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Georgetown (Malaysia) travel safety advice
Georgetown (Malaysia) travel safety advice
Georgetown in general is a safe city as serious crimes are pretty rare. Be extra careful in crowds and on roadsides, as they are the spots where petty crimes such as snatch thefts and pickpockets occur.
Some local men like to yell things and make suggestive comments to women walking alone, and sometimes they can get "too friendly". If you are a woman, you should travel in a group. Men walking alone may have to deal with a similar amount of harassment too, especially around the Love Lane/Lebuh Chulia areas. There are large numbers of prostitutes and/or ladyboys prowling the streets here and they can be very aggressive. Over the last few years this problem seems to have faded away but it's still a good idea to exercise caution walking around at night.
If you look like a tourist, you will get considerably higher prices from the salesmen in markets, like Batu Ferringhi Night Market, or the market near the Kek Lok Si temple. The real price of the product is always a lot less and at times the "best price" is five times the normal price.
Taxis generally do not use meters due to poor enforcement by local authorities, even though it is "compulsory". The meters are often claimed to be "broken" or are hidden. You should always ask for the use of the meter. The metered price is always less than a price given in advance. Tourists are often cheated, sometimes even left by the roadside in the middle of nowhere if they refuse to pay a considerably inflated sum of money. You should negotiate the fare before boarding if the taxi driver refuses to use the meter, preferably seek a different taxi if they refuse to use the meter. Taxis from Penang Airport are paid using slips given in a small office in the airport building.
Do not use drugs, and stay away from them. You will get the death sentence if caught dealing with certain types of drugs and Malaysia's laws provide very harsh punishment for any drug related offence. The amount of the drug you are caught with will determine whether you are charged as a user or a dealer. Pay heed to the warning signs at all entry points to the country and just don't have anything to do with illegal substances.
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Georgetown (Malaysia) Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.