Penang: a state in Malaysia
Capital of Penang: Georgetown
Where is Georgetown: on an island, off the coast of Malaysia
Where did we go: eastern side of Georgetown
How long is the drive from Kuala Lumpur to Georgetown: 3-4 hours
When did we reach Georgetown: 2am in the morning, then slept for a few and got ready for sight- seeing
We went sight seeing in a beautiful cultural area embedded into the city, just a few blocks away from the beach. I guess you can call this area your Chinatown + India-town + Malaysia-town all in one. It's pretty crazy because there's one road crammed with Indian boutiques and cuisine, while the street next door is packed with Chinese stores and cuisine, and the street next to that is a street with Muslim goods. A few streets in the other direction is a Malay cultural road. So this place is brimming with culture!!
Little, little India, can't go anywhere without seeing a little foreign culture. The "Indian road" sold tons of clothing, jewelry, shoes, indian collectibles, and cuisine. Some of the merchandise is much cheaper than in India. I've heard Indians buy clothes and invest in gold here, instead of in India, since it's cheaper.
Look at how cute this little road is. It resembles a Hollywood movie set doesn't it? But no, this is Penang Street in Malaysia. We did a lot of shopping and ate late lunch here.
I found this little corner by the side of store, and it reminded me of New York City or Philadelphia. In these big cities, you see a lot of apartments and shops and metal stairs, right? You see the same thing in this picture but the number of plants here jumped out. I have never seen pots and plants sitting outside in NYC or Philadelphia (maybe because the weather doesn't allow it or gardening is just not practical). So go Malaysia!
Throughout Penang, there are these brilliant pieces of art on the outer walls. There are about 30 different paintings, all walkable distance, and you can take cool "squad" pictures with the art. For example, with this picture, I saw some posing by sitting on the back of the bicycle, pretending to ride. There's even a map with the locations. Check out some pictures : Penang Street Art.
This is a road buzzing with tourists and pedestrians, no cars allowed. Shops and restaurants line along this eccentric road, named Armenian Street. These are the more Malaysian authentic shops than Chinese or Indian. They sell souvenirs, crafts, handmade goodies, works of art, keychains, and lots and lots of food. If you're looking for goodies to buy in Malaysia, I'd say this is the best spot.
Black and white pictures are tremendously effective. It creates a dimensionality, to make objects pop out and recede into the shadows. I think in this picture, I definitely made the setting more dramatic and moody than the original sunny day.
While looking up these places again to write this post, I used the street view feature on google maps. I found the exact location of the second and third picture. So I was dumbstruck when I saw the precise area we visited and took pictures of!
No comments:
Post a Comment