 A
much-travelled Australian journalist has praised
Penang as a holiday destination.
Writing in The Age newspaper, Geoff Strong, who has holidayed in
Penang five times in recent years, says the island "is one of my
favourite places on earth" describing it as " one of the
best-preserved old cities in South-East Asia".
"Two important things have happened to Penang recently," Stong
writes.
"The Asian tsunami hit on Boxing Day in 2004, killing 68 people
(in Malaysia) but doing minor physical damage.
"The other event, which has been much slower arriving, has been a
gradual awakening about the beauty of old
Georgetown, which began life as a Chinese city that developed
around the first British trading post in the region."
Strong notes that it is "starting to dawn on many locals that,
spared from the wrecker's ball that wiped out the interesting bits
of old Singapore
and turned Malaysia's capital
Kuala Lumpur into a tomorowland theme park, Penang has survived
to become one of the best-preserved old cities in South-East Asia".
He is pleased that there is a move to have Georgetown's historic
zone declared a world heritage area.
"Penang is an easy, friendly sort of place where Malaysia's three
main ethnic groups -- Malay, Chinese and Indian -- seem to get on
pretty well. It was not uncommon when we went out to dinner to see
mixed-race parties dining and laughing together.
"They could teach much of the rest of the world how to get on.
"We were there for Chinese New Year, something all races seem to
celebrate, just like they do for the end of the Muslims' Ramadan,
the Indian Hindus' Deepavali and even the Christians' Christmas.
"And, of course, the food brings together the three Asian
traditions with an added dash of Western influence to make it an
adventurous gastronomic paradise."
Strong then lists and describes Penang's tourist and historical
attractions, which he and his family, have enjoyed over.
He also describes how he and his wife, Jill, discovered some of
the restored areas of central Georgetown earlier this year.
"We started talking to the owner of the Edelweiss cafe in Armenia
Street, Teresa Pereira Capol. She is an avowed enthusiast for
restoring the classic, 19th century Chinese shophouse and has done
so with the one she has converted to her splendid cafe," Strong
says.
"There are quite a few restored houses open to the public, with
examples in a range of styles but the town's restoration masterpiece
is the vast, indigo blue Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion.
"It is named after the Chinese mandarin who rose from extreme
poverty to extreme wealth and built this house in the 1880s to
accommodate one of his favourite wives."
Strong tells his readers that Georgetown also has ancient
mosques, ornate Chinese clan houses, Indian temples and remnants of
the British time, including the opulent
Eastern and Oriental Hotel -- all within easy walking distance
or at least a cheap fare on one of the frequent buses.
|
