Penang's Art Street, Wall Paintings & Steel Sculptures

Date of Visit: 15th & 16th September 2013

What attract both local and foreign visitors to visit Penang is to witness the delightful fusion of the East and West that rich in history and culture and also for its bewildering arrays of mouth-watering eats. That's what for my past trip but currently, what attract me the most was for its vibrant showcase of these unique and beautifully painted art street, wall paintings and steel sculpture across the heritage area of George Town city.

Thanks to London-trained Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic who started off of these amazing and creative ideas by painting these colourful murals within the inner city and later, his footsteps followed by the local artists and cartoonists which helped to generate awareness of the rich history of the streets. 

Playing hide and seek with these colourful art street and wall paintings was indeed very fun and fascinating but make sure to do some homework beforehand or the best suggestion, grab a map to know where the arts are in order to save time and also reduce the chances of missing out some of these art. We're lucky enough to meet some helpful and friendly local people who gave us maps while we're in the mode of hunting for these arts.

#1: Random mural in front of the main gate of the bicycle shop who gave us the map at Armenian Street

#1.1: "Lion dance" mural 

#1.2: Beautiful mural we stumbled upon

#1.3: Snail mural

#2: “Reaching Up” mural along Cannon Street - painted by Ernest Zacharevi

#2:1: Another random artwork at Cannon Street

#4: "Newly Wed" mural at Acheh Street

#5: Minions painted on a concrete traffic bollard in Soo Hong Lane, off Armenian Street. Penang "lang" are indeed crazy about these minions. Minions merchandises are being selling anywhere around the town.

#6: "No Animal Discrimination Please" mural at one of the small alley of Soo Hong Lane - This is part of 101 Lost Kittens project to create awareness over the issue of helping fnd home for stray animals

#7: "I Can Help Catch Rats" mural at Armenian Street

#8: “Little Children on a Bicycle” mural at Armenian Street - One of the popular and famous mural that almost everyone looking for.

#9: "Cats & Humans Happily Living Together" mural at Pantai Street. This one not easily spotted.

#10: "Skippy, the giant Cat" mural at Armenian Street Ghaut.

#11: "Please Care & Bathe Me" mural

#12: "Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat" mural along Armenian Street Ghaut

#15: "Shade Me If You Love Me" artwork along Victoria Street

#15.1: We were being told that this is the latest mural.

#15.2:"Old Master Q" mural in one of the alley of Victoria Street

#16: "Amah & Asoon" mural located at the entrance of Chew Jetty

#17: "Brother and Sister on a Swing" mural at Chulia Street Ghaut. The lane is now called Step by Step Lane. It was painted by a talented local Penang artist, Louis Gan who is hearing impaired.

#17.1: This kung-fu minion mural located just nearby the "Brother and Sister Swing" mural

#18: My favourite photo - "Children Playing Basketball" mural Chulia Street Ghaut. It was also painted by Louis Gan.

#19: “Boy on a Bike” mural at Ah Quee Street - painted by Ernest Zacharevi

#20: "Bruce Lee's cat" mural

#20.1: "Our Art is Dying" mural is incomplete

#21:"Bee doo bee doo minion" mural situated at Ah Quee street.

#21.1: Located just opposite of the above minion mural

#22: “Little Girl in Blue” mural at Muntri Street

It took us two days to hunt for all these murals around the street and not all the murals we managed to spot cause they were dotted all over the place. The best time to hunt for all these murals is as early as you can cause besides to avoid the scorching hot sun, you might need to queue up in order to pose with these murals as there will be lots of other tourists who will be there for the same reason. If you haven't visit any of these yet, better be hurry cause some of the murals seems to be faded away. It's kinda sad when I bumped into few of them and they were not really clear to be seen, such as the following:

#23: "This Old Man" mural on the wall of a shophouse facing Armenian Street. Apparently, no one noticed about this mural at all.

#24: "Children in a Boat" mural - totally faded away in Chew Jetty

Besides the above murals, Sculpture at Work, the company involved in the creation of the steel-rod sculptures, pooled together a team of creative minds and local cartoonists to design quirky caricatures to decorate the city's walls by sharing the scenes of life in Penang. Here are some of the steel sculptures which I stumbled upon:

#25: Then & Now of Coppersmith Street

#26: Rock Candy

#27: Where's My Husband?

#28: 5 Star Budget Hotel

#29: Hand-Pulled Rickshaw

#30: Steel sculptures are dotted all over around this UNESCO World Heritage Site

#31: More and more. There are plenty of them.

#32: The map given by the local. Only the murals are being shared but not the steel sculptures.

If any of you would like to have this map, you are welcome to leave your email in the comment box or email me at dianateodt@gmail.com.

[Credit To: Penang Travel Tips, Gallery - Time Out Penang,

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Old Penang Guesthouse

Another lodging review again!

