We spent a weekend in George Town, Penang in late June, 2017, and quickly fell in love with the city and its people. In spite of its population of 700,000, it's a relatively small town and we easily walked everywhere we wanted to visit.
George Town is the capital city and historic district of Penang. It embodies the diversity of the Malaysian nation. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008. Due to its cultural heritage, George Town is an eclectic mix of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian cultures with a dash of colonial British history thrown in from its days as a colony. This diversity is celebrated with gusto, and all religions and cultures are respected and honored equally, though the dominant Malay culture is Muslim. The atmosphere of tolerance has given birth to a thriving arts scene and the street art is celebrated nearly as much as the city's famous street foods.
Photographer's Note: the Olympus E-M1, Mark II has a crop factor of 2.0. That means all focal lengths listed are one-half their 35mm equivalent. e.g., 21mm = 42mm equivalent.