The first day of my first time in Penang. Fresh off the plane, but not fresh after a redeye. I need lots of caffeine to power a possibly wobbly George Town tour. Hopefully by the end of the week here the scattered fragments I wonder about as I wander about will start to congeal, to form patterns. To make sense.

We start at THE TOP, literally at the top of the Klomtar skyscraper. Talk about an overview. Stepping out into the void, 249m above Penang, rooftops are seen through the grill we’re walking on. George Town like a toy town. I hear this steel-grating walkway is known as the “Confidence Path”. That’s what I need more than caffeine. Confidence.

From vertigo terror to terra firma, I get another kind of overview at the new Penang History Gallery on Bishop Street. There are immersive, life-sized dioramas with mannequins, frozen in time against theatrical backdrops. They are littered with props, both solid and sonic, which tell the state’s story, from the establishment of British Penang in 1786 to Malayan independence in 1957.

It’s fun, it’s surreal, it’s a great way to do history.

A kid again, I jump on an old tramcar mounted on huge springs and make it sway from side to side, ringing the bell all the while. I can’t wait to collect another rubber stamp impression for the postcard we were given at the entrance.

There’s lunch at Ivy’s Nyona Cuisine, and the Assam fish is a knockout. A serving robot lurks incongruous among human staff and paintings on the walls.

And there are paintings on the walls in and around Armenian Street. Sometimes it’s hard to distinguish the weathered faces of the shophouses, wearing flowers and strings of goods, from the stencilled street art. Metal sculptures sprout like wiry bas-reliefs or aesthetic plumbing systems. Everyone said look out for Ernest Zacharevic’s work. I do. It’s good.

Jian nian is decorative mosaic art — recycled porcelain shards, cut with pliers and pressed into stucco. There is jian nian on the ridge of the roof of the Leong San Tong Khoo Kongsi clan temple. Inside, the temple is as abundantly ornamented as it is outside.

We move from this clan temple to the Clan Jetties of George Town’s historic Chinese waterfront neighbourhoods. There are wooden houses, temples and narrow boardwalks built on stilts over the sea along Weld Quay. We walk down Chew Jetty. History clings to it like the barnacles to the concrete pylons, replacing older wooden ones in different stages of decay. Shops sell street food, souvenirs, tiny electric fans, knock-off Ray-Bans. A white cat stretches languorously behind a bicycle. In the distance, boats melt into the haze.

The day’s itinerary closes as we sit down to dinner at Bali Hai Seafood Market on Gurney Drive; the atmosphere convivial in the cooling air. Prawns, chicken, fried rice, vegetables, spicy and steaming hot, watermelon juice — a refreshing break from chopped chili. Am I delirious through sensory overload or lack of sleep? What a first day on my first time in Penang.

+ Will Yeoman was a guest of AirAsia and Penang Global Tourism Board. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.

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+ THE TOP, Komtar, George Town. Rainbow Skywalk open 10am-10pm daily (Tuesday until 7pm); Observatory Deck closes at 9pm (Tuesday 7pm); Sky Bridge open 10am-7pm, last entry 6pm. Three-attraction pass: adults RM78 ($27); children and seniors RM58 ($20). thetop.com.my

+ Penang History Gallery, 95 Bishop Street, George Town. Open daily 10am-8pm; last admission 7.30pm. Basic admission for international visitors: adults RM39 ($14), children aged 3-12 and seniors aged 60+ RM29 ($10); under-threes free. facebook.com/penanghistorygallery