Penang retreat

In the heart of historic George Town, Penang, just opposite Little India’s iconic Sri Mahamariamman temple, is a little bookshop with turmeric-yellow-painted door and window frames. Push open that door and the air conditioning provides welcome relief from the tropical heat outdoors, encouraging book lovers to linger and browse longer than they might have planned. Since its opening in 2014, Gerakbudaya Bookshop has become a local literary landmark.

‘An independent bookshop is a vital presence in a historically rich and cosmopolitan locale like Penang,’ says the owner, Gareth Richards.

George Town’s cultural importance is bolstered by recognition from Unesco as a world heritage site in 2008, and underlined by annual events like the George Town Festival and George Town Literary Festival. On the same street as the bookshop, Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling, you can find a mosque, a church, a Chinese temple and the aforementioned Hindu temple—all a testament to Penang’s historic and long-standing cultural diversity, which has also made the island a popular tourist destination.

‘We have always depended to a notable degree on visitors, from the rest of Malaysia, from Southeast Asia and farther afield,’ says Richards.

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