15 MAY 2012
DAY 410: SADAO THAILAND – KOLA SALA MALAYSIA
START: 8:00 – FINISH: 16:45 – DISTANCE: 92 KM – RIDE TIME: 5H 30
I still had a few thousand Bart left over so I took it to the bank to change. They only directed me to the back of a chemist shop. How strange you can’t change your money in a bank! Money changed I headed for the border, just 15 km away.
It turned out to be a fantastic border to cross. It took a whole 4 minds to cycle up to the Thai customs to get stamped out and to get in to Malaysia was just a stamp as well. No paper work and no money. I wish all the borders were like this. I am so glad I didn’t bother going to the Malaysian embassy in Bangkok to get the visa in advance. That would have been a waste of time. As soon as you enter Malaysia there is a tourist office. Here I picked up a map of Malaysia and other helpful brochures. So glad I couldn’t buy a road map because from 50 km to the border I had been going into every 7/11 or service station. With the tourist office map no need to buy one now. There is only one road from the border and it is the highway. The roads in Malaysia are very good.
I took the highway for about 50 km before pulling off and visiting Alor Setar, the old capital city. I had a quick look at some important building such as the old Mosque, the clock tower and the 250 year monument. After a flying visit to Alor Setar I headed west to the coast. In two days I have gone from the East coast of Thailand to the west coast of Malaysia. From watching sunrises to watching sunsets. Getting to the coast there was no beach to find……..just a sea wall that went for miles and was built to stop the rice fields from flooding. As I cycled along the gravel and sometimes muddy wall I passed through a small fishing village.
I got far enough away from the village before I camped. Some young guys found me………….then disappeared coming back again with food and drink. They had come to smoke marajuana………….which they did. From the sea wall were mud flaps that went out some way to the start of the waves. To the South was an island and strangely leading to the island was a 2 km long bridge. Cows and goats came wandering past my tent.
DAY 411: KOLA SALA – PENANG ISLAND
START: 6:45 – FINISH:17:45 – DISTANCE: 116 KM – RIDE TIME: 6H 50
It was a rough night on the sea wall. It was so hot in the tent and I couldn’t sleep. Was sweating a lot and it was uncomfortable. There was thunder and lightning all night and 3 very heavy rain storms. The wind and the rain all came at once. At one point I had to rush up to put the fly back on the tent. I had visitors in the night. Two motor bikes with 4 guys. They passed me once and then came back for another look. This happened 3 times before they moved on. They said hello…and asked me if I was alone…………….I am reluctant to say yes………..This morning I continued along small gravel roads until I got to the bridge to the Island.
I discovered it had been built because the island contained a large gas field. The king subsequently said no they couldn’t extract the gas yet and had to leave it for generations to come. I cycled the 2 km over the bridge. There were lots of locals fishing. Reaching the other side the road just stopped and was only jungle. For so long I have been using the two pin plug. So it was a rude shock to discover UK plugs………………what a shame I threw out my UK cords a long time ago……………I should have done some more research. I am now on the hunt for some adapters. It rains a lot and it is heavy rain as well. Twice today I have had to quickly seek refuge. I got back on the highway which wasn’t much fun……..so I got back off it as I made my way to the ferry terminal. Here for 50 cents I was able to get the ferry over to Penang
which is a UNESCO world heritage site. But from the boat you could only see a stream of high rise buildings. Getting off the ferry you instantly got a great feel stepping into the old town with its many colonial buildings inherited from the British rule. I was going to camp in front of the old fort………….But after meeting some fellow tourists discovered there were some very basic but cheap hostels. So that is where I have ended up.
DAY 412, 413, 414, 415, 416 & 417 PENANG – REST DAYS
Day 412: wow…………I had never heard of this place until I got to Malaysia. It is only by chance that I came here. Already I know I am going to need a good few days to explore. Luckily I have time……….I am staying in an old colonial building from about the turn of the century. The old town is a mixture of stunning buildings restored to their formal glory, while others are a little rundown or in complete disrepair.
