Gym's Ramblings: 2026

Greeted with a great sunrise from the rooftop infinity
pool deck of the Prestige Hotel

On this adventure, the travellers begin with some time in Penang, Malaysia. They have never been to Malaysia before. What drew them here? Some of the reasoning is as follows:

It is 30C every day of the year in Penang and January is generally the driest month of the year. So, the dynamic duo have found a good place to escape the harsh Canadian winter;
Our hero loves history and there is plenty of it in George Town, the UNESCO world heritage site within Penang. Gym recommends a trilogy of three books by Ellis K. Meacham entitled The Percival Merewether Series. They refer to colonial Penang and provided Gym with some inspiration in this regard; and finally,
Brenda and Roland Anderson who are friends of Gym and Mrs. Gym, had been to Penang. And if it was good enough for them, then it is good enough for our hero and his lovely sidekick.

The history of this thriving port city is tied to the East India Company. In order to ship Chinese spices and silks back to Europe, Penang was set up as a place where company ships could get provisions and repairs on their way between India and China. A guy named Francis Light founded the city for the East India Company in 1786. Francis Light was born in a little town called Dallinghoo in Suffolk county, UK. Dallinghoo incidentally, is only a few miles from Woodbridge, Suffolk, home of the Andersons' (Gym is sure this is why they visited Penang).

The voyage from Calgary saw the travellers successfully make it to Penang after 20 hours in the air and a couple of tight layovers in Vancouver and Hong Kong. The first leg from Calgary to Vancouver, was in an Air Canada 787. This was followed by a 14.5-hour doozy of a flight from Vancouver to Hong Kong, on a Cathay Pacific 777. Arriving in Hong Kong a trifle late, Mrs. Gym sprinted across the Hong Kong air terminal to hold the plane for her dear husband. It wasn't necessary though because it took a long time to load the families with small children that were bound for Penang as well. The final leg was a 3.5 hour affair, also aboard a Cathay 777 that took them south to Penang.

Gym was amazed at how quickly they got all that luggage from one end of the terminal to the other end as fast as Mrs. Gym did. Kudos to Cathay Pacific and the ultra-modern Hong Kong airport who both performed splendidly.

The travellers have set up camp at the multiple award-winning Prestige Hotel, in George Town. This boutique hotel is in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage District. They arrived on January 1, 2026 and were so tired that they didn’t have the energy to explore that day. However the next morning after waking to a beautiful sunrise and breakfasting in the hotel, they embarked on a 3.5 mile walkabout curated by Gym (see below).

The Prestige Hotel in Georgetown

The travellers set up camp in this eclectic
loft suite on the 4th floor

On the first full day the
travellers took a 3.5-mile
hike

Most of George Town retains the 2 and three storey
buildings of colonial times

The Church of the Assumption is the oldest
church in George Town.

The bright interior of the church

The travellers wanted to visit Fort Cornwallis but it
was closed for renovation

City Hall

A colourful resident from around Fort Cornwallis
in Georgetown

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower
near Fort Cornwallis

The highlight of the walkabout was the tour of the Pinang Peranakan Mansion museum. A guy named Chung King Quee was the richest man in George Town in the late 19th Century. He built this place in the 1890s and decorated it lavishly with a blend of British Colonial and Oriental furnishings. It is well worth a visit.