During our visit to George Town, the capital of the Pearl of the Orient, Penang state, one of my best friends recommended to stay in this heritage guesthouse that combines the charm of Penang's yesteryears but equipped with modern amenities by the name of Old Penang Guesthouse. Strategically located in the heart of the oldest part of George Town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, this guesthouse is a beautifully restored pre-war building and until now, it still retains much of its old world charm.

#1: An elegant colonial looking guesthouse with the heritage touch

Upon checking, we're being served by an exceptionally friendly and welcoming Indian lady who turns out know how to speak Hokkien fluently Not just that, she is so helpful by giving us map and information of getting around Penang and nearby area. The check-in procedures was fast and hassle-free.

#2: Our triple room that located on the first floor

The room that we booked comes with one single bed and one queen bed is equipped with air-conditioned, free WiFi connection and fitted with authentic antique bedside lamps, long mirror and decorated with picture by the renowned local artist. It was clean, spacious and our luggage and backpacks perfectly fit into this room. Each of us were even given free towel and there is a towel hanger inside the room for us to hang it.

#2: Not every room is attached with bathroom and the room we booked, we need to share the bathrooms with others. But no worries cause the shower rooms and toilets were so clean that my friends and I had no problem of using it. We even enjoyed the powerful hot water shower.

#3: A spacious and airy lounge area in the center for the guest to relax, read books and surf net.

#4: Another sitting area with a black and white old charming painting decorated the wall

#5: Free breakfast with toast, jam, coffee and tea starts from 8am until 12pm.

#6: If you're lazy to walk around, you can rent a bike for RM15 per day.

#7: Situated on a quaintly street by the named of Love Lane and convenience store like 7-Eleven is just few steps away. There are even quite number of steel sculptures nearby this area. 

According to my friend, Love Lane got its name as it is widely believed that these men kept their mistresses along these street. But now, many shophouses were turned into cheap hotels and gueshouses, making this internationally very popular among backpackers. 

For just as low as RM35 per night for each of us, this guesthouse is one of the best guesthouse I ever stayed - clean, cheap, convenient, comfortable. I don't mind to come back to stay in this guesthouse again in case I would return to Penang again someday. One of the highly recommended guesthouse in Penang especially for those backpackers.

For more information and the rate of this guesthouse, do check out their website - Old Penang Guesthouse.

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Tune Hotel LCCT Airport

Most of my readers were asking how's my stay in this Tune Hotel LCCT Airport? Since I am so lazy to start with my Bali travelogue, hence I choose to blog about this instead.

I never thought of staying in Tune Hotel LCCT Airport at all. I rather overnight in airport itself because most of the time when I browsed through the price of this hotel, it was kinda pricey and not worth as I will be only staying for few hours. But since I will be sharing with two of my friends (actually the maximum occupants are two) and coincidentally, there was 10% offer given, the total amount we paid for a night was RM150, including comfort package that comes with 24 hours air-conditioner and towels and also toiletries kit. So after doing the maths, each of us only had to pay RM50 - consider kinda cheap if share with friends instead of staying alone.

#1: The main entrance of the hotel 

There are two options to reach this hotel; either taking shuttle bus or on foot. Just when my friend and I thought that the shuttle bus was free, we're absolutely wrong. It cost RM2 for one way only per pax and the ride was just less than 5 minutes. And of course, if you're not willing to take out this amount from your pocket, you can choose to walk which will take at least 10 minutes and above (depending how fast you can walk).

#2: Reception and the staff inside this photo was very courteous and helpful.

Upon reaching this hotel, the queue to check-in was relatively long but thank goodness, their services were kinda fast. Just need to show the identification card or passport and booking reference for verification.

#3: "We shrank our bed! Just for your viewing pleasure :)"

#4: The room given was on the second floor and this hotel reminds me of MaxOne Hotels.com in Indonesia

#5: The room key

#6: Like what we expected, the room was indeed very tiny and compact.

If you have plenty of huge luggage bags, you might find difficulty to place and even open all your bags at the same time. The walk space within the room is big enough for one person only. Luckily for us who have the Asian size, moving around might be slightly uneasy but for those with bigger size, hardly for me to imagine how they able to move around. However, three of us love the comfortable bed as well as the soft pillow and amazingly, the bed fit enough for three of us.

#7: The clean ensuite bathroom

Basically, the toilet was very clean and even I had a great time taking shower with the hot water and high water pressure. Besides that, hairdryer, tissue roll and a small hand tower are included in the toilet without any additional surcharge.

#8: Towels and toiletries kit that includes in the package we paid - The towel and the black tote bag need to return back upon check-out but we can bring back the toiletries kit.

#9: Two hooks with hangers on the wall right under the air-conditioner

#10: Tune Hotel - Will you choose to stay?

Unless I don't have other alternatives, definitely Tune Hotel will not be one of my best option to stay. Tune Hotel is indeed a no-frills hotel that only focus on basic essentials such as comfortable beds, power showers, ceiling fan with no TV in each and every room. So don't expect to find those facilities such as swimming pool, gyms, spas and room service. Just like its airline sister company, if you want additional services such as WiFi connection and air-conditioner, then you need to pay extra.

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