It all adds to the wonderful character of Penang. Completing the Penang world is its people and the food they bring. It is so nice having a whole lot of new food to try. Malaysia is 90 % Muslim. But on Penang there are churches, temples and mosques. It has its quarters or streets – Indian, Chinese. Malay, Armenians…………..people have come from all round the world.
I had a great but very tiring day walking the street and admiring the architecture and peering into the shops to see the small businesses at work. Like stepping back in time. I visited the Fort Corn Wallis………….built when the British first arrived and the state museum which gave an excellent overview of the island
Day 413: I have never been to a snake temple. There is one here on Penang. It used to be in the jungle…………..but has now become part of the urban city with expansion. It was free to get in so I thought it would be a good outing for the day.
Entering the temple…………..I am blind as a bat. I was looking around. Very nice. I saw a sign that read « Don’t touch the snakes they are alive and poisonous ». I looked up and in front of me were 4 little snakes curled up on the altar then I saw another 4 and another 4………outside in the garden the trees were all so full of snakes………..you had to look hard to see them because they blended in so well. I wonder how many snakes I have passed unknowingly when walking in the jungle. Cashing in on the $ the temple had some large 15 kilo pythons you could get your photo taken with. After the snake temple I got the bus to Kek Lok Si temple. Largest Buddhist temple in SEA. Climbing the stairs I passed a pond full of large turtles before reaching the pagoda.
I then climbed to the top of the pagoda for a very nice view of the city. While at the pagoda I met some students travelling and they asked me to join them. We caught the 100-year old funicular to the top of Penang hill for an even more spectacular panoramic view.
We walked for 1 hour along the ridge. Saw a wild monkey. Appetite worked up I stayed with the students and we drove down to the food market at Gurney. I got to try some very nice food.
Day 414: I heard the botanical gardens were nice…………….so around lunch time Mary from the UK, Jess from Slovenia and I were heading in the right direction. Penang botanical gardens didn’t turn out to be quite how I pitched them. No pretty flower beds but a road and trails through the jungle to the top of Penang hill. We started walking up on the very steep road. The road was full of monkeys. We were lucky we had a lot of tree cover which made the hike very pleasant. Half-way up we left the road and joined the trail. We got a little lost and ended up underneath the funicular.
We tried to find the path to the top but instead continued to divert away. We still got some very nice views. In the end we came down the other side of the hill weaving through the hill side crops and in and out of the jungle. In the end we came out at the bottom of Kek lok Si temple………….and after a good few hours walking we all slept on the bus back to town. Hungrily we ate in the local food market near the hostel before trying to find the Chinese opera. Instead we found a Muslim wedding. Shame we had already eaten as we were invited in. Penang at night is very nice with its prominent building well lit up and looking splendid.
Day 415 after all the walking yesterday, the day before and been a very hot day………..I decided to do very little…………I just spent the day chilling in the hostel. I was sitting out the front of the hostel working on my computer when I say that crazy bastard with the big knife from the hostel in Bangkok. What a small world. I was going to say hello and I waited for him to turn his head but he never did. But I got to look at him long enough to know it was defiantly him. Wow at least he’s not staying in my hostel………….that would be too creepy.
Late afternoon when the temperature had cooled I took a walk down to some of the old jetty’s and walked out among the old houses built on it. I stopped and tried a Malaysian desert. A little strange but nice……….I did eat it all. It consisted of frozen ice crushed and covered with things like jelly, corn paste, bean paste. Raspberry surap and some other bobs.
Day 416 There is a national park in the far north of the island. I was going to camp here. But in the end I just did a day trip on the bus because it is only 25km away.
There are a few trails and I decided to take the 5km track out to the lighthouse. The trail runs along the stunning coast and is in the jungle as well. The trail was lovely and shaded. Nearly as soon as I started I saw a Water Montour which soon scured away. Many times along the way I spotted monkeys watching from the trees. Reaching the 170 year old lighthouse you were able to climb to the top for a nice view. A storm passed and I could listen to the thunder and watch the rain cloud pass.
