On Sunday we arrived in George Town, Penang. George Town, the historic capital of the State of Penang, was formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. It is officially recognized
as having "a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia". But, history isn’t the only thing it is famous for. Long known as the food capital of Malaysia, Penang is renowned for its good and varied food. Penang was recognized as having the Best Street Food in Asia by Time magazine in 2004, citing that "nowhere else can such great tasting food be so cheap". That is true as long as you aren’t too fussy about the surroundings. Last night we had some great Indian food at a place about five minutes from our hotel. I wouldn’t call it a restaurant. That would be too generous. It was noisy, full of people and a bit on the gritty side but the food was excellent. Total cost for two, including two bottles of water - $7 Canadian. The State of Penang consists of an island (where we are) and a stretch of the adjacent mainland. The island is connected to the mainland by the 13.5-kilometre, six-lane Penang Bridge, one of the longest bridges in Asia. We crossed the bridge yesterday by vehicle with our tour guide. We were the only ones on the tour and while the bridge wasn’t on the agenda, he took across anyway. We came back by the ferry. It extended the tour by an hour but the tour guide wasn’t too worried. That is the kind of generosity we have seen again and again. Penang is home to two medical schools, a nursing college, a dental training college, two teacher's training colleges, and numerous private and community colleges. It is a popular tourist destination for people from all over Asia. We had breakfast today with a dad and daughter from Shanghai, China. The dad didn’t speak any English but his daughter was great at translating everything. We will stay here until Friday when we leave Malaysia for Thailand. Comments are closed.
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AuthorIn January, 2012, Curt and Char left their jobs in Canada to spend four months travelling around the world. Archives
May 2012
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