Gawking Etiquette

I left my sandals and t-shirt in a shaded spot soon after breakfast to search the beach for some seashells for my cousin. Upon my return, I found that a young lady and her fifty-ish sugar daddy (I assumed this because daughters don’t usually use tongue when they kiss their biological daddies) had set up camp next to my spot. Normally, I wouldn’t really pay any mind except her thonged hindquarters pointing skyward made it rather difficult not to.

Now, having lived in a landlocked city for most of my life, I’ve never really encountered a situation like this before. As such, I wasn’t prepared.

Maybe I should’ve researched the matter somewhat while planning this trip.

So I will pose this question. What am I to do when presented with this situation?

Am I to sate my inherently shallow male nature by staring? If so, how long is too long? Is there some sort of 5 second rule in place for this? Could it be that she’s wearing her thong as a desperate cry for attention, possibly to ease an existing insecurity? Will my ogling somehow validate her and ease her suffering? Should I ask?

I soon gave up over-analyzing the situation and went back to collecting seashells.

Travel Day: Pulau Perhentian Kecil

I boarded the 8:30 bus out of Kota Bharu this morning, stopping at Pasir Puteh to catch my connecting bus to the jetty over in Kuala Besut. This is all irrelevant information, I’m sure, but it’s good to document these things if ever I need to refer back (I probably won’t). A bumpy half hour ride on a speedboat took me from the jetty to Long Beach on Pulau Perhentian Kecil, the smaller of the two Perhentian islands.

A sign at the Pasir Puteh bus station – further evidence of the conservative atmosphere in this state:

It seems I’ve caught the Perhentians at the right time because the monsoon season has only just ended and guest houses have started opening their doors again for business. The beaches are still relatively quiet so room rates are currently half price. The drawback is that most amenities are still unavailable or are extremely limited. Electricity, for example, is provided through generators here. The hotel I’m staying at, as with the others here cannot justify running them overnight for a few guests. I only get electricity between 7 PM and midnight. Satellite internet hasn’t been set up just yet and I’m already developing the shakes.

The cool sea breeze, clear blue water and friendly atmosphere have convinced me to extend my stay, though the exorbitant cost of food is limiting me to a maximum of one week.


Night time from my window:


You can't swim too far out here:

It's quiet:

Kota Bharu: Skeeters (Part 2)

I have concluded that in Malaysia, the word "repellant," in the context of "insect repellant," actually means "bait." Reasons for buying this product are beyond my grasp.

It rained quite heavily in Kota Bharu a couple of days ago, meaning the city had become a prime breeding ground for mosquitoes. Good thing I had the foresight to bring the bottle of repellant I had purchased earlier.

I liberally basted myself in a zesty citronella sauce and set myself to marinate overnight. By morning, I counted close to forty bites on my right arm alone. I didn't bother counting past that point.

So today's task, amongst other things, is to head to The Store and pick up a pack of mosquito coils. With brand names like “Fumakilla” and “Shieldtox,” I really wonder if it’s such a good idea to breathe this stuff in while I sleep.

Kota Bharu

Truth be told, I was a little nervous about stopping over in Kota Bharu because it lies in the most religiously conservative part of Malaysia. I’m completely ignorant of local customs and worry that I may offend in my actions. To my relief, the people here are exceptionally friendly, probably more so than in any of the other places I’ve visited so far.

Evidence of the strong ties between government and faith (the Islamic party has held power in this state for more than a decade) can be seen all around Kota Bharu. For instance, loudspeakers have been set up at every street corner for broadcasting daily prayers and religious programming.

Almost all women wear headscarves here:

Separate checkout lines in grocery stores are set up for men and women (sorry for the bad photo – I couldn’t get a better one without getting kicked out).

There’s not much to do here so I’m using my time here to recoup (I’ve developed, if you can believe this, a blister underneath a blister from all that walking in Penang) before I head off for my next adventure in the Perhentian islands.

