Georgetown, Penang Island, Malaysia

Alan hard at work in Little India
Unrenovated shop house
Chinese temple
Sri Mariamann Hindu Temple
St George's Church, built with convict labour, 1818
Dimsum time
Refurbished shop houses
Kapitan Keling Mosque
Old Penang Guest House

Georgetown is the oldest British settlement in Malaysia, dating from 1785, having grown in importance as a port because of the increase in the opium trade conducted by the East India Company, as it was on the route to China. In the local museum there are a couple of opium beds, which have porcelain headrests, so the stupefied addicts could still imbibe whilst lying prone.

It was my good fortune to meet Alan Chan, at the Old Penang Guest House, he is a Malayian Chinaman, also my age and a fellow "grumpy", so we got on splendidly. He is an enthusiastic gourmet on all the cuisines of the country, as well as being most knowledgeable on its history and especially the Chinese contribution.

Much of Chinatown is seedy and run down, but has a thriving and active Chinese community. A lot of the old shop houses are being renovated, they are most attractive and functional inside with long, wooden stairways and shutters, with high ceilings, which allow control of temperature without the need for air conditioning. Being with Alan meant every day was a new food experience, starting with dim sum in the mornings. Not only are there there a number of Chinese styles of cooking, such as Cantonese, Sechuanese and Hainanese, but also the other styles from Malaysia, India, Indian Muslim, and Nanonya, which is a style developed by Malay ladies who married Chinese, they developed a synthesis of both styles, using fresh ingredients, sweet and sour, bitter with herbs and spices. The Chinese restaurants were full of enthusiastic slurpers who chatted noisily. All the restaurants were utilitarian, if they modernised, Alan said, they would loose all their customers, as they felt they would have to pay.

Little India holds a significant community of Indians, it is as if one was on a different continent, with music, saris, tilak marks, and the aroma of curries and joss sticks.

A visit to the tourist beaches was also undertaken, but it was not an area of iconic interest as Georgetown was, which also has an English fort and cricket pitch, just to fly the flag. It was the place to be, just being still and chilling out in contrast to all the weeks of movement and change.