Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Pearl of the Orient


My cousin recently visited Penang in Malaysia in February. He asked me if I could put his Penang story on my blog. “Why not?” I said, ask I would welcome anyone to share his travel story with me.

Christened the Pearl of the Orient, Penang is one of the most visited islands in Asia. With its assets of natural beauty and impressive heritage, Penang has enough to keep the tourists engaged. As travel guides say, Penang is an island of elegant temples and palm-contoured beaches. Renowned writer Somerset Maugham was impressed by the beauty of Penang that he decided to stay at the place. The romantic ambience inspired him to create his work and reach those heights in literature.

Penang is fusion of the Orient and the Occident. It has several facets. It is a busy port, a heritage city and an industrialized base. It is a town where old tradition embraces the new. Penang has always been a favorite place of tourists. Thanks to their continuous influx, it has enough hotels to take care of them.

You could spend your evenings in Penang strolling the market. It is subdivided into wet market (selling fish and variety of meat), and dry market which sells vegetables. Electronic goods market is elsewhere. The temples tell the tales of those good old days. You could also decide to visit Little India and Chinatown, two ethical hubs there.

Once one has returned from Penang, he always nurtures a desire to revisit it. As my cousin himself tells me.

No comments: