Today's plan was to take in some of the history of the city of Georgetown. The first stop was at the Pinang Peranakan Mansion now a museum dedicated to the heritage of Penang's Peranakan Chinese immigrants. The mansion was the former residence and office of 19th century international trading tycoon, Chung Keng Quee. The admittance to this museum included a tour guide. Due to a language barrier with the front desk staff we joined another tour group by mistake and followed the small group around for the next couple hours only realizing at the end it was not the correct guide.
A good laugh was had as we left the first mansion to head a half mile over to find to go tour the Blue Mansion. Along the way we stopped for lunch which was also an excuse to escape some of the day's mounting heat. Upon arriving at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion) we luckily were able to catch the final tour of the day. The mansion is now a functioning hotel and the owners try and strike a fine balance between showing off the property and providing guests a comfortable and private stay. This mansion was saved and restored by a group of locals in the late 80's and early 90's. Its restoration has been awarded world wide, and our tour guide at the mansion is convinced that the restoration of the mansion kicked off a need to preserve the history of the rest of the town. This and other preservation efforts eventually allowed for the UNESCO heritage label for the city of Georgetown.
Finishing up at the blue mansion we set out to see some of the famous street art hidden in plain site along the streets and in the alleys of the old town. Unfortunately the skies opened up and after battling through the rain for about 20 minutes we gave up and took shelter in a nice cafe. Tea and brownies were had while the rain passed. A quick trip to the famous jedy's as the days light ran out and we found ourselves at Viva Victoria for dinner.
A good laugh was had as we left the first mansion to head a half mile over to find to go tour the Blue Mansion. Along the way we stopped for lunch which was also an excuse to escape some of the day's mounting heat. Upon arriving at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion (Blue Mansion) we luckily were able to catch the final tour of the day. The mansion is now a functioning hotel and the owners try and strike a fine balance between showing off the property and providing guests a comfortable and private stay. This mansion was saved and restored by a group of locals in the late 80's and early 90's. Its restoration has been awarded world wide, and our tour guide at the mansion is convinced that the restoration of the mansion kicked off a need to preserve the history of the rest of the town. This and other preservation efforts eventually allowed for the UNESCO heritage label for the city of Georgetown.
Finishing up at the blue mansion we set out to see some of the famous street art hidden in plain site along the streets and in the alleys of the old town. Unfortunately the skies opened up and after battling through the rain for about 20 minutes we gave up and took shelter in a nice cafe. Tea and brownies were had while the rain passed. A quick trip to the famous jedy's as the days light ran out and we found ourselves at Viva Victoria for dinner.
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