We had a lot of fun exploring George Town. Walking around and seeing where we wound up was the best part of our visit. The buildings are so unique (a word I have used a few times to describe different places in George Town), but it is really true. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our wanderings around the city.
Our explorations also took us past both the Town and City Halls, which are big Victorian era buildings and were draped in the Malaysian Flag due to it being their Independence Day holiday when we visited.
Across from the buildings was the large Esplanade and across the street was the walkway next to the Strait of Meleka. We could see the port and the big transport ships.
On the other side of the Esplanade was Fort Cornwallis dating back to the late 1700s, built by the British East India Company.
Inside the fort was a large green space with benches, big palm trees, and some old cannons.
Along one wall, in some of the old offices, are exhibits on the history of the fort and Penang from a military perspective.
We could not walk the ramparts as they were closed for repairs, but we did catch a picture of statue of Francis Light, the British founder of modern Penang (who we later learned there was no pictures or paintings of, and the statue is based off his son) and the original lighthouse from 1882.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower, commissioned by a local resident in 1897, and stands 60 feet tall (the number of years Queen Victoria had ruled England by 1897). It actually leans slightly due to World War II bombings of Penang.
The Kapitan Keling Mosque was right in the middle of the historic area and stood out for its size and bright white color. Built in 1916 with the location being in use by Indian Muslims since 1801.
When in George Town spend at least one day just wandering. There’s so many cool buildings and great food everywhere, and you’ll treasure getting (a little) lost.
