Gym's Ramblings: Pearls of the Orient

A view of George Town and in the center distance, the
Man-made Andaman Island from the top
Of Penang Hill

January 5-7, 2026

Francis Light would be proud to know how successful his little colony has become. Today there are almost two million living in the state of Penang and about half of those live in George Town. Yes, if you have been reading this series of posts, you know there is a thriving tourism industry here but out by the airport the High-Tech Industry has set up shop and that industry accounts for more than 50% of the economic output in the state. The tech industry with its high paying jobs and huge foreign direct investment has made Penang which is the second smallest state by area, the state with the third highest GDP/Capita. This means folks here are well off and they can support all the great services George Town has to offer.

But the elevated standard of living also draws people from elsewhere in the world. They move to George Town and boost the real estate development and construction industries which are the third leg of the local economy. Our hero and his lovely sidekick toured several new developments like Andaman Island where a whole bunch of new condos are being built on land re-claimed from the sea. It reminds our hero of the islands off Dubai, like Palm Jumeriah. Rich expats from all over the world are moving to Penang for all the things that this part of Malaysia has to offer. The dynamic duo crossed over to the island with their adopted tour guide Sam the taxi driver, who had never been across the brand new bridge himself. It had just opened from the vicinity of Gurney Drive, another upscale part of town that has been reclaimed from the sea. Later Mr. Gym met a couple from Calgary that had lived in Penang for ten years. They had no regrets.

Let the author back up a bit here and dive a bit deeper into the relationship that was developed with Sam the taxi guy. The adventurers hired him to take them to The Botanical Garden, on day-three in George Town. At that time, they asked him to wait for them a little more than an hour, without being paid, after the journey from the hotel. He was there happily waiting to return to the hotel and as a bonus entertained his passengers with a local's perspective of George Town, from a guy that had spent his whole life there. Sam has seen a significant amount of change in his city over the years but he is upbeat about it and he was very entertaining. Mr. Gym tipped him well that day and he provided transportation as well as colour commentary at least once a day for the rest of the time spent in Penang. Note: If you visit Penang leave a comment and we'll get you his WhatsApp).

What else did our travellers do whilst in Penang:

1. They took the Penang Hill Tram up to the summit. The view is wonderful from the top but the day Gym and his fair bride went up visibility was just slightly marred by a thin layer of low level cloud. However, one could see mainland Malaysia and just about all of George Town from the overlook.

2. Our hero was determined to find the grave of Francis Light and on a walkabout, the travellers stumbled into the Protestant Cemetery. They scoured the 200 year-old headstones for the founder of George Town. As you can see from the photos, they found it!

3. They had a drink in the lobby bar of the Eastern and Oriental Hotel dating from 1889. Sam the taxi guy had driven us by it the previous day and our hero had decided he had to check it out. Queen Elizabeth, Charlie Chaplin and Rudyard Kipling all stayed there so it is worth a little . It is opulent! It is also expensive, as a draft beer and a Coke Zero came to $20.

On January 7, 2026 the traveller's time in Penang had come to an end and they were about to embark on a 2-leg journey to Koh Samui, Thailand. Sam was there in the morning for an the trip to the airport with some time built in to tour the Light City Development, another new upscale development of the rich and famous, also built on land re-claimed from the sea.

All-in-all the adventurers had a great first visit to Malaysia