A Blast from the Past

Since I didn't take many pictures of Chinatown and Little India in Kuala Lumpur, I thought I would post some from those same neighborhoods in Georgetown.

The street below is where I stayed in Chinatown. During the day, it is a quiet business district full of repair shops and sundry shops. At night, they line the left side with plastic tables and chairs in every nook and cranny and roll up the food carts to serve the masses.


This is a typical store in Little India, selling fabrics, flowers for offerings, and other necessities of life.

One of the gems from today was a visit to the Pinang Peranakan Mansion. I had planned to just take a peek as I walked by, but it looked so beautifully restored that I decided to head inside. The informal tour consisted of me and two asian women, who were led around by a man that told us stories of the original inhabitants, the origin of the decor and art work, and the history of Penang and the local people.

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This building was owned by one of the Kapitans of China (in the Chung clan), who built and ran the house with primarily slave labor from China in about 1880. The current owner bought it from a businessman and spent close to $1.5 million restoring it from bare bones to the pictures you see here. Since it is a private collection, we were allowed to take photos, sit in the chairs, and touch the fabrics. Some of the items belonged to the original owner, but many others were taken from the current owner's private collection.

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This first picture is of the ladies' sitting room just off the main reception room.

Below is the main dining room. Notice the beautiful detail in the gold-painted wood surrounding the entryway.

The stairs are original wood with steel railings from Europe, which is also where the piano hails from. The dishes are from the owner's private collection.

This is one of the bed chambers. These rooms were filled with clothes and hand-sewn beaded slippers.

And this is the main courtyard in the middle of the house. The whole house opens up to this courtyard, except the kitchen which is housed in a separate building in the back of the house.

The tour of the house took an hour and a half and was so well worth the investment of time. I could write so much more about this home, but for lack of time and space.

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In the afternoon, I visited Fort Cornwallis, stopped in at the Penang Museum, and toured the colonial part of the city. Below is a shot of the old Town Hall in Georgetown, not to be confused with the City Hall next door. This is typical of the architecture of the colonial part of town. Note the line of trishaws waiting for fares.

This peaceful little setting is in the Protestant cemetery in Georgetown which houses the remains of many of the European "fathers" of Penang, including Captain Francis Light, the founder the the British colony here. There is also a grave for the officer (Thomas Leonowens) that married Anna, a la The King and I.

Peaceful setting; mean mosquitos.

Tomorrow I start my journey into Thailand.