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     | The swirl of Batik in eastern bazaars, the cascade of waterfalls in 
    Botanical Gardens, jungle-clad hills ringed by golden beaches, are the 
    images you may take from Penang. A tour of picturesque colonial Georgetown, the capital, features visits to 
    Snake Temple, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha and Kek Lok Si, one of the 
    most beautiful temples in Southeast Asia. Another site to behold is the recently restored Eastern and Oriental Hotel, 
    the first of the Sarkies Brothers' endeavors (1884), which preceded the 
    Oriental Hotel in Bangkok by a year. Notables who visited the original hotel 
    were 
    Noel Coward, Douglas Fairbanks, 
    Rudyard Kipling, and Somerset Maugham
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