3 days in Penang

With just three days to take it all in, I walked and ate my way through this food and street art lover's paradise.

The reason I went to Malaysia was out of the need to renew my tourist visa for Thailand. In 2014, Americans could only spend 30 days in Thailand on a tourist visa. So many would do visa runs to a nearby country. Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia or like myself, Malaysia.

Many people will cross the border into a new country, and get right back in line to come back into Thailand with no issues. I am not a fan of this because I’d much rather actually experience a country and not just step foot there and turn around.

At the time I was staying on the northeast shore of Koh Phangan with my girlfriend and her two cousins who were doing a 2 month intensive yoga and meditation course. They are all Chilean and get a 90 day tourist visa. So nobody else had to go for a visa run.

I was torn between going to Langkawi, as small island near the border, or Georgetown,Penang, another island slightly further south. My limited understanding of what there was to do in Georgetown revolved around amazing street food and amazing street art. That was all I needed to know. I was excited. Three days walking around eating and checking out art sounded perfect. The whole trip to Georgetown, including the border crossing, was about 12 hours one way.

Penang street art of boy painted over motorcycle
wooden door that says Sushi Kitchen

The first thing I noticed was the beautiful state of decay the city was in. It was unfortunate in many ways that so many buildings were in various states of disrepair. But I also found it to be so beautiful. The British influence was obvious with colonial architecture now covered in signs, power lines, advertisements, street art, crumbling facades and exposed brick.

The next thing I noticed was how culturally diverse this city was. As somebody from the western world this felt like the most culturally unique place I had been. Sure, NYC is technically more diverse, but the population here is strongly represented by Chinese, Indian, Thai and obviously Malaysian. Authentic street food from all of these ethnicities were around every corner, and for so cheap. I hopped from stall to stall eating authentic Chinese dumplings at one, Malaysian Laksa at the next and finishing it off with Indian naan, dosas and a mango lassi. All while never spending more than a few dollars at each place.

I expected a very Malaysian experience, which I got in many ways, but this was far more diverse than I could have imagined. 42.3% malaysian, 39.4% chinese, 9.4% Indian, 8.9% other. Religously there is a big mix of Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu.

My days were spent casually wandering the streets, enjoying the sights and eating constantly. Perfection.

A man sitting at the end of a long corridor with arches
Man playing makeshift drums to a crowd in penang streets
A dog sleeping in the street in front of a mechanic shop in penang
Man selling coconuts in the streets of Penang

Built over the water on a network of stilts is the Clan House Jetty. Here, Chinese immigrants made this their home over a century ago.

Woman walking with groceries at the end of dark wooden alley
Front of a Chinese home with random items and the feet of a person in a wheelchair by the door
Fish drying on a chinese newspaper
a lone shack at the end of a long boardwalk over the water
A man serving soup off his motorcycle at night
Penang food vendor waiting for customers
Old buildings with lots of charming decay and character at dusk

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