Street art of George Town

18 Amazing Things To Do In George Town, Penang – Budget Travel In Malaysia

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Boasting an incredible food scene and the best street art in Malaysia, there are so many amazing things to do in George Town to make it an absolute must-visit.

No trip to Penang in Malaysia is complete without a visit to George Town. The food here represents the mixture of its people with Indian, Chinese and Malay combining to creat some of the best dishes in the world. The old town is a UNESCO heritage site and the mixture of colonial and indigenous buildings provide a great canvas for some incredible street art.

George Town marked the exact halfway point through my one year of travels in Southeast Asia. Because of this, I decided to spend a little longer here than other destinations. I initially planned to stay for around a week but then I discovered the Penang International Food Festival was about to take place so I ended up staying even longer.

Why I Love George Town, Penang

There are so many reasons to love George Town. The food scene is amongst the best in the whole of Asia, if not the world. You can eat excellent food very cheaply here.

Read more about the food in George Town here.

The street art in George Town is incredible. This includes huge pieces on the sides of crumbling colonial buildings and the steel rod sculptures that can be found all over the area.

George Town is very multi-cultural and this is reflected in the people who are extremely friendly and helpful to tourists.

Click here for information on where to stay in George Town.

Things To Do In George Town

Batu Ferringhi

Batu Feringghi beach

Batu Feringghi beach

Batu Ferringhi is a very pleasant beach with plenty of shade, meaning you don’t have to bake in the Malaysian heat. There are plenty of food and drink places around and they have a night market from 7 pm.

How To Get To Batu Ferringhi

Batu Ferringhi is located at the north of Penang Island. You can take the bus 101 from Love Lane, costing approximately 2.7 MYR. It takes just over an hour on the bus to get here.

Burmese Buddhist Temple

"Burmese

Tourists may have heard about the ‘Thai Temple’ that is home to the huge reclining Buddha. Opposite that is this Burmese temple that is also very beautiful and peaceful and definitely worth a visit. It is free admission and the usual temple rules apply (dress code).

Burmese Buddhist Temple Opening Times: 7 am – 6 pm.
Burmese Buddhist Temple Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Chocolate & Coffee Museum

A small but charming museum that offers free samples of local chocolate and coffee. We tried the white coffee that is very popular here. It has sweeteners already added and it is very sweet, but also quite delicious. There is no pressure to buy. The museum is definitely worth having a look if you are nearby.

Chocolate & Coffee Museum Opening Times: 9 am – 6 pm, every day.
Chocolate & Coffee Museum Entrance Fee: Free admission.

Cinemas

Going to the cinema is a cheap activity in George Town (just over 10 MYR) and there are a number of cinemas to choose from, all located in malls.

‘TGV Cinemas’ is located on the 8th floor of Watsons. It is your typical mall cinema but could use some improvements. Finding the toilet seemed an adventure in itself and nearly slipping on a pool of water wasn’t great. We tried to buy popcorn and was ignored by the staff who served another customer before us, despite it being obvious we had been waiting longer. We left without buying. There is also a ‘TGV’ at Gurney Paragon mall.

‘GSC Gurney Plaza’ is located on the top floor of the Gurney Plaza (not the Paragon). This was a better experience though you might want to take some ear plugs as the volume of the trailers/adverts is unbelievably loud. Thankfully, the movie itself was more bearable.

Clan Jetties of Penang

Clan jetties of Penang.

Clan jetties of Penang.

A nice area in which you can view the old villages of Chinese houses on stilts in the waters. Explore the jetties, which are filled with souvenir shops and food stalls, and look across the water towards Butterworth. There is a Chinese temple which is definitely worth visiting as the route takes you right through the small community.

Clan Jetties Of Penang Opening Times: 9 am – 9 pm.
Clan Jetties Of Penang Entrance Fee: Free admission.

"Chinese

Eat Durian

If you have yet to try this most divisive of fruits, you will certainly have plenty of opportunity to do so in George Town. As well as the numerous durian restaurants across the city, where you can buy whole durian and sit and eat it with free gloves, you will come across it in many forms: candy, dried, nougat, Portuguese tart, ice-cream, latte, pie, cream puffs, pancakes, cendal and so on.

We tried some durian from Shun Li Fruit House’ (map) which was very soft and creamy. It was the most expensive available (35 MYR) for 3 pieces as it was supposed to be Musang King durian. Reading online, this was supposed to have small seeds but ours were quite large. Apparently, the government hopes to introduce QR codes to durian so people know what they are buying. This will certainly help people like us who know very little about durian types.

