let's see some sights!

(Day 2) 26th June 2015


Yes, I realise I am...sixteen days behind. Wow so far behind I have to count on my fingers. Right, to the writing and photo-ing!


After a brilliant night's sleep in the chilly, pitch-black dorm of the Old Penang Guesthouse, I was ready to get out and tick some more sights off from my handwritten guidebook. I also marvelled that I did not have a hangover, and decided to get out of the hostel before it could catch up to me. So with Indre and Kaitlyn (Michael and Thomas had disappeared early in the morning on a ferry to Langkawi) we headed out bright and early (11am) to see more of Penang. 


First up was the colonial area to the north of the city centre, which was markedly unphotogenic, except for the Church of St. George whose picture I included in the post before last. 


We had intended to visit Fort Cornwallis, which was built soon after the British arrived on Penang as a way to secure their conquest purchase of the island. My guidebook said it cost only RM2 (£0.34) to enter, but when we arrived at the gate, the boards said ticket price was RM20, so we promptly walked away. 


Here is at least a picture of some cannons and decaying fort wall.

As Fort Cornwallis was a bust, we headed back into the city in search of the Penang Peranakan Museum.

Found it!

Peranakan, or Baba Nyonya refers to a cultural group unique to the colonial British Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore, which are ethnically a mix of Chinese and Malay heritage, and whose traditions incorporate those heritages whilst also maintaining dress, cuisine and  habits distinct from either group. Peranakans are gradually disappearing as their children abandon their complex traditions for those of Malay or Chinese Malaysians, which is exacerbated by a distinct lack of government recognition or support in both Malaysia and Singapore. Before beginning my research on Malaysia, I had never heard of this culture, and I was eager to learn something about it before it disappeared for good.

I liked the guardian lion with a ribbon around its neck.

The mansion was...strange. It was a bizarre syncretism of British colonial stained glass and architecture and Chinese gilded screens and furniture. 


I would not wanted to have lived somewhere decorated in this way, but it distinctiveness made the house interesting to explore. 

So many gilded bird motifs!

There was very British stained glass windows, and the owners had glassware collections like those in British manors, but everything was subtly different from British examples.

The house had an open atrium in the centre of the house which helped illuminate the inner rooms, and made the house feel light and welcoming. It really was a beautiful place to wander around slowly (I walked especially slowly wherever there was an AC unit) and take in the atmosphere. 

The good light did not help produce a good photo here. I like my shoulders here though ;)

Better, but shoulders are worse :(

In addition to the mansion itself, there were also galleries stretching through what once would have been stables and servant quarters which displayed the extensive jewellery collections once possessed by the ladies of the house. Neighbouring the mansion was a small, ornate personal Chinese temple, which did not want to photograph from the outside, but produced at least something acceptable on the interior.

After a short pit-stop back at the French patisserie from yesterday (which I cannot recall the name of, and is not on Google) where we tried almost every cake they had on offer, we walked to the entrance of Khoo Kongsi, arguably the most impressive Chinese temple within the city. Indre, put off my paying for another attraction, decided to do some souvenir shopping instead, but Kaitlyn decided she had not yet reached temple fatigue levels, and joined me.


As the temple straddles one side of a courtyard only accessible by narrow alleys. After paying, we followed the alleyway around a corner, and emerged in the courtyard, and were amazed by our initial view of the temple. 

It certainly had the wow factor. 


Sitting in front of the temple were several carved lion guardian statues.

Aside from always having hilariously gormless expressions, I like playing with the stone balls in their mouths (...there was no way for that not to sound dirty. You have a dirty mind for going there. Naughty!) that act as their (mobile) tongues. It is a bit of a bad habit, but a habit nevertheless.

Next to one of the lions there was a yellow sign that drew my attention.

Oops...

He is just asking for it though. 

After I had finished being inappropriate with the lions' granite balls, I focused on the temple, and the beautiful, intricate decoration that covered its roof and eaves.

Inside the intricacy continued with the walls covered in beautiful drawings of what I believe are guardians or deities.

By far the most beautiful element of the temple for me were the delicate stone relief carvings that decorated the front wall of the temple, under the eaves and behind the intricate railings. They had not been painted in gaudy golds, blues and reds like much of the temple, but rather had been subtly accentuated by turquoise, brown and yellow, which came together unexpectedly in a delightful way.

