so if you don't mind the rain and sunbathing is not a priority, end-April could be OK.
There's really nothing much to say: all the new beach resort hotels are in the North (Batu Ferringhi and Tanjung Bungah) and all the old historic hotels (no good beach) are in Central East (Georgetown) of the island. The heritage buildings and colonial stuff is in Georgetown, as are the backstreet foodie places. The beach resorts are "international prices" and cosmopolitan for food. It's 20-30 mins by road from the beach hotels to town centre and many hotels have shuttle services.
If you must try only 2 local dishes before leaving, it's got to be:
1) Penang Assam Laksa (spicy tamarind based fishy soup with rice noodles, topped with pineapple and cucumber): best stall is in Ayer Hitam Market at around 70 cents US.
2) Penang Char Kway Teow (stir-fried rice tagliatelle with fish-cake, chinese sausage and duck egg)....controversy abounds about the best stall in Penang; about US$1 in the streets and US$6 upwards in the hotel. of course, the street is better.
Regards,
MTF
