7.30pm - the street lights were already switched on yet the sky had not gone back to its daily slumber. This, however, couldn't hide the fact that we were hungry and the most straightforward way for us to get to the Esplanade hawker centre, according to the map, was up Lebuh Cannon!
Right opposite the street was the Acheen Street Malay Mosque (Masjid Melayu Lebuh Acheh) - built in 1808 by an Acehnese merchant prince, i just read from the information plaque that it houses a cemetery too!
Drawn on a wall next to the mosque - this amateur pencil drawing in the likeness of the mosque's minaret might likely be considered as vandalism in Singapore, an offense that will result in cane and / or jail. My personal take is that it adds to the charm of the area.
To draw comparison, i like that pencil drawing a whole lot more than the above purpose-built cat made of likely recycled materials.
Cannon street - the origin of the name wasn't because there's a famous ang moh with the family name of Cannon. It was named because cannons were fired to suppress a riot; resulting in a big hole (no thank to the cannon) in the middle of the street.
Here we go; down the street that's less than a hundred meters long! From the above photograph, in the middle, you should be able to see a red signage; that's where the cannon street ends.
Despite its unimpressive length, this was the place where i caught my first street art in Penang and there were ample photo opportunities along the street!
An ice ball would be boring compared to the dragon ice ball! The shop was already closed for the day but i would have gone for its signature ice ball with ice cream inside.
Cat n Dog shop - guess this would either be a pet shop or a shop that sells accessories with the images of dogs / cats for crazy dog / cat lovers.
Owl shop - closed too as we were rather late in our walk; i can only imagine so much on what's within although i doubt it would be an owl cafe with live owls.
Like the tongue-in-cheek use of outstanding and the painting of the owls! The cat n dog shop next door had the image of an adorable cat on a real dangling swing.
Cafe on number 1, cannon street; it didn't appear to be Halal and variety was limited; hence, we gave it a miss. I am curious about the skewered fruits with prawn paste unless the prawn paste refers to those used in rojak.
We have come to the end of Cannon Street; those interested in street art should check out the Armenian Street to the right of Cannon Street. As our stomachs were in need of energy, i guess i have to give it a miss for the day.
Yap Temple (Choo Chay Keong aka 慈濟宮) - standing in stark contrast to western-style building next day, this temple honours the yap clan patron deity. To read more, visit here.
Humongous squirrel peering from a hole in the wall - thankfully, this is only a painting although i couldn't help noticing how sharp the nails were! Can you imagine if something that has been small all your life turns big all of a sudden? It's a reverse of a role between a predator and prey.
Masjid Kapitan Keling - a mosque for the Muslim Indians that was built in the early 19th century; noted the use of Keling which is now considered an offensive term to label an Indian.
Some Indians may be Hindu and there's of course a Hindu temple!
Stalls selling flower garlands for the deities. The strange thing is that even though the shops are rather near the Hindi temple, their location is still not as close.
Right next to the row of flower stalls is the Kuan Im Teng, said to be the busiest temple at Georgetown with a history that spans a few centuries. Typically, we don't offer flower garlands in Chinese temples but there's no way for me to confirm as the temple was closed, as expected.
St. George's Church - built in 1819 (the year that Singapore is founded by Sir Stamford Raffles), this falls under the Anglican denomination and was a radiant beauty at night!
In this post, after my mention on Cannon Street, there were two Chinese temples, one Indian temple, one mosque and a church; comprising four major religions of Malaysia. The road is therefore also known by another name; the Street of Harmony.
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Location
Within George Town,
Penang Island, Malaysia
Map
As above
For the itinerary of my 3-day, 2-night trip to Penang, please click here.