Best For Culture: Georgetown, Penang

The trip which began 1690 kilometers ago in ultra-modern Singapore ends amidst the
historical and cultural splendor of more laid-back Georgetown, Its an appropriate
bookend to the journey, because Georgetown is called by many the place where
Singapore goes to recall their past
KM Marker 1690 (240 km; 3 hours by car from Cameron Highlands)

To walk through Georgetowns heart is to walk through history. Chinese apothecaries

still hang shingles advertising tonics and cures. Indian and Malay merchants sell clothing
that wouldnt have seemed out of place during the era when the spice trade on which
Georgetown was built was still roaring. While the warehouses full of spices that once
lined the wharves are now mostly empty, the air still smells of cloves, of nutmeg and chili
powder. Though the fragrance is current (Georgetown is considered one of the finest
citys for food in Asia, another distinction it shares with Singapore), its not hard to
imagine that the scents wafting around town contain elements of temporal-defying
history.
And of course, high tea is served daily in the ultra-posh tearoom of the 125 year old
Eastern and Oriental Hotel.
Georgetowns 2008 listing - a joint listing with the Malaysian city of Malaca - as a
UNESCO world heritage site ensures that the citys heart (sometimes called the core
zone) will retain its cultural heritage.
One of the primary movers behind the UNESCO listing is Rebecca Duckett. Born in
Malaysia in 1962 to a British planter and his Malaysian-Chinese wife, Duckett has lived
in Georgetown for 11 years. To her, the cultural zone is more than a legal distinction. The
neighborhood is home, as Rebecca lives with her family in a beautifully restored home
originally built by a Chinese tin merchant in the mid 1840s.
I never planned to get this passionate about Georgetown, She says. but once I moved
here, and realized what a unique and beautiful melting pot of commerce, culture and
history the area was, I became committed to helping to preserve it.
Duckett believes that the UNESCO listing has been crucial to the revival of the city she
loves Georgetown is still rough around the edges, and this is part of the attraction. In
some ways, it feels like a film-set waiting for the amazing filmmaker.
Its an understandable sentiment. From the Victorian era clock tower on Beach Street and
the temples, mosques and shrines of Pitt Street to the morning wet market on Armenia
Street and hawker stalls of Chulia street, Georgetown resembles something out of an W.
Somerset Maugham story. Its easy for those whove visited both places to emphasize
with the view that Georgetown is where Singapore goes to recall their past (or be
reminded of what its lost). The capital of Malaysias Penang state has managed to

maintain the full richness of its cultural and architectural heritage in ways the Lion City
or any other city, for that matter could only dream. Duckett and many other
Georgetown residents born and adopted would have it no other way.
If you forget your past, your future becomes soulless. She says. If you lose that,
youre lost something precious, something you may never get back.

Make It Happen
Stay
Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion
(04) 262 0006
14 Lebuh Leith, 10200 Georgetown
http://www.cheongfatttzemansion.com/
Rooms from MYR$380
Beautifully restored in ways that may well surpass its original splendor, the Blue
Mansion (as its often called) is among Georgetowns most instantly identifiable heritage
buildings. The 125+ year old mansion now serves not merely as a classic hotel with
individually decorated rooms bedecked with restored antique furnishings, but as a focal
point for tour groups, heritage buffs & students of Asian architecture.

Eat
Mamas Nyonya Cuisine
(04) 229 1318
31-D, Abu Siti Lane, 10400 Georgetown
mamas.nyonya.cuisine@gmail.com
11:30am-2:30pm & 6:30pm 10pm Closed Mondays
Dishes from MYR$10
Penang, along with Singapore and Malaca, is one of three main centers of Peranakan
culture, meaning no visit to Georgetown would be complete without sampling some the
distinctive cuisine thats a blend of Chinese, Malay & Indian unique to the area. Mamas
is one of the most popular Peranakan places in town, and with good reason. A family run
establishment, the recipei at mamas have been passed down for six generations. Favorite
dishes include prawn cooked with coconut milk and lemongrass and fatty pork cooked in
black been sauce. For desert, try the sago pudding with sweet yam and coconut milk.