Hello, dear readers,

I am a young French traveler who wishes to share some of her experiences in Malaysia with you. I have the opportunity to hit the road with the travel agency Ipoh Secrets. They offer many tours that will allow me to discover the country.

Today, I would like to tell you about my stay on the Island of Penang and mainly in the capital George Town where I stayed for 3 days.

Firstly, I was surprised to see how kind and welcoming people are in the country. Always smiling and ready to help. To be honest, I feel good here.

I started my stay by visiting the Penang War Museum. I found the museum very interesting and fun. The entire tour is done outdoors or inside the military battery itself. Unfortunately, I found that the time available there was a little too short to really enjoy the museum. But I’m sure that can be arranged with the guide to stay longer on-site.

Then we arrived in George Town in the early afternoon. Our guide dropped us off at our respective hotels. We were then able to explore the city.

During this stay, I walked a lot in the city because that’s what I prefer, wandering around to find surprises. By following the streets, we always find wonders and we are surprised, that’s what I love. The streets are often decorated and colorful, really my top tip to enjoy your stay is just to walk the streets and stop wherever you like.

I must admit that my favorite place was the small stilted alleys that my guide recommended. You can enjoy the sea breeze in these quiet little alleys (except for one which is very touristy). Special mention for the stilt temple which is very calm and relaxing.

During my stay, I also visited one of the four UNESCO-listed sites in the country, namely The Blue Mansion Cheong Fatt Tze. There are two guided tours in English per day, at 11 am and 2 pm (remember to book your tickets in advance). The tour is very good, we learn a lot of things, the guide is very interesting and has a lot to share with us.

I also visited the Sun Yat Sen Museum Penang. In this one, you will be immersed in a Malaysian and Chinese-style house. An exhibition in the museum is dedicated to Dr. Sun Yat Sen as a young revolutionary in exile. I must admit that I found the house very beautiful, and it was very nice to see how they lived in this house at the time (with the temple, the kitchen…) but despite the guided tour, my English being limited, I didn’t quite understand its place in the city’s history. But polyglots will surely enjoy the tour more than me.

On-site, you can also (rent or buy, I’m not sure), clothes to dress in traditional attire. Many people took photos in the house in traditional clothes.

To conclude this first vlog, I would like to recommend visiting the Kek Lok Si Temple. This Buddhist temple blends Chinese, Burmese, and Thai styles. I found it very beautiful and very calming but be careful, this site has become primarily a tourist attraction. If you want to visit more authentic sites, I recommend the smaller temples in the city.

I hope I have inspired you to travel to George Town, and we’ll meet again for a new blog soon, depending on where John (my guide from Ipoh Secrets) decides to take me 🙂