Penang

During one of the recent long weekends, we made a trip to the Malaysian island of Penang ("Pulau Pinang"), close to the southern Thai border (West coast). Penang is a fascinating place with a mixture of different cultures, so typical of Malaysia ("Truly Asia" as the tourist ad says). The majority of the people on the island are of Chinese descent, but there are important Malay and Indian (Tamil) communities, each contributing in their own way to the local culture, which also has a lot of European colonial influences. Penang, and especially its capital, still carrying the somewhat archaic colonial name George Town, is listed as a world heritage site by UNESCO(together with the historical town of Melaka (Malacca), also in Malaysia) because of its unique cultural heritage and the fact that the old town (dating back mostly to the 18th century) has been very well preserved. The humid heat was beating down on us but we managed to see a good art of the town, which is easy to explore on foot or by rickshaw. A nice weekend out!