I love visiting Penang- it's one of the few places in SE Asia that have a real 'Old World' feel with an almost European sense of an urban center.
Georgetown's old town is mostly made up of shophouses- which were once ubiquitous in other parts of SE Asia as well but many have disappeared- altough Singapore has belatedlyc ome around and is now preserving them-sometimes turning whole neighbourhoods into Disneyfied 'ye olde singapore' areas.
Georgetown feels more authentic- yes there are more and more boutique hotels but a surprising number of shophouses are still around and some of them are partly dilapidated, adding to the overall charm. although the old shophouse i used to stay in for 17 RM a night has now become a trendy bagel cafe- the top floors were exactly as they were 15 years ago as the value of the building is mostly in the ground floor and the passing traffic...
Anyway, I wrote a short ode to Penang shophouses.. I hope you enjoy it.
