We booked a walking tour so it was nice experience to get off the ship, meet our guide, and start the tour — no bus.
It was a great day in Penang Island but it was HOT, 31C, feels like 37C. We did a half day walking tour, tried to stay in shade as much as possible. The old part of the city, George Town, still has a lot of the British colonial influence. The population of immigrants is a mix from Burma, Thailand, China, and India who came when the British established a trading port here in the late 1700s. The Indigenous population is only 0.7%. The green area below was reclaimed swamp that the British turned into a park and sporting field; cricket anyone?
There were several religious buildings built near each other between 1790 and 1830 reflecting the religious diversity: Anglican, Buddhist, Mosque, Hindu.
Mansion Built by the merchant Cheong Fatt Tze at the end of the 19th century, the mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 vernacular timber louvre windows.
