When you are on an island surrounded by water on all sides, you expect jetties or socks where boats and ships would get anchored to. The island of Penang has many, (of course) but the one that is visited by the tourists is the Chew Jetty.

The way to the jetty is from Weld Quay in Georgetown. It starts from a Chinese temple and then a narrow wooden creaky lane leads to the jetty. The Chew Jetty is one of the largest waterfront settlements of Penang, also known as Clan Jetties, because of the various communities settled there. 

The name was decided on the various surnames of the Chinese population like Lim, Lee, etc and finally was zeroed down to Chew. This place is well known for all the wooden row houses that are on stilts. Also, it's one of the most important centres of Chinese New Year celebration in GeorgeTown.

Walking through the jetty gives an insight into the lifestyle of the people living in those stilt houses, in the Penang Strait. Like I have said earlier, the houses are beautifully decorated frim the outside, and their religious inclination is well perceivable given the amount of incense sticks burning. You literally walk outside their doors and windows, and can easily see what the residents are upto, if their curtains are not drawn. There are a few temples too, in the rows and quite a lot of souvenir shops and eateries.

I stopped by at few, and wanted coffee, but was unable to communicate. They understood the word "coffee" but we couldn't decide whether it would be with milk or not. Finally we had to walk out as they were too busy in attending the local people's orders.

Like every other part of GeorgeTown, this place too has interesting murals. And the breeze once you reach the jetty is unmatched. One can spot the long Penang bridge from there and a great view of the Penang Strait.

There are no entry fees to have this experience yet it is one of the most culturally enriching things to remember! Have you ever had a peek into another culture like this?