Partyin' Penang

The last day in Langkawi was not particularly the best. Waking up with a dreadful hangover didn't exactly improve my mood before realizing that I had to rush to the airport to book my ticket to Langkawi for the afternoon before it was too late to do so.

Cops. Bloody Malaysian, corrupt bastard cops. So there I was riding around Langkawi helmetless as I always do. But hey, on the last day Mr. Murphy decides to pay me a visit and tells me that I've been getting away with the common sense approach to biking on an island for too long. So after booking my ticket, I pull out of the airport on my motorbike, skull-masked and all... and don't get 10 metres before a bloody overweight bastard cop on the pavement flags me down. It must be my incrementally advancing age that stopped me from revving full throttle and tearing down the strip, because I know the younger Dan would have done so.



After having to bribe the cop (for the very first time in my whole 26 years, I might add!! I shall expand on West Malaysian Police corruption later) I headed back to John's place, packed my bags, had lunch, said goodbye to friends and made my way to the Lapangan Terbang. The plane ride was interesting. I had to practically punch the overweight Indian gent beside me awake so as to not-so-politely ask him to cease his horrendously loud snoring. Yeah. It was baaad. As was his B.O., which I'm sure I was not the sole person that suffered it. I later received muted applause from surrounding passengers for my efforts.





Landing in Penang, I caught a taxi to Georgetown. Georgetown really is the hub of all interesting things for backpackers to see in Penang. Sure, it may have a touristy vibe, but to be perfectly honest, the rest of Penang, excluding Batu Ferringhi, doesn't really have much to offer for the traveller, as it mostly consists of drab shophouses with no character. I spent some time on the mainland that day too; taking photos and walking around conversing and scaring locals with my Chinese and Malay skills. But my backpack was set down in Georgetown.



It's a place with so much character. There is just so much for the photographer to immerse himself in. Traditional buildings greet your lens on every corner, and the locals going about their daily business just demand a couple of surreptitious shots here and there. I've been in Penang many a time before, but this time I decided to settle for a backpacker hotel right on Jalan Pinang; one of three places called "Banana hotel". Don't let the dodgy name fool you. It was all I needed, and it made me happy. As usual, I got royal treatment from the staff for the mere fact that I was a white looking man that spoke all the local lingo, and had a Malaysian passport. Later that night I went to the 711 next door to pick up provisions and met a fantastic girl who had the decency and bravery to invite a pale-skin mohawked Malaysian to party with her and her friends. What a good night that was.





The main clubbing area in Penang is around Georgetown, and the top clubs there are Mois, and a place with the questionable name of Slippery Senoritas. Upon ducking into ""SS" as it is called, I realised that I had been there many a drunken moon ago with some other friends. But Mois was rockin' that night. We were treated to VIP goodness, all thanks to my svelte companion, and we rocked it out all night to some funky tunes. Yeah, this white boy can dance. When the mood is right, anyway.



I woke up with yet another pounding headache the next morning amongst other things, and was greeted upon my entrance from the hotel by a local crazy who insisted on trying to pat my mohawk for its originality. Dude... hangovers and crazy people trying to rub your head really don't go well together. Regardless, after getting some local grub in my system I booked my tickets for Bangkok and spent the rest of the available day taking loads of pictures of a place that has always held a special place in my Malaysian heart. The combination of the delightful food that is only found in Penang, mixed with the street scenes and interesting people watching made the rest of the day a joy. Even with an evil hangover.



I had an interesting conversation with a local at a bar while quenching my ""mat salleh" thirst for beer on a hot day. Hair of the dog, you know. "Waiyah.. you look like ang moh (white man) but can speak local aaah... I got business opportunity for you, you know!" "Really?" I replied. "Yah! Got lot of frustrated housewife in mainland you know! They kena love young man like you! Can earn good money, you know??!!" I politely declined, bought him a round to shut him up and was on my way.



My travel agent was an awesome dude. A true minority in the makeup of Malaysia. A muslim Indian. He offered me a ride to the airport because he had to pick up his children further afield anyway. His wife was in the car too, and we spoke freely about all the things that concerned us as Malaysian citizens; from our unique perspectives as different constituents from within the Malaysian population. They shared their concerns about their children growing up in a Muslim country that marginalised them as being less "pure" muslims than Malays, simply because of the fact that they were Muslims of a different genealogy. I spoke of the prejudices that the Chinese face, despite our economic prowess, and spoke even more of the unique situation that I have always found myself in; being half European and half Chinese in a muslim country. Eventually, we got on to the grand subject of the next elections. Much laughter filled the car on that trip, as well as moments of silent reflection... no doubt on the matter of the gravity of the subjects we so vainly disguised with laughter.



I got to the airport and thanked my kind new friends, and boarded the plane to the land of a thousand smiles.

Arrivederci Penang... Hello Bangkok.

Don't ring your bell in Langkawi, Theo...

It’s been an interesting few weeks. I’ve just arrived back from travels not long ago, and finally have some time to compile my travel notes into some semblance of order for the blog. I left in early August to head off to Langkawi to join my cousin John for some R and R away from screaming children and the sound of whirring breast pumps. It’s probably my fourth or fifth time to Langkawi, so it’s a place I know pretty well. For those that travel like I do, Langkawi has quite a bit to offer. For those that prefer the whole nightlife vibe with lots of activity going on, you’re probably best to head elsewhere.



