The Snake Temple

The Temple of the Azure Clouds (蛇庙) is located in a more rural part of Penang Island, just a 10-minute drive from the airport. Built in 1805 to honor the deified Chinese Buddhist monk Qingshui (1047-1101), the small traditional Chinese-style temple is fairly nondescript, although its more common name - The Snake Temple - hints at what makes it so unique.

The temple is said to be filled with dozens of venomous vipers!

The legend says that, among all his other miraculous works, Master Qingshui was also known for having given shelter to snakes. I'm not sure why. It's a bit of an odd legend.

Anyway, according to local lore, as soon as the temple was completed, a number of Wagler's pit vipers moved in, giving credence to the legend. In fact, due to this snake species' special connections to the temple, they are often referred to as "temple snakes".

I wasn't really sure what to expect as I stepped inside the small, dark temple... but the temple's guardian didn't look too concerned, so neither was I.

The snakes are arboreal and nocturnal. It's said that the sacred incense keeps them docile, but I've also heard that they have had their fangs removed as well for visitor's safety. After all, they are venomous.

It was honestly a little underwhelming! The snakes were just lounging around on wooden stands to either side of the temple shrine. I didn't get too close, though.

The temple also houses a snake breeding and research center, and donations go towards promoting their work.

I wasn't originally going to visit the temple, but since I was near the airport, I decided to stop in. It's worth a visit if you're passing by, but it's probably not worth going out of your way to go and see.

I was on the way to the airport to pick up my wife who was coming to meet me in Penang for a few days during her days off of work! It's the first vacation we've had together in a while, and we've really been looking forward to it. I had to come a few days earlier for visa reasons, but we are really excited to explore Penang together.

The Blue Mansion

It was a dark, drizzly morning in Georgetown, and the warm tropical air blowing in off the sea felt muggy and damp. Despite the weather, I was ready to continue exploring Penang Island's old town!

I arrived in a taxi in front of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, more commonly called the "Blue Mansion" for obvious reasons. The mansion is one of the city's most iconic landmarks, and I had signed up for a morning self-guided audio tour around the historic old home.

Built between 1897 and 1904, the mansion was the private residence of the extraordinarily wealthy merchant Cheong Fatt Tze (1840-1916), known as the "Rockefeller of China". 

Born in Guandong China to a very poor Hakka Chinese family, Cheong Fatt Tze left China during the Red Turban Rebellion in 1854 and set off to seek his fortune in Southeast Asia. He began his career as a water carrier and then became a shopkeeper in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia), eventually opening his own shop, acquiring his own fleet of trading vessels, and even purchasing a bank. It's a real rags-to-riches story. Throughout his life, he even served as a Consul-General to the colonial government in Singapore and an Imperial court mandarin to the Qing emperor.

Eventually, when his associate Dr. Sun Yat-sen's rebellion overthrew the Qing Dynasty and established the Republic of China, Cheung Fatt Tze was appointed as a member of the Legislative Assembly and the Chairman of the Chinese national Chamber of Commerce. During his life, Cheung Fatt Tze rose from poverty to become the richest man in Malaysia at the time.

His house is a traditional courtyard-style Chinese mansion which he painted entirely in expensive indigo-blue, which helped to dispel moisture and cool the home, while also showing off his great wealth. Indigo-blue dye was very popular in the colonial period and the dye was imported from India to Penang by the British. It was also very expensive, and the completely blue mansion was a definite status symbol.

 

The tiles in the mansion were imported from Stoke-on-Trent, the brass spiral staircases were custom-made in Scotland, and the home has dozens of Art Nouveau stained glass windows. The mansion has the mansion has 38 rooms, 5 granite-paved courtyards, 7 staircases and 220 windows.

It was also meticulously constructed according to the prescriptions of several feng shui masters - something to which Cheung Fatt Tze attributed his great wealth. Geomancy was used to calculate the design and layout of the mansion, and caches of golden coins were buried beneath all 8 of the main courtyard's brass columns with the belief that they would pull wealth into the house. It seems to have worked.

The mansion has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and had been used as a filming location in tons of popular Asian films - most famously the 2018 blockbuster Crazy Rich Asians.

Today the mansion is also a boutique hotel - a pretty expensive one at that! While visitors are allowed in the central courtyard, the two big wings off to either side are off-limits to hotel guests only.

We were able to peek in, however, to see two additional courtyards as well. Interestingly, each wing is painted a slightly different shade of blue. The left wing, which is paler and lighter, was originally the women's wing of the mansion, where the wives (plural!) and girls would live. The right wing was the men's wing. Old fashioned Chinese mansions like this one were separated by gender, and the family did not typically all live together.

I had an iced coffee in the hotel's cafe before leaving. After lunch, I headed back to my hotel. I've got some work to do this week, and I'm trying to take care of as much of it as I can before tomorrow. My wife will be flying in for a few days to join me during her days off of work this week, and we are really looking forward to exploring the city together. I don't want to do too much before she gets here!

More like this: Seh Tek Tong Cheah Kongsi Clanhouse

Fort Cornwallis

In 1786 the British East Empire Company "acquired" the island of Penang from the Sultanate of Kedah. The island's biggest city, Georgetown, became the capital of the Straits Settlements (along with Singapore and Malacca) and the area's colonial past has greatly shaped its development.

the Penang Cenotaph

One of the most notable remnants of British rule of Penang is Fort Cornwallis, which sits on the eastern coast looking out towards the sea.

the outer gates of Fort Cornwallis

I purchased a ticket for 20 ringgit and stepped inside the old gates. Besides the walls, there's a small lighthouse, an amphitheater with live music from time to time, and some food trucks which host a beer garden in the evenings.

