George Town
On my trip through Asia in 2018 I didn't have much time left for Malaysia. In fact, I needed to make my way to Kuala Lumpur, from where I had a return flight home to the Czech Republic. And so I planned at least a visit to George Town in the Malaysian state of Penang. George Town is Malaysia's second-largest city, with 700,000 inhabitants as of 2010. In the whole area adjoining the city, up to 2.5 million people live. The name already suggests that this is a city founded by the British, specifically at the instigation of the British captain Francis Light in 1786, to serve as a customs warehouse.
The city's fate is much like that of the country of Myanmar. First it was developed by the British, then during the Second World War it was occupied by the Japanese, and in the course of the war the British reconquered it. In 1957, after Malaysia declared independence, the city held on to its status as a duty-free zone until 1967, when the Malaysian government abolished it.
I arrived in George Town by boat from the Thai island of Ko Lipe. The journey took about 4 hours and was essentially entirely trouble-free. After several days spent by the sea and on the beaches of various Thai islands, I had to acclimatize for a while to the setting of a different country. Even though, according to the map, I'd moved only a small distance, all of a sudden it was quite a big change. From an islet full of tourists I found myself in a former colonial city from which the British history is slowly fading, though of course it's still quite evident in the surrounding crumbling buildings.
Two things probably lured me to this place the most. Street art and food. The city is famous precisely for its street art. In many spots I came across paintings by artists on the walls of houses, which turn the centre of George Town into a kind of urban gallery. Some of the creations come from the hand of the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic, and I found the most famous of them really easily, because for most of the day a cluster of people gathers around them to take photos. So first thing in the morning I set out from the hotel, walked through the city and admired the slowly crumbling colonial buildings, the street art and the city's other points of interest.
Also certainly worth a mention is the city district built entirely on stilts above the water. The tangle of alleyways and wooden houses struck me as photogenic, so I went to this place several times in an effort to take some interesting photographs. The poor houses above the water contrasted sharply with the surrounding metropolis, and coming here was always a welcome change after several hours spent on the busy streets nearby. Islam is one of Malaysia's main religions, so in the city I also came across several interesting mosques that only added to the multicultural diversity of the city's architecture.
Under British rule, a great many Indians came to these parts for work, and that, together with the proximity of Thailand, laid superb foundations for an incredibly varied cuisine. The local food alone really would be reason enough to come here. You can admire the interesting street kitchens and stalls, or larger food courts, where there was so much different food that it made my head spin, as they say. I could choose between Malay, Indian, Thai or Chinese cuisine. Local specialities include various seafood dishes, oyster omelette, and the summer dessert Ais Kacang (shaved ice with coconut, red beans, colourful jelly, corn and a sweet topping).
A few days in the city flew by like water, but I had to head to the airport and continue my journey to Malaysia's capital - Kuala Lumpur. George Town will remain for me a very fond Asian discovery, one I'll remember for a long time.