UNESCO Georgetown Cycling Tour (Part I), Penang

Apart of Melaka, Penang is another place where I find that they have a lot of histories in it. So I decided to sign up for a bicycle guided tour by Metrobike. The price is at RM100/pax which included bicycle rental + drinking water + 1 breakfast + 1 lunch + 1 snack. The whole tour takes around 3 hours. I have no choice but to separate this tour into two posts because too many things to share.

We are there early so just take our own sweet time taking pictures around the jetty.

LOL. I wonder why is that.

The ferry. It is the symbol of Penang.

Alright, a little historical lesson to start with before the ride begins! Let the Chinese and the Australian to listen. I already know all of these.

This is the only railway station without a railway. Now has changed to a custom.

Chew Jetty has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The reason is Chew Jetty is the biggest clan among all the Chinese Clan in Penang. So they have larger area and nicer buildings here. 

Chinese here migrated from China and became a labor for the English by loading and unloading goods from the ships. Some are fishermen.

Walking through the wooden floor and you will see there are a couple of homestay location here.

Fishermen boats by the dirty and quite smelly water. Eww~~~ I wonder how to enjoy a homestay like this.

One of the wall painting in Penang.

Back from their daily fishing routine.

This wood has its history. It is here for hundreds of years. Long time ago, the Chinese fighting with each other to load or unload more goods to earn more money. It was a real chaos and the work was always being interrupted by this issue. So a Chinese leader created this where they will be going in a group by numbers. So everyone will get their turns fairly.

Spotted two otters at Penang! Wow...they are here to steal some fishes from the fishermen.

Off we go riding freely in the heart of Georgetown.

This is the most famous wall painting among all the wall paintings in Penang. The bicycle on the wall is real. It is just the brother and sister are drawings. This painting was slightly damaged after being vandalism. Really annoyed with people who tend to feel jealous of something that is beautiful.

We continue our journey to Cheah Kongsi. Kongsi means company in Chinese. Cheah Kongsi was formed in 1810 by the Cheah clansmen of Sek Tong Village, Sam Toh Sub-division, Hai Teng District of Cheang Chew, Fukien, who have settled down overseas and their descendants in Penang, later, constructed the present magnificent clan temple. This is oldest kongsi in Penang. If you are a Buddhist, you are welcome to say a prayer here.

Their clansmen in Penang, besides striving hard to accumulate personal wealth, did not forget the worshipping of their patron saints, the two Hock Haw Kong which they brought along from Liu She An Temple in their village and also at the same time did not forget to explore means to integrate their fellow clansmen for purpose of mutual assistance and self-defence.

It really great to see that some old buildings like this is preserved from generation to generation. I hope it is forever. So our generations know what is the life like before they are having all the high rise buildings and amazing gadgets on hand.

Next, we reached Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi, or Khoo Kongsi for short, is one of the most distinctive Chinese clan associations in Malaysia. It is well known worldwide for its extensive lineage that can be traced back 650 years, as well as its closely-knit and defensive congregation of buildings and a magnificent clanhouse.

This is the money tree. The rain which is like money for them pour directly on them. You can touch them to wish to get more money! Lol...

Khoo Kongsi, together with Cheah, Yeoh, Lim and Tan Kongsi, were known as the Five Big Clans (Goh Tai Seh) that formed the backbone of the Hokkien community in early Penang. Since mid-19th century, having identified their respective bases, these kongsi rooted themselves in an area stretching from Chulia Street Ghaut in Georgetown to the lower part of Beach Street in the south. With the respective clanhouses as the nuclei, these kongsi demarcated their territories with their own terrace houses on three or four sides of the perimeters. This adjoining, closely-knit and defensive model settlement, like a clan village in the colonial city, is a rare form of congregation practised among migrant communities.

Hidden tunnel which has been sealed off. There are total 3 of them. Here has 2 at each opposite side.

This is the third one where the third one is inside a room.

Spotted a little birdie which it is still too small to fly.

Alright, that's all for the time being. Stay tuned for more in my next post.