Marking the Creative Street Art of Penang’s Georgetown on Two Wheels

Hello everyone! I started AlexisJetsets.com on 1 October 2016 and wow, time flies! It’s almost November already. My very first post was on the Top 5 Activities in Penang’s Batu Ferringhi area, so today, I’m giving you a visual tour on one of the more exciting bicycle routes you can follow in Penang’s well-known area, Georgetown. You can use my bicycle route and journey on an amazing tour around the streets of Georgetown to discover the unique wrought-iron caricatures with anecdotal descriptions.

Here’s a brief history on how street art culture was popularized in Georgetown. It started off as a competition initiated by the Penang State Government to physically brand Georgetown as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On 7 September 2009, an international competition was held aimed at exploring innovative ideas in art and design for public spaces in Georgetown. Out of the 40 entries within the country and from abroad, SculptureAtWork triumphed with its design concept of “voices from the people”. Subsequently, 52 unique and humorous illustrations in the form of iron rod sculptures were installed against the city’s building walls. In Georgetown Festival 2012, Ernest Zacharevic, a young Lithuania-born artist, was commissioned to paint a few murals, including the world-famous “Kids on Bicycle”. Since then, a few other artists have also contributed to the current street art popularity in Georgetown.

For my trip, my friend and I rented our bicycles from one of the shops around Lebuh Cannon, hence, we used Penang Tourist Guides Association as our starting point. You should obtain the “Street Art Map” and you’ll see each street art marked by either alphabets or numbers on the map. I’ll state the alphabet or number as I bring you through my bicycle journey.

You’ll first come across “Boy on Chair” (C) along Lebuh Cannon. If you go further down, you’ll be able to spot the “Cannon Hole” (48) caricature. It depicts a cannon shot fired during the 1867 Penang Riots that made a large hole in the area, hence the name.

Make a right turn onto Lebuh Acheh and a left turn onto Lorong Lumut and you’ll arrive at the “Born Novelist” (18), the birthplace of Ahmad Rashid Talu, the first to write an original Malay novel with local setting and local characters.

Turn left onto Lorong Toh Aka and follow the street till you reach the end and you’ll see “Ironsmith” (51). The striking of the lone ironsmith’s hammer can still be heard along the street where once every tool had to be fashioned by heat and hand, not machines.

Next, turn right onto Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street). Upon reaching the intersection of Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong and Gat Lebuh Prangin, you’ll notice a caricature of the “Waterway” (26) explaining that the Prangin River was a bustling waterway for all manner of goods that were shipped to Penang from all over the world.

If you follow Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong street all the way up and turn right at Lebuh Carnarvon before making a left turn at Lebuh Kimberley till Jalan Pintai Tall, you’ll find the “Rope Style” (17) caricature. Rope walk was named after the rope-making activities on the street. If you cycle further down along Lebuh Kimberley till Jalan Sungai Ujong, you’ll notice the “Three Generations” (16) caricature depicting Kimberley Street’s famous hawker food and you’ll realize that some of the stalls have been there for over 3 generations.

Make a left turn onto Jalan Sungai Ujong and you’ll come across “Shorn Hair” (45) caricature. Barbers used to operate along that street and shorn hair was simply swept into the Prangin canal. After this, turn right onto Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong street again and cycle till the end of the street before making another right turn onto Jalan Penang.

At the intersection of Jalan Penang and Lebuh Kimberley, you’ll find one of my favourite caricatures – “Kopi O” (14). This totally captures the essence of how the locals order their beverages at coffee shops. Whichever coffee shop you decide to eat at, listen hard for “KOPI-O-KAU!” (thick black strong coffee), which is very different from the way you order at cafés, “one tall, double shot, decaf espresso”.

Cycle along Jalan Penang and make a right turn at Lebuh Muntri which leads you to Lorong Stewart and you’ll find many caricatures around this area. There’s the “Beca” (30) which means trishaw paddlers in local terms. These paddlers sometimes double as tourist guides. You’ll also see the caricatures of “Mahjong” (32) and “Temple Day” (35). While mahjong is a favourite pastime for the elderly, temple day is the first and fifteenth day of every Lunar month and the Goddess of Mercy Temple will be packed with devotees seeking divine guidance with candles, joss sticks, flowers etc. Another one of my favourite caricatures stand here – “Tok Tok Mee” (8). Tok Tok Mee is so called because hawkers would strike a “tok tok” sound to signal their presence.

Cycle along Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling (Pitt Street) and turn right onto Lebuh Gereja. It’ll bring you to “Quiet Please” (31) caricature. To the dismay of parishioners of the Portuguese Church there, Church Street also housed the headquarters of the notorious Ghee Hin secret society.

If you cycle further along Lebuh Gereja street and take a right turn onto Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street) before a left turn at Gat Lebuh Chulia, you’ll find “Double Role” (46) and “Yeoh Only” (47) caricatures. The former explains that up until 1909, the police doubled as Georgetown’s firefighters while the latter illustrates that Yeoh Kongsi was established in 1836 to look after the welfare of the newly arrived Yeoh clansmen. Take a right turn after that and cycle till Gat Lebuh Armenian. You’ll find the colourful oriental street art of “Love Me Like Your Fortune Cat” (L).

Now, head back along Gat Lebuh Armenian to Lebuh Armenian and you’ll come across the super famous “Kids on Bicycle” (A). Make a right turn and you’ll go pass another famous street art, “Old Motorcycle” (B).

Follow the street down to Lebuh Ah Quee and there’s the caricature of “Kandar” (42). Nasi Kandar originated from Tamil Muslim hawking home-cooked curry dishes and rice from containers slung on both ends of a kandar (a wooden stick).

Finally, head back to Lebuh Cannon and there’re the “Lion Dance” (N) street art, as well as the “Procession” (19) and “Then & Now” (50) caricatures. The former showcases the Tua Pek Kong Hneoh Grand Float Procession held in the year of the Tiger to wash away bad luck and bring great wealth and health. The latter is a street named by the Hokkiens, “Pak Thang-Ah Kay” or “Coppersmith’s Street” which is a reference to the early Malay brazier making brass and copper wares.

You’ve cycled one whole round around Georgetown and you’re finally back in the heart of this town. You can return your bicycles and go for a nice meal. Bicycle rentals start at a really cheap rate of 8Ringgit ($2.66 SGD) for 2 hours. Besides the street art guide with pictures that I’ve mentioned above, you’ll also get to see other interesting art pieces done outside some cafés or bakeries and in back alleys so explore away and be adventurous (but not at the expense of your life)!

You’ll notice that the street art are spread across the rustic Georgetown and the roads and shophouses are going to look exactly like the photos above. Do be careful of cars as it can get quite jammed up in the narrow streets sometimes. Put lots of sunblock and drink plenty of water as it can get extremely hot in Georgetown. Whenever you stop for photos or for a rest somewhere, please lock your bicycles and always carry your valuables and belongings with you. Do not put anything in the baskets of your bicycles if you’re going to walk away from your bicycle!

There you go – my cycling route in Georgetown where I got to explore many street arts which helped me understand the history and culture of Penang in the past! There are many other attractions in Georgetown such as different museums, temples and places of interest and I’ll get to this in my next article on Penang. Meanwhile, enjoy the weekend and stay tuned for more travel guides!