Penang.
Penang is a fascinating fusion of the East and West, modernity and heritage. The old part of the main city on Penang Island, George Town, has recently been listed as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Penang played an important role in the British colonisation of the region in the 18th and 19th centuries, and much of the architecture from that period remains.
We stayed at newish hotel at Gurney, an area slightly north of the old town and we had a lovely view of the mudflats!
Right next door was a huge shopping centre, Gurney Plaza.
Floor after floor of non-stop shopping.
Nine floors in fact.
Just riding the escalators was exhausting.
Outside, the first couple of days looked a bit like this:
You’d think this was sunset wouldn’t you? But no, it was mid-morning.
It was what is known as ‘the burning season’ in Indonesia. It’s a big problem. Thousands of hectares of Indonesian forests are being cut down and burnt to make way for crops such as palm oil. The smoke from the burning creates a haze which affects many parts of Asia. The fires can burn for months because the forests grow in ancient peat beds and the peat smolders underground.
If you’re interested, there’s actually a movie about it, called The Burning Season, which is narrated by Hugh Jackman (now there’s reason enough to check it out…)
