People of Penang

If there is one ingrediant that makes Penang truly special, it must be its people. The people of Penang are noted for being friendly and helpful - though increasing urbanization has brought out a lot of ugly traits. Nevertheless, as soon as they discover that you are a visitor, you can be sure that someone will help a helping hand, some times going out of their way to assist.

English is well understood by most, more so now that many school subjects are taught in that language. You might encounter many who are not totally fluent in English, but they will be able to converse and make themselves understood. In any case, you should have no problem using English when shopping in Penang. It is only in the villages and housing neighborhoods that English proficiency drops.

About half the population is Chinese, and the main dialect spoken here in Penang Hokkien, a variation of the Min Nan dialect originating in the Fujian province of south China. Penang Hokkien is primarily a spoken language - most Chinese in Penang will read Mandarin, the Chinese language taught in school.

A big percentage of the people of Penang are Malays. You will find that, in addition to the rural areas of Penang, the Malays also form enclaves where they established the first settlements in George Town. Places such as Lebuh Acheh, Jalan Dato Keramat, Jalan Perak still have Malay villages surrounded by high rises.

Private Guided Tours of Penang

If you are seeking private guided tours of Penang, message Penang Tour Guides at penangtourguides@gmail.com and enquire with them.

 Buy, rent or sell properties in Penang

Do you have a property for sale or to rent out? Are you looking to buy or rent a property? Get in touch with me. WhatsApp me (Timothy Tye) at 012 429 9844, and I will assign one of my property agents to serve you. I will choose the agent for you, according to your property needs. So when you message me, provide me some details of what you need, whether to sell, to buy, to rent or to rent out, and what type of property, is it condo, apartment, house, shop, office or land.

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.