Georgetown Penang Shophouses

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.

Nice! i like the place a lot too (will be back next summer for another visit)......

Kuching still has some nice old shophouses,so too does Melaka...and Singapore of course.But I think the ones in Penang are the most interesting......as you say,not too heavily restored.

thanks Luca.

yes, I've stayed in shophouses in other places as well- but few towns have such and extensive and well-preserved core as Georgetown. And it's still possible to stay in them.

There are still cheap non-AC rooms available for 2%RM or so, in authentic old houses, as well as glamorously restored boutique hotels. Myself, i stayed at the Chung Fatt Tze last time I was there- it was a treat...

Beautifully put together OP. I really enjoyed the trip around Georgetown - one of my favourite places. In the early 70s Singapore had the same feel but those silly fools smashed it to smithereens. No class at all.

Have you been to Ipoh? They also have some great old shophouses. Its less touristy than Penang and even more 'authentic' (ie. less renovated).

Yes,that's true....some really nice old ones in Ipoh,in their original state....

Such shophouses are absolutely everywhere in Malaysia, certainly in every town and city.
The center of Phuket city in Thailand also has them.

True, I dont think anyone suggested anything different

Thank you .a really nice piece. I stayed in one of these lovely old places on my last trip to George Town. They are perfect always make me feel like Lam going back in time, .

Were people still wearing spine-pads back then?

I have just finished about about colonial Malaya.

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