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(CNN) — Travel is more challenging now than it has been in a long time. Borders tentatively reopen only to slam shut again. A once-simple visa on entry is replaced with piles of paperwork. And the whole world is brushing up on the Greek alphabet whenever a new variant makes headlines.

As the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia, Georgetown is home to some of the finest street food in the world, or hawker food as the locals call it. Many vendors use the same recipes that have been used for generations with hints of Chinese and Indian fusion. The most famous dish is called car koay teow, and it is made of flat rice noodles stir fried with prawns, cockles,...

For those who love to try new food but are on a budget,
 George Town, Malaysia is the place to go. The cuisine is a blend of Malay,
 Chinese, and Indian specialities, and local hawker centers and street food
stalls offer dozens of delicious options for just $2-3. Wash it all down
with a fresh fruit juice for $1 and you can easily eat well for under $10 
a day. Accommodation...

George Town (population about 500,000), Penang's main city, is a UNESCO World Heritage site with a 500-year history of trading and a hotel boom in progress. As many as 10 new hotels may open in 2016, and a bevy of cruise lines call at the port. With luck, this growth will leave intact the city's most historic architecture and encourage its lively food scene. George Town was a British...

Penang is the perfect choice for travellers wanting to experience the East in all its exotic glory. Celebrated the world over for its cuisine, foodies will fall for the island state’s street food as well as its fine dining. Adventure junkie? Trek through the jungle. Laid-back traveller? Relax in the shelter of a palm tree on the beach.

It's one of the most hotly anticipated travel guides of any year -- the annual survey of destinations Lonely Planet is recommending for 2016. The travel giant's "Best in Travel 2016" is a roundup of top as well as emerging destinations and experiences. The collection "highlights not the places travelers are headed to next year, but the places our team determined they should visit,"...

Smart Travel Asia is the region’s dedicated online travel magazine with 1.2 million readers worldwide – frequent travellers in the know.

Built in the 1880s, the magnificent 38-room, 220-window Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion was commissioned by Cheong Fatt Tze, a local merchant trader who left China as a penniless teenager and ended up as 'the Rockefeller of the East'. The mansion blends Eastern and Western designs, with louvred windows, art nouveau stained glass and beautiful floor tiles, and is a rare surviving example...

Poached, flaked mackerel, tamarind, chili, mint, lemongrass, onion, pineapple … one of Malaysia’s most popular dishes is an addictive spicy-sour fish broth with noodles (especially great when fused with ginger), that’ll have your nose running before the spoon even hits your lips.

Treat yourself to Malaysia's unique fusion of cultures and flavors. Start your food crawl at stalls that crowd the streets of Georgetown, Penang's largest city and Malaysia's food capital. The delectable fare on offer memorably mingles Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, and European flavors.