姓氏桥
Country: Penang, Malaysia
Address: Pengkalan Weld, George Town, 10300 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
Hours: 9am-9pm daily
How Did I Get There: Grab from Airbnb
There used to be eight jetties until two were demolished by fire or redevelopment (Koay & Peng Aun) and left with six remaining. When I was writing this, there was a lot of discussion that went behind the demolishment of the two jetties. I doubt that my summary of them would do other people's research and stories justice so I will link them here and here.
The different clans still reside at the Clan Jetties hence tourists are advised to minimise noise or any sort of pollution when visiting. A lot of the houses also carries signage that no photography is allowed so it is very important to respect the residents' privacy.
We went to Chew Jetty first, followed by Tan and Lim. But I would recommend visiting in the following order based on its location: Lim, Chew, Tan, Lee, Mixed, Yeoh.
Lim Jetty
If I did not remember incorrectly, Lim Jetty was the most quiet among the three we visited. I researched that a large tract of their waterfront was reclaimed to make a parking lot. Here is the view at the far end of their jetty during low tide:
Chew Jetty
This jetty was the most tourist-friendly and I guess the most popular among the six. They had the most number of stores and residents selling souvenirs and snacks. It was just very busy and buzzing with life as time goes by. Although most of the things they were selling seemed quite gimmicky, I did buy two pairs of handmade earrings from a local artist there.
One thing to note that there was a temple at every jetty for the residents to pray. Here is the view at the far end of the jetty during low tide:
Tan Jetty
This jetty was where the iconic house (which was actually a temple) and jetty came from. Unfortunately, we visited during the low tide period. I wanted to get photos with no one in the background but the two couple that were there with us stayed quite a while so we just left after some snaps.
I also forgot to take an iconic photo myself so here is what it should look like.
Lee, Mixed Clan & Yeoh Jetty
Due to poor planning and research, I did not know that there were 6 jetties in total. Here are some information I found online about the latter two.
Mixed Clan Jetty
Residents here in the past were made up of people that did not belong in the other large clans that made up their own jetties. Additionally, other than shortening the distance from home to work, people would move to waterfront house to avoid from paying taxes.
Yeoh Jetty
Located far South among all of them, most of the waterfront houses now stay on land after land reclamation work that happened decades ago.
That's all I have for this place.
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Travel Period: December 2019
*Kindly note that all information are correct as of date of publish. Always do your own research prior to heading down to avoid disappointment during your trip! :)
**All photographs are taken by myself unless stated. Hence, please do not use without permission. Thank you.
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