GET THE BEST AND CHEAP HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS IN PENANG

The general Chinese name for Penang is 檳城 (pinyin: Bīnchéng / Bīngchéng), which loosely refers either to the city of George Town, the island of Penang, or the state of Penang. If more precise names are needed, then George Town is 喬治市 (Qiáozhì Shì), Penang Island is 檳榔嶼 (Bīnláng Xù - not the more modern Yǔ for 嶼)) or 檳榔島 (Bīnláng Dǎo) and Penang state is 檳州 (Bīn Zhōu). Province Wellesley is 威省 (Wēi Shěng).

Numerous shopping complexes on the island offer a variety of goods both locally made and imported at competitive prices. The premier shopping mall is Gurney Plaza, located at Gurney Drive (named after the former British High Commissioner to Malaya, Sir Henry Gurney who was instrumental in the fight against the communist insurgents) facing the sea. This complex houses a new 11-screen cineplex, the largest outside the national capital. Swanky cafes and restaurants, from Japanese to American are found within the complex.

• Next to Gurney Plaza is the famed Gurney Drive hawker food center which is popular with locals and tourists alike. A huge variety of local cuisine can be found here where patrons eat in an open-air condition. The food prices are generally higher though due to its fame as a tourist hotspot.

• Prangin Mall and its adjoining and older KOMTAR (Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak) are other popular shopping destinations primarily for their variety of clothes, mobile phones, computers, jewellery and entertainment outlets. There is a cineplex is its topmost floor. KOMTAR with 65 storeys at 232m is Penang's tallest building. KOMTAR is also the main bus interchange station on the island.

• Penang Botanic Gardens is a sprawling conservational cum recreational park. Located at the outskirts of George Town, it forms the green lung of the city. Adjoining it is the Youth Park which is equipped with playing fields, an extreme sports court, a skating rink, jungle trekking trails, basketball courts, a shooting and archery range, playgrounds, an open air theatre and a cafeteria.

• Penang Hill is accessible by the funicular train or otherwise by hiking, the most popular route being the one at the Penang Botanic Gardens. The hill is the highest elevation on the island, commanding breathtaking scenery of the entire city.

• Kek Lok Si Temple at Air Itam is the largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia. Continually expanded and renovated since its establishment in the 19th century, it is a temple complex of noteworthy architecture and beauty.

• Penang Butterfly Farm, located at Teluk Bahang, showcases hundreds of varieties of butterflies from around the world, purportedly to be one of the largest in the region.

• Penang Bird Park, situated on the mainland Seberang Perai houses many bird species from around the world including ostriches, eagles and parrots.

• Fort Cornwallis, originally built of wood, marks the place where Cpt. Francis Light landed on Penang. Adjacent to the fort is the seaside Esplanade and the newly restored (2005) British era City Hall.

Khoo Kongsi is a large Chinese clanhouse with elaborate and highly ornamented architecture, a mark of the dominant presence of the Chinese in Penang. It is located in the heart of the oldest part of the city, in the midst of narrow, winding lanes and quaint-looking pre-War houses exuding a palpable old world charm.

• Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion on Leith Street is a large blue mansion once owned by its namesake Chinese tycoon in the 19th century

• Batu Ferringhi is a stretch of beautiful beaches popular to tourists and locals as a place for picnics and water sports. It is dotted with a great many world-class hotels and service apartments. Once primarily a holiday resort, Batu Ferringhi is now a bustling and lively township, most visibly at night when traders set up stalls along the main street selling various items and curios. A good place for fine dining as well.

• The Penang State Museum houses artefacts and cultural exhibits. Outside the museum building is a bronze cast of Cpt Francis Light, the founder of Penang.

• The Sleeping Buddha Temple located off Burma Road is a Siamese Buddhist temple housing a colossal Buddha in the reclining position. The architecture of the temple is noteworthy. Directly opposite this is the Burmese temple.

• Chulia Street and Upper Penang Road are the focal points of budget travellers and backpackers due to the many budget hotels and guesthouses. These roads are vibrant and especially colourful at night due to the many nightspots and bars catering mostly to travellers.

• The historic centre of George Town which is largely made of nineteenth-century Straits Chinese shophouses, with Indian and Malay quarters. Anglo-Indian colonial buildings are also to be found amongst elaborate Chinese and Indian temples and Indian-Muslim mosques.

• The Snake Temple in Bayan Lepas houses many harmless snakes slithering around inside the temple

• The northwest tip of the Penang Island has been gazetted as a National Park. It is one of few remaining virgin forest on the island. The park is noted as a refuge for migratory birds and for its rich flora.

The more rural southwest district of Penang produces durians of high quality, priced for their exquisite taste and varieties. The famed Balik Pulau durians often fetch high prices and are exported to as far as Hong Kong. Nutmegs are another trademark produce of Penang.

There are many fine hotels in Penang, from the five-star luxurious resort hotels to the many economical but reasonably comfortable budget hotels in Inner George Town. Among the preferred hotels in the city are Sunway Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel, Sheraton Hotel, Cititel, and the extravagant five-star Eastern & Oriental Hotel, whose origins stretched back over a century and whose building is an architectural gem of Penang.

In the coastal resort township of Batu Ferringhi, one can find a multitude of world-class hotels like Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang and Golden Sands Hotels, the lavish Penang Mutiara Hotel, Casuarina Beach Hotel, the charming Lone Pine Hotel, Holiday Inn as well as service apartments like Merit Sri Sayang.