I have walked these streets many times.
Sometimes alone.
Sometimes rushing between meetings.
Sometimes convincing myself I “already know Penang” — because I grew up here, because I come back often, because I can order food without thinking.
But on the Ban Ban Kia Penang walking tour, I realised something quietly uncomfortable.
I had stopped seeing.
“Ban Ban Kia 慢慢走 ” is a phrase Penang people grow up hearing. Walk slowly. Be careful. Don’t rush. It’s practical advice, but also a way of moving through life. And like many familiar phrases, it fades into the background — until someone gently brings it back into focus.
That’s what this walk does.
It Helps Me Slow Down (Even When I Think I Don’t Need To)
The Ban Ban Kia Penang walking tour isn’t the kind of experience that overwhelms me with facts or dates. There’s no checklist, no rush to cover ground, no pressure to “finish” anything.
Instead, Joel Lim Du Bois walks us through George Town by asking us to do something surprisingly difficult in a city we think we know well:
Look up.
Old shop signs.
Hand-painted letters.
Faded colours.
Small visual decisions made decades ago.
These were things that were always there — hanging just above street level, quietly watching daily life unfold — but somehow trained out of our line of sight.
Sometimes, it’s not that we don’t care. It’s that life moves fast, and cities move even faster. Having someone guide you — not to show us more, but to help us slow down — changes how we experience a place.
Reading Stories That Hang Above Us
The shop signs featured in the Ban Ban Kia Penang walking tour were never meant to be heritage objects.
They were practical. Functional. Made by hand for real businesses, real families, real livelihoods.
Yet in their typography, materials, and placement, they carry stories of migration, identity, and everyday life in Penang. Languages overlap. Styles blend. Cultural influences quietly coexist.
Joel doesn’t romanticise these signs. He reads them — as visual language. And by doing so, he teaches us how to read the city too.
At some point during the walk, something shifted.
I started noticing patterns.
I started asking questions.
I started walking differently after that.
Not just during the tour — but in the days that followed.
Why This Is Deep Travel, Not Just a Walking Tour
We often think meaningful travel requires going far. Different countries. New landscapes. Big distances.
But the Ban Ban Kia Penang walking tour reminded me that depth doesn’t come from distance — it comes from attention.
This is what deep travel actually looks like:
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Listening instead of collecting
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Observing instead of consuming
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Understanding instead of rushing
It’s not about doing more. It’s about seeing better.
Sometimes, all it takes is the right person to help you slow down enough to notice what has always been there.
Watch the Walk, Feel the Pace
To capture how this walk curated for WiT Indie Conference 2025 felt — and what I briefly but meaningfully learned — I created a short film. Not as a guide, but as a reflection.
▶️ Watch the video here:
Ban ban kia.Penang has more to show you — when you’re ready to see it.
