Anyway, I'm in Malaysia. Penang and in particular, Batu Ferringhi, an hour local bus ride from George Town, the principal city on this island just a bridge away from mainland Malaysia. So far, so good, no complaints except for the expensive beer and lack of pretty women. But I didn't come here for the pretty women although that would be a nice diversion. And I didn't come here for the beer either, but sometimes a few cheap ones would be nice. I guess I have to stop comparing to Vietnam otherwise I'll never buy a thing.
Well, in true backpacker fashion, I have found a place for relatively cheap beer. Almost next door to the numerous convenience stores are convenience store look-a-likes, but they're actually wholesalers. And just tonight, for example, I found a can of Tiger priced at RM5 (about $1.60), which is a far cry from the RM9 happy hour special at any bar with no customers. And if you've got no customers I'd just assume drink the cheap one on the sidewalk after said happy hour, when I actually wanted the beer anyway.
And in actuality, I didn't drink Tiger, I opted for the Super Skol 9% beer, because for one, I hadn't had it and also because clearly it would deliver a faster buzz for the same price. It's amazing how quickly I can get into backpacker mode when I've no longer got an income. It was not a good beer I'll say that and next time I won't be so curious.
Also, in true backpacker fashion, I've already started sharing a room. And surprise, it doesn't even bother me. Shared toilets? No problem. A greasy head of hair? Also, no problem. Everyone else is doing it! And well, to be honest, seawater acts as a natural hair gel so there's no need to wash it out immediately. Kind of feels good to be dirty. And besides, haven't met anyone worth impressing.
Staying at a budget hotel approximately five minutes from the beach. It's close to the convenience stores and some delicious street food. Had some YUM Indian food for lunch for 2 bucks. Could have done it again for dinner, but the new friend, a gentle giant from Canada, kind of fears the street food. After eating it for nearly four years in Vietnam, I'm not afraid of anything. Well, except maybe from street food actually in India. I'm pretty sure that'd give me the runs, but somehow the experience seems worth it.
Sitting outside my 'hotel' with a dodgy wi-fi connection with the rain coming down. I'm finally relaxing. The beers helped. A bit earlier the Indian dudes on my left were intently watching professional wrestling. Me with my ear buds in watching teery YouTube videos, but feeling alive. A hair-lipped Malay boy on my right smoking a cigar and this older Indian gent on my left, finding and scratching his balls somewhere within his baggy trousers.
A couple more days in Malaysia before I'm off to Indonesia. I'll be back in Malaysia after Indonesia so I'm not too concerned that I haven't seen 'everything.' It's really hard to stay in the present moment on this trip, always thinking about tomorrow and what I have to do today in order to do that tomorrow. Visas and cheap airfares complicate matters. Ah well, I'm not thinking about work that's for sure and it's not too often I can say that!
Time for bed, my pillow's waiting...
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