When surrounded in history, we find it best to perfect the art of wandering and being lost. We left our historic hotel (Seven Terraces), and headed towards St. George’s Church and to the waterfront.
We walked past City Hall and Town Hall (hmm…, what’s the difference?) as they were setting up for the New Years celebrations for the evening (more on that later), and then headed to Fort Cornwallis. Being much of the fort was under restoration, it was a quick but interesting visit, as it jump-started our curiosity into the history of George Town.
We grabbed photos of the Queen Victoria Clock Tower and arrived at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, minutes before the English guided tour. This building is very important as it explains not only the history of the Straits Chinese coming to Penang, but also the personal family history. (Our guide carried a phone with him and showed pictures to demonstrate various points in the history of the mansion and family.)
As most cities in Malaysia seem to be a diversity of cultures and religions, we walked past temples alive with worshippers and the smell of incense. We walked down Jalan Muntri, past renovated mansions and the Goddess of Mercy Temple.
It was time to stop for lunch, and since Auntie loves cats, we picked the Mews Cafe, which is also associated with the hotel group Seven Terraces is a part of. A bit “pricey” but delicious, we munched on satay and fried patties filled with prawns and veggies. I watched backpackers file in and out of a hostel across the street and young people grab rides to their destinations (can’t handle the heat I guess!).
After lunch we decided to wander to the Blue Mansion. On the way, we stopped at the Hainan Temple. This is impressive as it was practically in ruins until about ten years ago. The restoration is impressive because of the high level of details
We followed our gut and wandered into one of the liveliest and beautiful areas in the old town. This is also where there is the highest concentration of historic sights as it turns out. We visited Cheah Kongsi, which is the oldest of the clan associations in Penang.
We plan to return the Lebuh Armenian area as there is more to see and do there. Armed with their phones, tourists descended like ants (aunts?! How do ants descend?; like tourists?) to get the best Instagram photo, which is understood because of the street art. There is a lot of street art throughout the city. Close to Little India, sounds of music and smells of incense wafted nearby since it was Thaipusam.
By 3:30 we were depleted from the sun and returned to the hotel for relaxation by the pool (happy hour included tea, water, and small cakes) and our own Heineken happy hour on our room patio. It was fun to watch the full moon rise over St. George’s and to hear the Chinese New Years celebrations.
Finally we were ready to venture outside and went to a recommended restaurant, Teksen, for dinner. A perfect mix of locals and tourists, we sat at the front and watched people get seated quickly. The food: pork belly with yam, homemade tofu with prawns and egg wash, and potato greens (with prawns…. all their vegetable dishes included seafood). Two big beers and all that food came to $22, or $11 a person. I can’t buy an açaí bowl that cheap in San Francisco.
To walk off dinner we went to check out the various Chinese New Years celebrations. One had a stage with singers and dancers in colorful gear, with great commentary between sets. At the Town Hall, there was a huge stage with dancers, a Chinese Yo-Yo expert, and flashing lights. The tradition is for hopeful romantics to throw mandarin oranges into the river in hopes of finding love, so of course I paid $.50 for my own, made a wish, and lobbed that sucker into the makeshift river.
For us old timers it was time to head back to the hotel, which was perfect because we had front row seats to the fireworks display out our balcony.
May the year of the rat be prosperous to us all!
Travels with my Auntie 
Great fireworks
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