Last weekend I played tour guide to Mellissa on her first tour of Penang in over 10 years, one of the first tourist friendly spots we went was the good old Fort Cornwallis, a place I haven’t been since high school and had virtually no recollection.
there are more cannons in Fort Cornwallis than A Farmosa!
So we parked the car by esplanade, had a plate of mee goreng by the food court (which was not the famous mee sotong I was expecting, but oh well there’s always next time) and then took a leisure walk to the fort built by the founder of Penang, Captain Sir Francis Light. That was way back in 1786, but the fort wasn’t completed until 1810 with a total cost of $80,000. Nowadays you can’t even get a decent linked house with that kind of money.
cowboy hat and rifle the “Sepoy Hut”
So we paid RM 3 per person to get into the fort, which was pretty well maintained for a state run facility. There is a little “Sepoy Hut” right after the entrance that just begs for photo opportunity (by the way you can rent a captain’s outfit too). Oh yes, the rifle was heavy, and it’s barrel sealed.
ohs no, prison girl!
Did you know that the biggest cannon in the fort was cast in 1603, more than 400 years ago. Incidentally it was also the same year Queen Elizabeth I of England dies, and yey to you cos you just acquired another piece of useless trivia.
There are 5 little air conditioned galleries within the fort exhibiting the history and archeological findings in the fort which I didn’t really read. I find wikipedia a little easier and more accessible.
gunpowder bunker and the chapel
Other buildings within the fort includes a gunpowder bunker complete with a lot of fake cannon balls and a few barrels of gunpowder magazines. Oh, by the way the cannons were said to have never been fired, apparently nobody really wanted to attack Penang.
There is also a little chapel that is seemingly designed for Audrey, very small and very cute, check Mell’s penang part 2 post and you will know what I mean.
Mell by the wall
I wished I’d remember to bring my big camera with for the trip, but oh well, at least you get this very cutesy photo of Mell to end this post. kthxbai!