The temple took very little time to explore, and soon we were back out on the street, and heading towards the nearby bus terminal to take a bus to Bukit Penang.


We were very briefly distracted for two hours by the dozens of pieces of street art that crowded the streets around Khoo Kongsi, and spent at least two hours some time trying to find as many murals as possible.

See the previous blog post for more street art and street ramblings. 

As much as the street art was fascinating, the afternoon was getting on, and we therefore needed to get on a bus to make it to Bukit Penang before sunset.

A bus.

One hour later saw us arrive at the base of Penang hill feeling slightly sleepy after such a long bus ride. From there we had to take the funicular railway up the hill to its summit.

I had read on several reviews and blogs that there was a cable car as well, but I could not see any signs for it when I arrived. However, when I got onboard the train, I realised that the train was attached to a cable beneath the tracks that pulled it up and lowered it down the hill. So, in a slightly unusual way, it was a cable car.

After a short five minute journey, we stopped at the summit, and we exited the station to these amazing views of Georgetown sprawling through the valleys beneath Bukit Pinang.

Here you can faintly see the mainland city of Butterworth across the sea from Georgetown.

It seems to have become a necessity whilst I visited Penang that I had a banana-themed dessert each day. Or at least that's what I told myself when we ordered a banana split to share.

Kaitlyn cannot take photos...yeah...blame the photographer not the subject ;)

The views atop the hill really were spectacular, and before descending we decided to see if we could take some shots of us with the spectacular scenery in the background. The hill however was unsympathetic to our idea, and had very few spots where you photo the amazing view and an amazing person together.


We eventually found this stone ledge containing a flower bed. Beyond this stone ledge was a 30-40 foot drop.


I do not like heights. 


It is not very visible in this photo here, but my knees were shaking for each photograph, and when Kaitlyn was not taking a photo, I was holding onto the tree just behind me.

Soon enough we headed back down the hill, and I decided I wanted a seat at the front of the funicular so I could watch the descent from a better viewpoint. To get a good spot, we were forced to elbow-barge a couple of very, very pushy Chinese toddlers.


That's a lie. I told Kaitlyn to elbow past them, but she was too considerate, and let them past, which meant we had to stand up the whole way. I tried explaining that pushing children over is acceptable in China, but she did not believe me ; ) 

When we returned to the base of the hill, we thought it would be an easy matter to find a bus to take us back to the city centre. I decided as there was no imminent sign of a bus that we could walk down the road in search of food, and flag the bus down if and when it turned up. I found a brilliant local food court where I had this strange noodle dish (well, it was a noodle dish covered in pak choi and this half-cooked egg soup-sauce), and then we walked along what we thought was the bus route, and found a bus stop in the fading light.


It was then that a 'helpful' Indian gentleman started talking to us, and told us we needed to be on the other side of the road, the side of the road that went back towards Bukit Pinang. We were confused but saw no reason to disbelieve him as he was obviously local. I double-checked with a passing bus, and indeed the driver said to wait on the other side of the road. So we crossed,  but were mystified when the buses on this side of the road shook their heads and told us to stand back on the other side of the road. The Indian gentleman had stopped being helpful and had started begging for money.

After around thirty minutes of waiting in the dark on the side of the road with an very persistent beggar, I saw a bus approaching with a number I recognised, and we were so thankful when the driver nodded and said he was heading into Georgetown.

I eventually realised that buses to Georgetown can run either way along the road, and you just need to know which number runs which way so you catch it in the right direction. So confusing.

We arrived back at the hostel about three hours later than planned, and headed out almost immediately with Indre who had been waiting to have dinner with us. We found a little love-themed cafe along Love Lane, had several helpings of fries, and then I spent the remainder of the evening relaxing with some Youtube and free water.

DSP

Useful Information:
Tourist Attractions:

• Fort Cornwallis costs RM20 to enter, and I cannot see how it justifies such a high price. 
• Penang Peranakan Museum also costs RM20, but I found it interesting and extensive enough to warrant this price. It is still overpriced though. Allow around an hour to visit the house, temple and jewellery galleries. 
• Khoo Kongsi temple costs RM10, and is by far the most impressive Chinese temple in Penang that I saw. The entrance fee also puts off most tourists so it is blissfully quiet and you can explore it at your own pace. Allow thirty minutes.
• Penang Hill funicular costs RM30 return. I can see a potential for queuing at times, but we had to wait only five minutes each time.