I went to Hat Yai. And ran smack into a massive Mardi Gras-style festival in full swing where showgirls with Adam's apples dressed in sequined bikinis paraded on the streets to celebrate the New Year's Day countdown. Definitely an improvement on Sg Golok. But while threading the sweaty press of bodies, half of the people there looked and smelled like Malaysians. Single, desperate-looking Malaysian males, not unlike me. I had to leave, pronto!