Georgetown Penang Malaysia Shopping Guide

Georgetown offers some delightful shopping opportunities in the form of modern shopping complexes and streets with cultural souvenirs and goods.The malls offer a range of shopping for modern goods ranging from fashion to electronics and jewellery to gadgets while the cultural shopping areas enable you to see and admire cultural designs and lifestyles of the different races in Penang.

KOMTAR
KOMTAR, which stands for Kompleks Tunku Abdul Razak, is a famous landmark in Penang and the tallest building on the island. Inside the tower is a small shopping mall that houses a limited range of goods and merchandise. What most people come here for is to take a ride up to the top for a panoramic view of the entire island, where you can see the Penang Bridge and Butterworth on the mainland.

PRANGIN MALL
The Prangin Mall is a relatively new shopping complex located right next to the KOMTAR building. The mall houses over 600 outlets in 8 levels, ranging from fashion to electronics and groceries to household appliances. This is also a popular destination for bootleg goods, especially DVDs of movies and music.

CHINATOWN
The area around Campbell road is Penang's very own Chinatown - this is the place where the first Chinese migrants to Malaysia settled. The old buildings, clan houses and shop lots are very well-preserved, offering visitors a glimpse into the history of Chinese settlers in the early 1800s'. For shopping, a lot of Chinese-centric commodities go on sale, such as jade jewellery, Rolex watches, traditional clothes, herbs, medicines to more modern products than include branded electrical products and luggage bags.

LITTLE INDIA
Situated around Lebuh Queen and Lebuh Chulia, Little India is just right next door to its neighbour Chinatown. For an Indian cultural shopping experience, Little India will amaze you with its 'Indian' sights, sounds and smells. The shops and stalls that line the streets stock everything Indian - from silk garments (sarees) to stainless steel Tiffin carriers and Indian sweets to flower necklaces. The atmosphere is permeated with the din of Bollywood music emanating from record shops and people talking and walking. Just down the street is the Mahamariamman Temple, a historic place of worship for the Indians of Penang.

JALAN PINTAI TALI (ROPE WALK STREET)
Antique lovers should take note - Jalan Pintai Ali or Rope Street stocks a large variety of antiques such as porcelain, chains, coins, glass, ceiling lamps and antique clocks. Prices are negotiable, so don't give up till you've got the price you wanted. On a side note, no one can bring out of the country any antiques under the law without permission from the export Director General of Museums, Malaysia. However, antiques brought in and declared at customs are allowed.

Source : www.penang.ws