Having not been to Penang for a while, I left the choice of hotel to friends whom I was travelling with. We ended up with Eastern & Oriental, or better known as The E&O, one of Penang’s finest luxury hotels. A quick Wikipedia search will tell you that this is a combination of not one, but two remarkable properties (Eastern Hotel & Oriental Hotel, hence its current name), founded by the Sarkies Brothers in 1884. So who are the Sarkies Brothers and what’s the deal with them? They were Armenians who settled in Southeast Asia and became famous hoteliers of the 1880s, having built several luxury properties across Asia, including Singapore’s very own Raffles Hotel. Location, location, location The E&O is located in the heart of George Town, along Lebuh Farquhar right by the sea. The closest landmark is Fort Cornwallis, while the famous food streets are either within a 15-minute walk away. For reference, Lebuh Armenian, where most of Penang’s famous murals are, is about a kilometre away. Gurney drive is also a short …