Penang

Penang, aka the Pearl of the Orient, is an island in the Strait of Melaka off of NW Malaysia.  It used to be a part of the sultan of Kedah, however due to something involving the British East India Company, money, and various other factors mainly being the same factors that resulted in half of Asia belonging to the British, the British (led by Captain Francis Light) took formal possession of the island in 1791.  Frank was a pretty generous guy, and gave everyone who would show up and clear jungle free land.  That, plus the fact that it was perfectly located to serve as the hub of the burgeoning Chinese opium trade, made Penang a pretty happening place by the mid-1800s.  

Conditions being what they were, it was a notoriously rough and tumble little island filled with brothels, gambling houses and all other sorts of vice people who trade opium like to get messed up with when they’re back on land, all run by Chinese “secret societies.” (I think that is a euphemism for “gangs”). So basically, for your purposes, early 1800s Penang looked a lot like the inside of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland, only with more Chinese people. After WWII (during which time Penang was brutally occupied by the Japanese…common theme in this part of the world), the Straits Settlements (Singapore, Melaka, Penang) were disbanded and Penang became part of the Federation of Malaya in 1948 and then part of independent Malaysia in 1963.

I particularly love the corner below.  It’s like “Hey, here are two beautiful, colorful, well-preserved colonial buildings in the city’s historic district. Let’s construct a giant brown rectangle architectural monstrosity next to them.”

In addition to the colonial district, Penang also has a Chinatown and a Little India. If you measure cultural enthusiasm based on the decibel level of Bollywood music being blasted out of every store, Penang's Little India is a very enthusiastic community.  There we stopped by the Pinang Peranakan Mansion, which is a restored house of a Chinese merchant and “secret society leader” (aka mob boss).

I looked for one of these at Ikea but didn't find anything similar.

Below, the ancestor hall.