Penang has a neighbourhood called George Town where buildings from the old colonial era still stand. It’s apparently a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but after walking around it my honest impression was that UNESCO will list just about anything. It may have historical significance, but there wasn’t much to see.
Downtown George Town
The buildings are Western-looking and have a quaint charm. There were more condos and apartment blocks than I expected. There’s an industrial zone nearby, and it sounded like a lot of foreigners on work assignments live here. Plenty of big Korean companies seem to have set up shop too, for example.
City Hall, I think
Grilled fish, apparently a local catch around here
Didn’t look all that tasty, though..
Historic site (Fort Cornwallis)
Cannonball tree at the Penang Botanic Gardens
I was told it was a gift from somewhere, but it looks like a man-eating plant out of a movie.
Lotus flowers
But why did I come all the way to Malaysia just to spend my time in a botanical garden..
Trees
Wild monkeys were wandering back and forth so I tried to shoot them, but without a zoom lens they didn’t come out well.
A lazy family of wild monkeys
Well.. it was hot and they all looked worn out. There were quite a few butterflies too, but the heat killed my motivation as well and I didn’t get a single decent shot.
On Orangutan Island
Look closely and you’ll see orangutans playing up in the trees.
The top-dog orangutan
It sat right in front of the tourists, taking whatever food they handed over. Maybe because it eats so well, its coat looked great too.. it seemed about twice the size of the other orangutans.
Back in George Town
“Waldorf,” huh…
Buildings
They say the whole town is a heritage site.. I haven’t been there myself, but I suspect somewhere well looked after like Macau would be better.