Coming back to one of the best places in the world.

I returned to Penang and I’m happy. We’re back for three or so weeks to hang out with my wife’s family and to sop up a little more of a place that I’ve found to be one of the best bases of operation in the world.
It’s difficult to find anything wrong with this place. Sure, it’s dealing with similar issues that many other Asian cities are currently dealing with: i.e. rampant development that moves faster than the municipal facilities or society care to keep up with. So there is an excess of unnatural flooding, beaches have become construction zones, land is being reclaimed from the sea all over the island’s periphery, new buildings are being taken out by landslides, and the UNESCO-stamped historic core is now ringed by a sea of sparkling new, state-of-ubiquitiousness high-rises.
But I still like the place — the cultural mix and the general openness to outsiders is something special.
Return to Penang
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About the Author: VBJ
I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 93 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. VBJ has written 3729 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.
VBJ is currently in: Rome, Italy
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