Wednesday July 28th --- Penang

Today Jenn and I decided to take it easy... we are on vacation after all!After a nice sleep in, we headed downstairs to our wonderful array of breakfast delicacies.I swear they had almost every breakfast food imaginable… but no bagels and cream cheese!Lol!After brekky we ventured out further along the road we explored upon arrival.We mailed some postcards (which I hope arrive where they are intended to, seeing as it cost the equivalent of 17cents Canadian to mail them!)We popped in and out of a few shops checking out local products.There is a pretty big influence from surrounding countries like China, Sri Lanka and India within the shops.I was very tempted to buy some notebooks made out of elephant poo for my fellow ERS nerds, but refrained myself!

On our way walking back to the hotel for lunch, we ran into a man selling durians, a popular fruit grown in the tropics.Jenn and I had received differing opinions on this strange, spikey fruit and decided that we HAD to try it, even if it is as disgusting and smelly as some have described it!Just as we were deciding whether to try it now or later on, a lovely Malaysian couple in their early fifties invited us to come sit and share theirs.The couple was absolutely lovely!We sat for about 45 minutes learning about their family, country, traditions and all the places we have visited in the world.Moments like this truly make you appreciate travelling, and all that it has to offer!We finally parted ways after getting his business card and posing for a photo op! As for the durian fruit… well it was interesting.I think I prepared myself for the worst and was pleasantly surprised!Imagine banana mush around an avocado pit that kind of tastes like a rotten melon, and there… you have durian fruit!If anyone wishes to better describe durian… please amuse me and give it a shot!As for the smell, I didn't think it was bad at all, but maybe I just had a lucky one!

After our durian adventure, our appetite was peaked and ready for some lunch!We put on our suits and ordered a thin crust pizza and honeydew melon juice to the pool.Oh, how I love this hotel!We remained lounging around the pool writing postcards and reading until sunset.The sunsets along the beach of Penang are stunning!Sunsets continue to amuse me… just when I think I have seen "the best sunset of my life" I begin to reconsider!I thought the outback sunsets on my Northwest trip were good, but they were nothing compared to this one!We watched it begin to set and were so mesmerized that we waited until it was gone (and in the process nearly got clothes-lined by a parasailor landing on the beach!)

When we came in from the pool our lovely concierge at the hotel invited us out to a club with him for the evening because his favourite DJ was spinning.He didn't finish until 1am though, so we took our time getting ready and then went out for dinner (mmm chicken satay…I had to do it AGAIN, it was just so delicious!)We made it back to the hotel just in time for a couple pre-drinks before heading off to the club.

One Club featuring DJ Fuzz was lots of fun, but I'm glad we only had 2 hours there because it was so smoky (no by-laws here!)We decided to get bottle service because then you bypass the line and skip entrance cover.It worked out to be about $30 CAN for Jenn and I, AND if you don't finish your bottle, you get to take it with you!Only in Malaysia!The three of us managed to make a pretty good dent in the Dewars Whisky, but didn't quite finish it off!For a country where religion restricts a large portion of the population from drinking, they still sure know how to party!The dance moves some of the guys were pulling out were straight out of Michael Jackson music videos or something, and then you turn around and shots are on fire!The bars were even equipped with hangers off the side of the counters to hold your purse while you dance beside it! Overall, it was a great evening even if we did stand out as the foreign white girls!