36 miles
Most memorable moment of this day was while sitting at lunch at a roadside eatery, an old woman walking with a cane came up the road and into the place. (These are all open places under a roof with tables scattered about.). She walked right up to me and put out her wrinkled hand and smiled her toothless grin. We nodded and shook hands, both smiling. She did the same to Sylvia. Then she put her bag on one of the empty chairs. "I think she's joining us!" says Sylvia with a laugh:). She got her plate of food from the self-serve buffet and set it down by the chair. Then she toddled off to the sink to wash her hands. ( yes, all these places have sinks with soap and water...and we've laughed about the old men washing their teeth that we've seen time and again!). Then she sat down grinning and nodding with us both grinning and nodding, knowing that we couldn't talk to each other but wanting to be friendly. We were at the end of our meal and had to gracefully bow and exit, paying for her meal too. She was very grateful!
The ride inland towards KL was through palm tree plantations and rolling countryside. The waves and smiles...honks and cheers...and thumbs up continues...almost to the point of exhaustion. But my favorite view is of the smiling faces of children from the car windows!
There's a joy and happiness amongst the people here. I've never felt more welcomed anywhere. People often try to get us to stop and join them at a "restaurant "...many camera phones are pointed at us out car windows! Some people even pull over and jump out of their cars to take our pictures:). We wave and smile and keep pedaling!
How do we find our hotels, you ask? Luck...lots of luck:). When we have wifi and are mapping our route, hotels pop on Sylvia's Google Nexus tablet (the coolest device ever because it has a built in GPS and a great map app, of course). So we research some of them and then just pick one to head towards. Now we have a destination for the day. We never know for sure until we arrive if they have a room with a window (cheaper if not, but yuck!), two beds, A/C, and a place for our trikes:). Most places are so accommodating. Sometimes, if there's enough room, Blaze and Myrtle get to sleep right in the elegant lobby, sometimes they're in a closed cafe, and once they were parked under the stairs. Few times they've had to stay outside. Tonight they're in the parking garage, like the big boys!
There was one of the loudest storms tonight as we sat in the open air, covered restaurant. Flash! Crack! Boom! Deluge of rain!! Thank goodness we were settled for the night! And the power never went out...amazing!!
Thursday Nov 14
Islamic New Year
Outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
Today's the day we ride into downtown Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Looking at the map, we think it's going to be highway riding, if we're even allowed. Otherwise it's a very confusing route that will take much longer. They sky was darkening as we loaded the trikes, but we pushed off anyways. We didn't get 100 yards down the driveway when. The raindrops fell and Sylvia turned around. We pulled the bikes up under an overhang and watched the skies open up. Good call, Sylvia! I probably would have cycled on and regretted it. It doesn't rain here like Europe or back home...it DUMPS!!! Truly a deluge! I have to remember that.
Pedaling down our route, the road fed right onto the highway with confusing signs pointing where bicycles, trishaws, oxen carts, and scooters should go. We thought we had to exit, so we did, but that road really went nowhere. I asked a guy on a motorcycle with "trafik" written on the back of his coat how to go to KL and he pointed back up on the highway. With a bicycle? Yes! Ok, we'll try that again. Looped around and this time just hugged the shoulder. Came to the next exit and the signs pointed for the various slow vehicles mentioned above to exit with a red X sign out on the highway for them. Ok. Off we go. Across the street at the bottom and back up the on ramp. We got it! Off and on we pedaled for many exits. It's is how they want us to go. Then we come to an exit that looks to me like it feeds onto another highway. Sylvia's leading and follows the exit. When I finally stop her to suggest maybe we shouldn't, the traffic is too heavy (2 lanes exiting) for us to cross back on. She shrugs and off we ride into a tunnel and back out the other side. We are now in the center of 5 lanes merging! OMG!! Luckily it's creeping due to congestion and we're able to cross over to the left shoulder. Whew! Next exit, we're outta there!
After an overpriced lunch at a Chinese restaurant, we figure out how to undo our error and get back on our highway. We know we want to go to the center of town, but none of the names on any of the signs mean anything to us. Finally I recognize Jn Pudu and tell S to follow that way. And don't ya know we end up right where we want to be! Hotels galore! We cycled up the sidewalk, they open the doors and we pedal right in to the lobby...both of us! Hi! Too bad they only had a room for one of the two nights we needed. Can we leave our bikes here while we go walk around?, asks S. Sure.
Around the corner is a hotel we'd seen on the Internet and tried to calla but no answer, so we emailed them...still no answer. Lets just go see. They have a rooms for two nights, we check it out and opt for the larger (need space for our yoga). And our bikes? No problem! So nice and friendly...everywhere!!
After retrieving our bikes and getting them settled in the garage and us showered and rested, we hit the streets for dinner. The quiet street of our hotel has awakened and is now full of tables and people and food and music!...and cars trying to drive down the middle, of course! Dinner was at a stall where we picked our skewer of veggies (of course...no meat...daging tidak) and they grilled the corn on the cob, eggplant, green beans, and mushrooms and we boiled in a hot pot in the center of the table the bok choy and kohlrabi. Wow!!! Veggies! As much as we want! 12 skewers later the price was about $12. Ok...now lets explore this vibrant city. Oh look! The Petronis Towers! Lets see if we can find our way there (and back, even harder:)). I love how the cities here come alive after dark. Music, people, lights, beautiful energy!
And these towers are an architectural marvel! Especially lit up at night! Breathtaking! Words just don't do them justice. They look like crystal towers against the night sky.
We decided to splurge on our way back at a delightful outdoor place with comfy chairs and candled coffee tables. Dessert of tiramisu and raspberry delight. Much more than dinner but the atmosphere was worth it. We're only in KL once in a lifetime. Soak it up. And we did!
Papa wears a helmet...but not baby?
Friday, Nov 16th
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Zero day!!!
So now it's the next morning and we got up at 6 am to get in line to go up the towers. We heard there were limited free tickets if we got here early. The office opened at 8:30. We were here before 7 with our coffee in a bag to go...plastic bag wi a straw:). 13th in line! It's no longer free. About $25. But seniors are $8 with passport.
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
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Sounds wonderful!!
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