Georgetown's rather grand Town Hall
Lazing around is pleasant for a few days, but on Tuesday 16th we decided enough was enough, and struck north from Pulau Pangkor for the island of Penang. Pulau Penang is as famous as Melaka when it comes to colonial history, due to its strategic position at the north of the Straits of Melaka, and although it's probably best known these days as a mediocre beach resort, we didn't come for sand, sea or surf. Nope, we came for Georgetown, the big old settlement on Penang's northeastern coast.
Georgetown is predominantly Chinese, and as a result it buzzes with energy and an underlying layer of mania. The food is cheap and thoroughly excellent: from murtabak to thosai to strange noodle soups to curries, the quality of the available nosh is high, not to mention the amazing buildings around town, like the crazy Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi clan house. Georgetown is as interesting place, no doubt about it.
The intricate roof of the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi clan house
Murtabak in particular is worth an explanation; it's Indian pizza, and it's quite delicious. Malaysia has some of the best Indian restaurants this side of Birmingham, and they're much more authentic than the English version, which is effectively a curry, rice and nan experience. In Malaysia, Indian restaurants are more of the banana-leaf variety, where the food is served on a banana leaf, you eat with your right hand (not the left: the left is unclean, as it's used instead of toilet paper), and the food isn't that spicy. If you're wondering what to order in a Malaysian Indian, thosai (known as dosa in India) is a very thin lentil pancake, available with all sorts of fillings; roti (also known as chapati) is a different type of pancake that's a little thicker, and is also available with various fillings; and murtabak is a thosai filled with loads of egg, chopped vegetables, spices and, if specified, meat. They all come with these amazing curry dips, and make Indonesia's nasi campur and mie goreng look pathetic. It's weird that often the most pleasant way to eat a country's cuisine is in an ethnic restaurant in a more developed country: India can be a really lousy place for food, but Malaysia and England excel at Indian cuisine. It's strange, but true.
A typical Georgetown street scene
I'm slightly ashamed to say that I did precious little in Penang; Charlie and I split up to attend to various mundane housekeeping chores – buying thrill-packed items like watch batteries and steel wool, sorting out plane ticket details, and tracking down second-hand guidebooks for India – and although I visited most of the central historical sites, temples and ethnic areas, I mainly spent my time hanging round town, eating and reading. To say I missed out on Penang's best attractions would be accurate, but I couldn't give a hoot. Sometimes you've just got to say 'bugger it' and do nothing: besides, Christmas was approaching, and Georgetown is a wonderful place for self-indulgence.
