MALAYSIABook your stay at lonelyplanet.com/hotels PENINSULAR MALAYSIA – WEST COAST •• Pulau Penang
fatttzemansion.com; Lebuh Leith; adult RM12; htours
11am & 3pm Mon-Fri, 11am Sat & Sun) was built
in the 1880s by Cheong Fatt Tze, a local
Hakka merchant-trader who left China pen-
niless and eventually established a finan-
cial empire, earning himself the sobriquet
‘Rockefeller of the East’. The mansion dou-
bles as a luxurious bed and breakfast (rooms
from RM250).
Fort Cornwallis (Lebuh Light; adult RM3; h9am-
7pm) was built on Georgetown’s cape, the his-
toric landing of the city’s founder Captain
Francis Light in 1786. A visit involves lots of
panel reading.
Penang Museum (%261 3144; Lebuh Farquhar;
adult RM1; h9am-5pm Sat-Thu) is one of the best-
presented museums in Malaysia. Excellent
exhibits on the ground floor illustrate the
customs and traditions of Penang’s various
ethnic groups with impressive appreciation
for diversity. Upstairs is the history gallery.
European art and Chinese opulence crash
together beautifully in the restored Pinang
Peranakan Mansion (%264 2929; http://www.pinang
peranakanmansion.com.my; 29 Lebuh Gereja; adult/child
RM10/free; h9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat), former home
of Chung Keng Quee, 19th-century mer-
chant, secret-society leader and all-round
community pillar. His ornate home is full
of antiques. There’s also an exhibition on
Nonya customs, and guided tours are at
11.30am and 3.30pm.
SLEEPING
Georgetown has plenty of cheap accommoda-
tion, mainly clustered in Chinatown along
bustling Lebuh Chulia and quieter Love Lane.
During holidays, most notably Chinese New
Year (January/February), hotels fill up very
quickly and prices soar. Cheaper rooms have
shared bathrooms.
Blue Diamond Hotel (%261 1089; 422 Lebuh Chulia;
dm/s/d from RM8/20/28; ai) Barflies apply here;
even staff have stiff drinks in hand by 11am
and the place is dominated by its sidewalk-
side beer garden. The Chinese clunker of a
building is graced with natural light, some
lovely old carvings and high ceilings but the
rust-stained tubs and grotty staircase take
away from the charm. Still, the large rooms
are enticingly old world.
100 Cintra Street (%264 3581; 100 Lebuh Cintra; dm/s/d
RM10/25/38) Housed in a sometimes-operating
museum in an atmospheric, semirestored
Peranakan mansion, you get a (very thin) mat-
tress on a wooden platform with a fan and a
mosquito net for that Eastern colonial experi-
ence – some might think it’s too authentic.
Dorm beds are on an open landing and have
zero privacy but are social.
Old Penang Guest House (%263 8805; 53 Love Lane;
dm/s/d RM15/26/32.50) Hardwood floors, white
walls, high ceilings and splashes of red paint
add a solid-coloured hip vibe to this hostel
set in a restored pre-WWII house. Air-con
rooms run to RM50.
Banana Guest House (%262 6171; http://www.banana
newguesthouse.com; 355 Lebuh Chulia; s/d from RM18/25;
ai) The backpacker route lands very
firmly at the friendly Banana Guest House,
one of those all-purpose hostels-bars–travel
agencies you encounter from Bangkok
to Bali. Rooms are OK, although some
are sectioned off by the thinnest of walls.
Pricier air-con digs come with or without
toilet (RM50/60).PENANG MUST EATS
Penang is known as the hawker capital of Malaysia and most of the city’s specialities – claim-
ing mixed Malay and Chinese extraction – are best fetched from a portable cart or food centre.
Don’t leave without trying:
Cendol Garishly coloured green strands (made from sweetened pea flour) are layered with
crushed ice, coconut milk and brown-sugar syrup.(^) Char kway teow Medium-width rice noodles are stir-fried with egg, vegetables, shrimp and
Chinese sausage in a dark soy sauce.
(^) Laksa asam Also known as Penang laksa, this is a fish-broth soup spiked with a sour tang
from tamarind paste (asam) and a mint garnish; it’s served with thick, white rice noodles
(laksa).
(^) Rojak A fruit-and-vegetable salad tossed in a sweet-tamarind-and-palm-sugar sauce and
garnished with crushed peanuts, sesame seeds and chillies.
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