The Asian Reporter
Pacific Northwest News q Volume 27 Number 23 q December 4, 2017 q www.asianreporter.com
On Penang island, it’s all
about art, eats & old streets
Police use elephants
to clear habitat
Page 2
Mount Agung
erupts in Indonesia
Page 5
INTRIGUING ISLAND. A woman looks at street art on a wall in George Town on the island of Penang, Malaysia. George Town oozes a hauntingly rustic charm, with
colorful street art that is as much a draw as the historical architecture and one of Southeast Asia’s tastiest street-food scenes. (AP Photo/Adam Schreck)
“Penang people ... are very slow and very
looking for. The most popular are along the
By Adam Schreck
resort strip of Batu Ferringhi on the relaxed. We are living on a small island so
The Associated Press
we are happy with the situation,” explains
island’s northern coast.
EORGE TOWN, Malaysia —
Where Penang really shines, though, is local artist Ch’ng Kiah Kiean, who grew up
Penang is the rare tropical island
in the scrappy but alluring lanes of the in the shadow of a traditional Chinese clan
where hitting the town beats
provincial capital of George Town. Its his- meeting hall known as a kongsi. “We still
lazing on the beach.
Fortune-seekers from China, Europe, torical center is listed along with Melaka, keep a simple lifestyle in George Town.”
A handful of restored heritage buildings
and India have been drawn to this Malay- another enchanting Malaysian city further
down
the
coast,
on
the
UNESCO
World
such
as the Penang Peranakan Mansion
sian island for more than two centuries,
Heritage
list.
and
the
grand Khoo Kongsi clan house
creating along with local Malays an
Although
founded
by
the
British
as
a
offer
glimpses
into how Chinese immi-
eclectic mix that can feel both seductively
trading
hub,
Penang
has
strong
Chinese
grants
both
shaped
and were influenced by
familiar and exotic at the same time.
influences,
including
the
legacy
of
waves
of
their
adopted
home.
The colonial capital they’ve left behind
Soak up street art
oozes a hauntingly rustic charm, with migrants who settled here for work
Less than a decade ago, it was George
colorful street art as much a draw as the generations ago.
Craftsmen still tinker away in Chinese- Town’s tumbledown architecture and
historical architecture and one of South-
signposted shophouses nestled up against umbrella-topped cycle rickshaws that first
east Asia’s tastiest street-food scenes.
busy dragon-topped temples swaddled in caught the eyes of visitors.
Wander the old town
There are plenty of tourist-friendly incense, and gather for rounds of mahjong
Turn a corner these days and you’re
Continued on page 16
stretches of sand if that’s what you’re as the sun sets.
G
Easy-to-make recipe:
Greek-Style Rice Pilaf
Page 13
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