The Eastern and Oriental Hotel's E&O Gallery

At the E&O Gallery in Penang,

music can be heard as well as sights seen

Located in the Eastern & Oriental (E&O) Hotel's 

Victory Annexe, the social history gallery is open to 

the public and doesn't charge for admission 

 It contains information about the hotel's owners,

guests and staff over the years -- and how much a part

of Penang's socio-cultural heritage the hotel is...

 ...and it's no small amount of pride that I can say that

I had a part in its coming into being, and am grateful

that my name can be seen at the gallery :)

This time last week, I was in Penang.  This recent short visit (of just five days) was the first time I had been back on the island of my birth for about one and half years -- and the first one in a while that saw me go back for an actual holiday rather than for work.  

While Hong Kong has been my primary workplace for close to seven years now, the period between May 2011 and October 2012 saw me also assuming a consulting position on a museological project in Penang.  In the time between then and this recent Penang trip, the E&O Gallery opened its doors at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel which occupies a geographical location close to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed sections of George Town (Penang's capital city) and also a place in the hearts of many Penangites and visitors to it.  

As might be expected, I decided that a visit to the social history gallery was a "must do" on this trip -- this not least because I wanted to see how many of my recommendations would be put into effect!  So one morning, I headed over to the E&O -- as it turned out, after revisiting some nearby areas to see new and interesting sights that had come into being there as well as appreciate some old haunts.  (More on that in a future blog entry, I promise!)

Should anyone wonder, I was well pleased with what I found at the E&O Gallery, and ended up spending close to an hour there marvelling at how wonderfully it all ultimately came together.  About the one regret I have is that the place looks so good that it actually might intimidate potential visitors and get them thinking that there's a high admission fee (when, in fact, there actually is none)!

So here's doing my bit to try to get the word out that entry to this air-conditioned oasis of a gallery that offers a multimedia experience really won't cost visitors a cent -- for I'd love more people to behold something that I am proud to have had a hand in creating, and that I actually think they might enjoy checking out! :)