Ghost Museum

Ghost Museum, George Town, Penang

Ghost Museum, George Town, Penang

You are not short of choice in George Town when it comes to museums. The Ghost Museum is the one that grabbed my attention more than any other. As you walk around, you will see various displays featuring mannequins. Each display tells a diffferent Malay horror folk story. There are English translations for each of the stories but they could be improved. You can try on clothes and become part of the scenes. There is also a new floor dedicated to zombies. There are no live actors in this museum.

Ghost Museum Opening Times: 10 am to 7 pm, every day
Ghost Museum Entrance Fee:  With MyCard – 18 RM. Without MyCard – 28 RM.

Hidden Bars (Speakeasy) of George Town 

Most of George Town’s bars are located in the most western area (around Love Lane). But there are a number of bars that you will never find unless you know about them in advance?

In George Town, there are a number of hidden bars, or ‘speakeasies’. These places can only be discovered if you KNOW about them. You may well be stood outside a glamorous Chinese style cocktail bar and not even know it!

The problem with these places is they are not too friendly to a travellers’ budget. However, that didn’t stop us from having a look. We visited three in one evening, pretending to check out the menu for a possible future visit!

Click here for a list of the bars. For further information on how to get in, check out reviews on Google Maps.

Hin Bus Depot

This old bus station now serves as a showcase for some great street art and sculptures. There are cafes and quirky art and craft shops located within and it also hosts a Sunday market. We also attended a curry festival as part of the Penang International Food Festival 2019. Definitely worth checking out.

Hin Bus Depot Opening Times: 12 pm – 7 pm, Mon – Fri. 11 am – 7 pm, Sat & Sun.
Hin Bus Depot Entrance Fee: Free admission.

House Of Yeap Chor Ee

Yeap Chor Ee was a Chinese immigrant who began life in Penang as a hairdresser before becoming one of Penang’s richest men. It is an interesting story and there are some cool artefacts and furniture from Yeap Chor Ee’s house and business. The museum was empty when we visited. In fact, the receptionist seemed surprised to see us!

House Of Yeap Chor Ee Opening Times: 10 am – 5 pm, Mon-Sat.
House Of Yeap Chor Ee Entrance Fee: 20 RM.

Little India

Little India Famous Samosa

You must try the samosa!

You’ll know when you arrive in ‘Little India’ as the atmosphere changes immediately. Suddenly, the air is filled with the smell of spices and incense. The sound of loud Bollywood music spills onto the streets from many of the shops.

Obviously, food is one of the main attractions of this part of town and here you will find samosas for less than 1 MYR, all kinds of curries and sugary Indian sweets. There are many vegetarian restaurants in the area. It is a truly vibrant, colourful part of George Town and not to be missed.

Penang Hill Hiking

Having already been in George Town for 10 days, we decided it was time to visit Penang Hill. We wanted to take the funicular but also felt this was a good opportunity to do some hiking. Logic would suggest that taking the train up the hill and hiking back down would be easier. Maybe that’s why Joanna wanted to hike up and catch the train back down!

After probably not the best breakfast to have immediately before a hike (chicken drumstick and biryani rice) from a local restaurant, we set off on the first part of the journey. We followed the route to the middle station from this website.

Almost immediately, we came across some interesting flowers and even saw durian trees with little baby durian growing.

Baby durian, Penang Hill

Baby durian, Penang Hill

Baby durian on Penang Hill

One that didn’t make it.

After around 90 minutes of almost constant uphill hiking, we reached the middle station. It was a tough hike in the Malaysian heat, but we managed it. The views were already stunning.

"Penang

If you are hiking all the way to the top of Penang Hill, make sure you bring plenty of water. We expected to find a shop at the halfway point but there was nothing at all. We’d already guzzled down 2 litres of water each on the hike to the middle point. We had to do the second part without water.

We did find a website that gave info on the second part of the hike but it was already out of date from the first direction so we set off hoping it would be obvious. For the most part, it was. Keep going up.

"Penang

At the top of these steps, we came across a barking dog. We knew to expect this and as we kept walking, he moved away. What we were not expecting was to walk into a pack of around 6 other dogs, also barking at us. They were protecting the farm and simply making us unaware that they knew we were there so we were not afraid. A couple did come a little too close for comfort though but a stamp of my foot made them scarper.

The path then turned into jungle and this is where we came across some massive ants and other strange bugs. We saw some massive monkeys too so had to keep hold of our possessions.

Huge ants on Penang Hill

Huge ants on Penang Hill

The trek was getting quite tiring by this point. Occasionally, a funicular would pass us as a reminder of how easy it could have been.

Funicular, Penang Hill

Funicular, Penang Hill

After just over an hour, we finally made it to the top. It had taken us nearly 3 hours in total, including rest stops. We were rewarded with a spectacular view over George Town.

