Sunday...Georgetown by foot

So, after a well earned rest we were up, fed and watered and raring to go!  We had decided to give the walking tour in our Lonely Planet guidebook a go as it seemed to cover all of the points of interest that we fancied visiting.

First we stopped at the Victoria clocktower, which had been donated by a Chinese millionaire to honour Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee in 1897, apparently it had been nearly hit by a bomb in the second world war and had a slight tilt - although we did not notice.  Next we wandered down to Fort Cornwallis, which was unfortunately closed (so i will leave the history lesson about that for tomorrows blog!).

The town hall and city hall, both constructed by the British at the end of the 19th century were magnificent buildings, and hiding behind them was St George's Church, the oldest Anglican church in South East Asia, constructed in 1818.

To avoid the midday sun (and heat) we ducked into Penang museum, which we both agreed was the best museum we had been in for a very long time (not that we are museum geeks, don't get me wrong)...we are now both fully upto speed on the full history of the City, and Island.

The most impressive mansion was definitely the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, built by a rags to riches Chinese trader - now a hotel, and too expensive for us to warrant going on the tour.  Next though was the Eastern and Oriental hotel, built in 1884 and thanks to our cunning sneakyness provided a free tour.  Renovated recently it was absolutely stunning to wander around, all of the interior being restored to its former beauty.

On the way back to the hotel for a break we passed some local Chinese men sat on the pavement playing a game...and when we walked along the same street later that night they were still playing...must have been a good game!!

After a short rest back at the hotel we went out that evening to join in the Chap Goh Meh celebrations, which are celebrated with gusto every year 15 days after Chinese New Year.  It involved a 54 float procession through the streets of Georgetown, all featuring some form of this years symbol...the tiger...the most impressive float had a flying one!

Later on we went down to the Padang where there were more festivities, which we of course par-took in the food festival and ate some unrecognisable treats - yum!  We also watched another local Chinese yearly ritual where young girls would throw oranges over the esplanade into the sea wishing for their beloved to approach them through a local matchmaker.

All in all a great first day in the historic City.