famous historic Armenian Street in central Georgetown – Penang

10 Free Things to do in Penang – pt 2

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008, Penang was one of the most important ports on the old Asian trading route. From the late 1700s, its free port status attracted merchants, laborers and traders from China, India, Sumatra and Europe. They all set up businesses, homes, communities and places of worship, using styles from their homelands. Penang became a huge melting pot of cultures.

Today, Penang Island’s main town of Georgetown contains SE Asia’s largest collection of colonial shop houses, townhouses, temples and other historic buildings. Descendants of the original settlers still live there. And Penang is also widely considered to have Malaysia’s finest street foods.

Goddess of Mercy Temple – Penang

As a result, Penang is one of my favorite places in SE Asia. And I believe it’s one of the best places to visit for anyone who’s traveling in the region. If you’re interested in architecture, culture, temples, history or local cuisines, you really don’t want to miss Penang.

The island also offers many beautiful natural spots such as the Botanic Gardens, Penang Hill, Penang National Park and numerous beaches. I wrote about many of those free activities in my first post on Penang.

Penang street food vendors

Amazingly, Penang is also one of the cheapest places to visit in Malaysia. The food is cheaper than most towns, even though it’s Malaysia’s best. Dozens of guest houses and budget hotels are scattered throughout Georgetown.

The town is compact enough explore on foot. And there’s an excellent, inexpensive bus system that makes it easy to reach several interesting places outside town.

If you live in the region and are looking for cheap holidays during 2013 or beyond, Penang is a great choice. And if you’re traveling through Malaysia, be sure to include Penang in your plans.

And here’s an extra bonus: Many of Penang’s best attractions don’t cost a dime! You can wander the streets to see most of the amazing architecture, temples, clan houses. Many museums don’t have entry fees. And nearly every month brings some festival or special events. See my first post detailing 10 free things to do in Penang.

Here are 10 more wonderful free activities in Penang:

Whiteaways Arcade – Penang

1. Visit Penang Tourist Office

address: 10 Whiteaways Arcade, Lebuh Pantai

The first thing you should do after arriving in Georgetown is to visit the Tourist Office on Lebuh Pantai ‘Beach Street’. Pick up a free map of town and various brochures, such as the one detailing cool wrought-iron sculptures dotting town (see below for details). Be sure to ask what special events, festivals and activities are going on while you’re there.

The office has a comfortable sitting/reading area with many books, magazines and brochures to check out. They sell various memorabilia like artistic postcards, T-shirts and other souvenirs.

While you’re there, check out the beautifully restored Whiteaways Arcade that the tourist office is housed in. I’ve written more about it in here.

wrought iron art in Penang

2. Hunt down 52 wrought-iron sculptures around Georgetown

If you wander the streets of Georgetown, you’re bound to notice the random cartoon-y wrought-iron sculptures gracing the walls of various buildings around town, usually near intersections.

There are 52 sculptures in total. Each one explains some interesting history about Penang, local cuisines, traditional trades or specific people from Penang’s colorful past.

You can pick up an excellent free brochure detailing every sculpture, with a map labeling the location of each artwork. It’s the best way to find all 52 sculptures.

row of shop houses on Kimberley Street – Penang

3. Check out colorful Chinese porcelain figurines and statues

location: Bee Cin Heong Company

address: 58-62 Kimberley Street

This block-long pink colonial building houses an enormous store full of everything Chinese. Go browse through aisles & aisles of Chinese ‘bling’.

You’ll find colorful statues, lanterns, figurines, charms, festival goods, incense, waterfall sculptures, holiday greeting cards, vases and loads of other goods from China. Fascinating!

If you’re in Penang on the last weekend of the month, you’ll double your opportunities for free activities. Pick up the brochure ‘Last Fri, Sat, Sun of the Month’ at the Tourist Information Office, which details all the happenings on the last weekend of each month. Following are some of your choices:

4. Join public aerobics and tai chi classes

Public aerobics classes are held at Penang Youth Park, located just beside the Botanic Gardens.

Time: Mon and Wed evenings, 6 pm

Public Tai Chi classes are held at the Esplanade, next to Fort Collins.

