Penang, Malaysia

This was another surprising port. Penang is Malaysia’s oldest British settlement. Captain Francis Light took possession of Penang in 1786 when it was a dense jungle and mainly uninhabited. It was declared a free port status and the island quickly became a cultural melting pot with an eclectic mix of races and religions. The main town of Georgetown is noted for the largest collection of pre-war houses in all of southeast Asia. The many colonial buildings were virtually unscathed through history and have been declared a World Heritage Site.
There is a thriving Chinatown and Little India here which give visitors an eyeful of ornament, street food, temples and every nationality of people you can imagine. The market was interesting until we walked by the area where chickens went from cage to table within just a few minutes. There are some things that give a little too much information. At times like this, Nancy and I become even more interested in vegetarian options. Talk about too much information, the olfactory impact is sometimes good, but when it’s bad, it can almost stop your forward momentum.
The amazing sights of southeast Asia continue to enthrall us and it often takes us an evening to talk through some of the things we have seen and are trying to process.
If nothing else, we are getting an incredible geography lesson of this area.
After a stop in Phuket tomorrow, we will sail across the the Bay of Bengal to Sri Lanka for some non-urban wildlife adventures.
The first photo is a shore scene showing local fishing boats.
The second photo is a street scene.
The third photo is showing the colonial architecture next to a temple.Les mer