I only managed to go to a couple of sights near my hostel, one of which was a museum of some kind but I got put off by their no backpack policy. I didn’t want to leave it in their possession while I wandered the exhibits because my passport and a couple of other valuables were in there. They also have a rather dubious pricing scheme:

The museum in question:

My second stop was the local market, which is much like the other markets I’ve been to with the exception of an entire floor dedicated to headscarves. It’s easy to get lost in there when every store looks exactly the same.

They don’t have pork buns here so they've gotten creative with ingredients. In related news, God, I miss bacon:

A huge microwave tower was built in the town center. It’s right across from my room. I can almost feel my gonads tingling with cancer.

I would like take this moment to remind you how badass I am:

Penang: Thaipusam

I set my alarm for 4 this morning to catch the Thaipusam ceremonies but I didn’t really need to. The ongoing Chap Goh Meh fireworks had kept me up all night.

A large crowd of devotees had already formed in Little India by the time I got there, leaving me hard pressed to find a good spot to stand. I'm glad they held the event early in the morning because being in such a tightly packed area in the oppressive daytime heat would have been unbearable. Admittedly, it felt a little odd being one of the few foreigners there.


After a quick nap, I caught a bus out to the neighbouring town of Air Itam to check out the Kek Lok Si temple/gift shop complex. This place redefines the term "tourist trap." There are at least a dozen gift shops scattered around the complex. A third of the main worship hall is designated as shop space where, amongst the Buddhist literature and good luck charms, they sell old outdated WWE merchandise. I guess the Lord Buddha does indeed smell what The Rock is cooking.

If you can get around the blatant commercialism, the temple does offer a lot of things to see. I put on my "artiste" hat (metaphorically speaking, of course - I left the real one at home) and took a few shots of the place:





You'll find park benches marked with Buddha's teachings around the temple. You'll also find these:

...and gift shops everywhere:

It seems Buddha's fine with selling out though:

This lady from last week is still perched on her chair. I wonder if she's being punished for something:

Penang: Chap Goh Meh

There’s not really that much to do in Langkawi when you can’t go to the beach (my upper body is in the process of molting from the sunburns – I’m feeling so unpretty right now) and staying in a roach motel doesn’t help matters any. I decided to cut my losses and headed back to Penang for Chap Goh Meh, the last day of Chinese New Year. Papers have dubbed it “Chinese Valentines Day.” It’s much like its Western equivalent in that I spent it by myself.

I started my day at Khoo Kong Si, which is a beautifully ornate temple in Penang’s Chinatown district. I guess there isn’t much to say about it (words don’t do the place justice) so here are some pictures.


Most of the city is quiet because of the holiday:

The weather's always around 30 degrees Celsius yet I've seen a few places selling Winter jackets:

There's a big uproar over an inflammatory Danish cartoon:



Chap Goh Meh celebrations started along Lebuh Pitt at around 7-ish. Traditionally speaking, girls would throw mandarin oranges into the ocean, in hopes of scoring ideal husbands. This doesn’t translate so well in modern times – especially when they’re using the same girls from back then.

They don't make this shirt in my size (XL):

The headline event was too commercialized to be meaningful. Having had enough, I pushed my way through the crowds and promo stands, past the sponsored stage show and through a couple of back alleys to go pick up my laundry.

As I was waiting to cross the street, I got pulled into a makeshift parade (1 truck, 1 float, a couple of dozen people). I don’t think I was actually supposed to be part of the event because one of the ladies there asked which branch of the sponsoring family I was from. I just shrugged, put on my “hi, I’m a stupid tourist” face and continued waving to the crowd. Luckily, she was too preoccupied to follow up.

The gist I got from the first couple of stops is that an old shrine from one of Penang’s prominent family temples is carted around every year to all the other family temples, where the involved parties give/receive some kind of blessing. Each place had a couple of distractions to keep me busy while they did their business.

We’re blocking traffic but it’s OK. The hazard lights are on:

A couple of backpackers I bumped into afterwards suggested I wake up early for the Thaipusam (Hindu festival) closing ceremonies. I’m kicking myself for staying in Langkawi for as long as I did because I really wanted to see this event (I thought it had already happened before I quit my job). All the good bits are over but there should still be something to see.