Billet til Straits and Oriental Museum

This is a great small museum to spend 30-60 minutes. They have a wonderful collection of artifacts from recovered ancient shipwrecks and various Chinese dynasties. The upstairs has a special collection of Cantonese Opera costumes and stage artifacts, and a brief history of Zheng He’s expeditions. One of the guides has a personal connection to the Cantonese Opera and the effort by her and the museum owner to preserve the history of this fading art is very touching. This is an absolutely beautiful place and worth a visit.

A real surprise. We stumbled across the museum and expected just to learn a little more about the history of Penang. While the ground floor info on Penang is well laid out and useful, the first and send floor have many cabinets full of beautiful artifacts ... and I am ashamed to say that it took me a minute to realise that they were genuine. While only small, this is museum will keep your attention.

An utter gem of a museum with knowledgeable, passionate and approachable staff that brings the history of Penang to life, through beautiful artefacts. What I love about Straits & Oriental is how accessible it is, you don't have to be well versed in history nor a porcelain connoisseur to enjoy your visit, but if you are, you will certainly not be bored either. The storytelling on the panels are good at contextualising the significance of the exhibits, and the staff are enthusiastic to share their own insights should you wish to enrich your experience. Oh, the café next door is a great space too.

This museum offers a refined and immersive experience. The thoughtfully designed space and clear flow invite visitors to slow down and engage deeply with each artwork. The diverse selection of styles and media reflects strong artistic intention and depth. A calm, elegant space well worth revisiting. Their Staff very friendly. They even can reserve a tour guide for details explaining the art

Amazing little museum. Kelvin is the curator and gave me one of the most interesting tours I think I’ve ever had. He is so knowledgeable and friendly. Highly recommend!

This museum of the history of Penang and the history of Chinese pottery was a random impulse decision that turned out to be a highlight of our whole Penang trip. Kelvin, the guide, is tremendously knowledgeable and clearly very passionate about his subject, and gave us a great tour that was hugely informative and entertaining about a topic i didn't even think i was interested in before I walked in. Definitely worth a stop if you're in the neighborhood.

Found it by accident when searching for a place to spend an hour +. We had a lovely time there. The ticket comes with a free guided tour of the level 1 porcelein exhibit and a cold drink. Our guide was really entertaining! The upstairs has some baba and nyonya non ceramic exhibits.

Penang we found as a place to totally chill out by the pool. There are Jellyfish in the waters around the beaches. Georgetown is the go to place, day or night. We didn’t get to Straits and Oriental Museum as ran out of time, sounded good if had longer. The Upside down Museum was fun though. It is mainly just pictures taken of you throughout, on your camera. A little Dachshund cafe was a nice break from the heat too. Found the Clans jetty more expensive than in town. If you want a major shopping centre Gurney is the place to go. Escape Waterpark is worth doing too, wet & dry activities.

The guided tour is very informative and our guides Gerald and Fazeela are patient and knowledgeable, making the tour interesting.

We were welcomed by Gerald and given a tour by Fazeela. She was very knowledgeable and had fascinating stories about the ceramics and Chinese history. This is a small museum but well worth visiting.