Immagine a huge metal shed, a bit like a B & Q Warehouse, with a high roof where there are a few fans, and all round the edge, steel stalls on wheel selling food. This is where we have just eaten. There are many of these food halls in this part of Malaysia. In this part of Penang, most of the people there tonight seemed to be Chinese families, with lots of little kids, plus of course a few Westerners. The beer is the most expensive thing you can order!

It is very difficult to work out just what you are going to eat. Here are a few of the food names written up over the stalls. Fish Meat Bee Hoon, Lok Bak, Mexican Delight Halal. Murtabak Pancake Capati, Nasi Kandar, Baked Crab, Malay Tom Yam, Ikan Panggalong, Char Koey Teow, Penang Asam Laksa.
So you just have to look at the ingredients, laid out in dishes uncooked, or cooked already, and work out what you might fancy. The sponsors seem to be Guiness, because that is the logo on each stall, and over the drinks counter.

The visit to George Town was hot and tiring. First the trip in on the local bus, which takes about half an hour. At the bus station, there is nobody to help or advise on how to get about. In desperation I addressed and group of women sitting waiting: Does anybody here speak English? Luckily a Chinese lady spoke up, and I asked about finding Fort Cornwallis. She told me there is a shuttle bus, which is free and stops over the road.
We duly got on the bus, not what I expected, because it is not for tourists but is for the locals, and being free, it was absolutely packed. There is no shuttle bus map giving locations of the 'sights' but we eventually got off at the stop near the old fort, which is small and a bit tumbled down, with spectacular views.
Then we jumped on another shuttle bus to try and find the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, the Maison Blue, which has been mentioned before on the blogs of Bootsnall. It has been restored since 1990, but funnily enough nobody nearby seemed to know of its existence.
If you are in George Town, do make a point of visiting. There are tours at 11 and 3, you cannot get in other times. The house was built by a Chinese millionaire, a self-made man, who died in 1916. He stipulated that the house and his financial empire could not be sold until after the death of all his children, and his youngest son was only two, when he died at the age of about 75.
His favourite wife was number 7, who was 50 years younger than him, and she lived with him at the mansion.
The guide, Joann, was excellent and explained the importance of Feng Shui in the design and build of such an important house, so that money flows in and does not flow out. Also there has to be a height at the back, so the back of the house is build higher than the front. I could go on at length but do not really understand the intricacies. Suffice to say I should read up a bit more about it.

Inside the house she explained the way the window shutters were designed to incorporate the sybol of chi. The Chinese invented the louvre window, among other things!

After the house, we tried to visit the local Penang Museum but unfortunately it closes at 5 o'clock.