You’ll need energy for all the sight-seeing, but don’t worry, Penang was at the top of Lonely Planet’s best places to eat in 2014. And there’s no need to dress up to go out because the best food is found on the streets and in the hawker markets.
Over the past year, the clean-up operation in Fort Cochin has been at fever pitch. Walls covered in peeling posters of political candidates, good only for goats to chew on, have been revitalised; mould has been scrubbed away and been replaced by murals, artist graffiti and bold colours.
The result of all this activity? An enormous, blank(ish) canvas across the city for Indian and international artists to exhibit their work and create site-specific installations. It is crazy, unexpected, colourful and electric: don’t miss it.