Photos from a trip to George Town, Penang, Malaysia... A really cool place with amazing food!

Right now I'm on the last night of a 3 day trip to George Town in Penang, Malaysia. I'm blown away. I'd always heard good things about it, but I wasn't expecting this. Penang is an incredible mix of Malay, Indian, Chinese, Thai, and British -- and of Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist. You see that in the architecture, the faces of the people, the houses of worship, and in the food.

And oh man is the food good! I have traveled all over Southeast Asia and always considered Thai and Vietnamese cuisine to be the top tier, with everything else falling somewhere below that. Not anymore. Penang cuisine has made the A team. Within even a small area, you can find incredible Chinese, Indian, and Malay cuisine. Today I had dim sum for breakfast, butter chicken with garlic naan and daal for lunch, and nasi lemak (national dish of Malaysia) for dinner, and followed that up with some delicious durian fruit.

I'll just let these photos tell the story:

Street art is a big attraction here. This might be the most photographed thing here!

This one is cool too

The British colonial influence along with the Chinese style shop houses had me snapping photos of building everywhere I went, something I don't normally do

The facades of the older buildings have beautiful patinas on them, but the city doesn't feel dilapidated

And the food!

It's everywhere...

And it's amazing! Dim sum for breakfast...

Indian tandoori for lunch

...and it's the best Indian I've ever had (although I should say I've never been to India)

Street meat for a snack

For dinner, the local specialty, Hokkien mee

And durian for dessert

The city is set on an island in the Malacca Strait, and has a nice waterfront. Out of town, there are also a number of beaches around the island, but I stayed put in the city on this trip.

A few more images from around the city:

I'll leave it with this Hitchcockian scene.

I really can't recommend this place enough. It's just so fascinating seeing how so many distinct cultures come together to create such a vibrant city.