Penang, a thriving destination for the heritage seekers, a short escape for fellow Malaysians, and affordable quality medical retreat for Indonesians. Penang shares lots of different meaning towards different people. This beautiful island, still unpopular by most Indonesians, is actually an amazing travel destinations. The foods, the nature, the city, and the heritage area, are the main reasons this affordable destination should be on your list if you haven't done so.

Penang biggest city, Georgetown, covers 122.79 square kilometres of the island. Back then, George Town, for us, Indonesians, would be synonymous as a medical haven, or maybe an underrated beach retreat. But until recently, the hype of UNESCO World Heritage Site, combined with amazing street arts, dominate the whole tourism of George Town. In 2012, Ernest Zacharevic for the first time created some of the best, most celebrated street arts over the walls of the old buildings in George Town.

From that year on, more artworks are made. Now, the city is best known for its murals all over the heritage sites. It was a fun walk, could be an adventure for those who try to find every single one of them. Sadly, since the murals are outdoors, they will deteriorate over time. There are some of the artworks that has been vandalised - some say - so it would be a good idea to visit this city for the murals soon before they fade away. I was so lucky to be able to spot some of the best works, especially the one titled "Children on Bicycle". Not only it was fun to gaze at, but somehow, the artwork gives strong feel of joy - as if it were alive!

Without being granted the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site, without all the beautifully-preserved rows of shophouses, there would be no street arts and installation works that made what Penang is today. Strolling through the exact heritage site - I was in awe - not foremostly because of the amazing characteristic and architecture style of the house, but because of how the government and the whole Penangnites work together to preserve the heritage houses. It is a very profound aspect of their way of thinking that they know, they need to preserve their history. In the present time, while cruising around the city, we could see more preservation and restoration works are being carried out.

The heritage sites do not end there, there are settlements in the vicinity of the waterfront area called clan jetties. As the name speaks, there are several jetties, each of which is named after the clan/family who settled in the part of the separated jetties. The jetties were developed around late 19th century and said to be pretty similar to what it was nowadays. Recently, the jetties looked commercialised, especially the Chew Jetty, which is open to public with numbers of souvenir shops and a couple of eateries. Along the jetty, we could really witness the daily activity surrounding the area.

Who doesn't acknowledge Penang as one of the best culinary destinations? It was relentlessly mentioned in publications that Penang offers the best street foods in Southeast Asia. For me, the foods were good enough to be mentioned as one of the best - and the price - I truly believe the island offers one of the most affordable quality foods in Southeast Asia. Heads up to the more touristy hawker centre - Gurney Hawker Centre as a good start and grasp of what the food in Penang would be like - and after that, seeks what the locals really loves, you could easily dig  endless tips of good place to eat from local cab drivers.

Gurney Hawker Centre (courtesy of sillyandordinarygirl)

Hawker centres would be all about local and traditional foods - but do you know that fusion and modern takes of culinary are emerging in Penang? I found that there are great numbers of contemporary cafes serving modern food with amazing culinary experiences worth trying. Moreover, those cafes take place in the beautifully restored and renovated heritage shophouses. So instead of just indulging good foods, you could marvel at different preservation/renovation designs in each cafe you stumble upon. 

Nope, Penang is not just about George Town and good foods. Penang is a whole island to be amazed. Even in our five-day travel of Penang, we could not cover the whole island destinations. Heads out from George Town to the northern area of the island and you will be greeted by the amazing landscapes of tropical rainforests and rocky beaches. Lush rainforests with wonderful diversity of animals and plants is one thing I really enjoy while visiting Penang. I daresay, I enjoy the natural persona of Penang more than its city. It was a very calming, rejuvenating experience while I was in the middle of the tropical rainforest. While in the wild, you could easily spot macaques hanging and playing around hundreds or even thousands of year old trees. To be able to see the animal roams freely means that their habitat were not interrupted by human activities much.

What's more to ask if an island has a great historical city with the edge of modernised developments, lush tropical rainforests, and sandy beaches. Just a couple of minutes walk from the entrance of the beautiful Tropical Spice Garden (will be on my next posts) we could find somewhat a more quiet beach - unlike Batu Ferringhi. Even though the water is not crystal clear (still very clean though!), the beach is so enjoyable in a clear and sunny day! If the weather is good enough, speedboat trips are recommended for a short trip to the other part of the island's beaches.

Penang has a lot more to offer, I admit this does not covers all of it, but only the highlights of my travel. It always intrigues me that when I revisited a place of destination, there will be new things, new places to be discovered. The walk, the moments of indulging in the new experiences is what I truly deemed as a flavorful escape! The short escape of my daily life, that brings me to a new height of understanding the earth, the planet we are living in. Penang could be just a tiny speck of our whole planet earth, and surely there is a lot more to learn. It is always a humbling privilege for me to explore and discover!

Stay tune for my next updates of my trip to Penang!