Georgetown, Malaysia - Choosing a Location in the Old Town

It's sometimes difficult to decide on where to stay given all the options and information on the web. Should you stay in the heart of town where it will likely be noisy, or should you look for something away from it all. We went for the heart in Georgetown, Malaysia and are happy we did.

When visiting Georgetown, Malaysia, I've found that the best place to look for accommodation is in the buffer zone, not the heart of the old town itself. When you're in the old zone, the streets are narrow and some are poorly lit at night. It's an effort to get out of the old town.

Located on the edge of the old town, our heritage hotel, called the Panage (pronounced pee-naga) is at the corner of Hutton and Transfer. Just a block away, we can catch the free Hop-On/Hop Off shuttle bus that tours the entire area in a forty five minute loop. Also around the corner, we can catch the Route 101 public bus which takes you to the modern outskirts of Penang, easily worth a day trip.

Regarding the bus, make a note that if you're staying in town for five days, buy a week's pass for 30 RM. You'll be able to cover huge distances, conveniently and comfortably since the buses are air conditioned and thankfully silent running on electric batteries. Over a few days, the investment will pay off handsomely if you want to take in many of the local sites.

Abandonned mansion used as a parking lot

Restaurants have been a challenge in old Georgetown, particularly for mature travelers like ourselves (I always want access to a clean washroom). While there's plenty of flattering coverage on the web of a dozen eateries, we're finding that most of the good places in the old town are night markets. Since my husband and I are careful about hygiene when we travel in Asia, night markets are not our first choice. We've found ourselves stuck mid day and therefore taking lunch at the expensive Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel just because we trust that the back room there understands food handling. We may be deluding ourselves; hopefully not. But lunch of a simple bowl of soup and tea at the E&O while pricey is still affordable in that it's just closer to north american prices which we're used to. We're still hunting for a dinner option.

Poolside at the E&O

Having said that, the ambiance and old world charm of EOs Starkey Restaurant is worth a trip, even just for drinks. The view is lovely from the terrace and there are overhead fans and a sea breeze that soothes the body on wretchedly hot days.

For us, the dinner solution for Georgetown is found in the beach suburbs, where all the new condo and hotel development has occurred. You'll find there a number of well recommended restaurants off Trip Advisor. So with a bus pass in hand, and Bus 101 just a block away running every five minutes during normal hours, we're just a ride away from a choice of well recommended eateries.

Tree Monkey Restaurant

Route 101 also stops at the ButterflyGarden as well as the highly recommended Tropical Spice Garden. The Monkey Tree restaurant at the Spice Garden is worth the trip by itself. The view over the Strait high up on the hill is lovely and the monkeys provide some entertainment on the side with their gymnastics through the rain trees.

And if you really want a day at the beach, Route 101 also stops at the Golden Sands Hotel. It has a beach and pool bar and cafe and you're welcome to walk off the street and lunch or drink there. Watching the parasailing is fun but be careful about the beach itself. Malaysians in the know will take their beach vacation on Langkawi Island rather than in Penang. The straits of Melacca are pleasing to look at but I'll swim elsewhere. I noticed too that there's a quick drop off to waist deep water steps off shore.

Beach off the Golden Sands Hotel

The bottom line is that while we find ourselves going outside the colonial heart to eat dinner, we're glad we chose our accommodation in town. We feel connected and can walk around town. And the deteriorated, derelect buildings are often as interesting as the restored ones.