​Penang, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Penang

In Penang \we were met by a distant cousin of Evelyn's, Hong. She escorted us to the famous Snake Temple filled with viper snakes. 

I had my picture taken with a python wrapped around me, and then a private tour of a snake farm, where the guide brought a King Cobra out of it's box and let it hiss at me. If you lightly rub the albino python it will bring you great wealth, 

I tried my hand at it. Patiently waiting for the wealth to arrive.

Next we traveled to the famous jetties of Georgetown.These are houses on the water connected by a narrow boardwalk.There were food and souvenir stalls along the walkway. Miwa and I went back a second time the next day.

After a quick lunch from a street vendor we headed to Peranakan Mansion –a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a 19^th century Chinese mansion and the owner made his fortune in opium. 

It was a bit to lavish for me, I thought of my sister Joyce when looking into the various china cabinets filled with exquisite teas sets. 

From here we went to the Wonder Food Museum. It was interesting because I had just published an article about making fake food in Tokyo and I was not aware that they did the same here in Malaysia, although I did not see any fake food displayed at the restaurants like you do in Japan.

Our next stop was the Yap Temple called Choo Chay Keong near the center of another UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

We were here to walk the streets and view the "Wall Art" created by Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic. 

The artist painted typical life in Georgetown with wrought iron fused into many of the pictures. 

This was another place that Miwa and I walked back to the next day to find additional wall paintings. 

They were full of action and we both enjoyed posing in front of them.

It was getting late in the afternoon Hong drove us up to Kek Lok Si, SE Asia's largest Buddhist Temple. 

There were many interesting buildings including the seven-story pagoda with 10,000 Buddha statues, and the 120 foot Goddess of Mercy statue.

Our last stop for the day was the Funicular Railway up to the top of Penang hill. It provided a panoramic view of Georgetown and the surrounding area. 

There were thousands of people at the top, probably there for some relief from the heat down below.

Thank you Hong for a very busy and interesting day. Back at the Royal Bintang hotel we tried the in house restaurant, which was excellent.

The next morning we walked to Fort Cornwallis, back to the Wall art area and over to the jetty before catching a cab to the airport. 

Along the walk we took a picture of a mascot that was shown on the map. It turns out it represents a 161 year old biscuit restaurant (Ghee Hiang). 

If I had paid a little more attention during our tour I would have loved to try those biscuits.

Malaysia was full of surprises and natural beauty. I especially enjoyed their delicious food. 

After we returned to Yokohama Miwa looked on the Internet and found an authentic Malaysian restaurant in our area. Will definitely be checking it out soon.

Useful links

​