Continuing back it was raining a little but the cover from the forest kept me dry. The 10km round trip tired me out and I slept on the bus back to town.
Day 417 There was another walk in the national park I fancied doing. So this time I took the trail that went over from the east side to the west side. The trail cut through the jungle raising up before heading back down to turtle beach. Named so because it is the nesting site of many sea turtles.
In the jungle there were many pretty butterfly’s whose color would change drastically when they flew into the beam of the sun. Next to the beach was a special lake. One of only 19 in the world where the water is half sea water and half fresh water. Last night in Panang I went for dinner with English Mary and Slovian Jess. We found a good Indian place. There is some good variety in Malaysia with food due to the ethnic spread
DAY 418 PANANG ISLAND – KUALA KANGSER
START 7:30 FINISH 18:15 DISTANCE 132KM RIDETIME7H10
I want to get to Kula Lupour by the weekend. Should really have got their tomorrow So I could go and get my Indonesian visa on Friday. , That’s not going to happen. I ended up spending to much time in Panang. Its about 360km or 3 long days cycling The sun raises here at 7am. And I just got up and left. Headed straight to jetty and got the ferry back over to the main land. Decided I would take the old road rather than the highway……………Even tho the Highway is busy. It may have been better because the old road was a real pain. It was busy.
There were 100 sets of traffic lights and I stopped at most of them and sometimes the hard shoulder would disappear as well. It was hot and sunny as usual. Drinking lots………….stopped a few times for a cold drink. Didn’t feel like eating. Around lunchtime I stopped and was kindly given 2 free ice coffees by the Chinese owner. After lunch I had a good hill to climb. I was knacker when I got to the top. I stopped in the service station at the top. Then the rain came so I had a much needed sleep. It was 4:30pm when I finally got going again. I pushed on to do another 20km before stopping in a service stop and I have put up my tent in front of some closed shops. 8pm and the place is now dead. Today my gears have packed up again. After 18000km I change everything in Saigon Vietnam. Now just 4000km later I need to do it all again. The crank must have been a cheep fake.
DAY 419 KUALA KANGSER – SLIM RIVER
START 7:00 FINISH 19:00 DISTANCE 169KM RIDE TIME 8H42
I got the 5;30am wakeup call with the good old call to prey. That pretty much singled the time to get up. Because as soon as they had finished at the mosque they started to open up the shops. By the time I got out of my tent Tables and chairs were out and groups of men were having breakfast. As I packed up no one said anything to me. They weren’t very friendly at all. Usually I would be invited over for a coffee……….but there was nothing.
I just packed up and left. 40km on I got to Ipoh where I stopped to visit a Chinese temple built in to the side of the hill. Entering the temple you enter a large limestone cave. You can climb up inside the cave to get a slight view of the city. In the grounds of the temple were ponds of fish. One pond had a 7 feet long fresh water fish from South America. There were many monkeys in the grounds of the temple.
They were a bit nasty. One snared at me ………..so I snared back and lunged at it. The monkey got the better of me because it stood its ground and then came for me……..so I turned and ran…………….last thing I want to get bitten by a monkey. In the afternoon I came across another cyclist from China. I cycled with him for the afternoon. He kindle shouted me an Ice coffee and a bottle of cold water. We cycled to late in the day. Was going to get a hotel…………..but even the budget hotel was 50Rm………….my whole daily budget. So I left the Chinese cyclist and headed on looking for a camping spot. I ended up camping in a field opposite 7/11 and right next to the highway. Lights and traffic noise lead to a disruptive sleep
DAY 420 SLIM RIVER – KUALA LUMPUR
START 7:30 FINISH 12:30 DISTANCE 80KM RIDE TIME 4H24
5:30am I got the call to prey again and it started to rain as well. So I stayed a little longer in the tent. But not to long because I am eager to get to Kuala Lumpur. I want to arrive at a decent time and not be rushed into finding somewhere to stay.
