Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 71 Mar 20, 2024, Georgetown Penang, Malaysia, Bukit Merah Orang Utan Island

- March 21, 2024

George Town is the capital of the Malaysian state of Penang and the core city of the George Town Conurbation, Malaysia's second largest metropolitan area with a population of 2.84 million and the second highest contributor to the country's GDP. The city proper spans an area of 118 sq miles encompassing Penang Island and surrounding islets, and had a population of 794,313 as of 2020.

Initially established as an entrepôt by Francis Light in 1786, George Town serves as the commercial center for northern Malaysia. According to Euromonitor International and the Economist Intelligence Unit, it has the highest potential for revenue growth among all Malaysian cities and contributed nearly 8% of the country's personal disposable income in 2015, second only to the national capital, Kuala Lumpur. Its technological sector, anchored by hundreds of multinational companies, has made George Town the top exporter in the country. The Penang International Airport links George Town to several regional cities, while a ferry service and two road bridges connect the city to the rest of Peninsular Malaysia. Swettenham Pier is the busiest cruise terminal in the country.

George Town was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia and its proximity to maritime routes along the Strait of Malacca attracted an influx of immigrants from various parts of Asia. Following rapid growth in its early years, it became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1826, only to lose its administrative status to Singapore in 1832. The Straits Settlements became a British crown colony in 1867. Shortly before Malaya attained independence from Britain in 1957, George Town was declared a city by Queen Elizabeth II, making it the first city in the country's history. In 1974, George Town was merged with the rest of the island, throwing its city status into doubt until 2015, when its jurisdiction was reinstated and expanded to cover the entire island and adjacent islets.

The city is described by UNESCO as having a "unique architectural and cultural townscape" that is shaped by centuries of intermingling between various cultures and religions. It has also gained a reputation as Malaysia's gastronomical capital for its distinct culinary scene. The preservation of these cultures contribute to the city center's designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.

Today we choose an excursion away from town. This preserve is working diligently and hard to preserve Orangutans, an endangered species.

Who is the monkey??

Mama with young one

On this visit, we were in the cage!

They will get partially into the water but not in the water to swim or escape

A lady left some sandwiches on a picknick bench we shared with her; she stepped away for several minutes. This little guy bolted from nowhere to snatch a sandwich. To rub sand in faces, the monkey sat just a few feet from the snatch to casually eat the sandwich!