Penang's old buildings and shophouses

[baqthier]

Thanks reds! I think those were housing for the administrative staffs during the british rule

[Blabbyboy]

Originally Posted by baqthier

Thanks reds! I think those were housing for the administrative staffs during the british rule

those are the rowhouses in a lane opposite or near the burmese temple!

[baqthier]

[baqthier]

[TYW]

err....where is this??

[baqthier]

Penang lah..the van's license plate says so marr

[TYW]

Originally Posted by baqthier

Penang lah..the van's license plate says so marr

yalah!! the thread title also says so mah...but where exactly??

[baqthier]

I never been to penang..so ur assignment is to find out where it is

[TYW]

Originally Posted by baqthier

I never been to penang..so ur assignment is to find out where it is

u post one mah maybe got caption or something??

[baqthier]

yalor..the caption said in Penang mar

[redstone]

Originally Posted by baqthier

Town Hall?
Can the public enter?

[TYW]

Originally Posted by baqthier

yalor..the caption said in Penang mar

cheh...like that only??

anyone else know?? the more i look at the the more familiar it becomes

[Pablo]

Kapitan Kling..

[baqthier]

Love the fusion of Mughal and Malay architecture of the mosque

Here's a pic of a nice cornershop

[baqthier]

Balai Bomba

[TYW]

nice pics!!

Balai bomba cannot see......

[redstone]

Isn't there a purple Chinese traditional style mansion in Penang?
Any overview shots of it? I'll love to see the layout!

[TYW]

Originally Posted by redstone

Isn't there a purple Chinese traditional style mansion in Penang?
Any overview shots of it? I'll love to see the layout!

you mean this one??

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showth...4&page=7&pp=20

it is cheong sze hoong's mansion!!

[baqthier]

Penang Free School (no fees ar?)

[TYW]

Saturday April 2, 2005

Enduring architecture in Penang

Story & Pictures by ANDREW SIA

Tired of the same ol’ shiny five star hotels with super mod cons? Why not try a heritage hotel? Penang still has a few historical gems. They may not have all the facilities, but they are just oozing old-world charm.

The future of Penang’s tourism may lie in the island’s history. Much has been said about its unique heritage architecture and lifestyles – surely one of the best ways to appreciate it must be by living amidst it!

The island is rich in little antique hotels loaded with historical ambience – at budget prices. This is an entirely different kettle of fish from upmarket places such as Penang’s E&O Hotel or the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion. Instead, we’re talking about enjoying old-world charm with basic facilities at a fraction of the price.

One such place is the Cathay Hotel in Leith Street. Built in 1902, it was formerly millionaire Yeoh Wee Gark’s mansion. However, for the past 45 years, it has functioned as a hotel.


The inner courtyard of Cathay Hotel on Leith Street, Penang.

“Because of its antique look, many tourists – Westerners, Japanese, Koreans – like this place,” recounted receptionist David Tan.

“They have included professors, psychologists, engineers and even an American acupuncturist.”

British tourist Amy Newson, a prosthetics technician, was attracted here by the listing in the backpackers’ “bible”, the Lonely Planet guidebook: “Atmospheric old wooden colonial villa, with large clean rooms.”

She said, “The pound has a very good rate now. Since we could afford it, we upgraded from the normal budget backpacker places.”

In fact, the old-fashioned setting of Cathay Hotel has even engaged the attentions of directors behind two movies namely: Beyond Rangoon and The Touch, starring Datuk Michelle Yeoh.

The top range of the 37 rooms here goes for RM80. That gets you a fairly colossal place with (some of) the works: two double beds, hot water, air-conditioning, 29in TV (but no Astro) and mini-fridge (but no mini bar). The fan rooms retail for RM57.50.

And what of the “Cathay Health Centre” behind the hotel?

“That has nothing to do with us,” explained Tan. “We are entirely separate.”

Besides, it’s something that can’t really be held against Cathay Hotel since some very posh hotels are also known to have such, ahem . . . “health” services.

An even cheaper, but no less charismatic, heritage hotel is the Oasis Hotel at Love Lane in the heart of Georgetown. I walked through the welcoming orange archway and entered a restful sanctuary: an unassuming old bungalow surrounded by huge shade-giving trees, a swing and down-to-earth vibes. The room rates are superbly reasonable. RM30 for an air-conditioned room, RM20 for a fan room – with bathroom attached!