Monkeys are so common now ion Malaysia now………..that you just see them on the side of the road. The cars don’t bother the monkeys………..but when I come past they are off. Before getting in to the center of KL I had some big hills to climb……………My gears are slipping so badly I needed to get off and push. Again there was often no hard shoulder which meant you had to concentrate a bit more with all the cars whizzing past. No time for day dreaming. The last 10km in to KL was pretty hallowing. 4 lanes of heavy traffic. No hard shoulder and cars whizzing past. I was so relived to finally get in to the center. I headed to the backpacker area of China town. In big city’s you pay more and get less. For 18RM I got a Dorm room with no windows and the only lights were little night lights next to each bed. It means the room is mostly always in darkness. The dorm was ok when you compared it to the toilet and showers because they were bad. And the rest of the place is a dump as well with loads of people hanging around smoking.
Few days out I messaged Zoe a Chinese local who I was given as a contact. She came and meet me at the hostel after work and we went out for some Saty chicken and made a plan for the weekend as she has kindly offered to give up her time and show me around. .
DAY 421, 422,423 & 424 KUALA LUMPUR REST DAYS.
Day 421 my local contact Zoe picked me up at 8am. While waiting. From the 1st floor lobby.
I watched drunks passed out and sleeping in shop doorways and other undesirables pass by To be fair they are not Malaysian but mostly Indonesian drug addicts.. I am defiantly in a dodge area of town .
We had a full on day, firstly going out of the city to Putra Mosque. The largest mosque in Asia. Built next to a large lake it is in a very nice setting. Heading back to the city we stopped for lunch and Zoe introduced me to some nice local food . We then headed 70km North East of KL up into the Genting Highlands. To get to the top we took a awesome cable car that hung high over the jungle and gave us a great view until we moved into the cloud. In the middle of the jungle on top of this mountain. The draw card is Malaysia’s only Casino and everything that goes with it. Flash hotels and restaurants, shopping plazas and a theme park.
Day 422 was another touristy day with Zoe. She picked me up again and we went in the morning to Batu caves, which houses a Hindu temple. There are 275 steps to get up it and you have to pass the aggressive monkeys wanting food. I saw one young girl have a plastic bag ripped out of her hands my a monkey and she was left screaming. The cave itself is a massive cavern with a large hole in the roof. I am desperate to get my gears fixed to enable me to move on. Zoe kindly took me out of the city to find some bike shops. We found three. Two were closed and the one that was open was no good. It will be fun trying to find the bike shops again tomorrow.
They are about 15km out of the city. At least I have some idea. Zoe has been giving me a fantastic personalized tour of KL. This evening we drove 70km out of the city to the Firefly park. Here we took a night boat trip to see the thousands of fly flies that sit in the trees along the river’s edge. It was really good………..they seem to all flash at the same time
Day 423 I got the Indonesia embassy experience. To get in you must wear long pants and shoes.no flip flops. I did my homework so I knew this. Got their at 8:30 to find chaotic seanes of people everywhere. I entered the embassy to find about 500 people in a hall queuing up. Straight away I thought this isn’t going to be good. Lucky that queue was only for Indonesians applying for a new passport…………. It took just over an hour to submit the visa.
I then shot back and cycled out on the busy hiway to the bike shop. Got a little lost did 25km instead of the 15. I rang ahead so there was no surprises. 700 Rm later my bike was good to go. It is such a relief to have it fixed. I was stressing a bit for the last few days.
Day 424 I did a bit of a walking tour this morning to take some photos of some of the very grand buildings left over from the British error. Like the old courthouse, post office, town hall. Then it was time to go back and pick up my visa…………………..Thought it would be just a formality……………..I had to wait 45mins before they handed me my passport. The embassy was just as busy as the day before……………