It was quiet when I visited, though, and I was almost the only visitor.

Captain Francis Light, the Royal Navy captain who took Penang

Though the fort was built for defense - mainly against pirate attacks on the island - it never actually saw combat and ended up serving more of an administrative purpose than a military one. The fort was in use for nearly a century before being decommissioned in 1881. It later became housing for colonial officials, a police headquarters, and finally a public park and monument.

a view of the fort from atop the wall

I enjoyed visiting the fort for historical purposes, but I wish that there had been more to see. It was a little underwhelming compared to the role that it had played in the island's history. Not much remains of the fort nowadays, although I understand that some historical restorations are in the works. Still, it was interesting to see and I'm glad that I did. It was one of the things that I missed a few years back last time I visited Georgetown.

the gunpowder armory

Back in Georgetown, Penang

I'm visiting Georgetown, Malaysia for the first time since 2019, and I'm so happy to be back! Georgetown is on Penang, an island just off the northwestern coast of Malaysia, and it's one of the best places in the world for history, culture, and - perhaps most famously of all - street food. To emphasize how big the food culture here is, I just want to point out that the current Michelin Guide to Malaysia covers exclusively Kuala Lumpur (the capital city of 8.8 million) and Penang (with around 1.7 million) ... and the Penang portion takes up a disproportionate amount of space in the book!

back in Malaysia

After a very exhausting early morning of travel, I arrived in Malaysia and took an hour-long cab ride from the airport to my hotel. It was too early to check in, so I found a nearby coffee shop to hang out in for a while before dropping my luggage at my hotel and heading out for an early dinner.

For my first meal back in Malaysia, I wanted to eat at Deens Maju, one of the city's most famous restaurants. Deen's Maju serves nasi kandar, a popular northern Malaysian dish that evolved from the cuisine of Tamil Muslim traders who historically sailed back and forth to Penang from India. Nasi kandar is basically a big plate of rice topped with various meats, curries, and gravies.

Deens Maju is always busy, and lines often stretch around the block. I arrived at an odd hour, so I only had to queue up for about five minutes, although the seating area was packed! I was able to grab a small table just as a group was leaving.

Deens Maju

To order, you step up to the counter and ask for whatever you want, and the staff will plate it up for you. It can be a little overwhelming because there's no menu, but I just said that I wanted chicken and okra. The man working there suggested that I have a boiled egg too, and who am I to turn down an expert recommendation?

Next up is the most fun part - kua campur - which basically means "to mix". After plating up whatever you want atop your rice, the staff ladle heaps of curry and gravy on top, flooding the entire plate with their special blend of flavors. They probably mixed four or five spoonsful of different sauces atop my plate.

Then, you walk along the counter to a guy who calculates your order and types it out on a small ticket which you then take on to a cashier to pay before taking your seat.

at the famous Deens Maju Restaurant

The experience is harried and chaotic, and the plate looks messy, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that this is one of the best meals that I've ever had! No wonder Deens Maju is always so popular. The mixed gravy was richly spiced (but not spicy), and the rice absorbed all of the juices so that every bite burst with flavor. The skin of the chicken was amazingly crispy, yet the interior was super juicy.

Although the traditional way of eating nasi kandar is with one's hands, silverware is provided for tourists like me who aren't so comfortable doing that (although I've definitely done it before).

nasi kandar

I have come to really enjoy Malaysia. It's a beautiful country that is clean, orderly, and very safe. Due to the long period of British colonization (which only ended in Penang in 1957), most everyone can speak excellent Oxford English, and it's easy to communicate and get around.

Georgetown is a beautiful town filled with amazing colonial architecture. Many of the historic shophouses have been preserved and turned into hotels, cafes, and restaurants, and it's a great place to just wander around and experience the atmosphere.

beautiful old town in Georgetown, Malyasia

In the afternoon, I took a long walk through the quiet streets to Fort Cornwallis (which I'll write about soon in another post). After leaving the fort, I passed the old 60-foot-tall Jubilee Clocktower dedicated to Queen Victoria upon the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Built in a Moorish architectural style, the old clocktower, which sits in the middle of a roundabout in the city's old town, exemplifies the melting pot of culture that is Malaysia.

Jubilee Clocktower

Soon, it was lunchtime!

I wanted to visit one of the Michelin Guide's most recommended dishes: white curry mee at Hot Bowl White Curry. This Bib Gourmand award winning bowl of curry is one of the island's most famous dishes.

Michelin award-winning white curry mee

White curry mee is a unique variation of the more common curry mee found throughout Malaysia. Unlike the usual reddish-orange curry mee which gets its color from chili paste, white curry mee has a lighter, creamy broth, thanks to the generous use of coconut milk. The base is mild and creamy, but you can add as much chili paste as you like to kick it up a notch.

When I arrived at Hot Bowl White Curry, the Michelin Bib Gourmand award-winning restaurant was packed, but I managed to find a small table near the back. I stepped up to the counter and asked for the classic white curry mee. The guy working at the counter suggested that I try their signature steamed chicken too, so I went ahead and ordered a small portion.

Soon, my meal arrived. This white curry takes over two hours to make, and the labor-intensive process involves hand-stirring spices into the coconut broth.

White curry mee is a dish that perfectly encapsulates Penang's approach to food—complex, layered, and utterly satisfying. It's no wonder this dish has received so much attention and praise.

walking through Georgetown

After finishing my meal, I took a leisurely stroll through Georgetown's historic streets, soaking in the colonial architecture and the vibrant atmosphere that makes this city so special. Georgetown is a place where every corner holds a new discovery, whether it's a hidden cafe, an ancient temple, or, in this case, a bowl of white curry mee that I'll be thinking about for a long time to come.