Bonus Episode | Excerpt from "The Women of No. 14 Lebuh Leith"

HERstory: Southeast Asia

PATREON EXCLUSIVE | A couple of months ago, I took a very memorable trip to George Town, the capital city of the Malaysian state of Penang. It was founded as an entrepôt in 1786 and was the first British settlement in Southeast Asia. Currently, it’s the second largest city in Malaysia and possibly number one in my heart. So, digressing from our usual format, this bonus episode will take you through some parts of this trip, and by the end perhaps I can convince you to visit too.

No. 14 Lebuh Leith is the address of the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, also known as the Blue Mansion, the most prominent Chinese garden-style architectural example in Malaysia and sometimes called the most photographed building in Penang.

EXCERPT:

Once they let us inside, they took us to the open courtyard, where two pillars and two trees stood, said to be the center of energy according to Feng Shui. The mansion in general is in the Chinese siheyuan architectural style but reflects the eclectic background of the trader Cheong Fatt Tze, with Gothic windows, stained glass, and Glasgow cast iron works by MacFarlane's for example. The mansion has 38 rooms, 7 staircases, 5 courtyards, and 220 windows. I would not want to be the person cleaning this house.

Up the polished wooden staircase, on the second floor, is a series of rooms displaying the house’s history as well as artifacts left behind by the original occupants. One room, which of course sparked my interest, had a collection of women’s clothing, and some information about the women who lived on no. 14, Lebuh Leith.