Time: Mon-Fri 7 am

5. Learn about Penang’s architecture, history & culture

location: Georgtown World Heritage Office & Library

address: 116-118 Lebuh Acheh

Georgetown World Heritage Office is a great place to learn about Penang’s history, architecture and culture. They have an interesting display showcasing the different styles of Chinese townhouses & shop houses in town. An LCD screen plays ongoing videos featuring local people telling their personal & business stories.

The excellent library is stocked with an array of books on architecture, history, culture and UNESCO information. The subject areas extend well beyond Penang to the rest of Malaysia, Asia and even to Australia and Europe.

The staff is happy to answer any questions you might have about Penang and/or UNESCO.

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gorgeous plants like these giant ferns are found in Penang Botanic Garden

6. Join a guided tour of Penang’s Botanic Gardens

Time: last Saturday of every month, 9:30-10.30 am

Joseph Teoh, a local Penang-ite and nature tour guide, usually conducts these interesting tours of the Botanic Garden. Each week he focuses on a slightly different theme for the walk. Some are the Botanic Garden history, medicinal plants, poisonous plants, using the five senses, the garden eco-system.

Joseph is extremely knowledgeable and shares a lot of interesting information during the walks. He involves the guests in hands-on interaction with the environment. When I joined the tour he had us walk barefoot in grass, eat wild flowers and stroke various trees & leaves.

We also saw some wildlife: a viper, a monitor lizard and several dusky languar monkeys.

Sign up beforehand for this guided tour by calling a phone number listed in the last weekend brochure. The maximum number of guests is 30 and the tour is usually full.

Khoo Kongsi on LIght Up Night

7. Be dazzled at Khoo Khongsi ‘Light Up Night’

location: Khoo Khongsi, 18 Cannon Square

time: 7-10 pm

Khoo Khongsi is Penang’s wealthiest, most elaborate Chinese clan house. It’s also the most expensive to visit with an entry fee of 10 RM / $3 US.

But once a month, on the last Saturday, Khoo Kongsi opens its doors with a free ‘Light Up Night’. The gorgeous courtyard and gilded buildings are illuminated.

Food stands sell local cuisines. And there are traditional Chinese Performances such as drumming, Chinese acrobatics, Lion dance and ‘changing faces’.

This is a great opportunity to visit beautiful Khoo Kongsi for free.

8. Enjoy free music concerts

Location: Gurney Paragon

Time: Last Saturday of each month, from 7:30 pm

At the same time as Khoo Kongsi Light Up Night, a much more modern event takes place at the other end of Georgetown. Gurney Drive area presents a completely different face to Penang: upscale shopping centers, condo towers and restaurants. It’s located on the outskirts of town beside the sea.

On the last Saturday, Gurney Plaza offers free live outdoor music concerts. Go enjoy some music beside the sea.

Little Penang Street Market

9. Browse Penang flea market

Location: Upper Penang Road

Time: 10 am – 5 pm, Last Sunday of each month

The last Saturday of each month also brings Little Penang Market. It’s set up on pedestrian-only Upper Penang Road. Vendors sell all sorts of merchandise including handmade crafts, imported goods, health products, local cuisines, fresh baked goods, paintings, drawings, photography, books and jewelry.

To liven things up, music is performed throughout the day.

The whole market is covered with tarps and pavilions, so visitors can escape the seering sun or rain.

free guided tour of Francis Light Cemetary – Penang

10. Tour Penang’s historic cemetery

Location: Francis Light Cemetery

Time: last Sunday of every month, 2 pm

Touring a cemetery is probably not at the top of most peoples’ travel lists. It’s certainly not something I think of doing on a regular basis. But a lot can be learned about a place by exploring its cemeteries, especially very old ones in very historic places.

Not surprisingly, Penang has a historically significant cemetery, full of the remains of many important people who founded an developed Penang during its heyday as one of the world’s most important trading ports.

On the tour you’ll learn some surprising facts about the cemetery itself, hear gossip-y stories about some of Penang’s leaders and inadvertently learn a lot about Penang history in general. Meet at Little Penang Street Market (info in brochure)

Francis Light Cemetery is open to the public daily, so you can go on your own if you’re not in Penang on the last weekend of the month. A large sign board gives basic information about the cemetery. And you can learn a lot simply by reading tombstones.

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You might also enjoy:

part 1 of this series

Penang’s local homemade sweets

Photo Gallery: Colonial Architecture of Penang

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100 Free Things to do in Asia eBook