Penang

The Island

For almost 2,000 years, Penang — strategically located between the Strait of Malacca and the Andaman Sea — has been a key gateway to Southeast Asia, attracting merchant adventurers from the Middle East, India, China, and Europe. The most recent influx has been holidaymakers from the East and West, drawn by the golden sand beaches, exotic culture, great hotels, and superb climate almost year-round. George Town, the island’s capital, is a creation of British imperialism, founded by the swashbuckling English colonialist Captain Francis Light, who took possession of the island for the British East India Company in 1786, launching it on its way to becoming one of the jewels in Britain’s colonial crown. George Town became a dazzlingly cosmopolitan melting pot, where Hindus, Muslims, Chinese, and Europeans have all left their mark on one of Malaysia’s most colourful cities. Many of its people are Peranakans, of Chinese (mainly Hokkien) descent, whose ancestors emigrated under British rule. Others are descendants of Indian Muslim sepoys, who served in the East India Company’s army, Tamils from southern India, or Bumiputra Malaysians from the mainland.