Penang

Penang is a Malaysian state consisting of an island and a strip of mainland: and almost all of its cultural interest is concentrated in Georgetown, the island's northeast corner and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008. The heritage designation covers the same ground as the city's hawker-centre culture: the same streets that contain clan houses, shophouses of Chinese, Malay, Tamil, and Peranakan origin also contain the food stalls for which Penang is widely considered one of the finest hawker cities in Asia.

The case for Georgetown as a food destination requires no qualification: char kway teow from a wok over charcoal, asam laksa (sour tamarind-based, categorically different from Singaporean laksa), Penang hokkien mee, nasi kandar (Muslim rice plates with a rotating curry selection), and cendol, a dessert of green rice-flour jellies in coconut milk and palm sugar, served from the same cart on the same corner since 1936.

Penang Hill, accessible by funicular, rises 830 metres above Georgetown and provides views over Georgetown and the Strait of Malacca, and was a cool retreat for colonial officials. The Kek Lok Si temple complex, the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia, took forty years to complete and continues to be extended. The Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, an indigo-blue Hakka merchant house built at the turn of the twentieth century, is now a heritage-protected boutique hotel.

Georgetown's heritage zone is best explored slowly, on foot or by trishaw. The clan houses are among its most striking buildings. Khoo Kongsi, the grandest, has an elaborately carved and gilded hall set in a courtyard surrounded by row houses once occupied by clan members. The Clan Jetties, a series of wooden piers built over the water by Chinese clans in the nineteenth century, are still home to families, though some are now busy with visitors.

The city's religious buildings stand side by side. The Kapitan Keling Mosque, the Sri Mahamariamman Temple and the Goddess of Mercy Temple are all within a short walk of each other along what locals call the Street of Harmony. Little India, with its spice shops, music and sari stores, is especially lively during the festival of Deepavali. St George's Church, built in 1818, is one of the oldest Anglican churches in Southeast Asia.

The street art that has made Georgetown famous began with a series of murals by the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic in 2012, including the much-photographed children on a bicycle. Wrought-iron caricatures across the old town tell stories about the streets where they stand. Both are best seen early in the morning, before the heat and the crowds.

Beyond the city, the island has quieter corners. Penang National Park, in the northwest, has jungle trails leading to beaches such as Monkey Beach and a meromictic lake. The tropical spice garden on the north coast and the fruit farms in the hills of Balik Pulau offer a taste of the island's agricultural side, especially during the durian season in the middle of the year.

The weather is hot and humid all year, with rain most likely from September to November. December to February is often the most comfortable time to visit. Chinese New Year and Thaipusam bring spectacular celebrations to Georgetown.

Penang International Airport has flights from Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and other regional hubs. The island is also connected to the mainland by two bridges and a ferry, and trains from Kuala Lumpur reach Butterworth, across the water, in around four hours.

Georgetown and its food fill three days comfortably, and the national park or the hills add more. Stay in a restored shophouse hotel in the heritage zone to experience the city at its most atmospheric.