On A Penang Walk About

When my best friend and childhood pal decided to take the afternoon bus, bear with the five-hour journey from Kuala Lumpur, and visit me in Penang, I was inwardly groaning.

Besides the food, where was I supposed to really take her? Show her again the non-existent snakes in the famous Penang Snake Temple? Or should we skip the usual touristy areas and concentrate on the food?

Living in Penang does make one jaded and most times, our views are so coloured by what we know and see that a fresher perspective is often welcomed.

And so, it was on a horribly hot afternoon that I brought best friend, TJ, into the heart of Georgetown. We had lunched at a Chinese eatery in Cintra Street and sated, deemed ourselves fit to see the sights of Penang. The places which I tried to think of were all supposedly seen from afar, that is, in the safe cool air-conditioned confines of my trusted car.

It was not to be.

Did I mention my best friend is also an avid walker? She can jog non-stop for a full hour so walking is peanuts to her. She adores stomping on the pavement, macadam, whatever.

First stop was a few metres away, the 100 Cintra Street. Deep blue, and calling us from afar. I remember this three-storey building well; as a child, my parents used to visit this place, which was then a supermarket selling cheap plastic ornaments and toys from China. I heard it got burned down and later, architect Jimmy Lim took over and renovated it, leaving many old beams (burnt ones too - look up and you will spy those) intact - transforming the place into one that's so thick with history that walking into the cool interior gives you goosebumps.

It currently houses little quaint shops selling everything from Ibanese mats, beaded Nyonya slippers, antiques to fossils! The biggest spoiler was the cafe, tucked into the corner as you enter. Unsightly plastic chairs and tables advertise that there'd food to be had here. There were more traders than tourists that blistering afternoon I was there.

But I must say that you can find a piece of history here, be it from the antiques you buy or just soaking in the rusticness of the place. Plus it makes a wonderful place to take photographs!

From Cintra Street, we crossed to Campbell Street, where any old Penangite worth her salt would be seen here buying gifts of gold.

Lining both sides of the street would be goldsmiths of old, with interiors that shone with gold. As we sauntered down the street, I could not help but wonder how many of the old businesses would be here in another two years' time? Many shops were already being taken over by their original landlords, spiffily done up, and put up for rent again - with more upmarket prices, of course. I remember the lament of an old man, whom I was buying a briefcase from a year ago, right on this street. He was having a closing down sale. All the bags and luggage he sold must go - he did not see how he was to survive when the rent prices of shops were shooting up. I think his shop must have been one of the very first to suffer from the Rent Repeal Act.

And so when TJ and I traipsed down the cool corridors of the shops (many shuttered up, as it was a public holiday), I felt a sense of a loss of a culture - an old culture where shops and their shopkeepers were doing a bustling business. I could imagine how it was in its heydays, when supermarkets were yet unheard of, and when real shopping meant going into shops like these.

Maybe I was an old soul.

The stink of the famous Campbell Street market brought me back into the real world. Located at the end of Campbell Street, it was dark, grimy and people-less. But did it have character. We may be repulsed by the smells and unwashed dirt of this market but markets like these will soon too disappear. How then would we know of our bits of rich history?

With the sun beating down our backs, we crossed the narrow road and found ourselves heading for Armenian Street.

The Yap Clan Temple was always there, as I recalled but nothing ever made me take a peek inside. On foot, this was possible. In a car, I wouldn't have bothered to look for a parking space (god knows how difficult it is to find a good parking spot in the cramped and often small roads of downtown Penang).

The intricately carved granite pillars in the temple were beautiful. Since it was a hot day, we saw only two men, busily carrying joss sticks and praying.

The narrow Armenian Street also afforded us a look at the architecture of yore. Finally, we found Dr Sun Yat Sen's Penang base, which is now home and living museum to many interested history buffs. I'd only been into the home once.

It was an old 1870s Nyonya house, with a centrally located airwell and gorgeous old floor tiles. First owner Cheah Joo Seang was a trustee of the Cheah Kongsi. Unfortunately, even the historically resplendent base of Dr Sun was not spared from being vandalised as the exterior wall tiles were ripped off.

This house, numbered 120 was Dr Sun's base and headquarters of the Southeast branch of the famed Tung Meng Hooi from 1909 to 1911 - which later toppled the Manchu government of China. China became the first republic in Asia by 1911 and Dr Sun was its first provisional president. I wondered how many locals knew this. Maybe they knew more about the Piazza San Marco in Italy or the famed cathedrals of Europe. Bits of gold sitting in their own backyard would be totally disregarded.

Just a few doors away is the double-storey bungalow belonging to Syed Mohd Alatas, a wealthy Achehnese merchant of Arab descent. The Syed Alatas Mansion was recently restored. Looking at it now, complete with new coats of paint, you'd never guess it was a rundown scrap junk yard used by Indian Chettiar dealers. Syed Alatas' second wife was the daughter of Khoo Tiang Poh, a leading Straits Chinese pepper merchant and leader of the Khoo clan.

From Armenian Street, you must head towards the Yap Clan Temple if you are looking for the hidden Khoo Kongsi. Here again, many locals do not bother to see for themselves a piece of themselves unless of course it is for wedding photography.

It was said that the alley of Khoo Kongsi was the spot picked for the Nescafe ad a decade ago. Khoo Kongsi has been of late, ironically more of a local treasure that only foreigners could appreciate.

According to the website Penang Insights, the Khoo Kongsi is a clan association of the Leong San Tong (Dragon Mountain Hall) clan, whose forefathers came from Sin Kang clan village in Hokkien province. The Khoos were among the wealthy Straits Chinese traders of 17th century Malacca and early Penang. In the 19th century, the clan complex resembled a miniature clan village, with its own self-government as well as educational, financial, welfare and social organisations. The clan temple was built in 1906 when the Khoo clan was at the height of wealth and eminence in Penang society.

It was then late afternoon and it was started to drizzle too, putting an end to our walk about.

I never knew I would enjoy it as much as TJ did. It gave me a newer way of looking at people, buildings and roads. It was a great way to exercise and see the sights normally missed by those in cars and even to some extent, to those on two-wheels. On foot, you could really use your five senses to its fullest. And leave with a better appreciation of what living culture was all about.

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Note: The Penang Heritage Trail is clearly marked by American Express sponsored signages, and Heritage tours are usually conducted. But sometimes you could do no worse than pretending to be a tourist and wander down the lanes and hidden alleyways of Penang, map in hand and getting a little bit lost in history. It's most refreshing.

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Published on 3/24/04