"Penang

We found the actual resort at the top of the hill to be a little disappointing. We were not up there long. We visited the mosque, the toy and zombie museum, saw the biggest spider on our travels yet, had a smoothie, and then took the funicular back down the hill which took all of 4 minutes! It cost 15 MYR one way.

If you are able-bodied, I would recommend hiking your way up Penang Hill. The sense of achievement is more rewarding than the resort itself.

You can reach Penang Hill using cheap, public buses. We took the bus from Penang Road in the heart of George Town. Google Maps will give you directions from your location.

Penang House Of Music

DJ Global Treats at Penang House of Music

DJ Global Treats at Penang House of Music

I came across this place by accident on Google Maps whilst looking for something else! Penang House Of Music need to work on their promotion as they are tucked away on the fourth floor of a mall with no passing custom. It doesn’t seem to be very well known. When we visited, there had been one visitor all day.

This is a shame as it is an interesting museum. Focusing on the music scene in Penang, predominantly from the 30s to the 60s, the museum is also busy archiving a lot of the material from this time before it is lost for good.

There are a lot of interactive elements in the museum. You can play a number of instruments, enjoy a virtual reality performance and even record your own radio show with the option of uploading it to the internet so you can listen back at home.

Virtual reality performance at Penang House of Music

Virtual reality performance at Penang House of Music

We had a free guide who gave us more information than the displays. Overall, it was an enjoyable and educational experience.

Penang House Of Music Opening Times: According to the website, opening hours are 11:00 am – 8:00 pm (last admission at 7:00 pm) though the information on Google Maps is different.
Penang House of Music Entrance Fee: 30 RM.

Penang International Food Festival

Penang International Food Festival

Penang International Food Festival

We were very fortunate as our second week in George Town coincided with the start of the annual ‘Penang International Food Festival‘. For the opening, many of the local restaurants participated in a street food festival for two days. A number of streets near ‘Little India’ were occupied by street vendors selling delicious food through the night. It was very busy and it was refreshing to see that the vendors did not increase their prices for the festival. You could get great food for cheap here, just as you can anywhere else in the city. Between us, we ate Chinese fried pork, spit-roasted lamb, laksa, chicken fried in prawn sauce, spring rolls and vegan bao. We also visited a small curry festival and a ‘food photo’ exhibition.

Steel Rod Sculptures Of George Town

Located all over the city are steel monuments that provide information on George Town’s history. There are 52 in total and they are a great way to explore the streets and back-alleys of this incredible town. Look out for the ‘Penang: Marking George Town’ leaflet for a map marking all the locations.

Street Art Of George Town

George Town is known for its street art and with good reason. When you first arrive in the old town, you will find yourself checking the side of every building so you don’t miss any. There are some huge pieces of street art, some smaller but more well known and some street art so hidden, most people don’t even know its there. The ‘Penang: Marking George Town’ leaflet has the locations of the more famous pieces but there are many more to be found. Keep your eyes peeled!

Wat Chaiyamangkalaram

Wat Chaiyamangkalaram

Wat Chaiyamangkalaram

This temple, the largest Thai temple in Penang, is well known for its huge reclining Buddha guarded at the entrance by two mosaic dragons. It is a little out of the main centre but it only took us around half an hour to walk from our hotel. The temple is free to enter and usual temple rules apply (dress code).

Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Opening Times: 6 am – 5.30 pm, every day.
Wat Chaiyamangkalaram Entrance Fee: Free Admission.

Reclining Buddha of Wat Chaiyamangkalaram

Reclining Buddha of Wat Chaiyamangkalaram

Wonder Food Museum

Big portions in George Town!

Big portions in George Town!

A fun museum that gives information on local food; describing the ingredients and history of the dishes and giving visitors the opportunity to dress up and take photos with the very convincing fake food. You will be given the option of having a photographer walk around with you so you can buy the photos at the end. We opted to take our own pics. Entertaining and educational.

Wonder Food Museum Opening Times: 9 am – 6 pm, every day.
Wonder Food Museum Entrance Fee: 25 RM.

The king of fruit!

The king of fruit!

Is George Town Worth Visiting?

From our very first night, we knew that we had made a good choice using George Town as a place to take a break from constantly moving. The old town is beautiful and the street art adds to its charm. The food is excellent and there is so much to choose from. And it’s cheap, with meals starting from around 5 MYR.

George Town is a popular place for travellers. Every night we went for drinks at ‘Antarabangsa’, we met with people that were passing through, and others that came to George Town many years ago and kept on coming back. It truly is an amazing place to visit and should be on any South East Asian itinerary.

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