Explore a different destination Homestead
Wawasan Open University, Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah, George Town

      EarthDocumentary World Budget Travel Guide About Me Compare Hotel Room Rates from different Booking Sites






Homestead is one of the biggest and most elegant mansions to be built by a Chinese towkay in Penang. It was designed by architect James Stark of the firm Stark & McNeill for Lim Mah Chye, a tycoon of the early 20th century. It is said that Lim Mah Chye deliberately built his mansion to block the view enjoyed by his rival, Quah Beng Kee, who owned a mansion called Columbia Lodge right across the road (and is today the Maple Gold restaurant). The plan of the house is in the form of the letter "E".

In the 1920's, Quan Beng Kee suffered financial ruins when his ship crashed into the port in Deli, Medan, and he had to pay for the damages. His shipping company was taken over by Lim Chin Guan, the son of Lim Mah Chye. But before long, Lim Chin Guan's fortune also took a nose-dive, hit by the great depression, which destroyed many millionaires but created new ones. Lim Chin Guan had to sell Homestead to one of the newly rich, Yeap Chor Ee, the founder of Ban Hin Lee Bank.

Today the Homestead has been turned into the campus of the Wawasan Open University.

Visiting Penang

If you're planning a trip to Penang, please go through the information I have assembled in Penang Travel Tips. You'd find there information covering all aspect about Penang, including accommodation, transport, food, shopping, places of interest and more. Everything you need to know Penang is right there at your finger tips!


The Homestead front façade.



The expansive compound of Homestead



Click for list of Penang Heritage Sites




Get the best rates when booking Penang hotels

Before booking a hotel room, make sure you are getting the lowest price for it. Different hotel booking websites offers the same room at different prices. If you stick with one site all the time, you could be paying more for the same room. Now why pay more?

The form below is a Research Engine. It doesn't take bookings. Instead it lets you find the hotel booking website that offers the room you want at the lowest price. You can see and compare what different sites are offering, and then click to choose the one with the best price. Do this, and you're guaranteed to save a whole lot of money on your room reservations!



Great Travel Deals Wego.com

Flight Checker

Our Flight Checker helps travelers compare flights and get the lowest fare for their trips. If you're flying somewhere, use our Flight Checker to compare the rates from different airlines. To use it, enter where you will be flying from, where you will be flying to, your departure date and return date. Select the number of passengers, and then click search.

Our engine will return you a list of possible flights that you can take. You can compare the fare of different airlines for your trip. Click on your selected airline, and we transfer you to the airline website.


Return to Penang Travel Tips homepage

My message introducing God to all the world: THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO TIM


Bookmark and Share   Follow EarthDocumentary on Twitter


Tim's Travel Tips and globe logo are trademark and service mark of Timothy Tye. Copyright © 2008-2010 Timothy Tye. All Rights Reserved.
Penang Travel Tips is researched and written by Timothy Tye, universally known as Tim. The text is the copyright of Timothy Tye, and may not be copied for commercial use or re-published in another website without the author's permission. Information provided is in goodwill and is believed to be correct and up-to-date at time of writing. Photographs on this website are the copyright of the author and may not be reused without prior permission. For commercial licensing of photographs, read the licensing terms.