Singapore Hotels & Malaysia Hotels
About Singapore Malaysia

OTHER ATTRACTIONS 2

Penang is unique in Malaysia because, for all intents and purposes, Penang has it all. Tioman Island (see singapore & malaysia websection 10) may have beaches and nature, but it has no shopping or historical sights to speak of. And while Malacca has historical sights and museums, it hasn't a good beach for miles. Similarly, while KL has shopping, nightlife, and attractions, it also has no beach resorts. Penang has all of it: beaches, history, diverse culture, shopping, food-you name it, it has it. If you only have a short time to visit Malaysia but want to take in as wide an experience as you can, Penang is your place. Penang gets its name from the Malay word pinang, in reference to the areca plant, which grew on the island in abundance. The nut of the tree, commonly called betel, was chewed habitually in the East. In the 15th century it was a quiet place populated by small Malay communities, attracting the interest of some southern Indian betel merchants.

By the time Francis Light, an agent for the British East India Company, arrived in 1786, the island was already on the maps of European, Indian, and Chinese traders. Light landed on the northeast part of the island, where he began a settlement after an agreement with the sultan of Kedah, on the mainland. He called the town Georgetown, after George III. To gain the help of local inhabitants for clearing the spot, he shot a cannon-load of ins into the jungle.

Georgetown became Britain's principal post in Malaya, attracting traders and settlers from all over the world. Europeans, Arabs, northern and southern southern Chinese, and Malays from the mainland and Sumatra flocked to Fort. But it was never extremely profitable for England, especially when in 1819 Sir Stamford Raffles founded a new trading post in Singapore. Penang couldn’t keep up with the new port's success.

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