Goodbye Malaysia...Hello Thailand

Today was my last full day in Malaysia. Tomorrow morning I take a ferry to Pulau Langkawi. From there I take another ferry to Satun in Thailand. I thought it would be more fun to take the boat rather than a bus.
I spent more time walking around Georgetown today. We went to a Chinese clan house this morning. When groups of Chinese people settled in new parts of the world they formed clan houses, which seem to be like community centers. They set up schools, an alter for ancestor worship, a theater, even a cemetery. It's very interesting. The community seems tight knit and its aim is to help new arrivals adjust to the local society and to help keep the clan prosperous. The building was very beautiful.
I also visited a mansion owned by a wealthy Chinese merchant. It's interesting to see the blend of cultures in the architecture and the decorations. There are porcelain statues from Germany, furniture from England, woodwork from China, etc.
We saw the wedding clothes and dishes and things used by the family. The wedding celebrations lasted for 30 days!!! While everyone else celebrated, the bride and groom got locked in a room together to get to know each other--since the marriages were arranged, they met on the first day of the wedding.
This morning, I had some extremely delicious chicken and curry for breakfast. The chicken was sweet and had a honey glaze, but was also covered in cinammon. In the curried rice were whole cloves and star anise, which I chewed by accident. It was powerful, but tasty. I'd never had something spicy that was also flavored with cloves and anise before. It had many unexpected flavors.
This afternoon I spent souvenir shopping. I bought some Malaysian batik.
It is extremely hot here. There are so many different kinds of heat. This one sort of pierces your skull and goes straight to your brain. I was getting a headache in the afternoon, so I went to the mall for a little while to get some relief. It's 7:00pm and the weather is 88, feels like 95.
In other news, my leech bites started itching today. Why? I don't know.
My next report will be from Thailand!