Cheong FattTze mansion aka The Blue Mansion

After witnessing the splendor of the Penang Peranakan Mansion (read here), my next aim was to go to the other famous Peranakan house in Penang and the location of many movies.

I of course did some research on the place prior to going.

To cut a long story short the Cheong Fatt Tze mansion was of course owned by a wealthy Chinese business man with a rags to riches story having arrived penniless from Guandong province China at the age of 16 in 1856.

He made his fortune, and had mansions in China, Hong Kong ,Singapore,Indonesia and of course the one in Penang. The mansion in Penang being the residence of his favoured 7th wife.

Rates are RM 12 per person and conducted tours are only available at 11 am, 1.30pm and 3pm.
You can't go and visit any other time. Sucks. Besides that it also doubles up as a hotel.

More information can be obtained from the official website here.A lot more on history and architecture of the building at the site for history buffs out there.

Anyway there i was in Penang, attending a friends wedding, and scheduled an extra day to explore Penang with my friend. Unfortunately i was the only one who was even remotely keen on anything historic.Luckily i had a husband who was ready to accompany me even though he does not have the least interest in all things historic.

Here i am standing happily outside the famed building.

Unfortunately that was as far as i could go as i had just missed the time for the guided tour.

So we adjourned to sample the 'Famous Penang Road Char Kueh Tiao and Chendol".

Seriously all i could remember was the stuffy cramped environment, very rude drinks lady (and also proprietor of the said shop) and the ridiculous ques.

Go there only if you really must eat so called 'best food in Penang'.

We camwhored because we could finally eat after a lengthy wait.

The ques are ridiculous! Avoid if possible. And truth to be told the food was okay, not anything worth sweating for.

After that, i was finally able to make it for the last guided tour of the day. Unfortunately photography is not allowed inside the mansion. But compared to the Penang Peranakan Mansion, there is a lot less furniture. But definitely both buildings were spectacular and drenched in old world charm.

It was an educational experience. But one thing i realized. The merchant had all the money in the world and the was one of  the wealthiest of his generation, but due to the limitations of his era, he had to live without water or electricity and the place was freaking hot!

So even though we are not as rich, at least we live more comfortably than the richest man of the time?

Just a thought.. *dreamy smile head in clouds*