Getting the hang of Penang

When I got to the lazyboys (no, not ladyboys) hostel, I immediately felt welcome. I was wearing a shirt that said Calgary, so I was labeled Liar because I wasn't really from there (and since there was already another Alex there, Liar would be my name from that moment onwards). However, I got a drink from them, and when they went out they demanded that I join them to club 69 (yeah, girls asking me to go to club 69 with them... living the dream here) where we had a drink and jumped into the indoor pool. Since people kept looking at us funny, we decided to go out onto the beach and into the sea right behind the club. We had some fun in the sea, dragging others in and listening to the girls scream at the flying fish jumping up near them. After a while, we went back to the hostel, and while the club owner had told one of us that once we had gotten into the sea we were not allowed back into either the club or club pool, we weren't sure which, so we just walked through the club to get back. The manager was angrily gesturing to the guys to put more clothes on, and we found out why as we walked into the busy area of the club. Something we hadn't noticed while we were inside earlier: it was a gay club. What's more, guys here aren't shy. Catcalls followed us outside. Kinda flattering, really. So then eventually, after some McDonalds food (nothing else was open at 3 am, weird huh?) and some more drinking, I found my bed around 4 am...

And woke up the next morning at 8. Or the same morning. Well, whatever. I met a German guy, Flo, who was going to the biggest Chinese Temple in Malaysia. I went with him (it was really cool, will post pictures) and then went back to have food and afterwards go out for Chinese New Year. I played a little drinking game before leaving (never again) with two Canadians, a Brit and a German. We went out, saw the
fireworks and the first Lion dance of the New Year which were both awesome. Afterwards, we accidentally ran into the girls from last night. I met this weird Canadian girl (Caitlin) there from Toronto. We took a walk and people misinterpreted that. It was a fun night.

The next morning was not so fun. Drinking games, apparently, give you a headache and a strong inclination to hurl. So yeah. A banana, dry rice plus some gently spiced vegetable curries plus some talking with the Boston girl (Carrie) I had also met the night before made it all much less painful though. We went into the city, walking the streets, trying to find a sign of life in Chinatown, but to no avail, since the New Years celebrations took place indoors. We had lunch, SUSHI, then saw a shop called Fipper (feel the rubber) so we had to check it out. Afterwards, we tried to get back to the wonderful beach. It was warm. It was sunny. It was great. Then food and a drink called 'Slow uncomfortable screw against the wall with a gentle kiss', after which Carrie and I made up some elaborate back story including marine biology, the Leavacuum and a kangaroo which explained why I spoke both Dutch and English. Oh, and Doctor Fipper.

This all was followed by some good scotch (you know, because I had to get right back on the horse after not feeling good from drinking) and talks. Sleep was good.

5 hours after going to bed, it was time to wake up and leave. I was really sad about it since I met so many great people there. Unfortunately, I had to meet up with Luke and Suzanne in Kuala Lumpur. The horror. ;-)