Date: March 21, 2007
Location: Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
Next Port: Cochin, India, March 25
Quick Summary: Georgetown was a fun day. In fact, we have enjoyed all five ports in this area: Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown, plus Singapore, Kota Kinabalu and Brunei. The Malay and Chinese people we have met have been gracious, happy and easy to talk to. In Georgetown, we thoroughly enjoyed our 3-1/2 hour tour of the city via trishaw.
Report: Georgetown is the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang and is located on the Island of Penang. Some 24km by 12kkm, this island is connected to the mainland by a long suspension bridge and numerous ferries. Known as the “Pearl of the Orient,” this mountainous island with beautiful beaches is a major vacation destination. Its population is mainly Hokkien Chinese, though there is a sizeable Indian community as well as many Malays.
In 1786, British Captain Francis Light struck a deal with the local sultan on behalf of the East India Company. He acquired the island (then called Pulau Pinang) in return for protection from the sultan’s powerful neighbors. In 1832, Penang formed part of the British Straits Settlement with Melaka (Malacca) and Singapore. Georgetown became the crossroads for many traders and settlers, particularly the Chinese.
We dropped anchor off Georgetown about 8:00 a.m. and had but a short tender ride to the city docks. Awaiting us were a multitude of gaily decorated trishaws – three-wheeled cycles. We joined a convoy of about 21 trishaws and a guide for a half-day tour of the city. We each had a separate trishaw and these “kings of the road” took that designation seriously. We weaved through and around traffic; frequently ignored traffic lights; and sometimes went against traffic on the wrong side of the road. All the time we were accompanied by two very cute dogs. It was quite a parade!
We saw the Victoria Memorial Clock Tower commemorating Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. Built in 1897, it stands 60 feet all and is slightly off kilter due to bombs dropped nearby in World War II.
Next we passed Ft. Cornwallis, built on the site where Capt. Francis Light landed on the island in 1786. (Yes, it is named for that Gen. Cornwallis. After surrendering at Jamestown, he spent the rest of his career in what is now Southeast Asia.)
Our caravan’s first stop was in Little India at the Mahamaraimman Hindu Temple. Built in 1833, it is the oldest Hindu temple in Penang. There are many decorated sculptures of gods and goddesses, including the gem-encrusted statue of Lord Subramaniam that is paraded through the streets during the annual Thaipusam festival.
Next we stopped at the Penang Museum that is housed in what remains of the colonial-era Penang Free School. It contained interesting exhibits on the colonial settlement and people of Georgetown and Penang. The beautifully woven historic dresses especially interested Karen.
We passed by St. George’s Anglican church, dating from 1818. In front of the church is a memorial to Capt. Light who died in 1794.
Continuing through town, we passed the Goddess of Mercy Temple, the first built by early Chinese settlers in 1800; the Kapitan Keling Mosque built in the early 1800s with its ochre-yellow façade and dome reflecting Islamic architecture of Moorish influence; and the stark-white Eastern & Oriental Hotel, established in 1885 by the Sarkies brothers – the same pair that started Singapore’s famed Raffles Hotel.
Our last stop was the Khoo Clan Ancestral House. It’s in the middle of a warren of now-vacant three-story buildings. These stores and apartments had been built to be rented to poor clansmen. But the state did away with rent control and instituted mandated rents that are 10 times higher. All the low income folks had to move out. Clan redevelopment plans have yet to been approved.
The ornate and intricately crafted Khoo Clan House was constructed by 19th century craftsmen who left virtually no surface unadorned. The Khoo clan came primarily from China’s Hokkien province and was among the wealthy Straits Chinese of the 17th century in Malacca and early Penang. The genealogy tree in the house tracks 60 generations of this huge clan. And the ancestral rooms contain memorials to many of the oldest and most prominent…including those still living.
We walked through alleys to a quaint restaurant housed in a 19th century restored shop house. It is named Edelweiss (that serves German beer!) and is run by Indians. We were offered Chinese tea, Indian savories and fresh local fruits. Such it is in these lands of contrasts!
Then it was a Le Mans-start trishaw race via various routes back to the dock. All-in-all, it was a most memorable tour.
We took the shuttle bus over to the Eastern & Oriental Hotel to walk through its public spaces and check out its view of the harbor. Then it was back to the tender station.
We enjoyed before-dinner refreshments with Claude and Ken in the Observation Lounge and were then joined by Hilde and Jarmo in the Compass Rose for dinner. It was good to catch up with Ken and hear about his experiences off the ship for five days in Cambodia. After dinner we enjoyed the show by vocalist Steve Washington.
We are now enroute to India with great anticipation. It will be the first visit for both of us. After three sea days, we will dock in Cochin – on India’s southwest coast – on Sunday.
Our westward trek is picking up speed. We set our clocks back one hour this evening and another hour tomorrow night.
Karen and Larry
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Photos of our day in Georgetown have been added.
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