The Oasis Hotel on Love Lane, Penang.

“Lots of backpackers, Western and Asian, like to stay here. These fellas are very price conscious, RM1 more also they don’t want to stay. That’s why we also have a big swimming pool . . .” smiled owner Ung Kean Yeang, “for fish.”

According to him, the building is 102 years old and it has changed hands many times (he took over in 2003). From a stately residence, it has been used as a hotel in the last few decades.

A Singaporean couple, Francis Boey and Violet Kwok, come here to stay every other month when they visit Penang.

“When you stay in a five-star hotel, you are just inside your room and feel isolated. You don’t get to interact with others,” noted Boey, 45, a quality assurance supervisor in between doing his own laundry.

Kwok, 45, an administrative clerk, added: “We’ve met many nice people from all over the world here. Many were recommended to come here by their friends. We sometimes cook and ask them to join us for meals. The owner is a real joker. That makes the guests feel at home.”

Oasis Hotel has the feel of a family home. All manner of budget travel services are offered, including transport bookings to Medan, Cameron Highlands, Langkawi, Ko Samui, Phuket and Krabi.

“The van comes right to our doorstep to pick people up. Many travellers come to Penang and stay for three or four days to do their visa before re-entering Thailand. For RM20, we have runners to go to the Thai consulate here,” explained Ung.

While Cathay and Oasis are still going strong, many other traditional hotels have been unable to compete with the shiny modern ones and have simply closed down. These include Tai Loke Hotel on Campbell Street, Nam Keow Hotel on Transfer Road as well as Modern Hotel and Lum Fong Hotel just off Penang Road.

During the five day photo-journalism course by The Star in Penang last week, our trainer, the renowned photographer Eric Peris, told us about the lovely London Hotel.

“Even millionaires like to stay there. It has its own old-world character, totally unlike modern hotels today. There’s even a garden with sculptures.”

In other words, it was an E&O on the cheap. However, when we found it along Argyll Road, it had since been transmuted into a café cum bar.

Other old hotels have descended down the path of more dubious, shall we say, business models. Places such as Nam Keow, along Chulia Street or the grandly named Odeon, on Jalan Sekerat, feature a row of women sitting on plastic chairs in the corridor.

The latter’s 72-year-old “manager”, who only wished to be known as Mr Lim, was surprisingly forthright.


The Odeon Hotel on Jalan Sekerat, Penang — a grand name reflecting past glories.

“We charge RM40 for a big room and RM25 for the small ones. But the real money comes elsewhere. Each customer pays RM30 for a ‘massage’. I take RM10 as the room rental for maybe 45 minutes. My expenses come up to RM5,000 plus a month. So I need at least 30 ‘massage’ customers a day to break even.”

At night, as I walked along Penang Road looking for my teh tarik, I was assailed by trishaw men (and transvestites) calling out: “Hello! Konichiwa! You want pretty young lady?”

One place they offered to bring me to included the New Savoy Hotel and Health Centre. In the bright glare of noon, this once grand family mansion featured a sleepy caretaker who was certainly not interested in any bona fide hotel business.

“Ini koman punya hotel, ta’dak cantik, apa mau gambar? (This is a lousy hotel, not pretty, why do you want to take pictures?),” he told my colleague Zainuddin.

“Sini customer biasa punya sahaja . . . (we only have normal customers . . .),” added the caretaker with loaded meaning.

Even the official room rates are an inauspicious RM44 each.

Heritage tourism has long been talked about in Penang. With fierce competition from Thailand’s beach resorts, it has been said that Penang needs to reinvent itself.

“As it can no longer thrive on sea and sand (tourism), Penang should re-package, re-structure and re-strategise its concept by promoting its old-world charm,” said Association of Tourism Attractions Penang pro-tem chairman Eddy Low last November.

Can old hotels or buildings be done up and turned into lovely boutique hotels? For instance, a block of old government quarters off Burma Road was turned into the mid-priced Hotel 1926. Built in that year to house British immigration officers, it was restored in 1999 with much of its colonial ambience – wooden floors, long corridors and balmy balconies – intact. The main changes have been to the fittings, furniture and the starchy British officers.

Will many more such heritage boutique hotels be created? In the meantime, you may want to live amidst some old-world personalities for a song – while they still last. W