It’s a gorgeous island located off the western tip of peninsular Malaysia, and is fairly close to Thailand. The terrain itself is a mix of rolling hills and mountains mixed with fertile padi fields inhabited by bellowing water buffalo. The wildlife there, although not sensational, still makes it a naturalist’s pleasure to visit. There are two species of monkey on the island. One is the dusky leaf, and the other is the macaque. I managed to get fantastic shots of the former at a golf course. The more attractive of the two species, the Dusky leaf has a dark furry body, a very long tail, and a face that is maned with a brushy white patch, which seems to give it a comedic quizzical demeanour.

I also saw several species of egret and heron, a few monitor lizards (or Biawak as the locals call them) as well as the eagles that Langkawi has earned its reputation from. I may as well go over the activities available in Langkawi while I’m at it. There is an island hopping tour available, which takes you to 4 or 5 different islands weather dependent. On these you can go snorkelling, boating, eagle watching, or you can just plonk yourself on the sand and soak up the scenery. One of these islands is called Dayang Bunting, or Maiden Lake. Situated in the middle of the island, elevated from sea level is a freshwater lake which has some spectacular surrounding scenery.


Langkawi also boasts an underwater world, located on the main drag by Cenang Beach. While it’s not a place that will set the world on fire, it’s still worth a visit as they have some fantastic specimens there. Still, I much prefer to see animals in the wild than in captivity. There are many tour operators also located around the main Cenang area which means that organizing activities is never too hard. This time around, I was intending to visit a Thai island which I’ve been to once before. It takes 45 minutes by boat and goes by the name of Koh Lipe. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t realise that the island is usually closed around this time of year because of high waves. It seems that ever since the boxing day tsunami of 2004, a lot of south east Asian islands have suffered a degree of unpredictability in the weather patterns, as well as from the contribution of destructive greenhouse gases. Global warming is no joke, people. It’s happening right before our eyes.

For dining and a drink out, Langkawi offers venues such as Top 10 in Kuah town, Eagle Rock in Cenang, as well as a multitude of good restaurants dotted along the beach. Three nights were spent at Top 10, where I immediately befriended all the staff and the resident band, and spent time partying with the lovely ladies as well as performing a la cameo on stage with the band, guest singing on a few songs. Loads of fun and laughter! Cenang beach area used to have a whole bunch of reggae bars, but I was very sad to learn that these have since gone out of business. Nothing used to make me as happy than to walk down to the beach bars, kick off my sandals, order a drink, and shuffle my feet in the sand to the funky tunes of Mr Marley while under the starry Langkawi night sky. With the come-and-go nature of the bars there though, I don’t think it should be too long until there is another such place to unwind.






A great daytime activity is a visit to the oriental village and the cable car ride, located on the North-western tip of the island. Make sure when you go that the winds are not too strong otherwise the cable cars will be closed. There’s some spectacular scenery viewing to be had up there, and there is also a sky bridge that spans across the mountain tops; from which you can see eagles soaring their way past the trees and riding the thermal currents. A truly breathtaking view, and even better when there’s good company around you, which I was fortunate enough to have this time around. There is also a small crocodile park, which is worth going to for the sake of seeing the many mutant crocodiles they have there. It’s like a croc freakshow; full of deformed crocodiles that have obviously suffered genetic damage as a result of inbreeding. Bizarre? Yes, but interesting enough to warrant a visit. Noteworthy beaches to see are Tanjung Rhu on the north central end, Pasir Tengkorak, which is Northwest, and Kok beach (unfortunate name) which is very close to the cable car park. Pasir Tengkorak has to be my favourite out of these, as it has a very beautiful little bay with moderate surf, and is inhabited by monkeys. The view out to the sea is gorgeous; especially between 4-6 pm, when the sun loses its bite and the colours of the sky mellow to softer hues. A great place to take a lover and just chill out.


While I was there, I did my usual thing, which was to hire a “big bike” (It actually is a small CC bike made to look big, with a single cylinder engine, but given all the dressings of a V twin) and just cruise around the island. With my camera bag strapped to me, sunglasses on, skullmask on my face (bug protection. Those suckers hurt at 120 kmph) I cruised around and just took in the scenery, enjoyed the cool wind, and snapped away. I visited a few resorts and introduced myself as the mohawked travel writer, to which they responded very hospitably; taking me around and showing me what made their place special. It was fun just walking around chatting to people and snapping photos, and chatting some more. I’m sure my appearance put a smile on their faces, as there weren’t any other masked marauders around from what I could see.


The first few nights I was there, we were joined by my cousin John’s friend Theo. Theo is a pistol and a firecracker, that man is. A Greek Australian, he is short in stature, pot bellied, has long greasy curly hair, and has been known to be mistaken for the porn star Ron Jeremy. His jokes kept us laughing the whole time, and there were certainly some moments that will forever be etched into my memory, whether I like it or not. One involved a Korean restaurant, a very drunk girl, Theo singing, which resulted in her puking on his feet. I think the next time he sings “ring my bell” will be with great trepidation. Back at John’s house we spent the nights getting plenty juiced and dancin’ and rockin’ out to Elvis. Aah, so good to find a fellow Elvis fan. On one such night after everyone else was tired and had gone to sleep, in my restless and drunken state, I decided to catch crabs on the beach at 3AM, armed with a torch and my trusty camera. Yep, drinking does that to you.


Oh, I nearly forgot. We also forced John into getting a Mohawk. I had my clippers with me, so we finally convinced him to get his ‘hawk done, even if it was only for a day. Hey, he’s got short hair anyway, so it didn’t really matter. Less than 5 minutes after it was done I was getting bombarded by angry phone calls from his wife and our mutual friends. Apparently I’m a bad influence on a 40 year old man.

A fun loving criminal is what I am, and for that, ladies and gentlemen, I will never apologise.

Onwards to Penang!