What to do in Penang, Malaysia for the day?

We have never been to Penang Malaysia before.

I was wondering what not to miss in Penang?? and what would you recommend doing here for the day??

Any ideas / suggestions are very welcome :)

Last time there I simply got lost for the day; really enjoyed it.

Turned left from the dock and walked down to Chew (and nearby) Jetties.

Then just wandered the back streets of Georgetown, enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of daily life in Asia.

Heading nowhere in particular.

A couple of beers in the backpacker area.

Wandered through the E & O Hotel, then joined the seaside boardwalk which runs by Fort Cornwallis back to the dock.

A tiring but fascinating day.

We were in Penang this past February on the Volendam. Through CC friends we booked a private tour with Metro Bike. It was called Morning Georgetown Cruise Excursion Heritage Tour and included breakfast and lunch. My friend and I chose to ride in trishaws which was so much fun. Just be sure to get individual trishaws since 2 people in one would be too crowded. 1 adult and 1 small child could work. We ended up being around 16-17 people and half rode bikes and the others were in trishaws. metrobike.com.my is the web site. Our guide was Ken Hor and he was really good.

Penang has a free Ho-Ho bus for the city of George Town which leaves from just outside the cruise terminal, see http://www.penang-traveltips.com/cat.htm

There is also a commercial HO-HO bus that travels two routes see, www.penang-traveltips.com/cat.htm and pass most of the main attractions.

What to see will depend on your interests. See for ideas, http://www.penang-traveltips.com/sight-index.htm

One recommendation is to not miss sampling the great hawker food dotted throughout the Island. See, http://www.penang-traveltips.com/food.htm;)

Thank You everyone for the information and replays :)

We hired a driver, Morgan (umogan@gmail.com) for the day. He met us at the ship at the designated time and drove us to all the places we wanted to see. He also make suggestions regarding sites to see which we really appreciated. His English is very good and we had a great day.

Jan

We took a tour with viator which was a wonderful day out - I can highly recommend. We did the temple and the railway - great day. The guide was excellent. Great value for money