physikality: Georgetown, Penang

Pictorial map of the old town

Wanting to take part in my first half-marathon, I travelled to Penang, or Pulau Pinang last November. Georgetown is the capital of the small Malaysian state and is one of the first to be colonized by the British in the late 18 century by Sir Francis Light. The city has an old area with British forts and administrative building surrounded by many straits Chinese shophouses.

World famous Chendol at the corner of Penang Road, Georgetown

Since the arrival of the British who then brought in the Chinese and Indians as immigrants to develop Penang in the 19th century onwards. Many Malaysian foods we know and love today probably came from here, although it might be slightly modified to suit the different tastes of the people of the other Malaysian states. For example, these well known Malaysian foods are laksa, chendol, curry fish head, curry noodle, luk-luk and nasi kandar.

Having dinner at one of the street side stalls. I think those are watermelon juice and some fried tofu

My half-marathon event started in the wee hours of the morning at 3am. Running together with thousands of people was incredible and running halfway across the bridge was amazing! I took 2 hours and about 40 minutes to complete all 21km. If you are a running enthusiast, and live somewhere near Penang, Malaysia, I recommend trying to run the bridge at least once.

Penang Marathon 2013 underway

View of the Penang bridge in the early hours of the morning after the marathon

Asam fish head curry. I got this from some random shop operated mostly by old owners as most shops in the old part of town are. I could bring you back to this shop although I can't really point to it on the map.

Ernest Zacharevic, a artist from Lithuania has been transforming the old landscape of Georgetown by painting numerous all murals all over the place. It has become an activity for tourists to hunt for all these murals and have the pictures taken with them. One of the most practical ways to hunt for them is to rent a bicycle or motorbike. The roads and lanes are very narrow with empty parking lots a rare sight, travel is much enjoyable either by foot or on two wheels.

One of the many wall murals in Penang by foreign born artist

Dim sum breakfast. Make sure to wake up early to get a nice seat in the many restaurants that offer cheap and nice dim sum around Lebuh Campbell.

After the half marathon run, I took the chance to go up to the highest peak of Penang island, Bukit Bendera. It has in recent years been upgraded and looks very modern and comparable to many funicular rides I have seen in Hong Kong peak tram ride and Salzburg funicular ride to the top of the castle hill. A few hundred meters above sea level, the air is noticeably cooler and fresher. There is an owl museum and food court on the top.

Georgetown from atop Bukit Bendera

I needed to pay MYR10 as entrance fees to enter the owl museum

Going down from Bukit Bendera, I headed towards Air Itam to taste the world famous Asam Laksa. It is also very close to the Kek Lo Si buddhist temple. I wasn't too interested in looking at temples but if you are, there is a huge Kuan Yin statue there now.

World famous Asam Laksa

I also visited the beach at Batu Feringhi. The beach was very clean and there wasn't a lot of tourists or locals on it. I think the crowds come in the evenings when the many beach side cafes and restaurants open.

Paraglider at Batu Feringhi

Ubah bird, election maskot of the current ruling party of the state

Eating luk luk (satay celup) is a very unique Malaysian (or south-east asian) experience. This time I had my fill of luk luk after a ride to Bukit Jambul and back to my hostel in the middle of rain. You choose something from the row on the moving stall, and you dip it on the spicy peanut sauce to cook it. This means if there is one uncooked or badly cooked food, you might get an upset stomach. I was lucky.