The trishaw – a three-wheeled, man pedaled, and two-seater machine is very much a part of Penang life, past and present. Before the appearance of motorized vehicles, the trishaw was a practical means of transport. Parents in Penang kept trishaws on a retainer basis to send their children to school; richer households used them to ferry their maids to and from grocery stores and corner shops. They were equally in demand as a means of quick and cheap transportation by itinerant vendors that pedal cakes and snacks door to door.

Today, pedaling a trishaw is not an easy way of eking out a living. Tourists are the main patrons, using them to tour the back lanes and narrow streets of George Town. The trishaw peddlers, especially those who speak some broken English, have doubled up as makeshift tourist guides with their own repertoire of Penang stories. Most of the existing trishaw peddlers belong to the older generation. They are the king of the road!