Its been a few years since I continued my studies in Penang. While the Island has changed in many way since my last visit many years before. The underlying culture that makes Penang interesting remained the same.
As the title suggest, this series is mainly just an observation on the place that I have visited around Penang island and in no other way were it meant as a reference towards the Island as a whole. In the recent year, the Island has been promoted intensively as a street food heaven by the local government and with their successful bid in making their city area a UNESCO Heritage site, the Island has been striving with tourism investment.
Going around the town shows tons of murals made by local and foreign artist and this itself was created under the government initiatives of promoting Penang as an Art and Cultural hub in the country. Obviously, this bring tons of cultural events that has attract the attention of the international community.
But, despite all this, the island still retain its cultural value pretty well despite the rapid urbanization that is ongoing throughout the island. Exploring the small detail of the island will still surprised some seasoned traveler I believe.
Although Penang is majority occupied by the Bumiputera, the Island town area is predominantly Chinese and Indian Muslim. This can be seen on the daily activities and the annual celebration held throughout the year. The street would be filled with offerings and road are sometimes closed for this special occasion. Still its a sight to experience yourself.
Kelvin Ah Kian | A blog 