It must be an acquired taste....and i wont be in Malaysia long enoughh to acquire it:)
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, December 7, 2012
Oops...forgot durian photo
Get ready...
It must be an acquired taste....and i wont be in Malaysia long enoughh to acquire it:)
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
It must be an acquired taste....and i wont be in Malaysia long enoughh to acquire it:)
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Too Many Stories & No Time to Write
Nov 29 - Dec 2
Penang, Malaysia
I'm getting further and further behind in my journal...guess I'm too busy touring! That's a good thing, yes?
I don't think y'all need a day by day blow but I'll try and capture the highlights. When we left Kuala Kangsar, our plan was to keep heading towards the coast and Penang, even though Khalib had invited us to his house. It looked too far east for us to wind that way...we're too slow for major side trips! So Khalib agreed to meet us in our next town and take us for a tour of Taiping, a town we passed that day..Ok...we agreed. He met us with almost the whole family: wife, Norani; daughter, Karmelia; and two sons, Hadi and Harkim. It's always nice to be able to tour a city with locals and this was no exception. The best was walking through this large, well-landscaped park with the mountains in the background. Earlier in the evening, after arriving at the hotel, I realized I had left my shorts (my only pair of shorts, mind you!) back at the hotel in Kuala Kungsar! Not a good situation. I need those shorts. It's what I wear post cycling EVERY day. When you have few clothes with you already, losing a pair is critical. Now you have to understand my memory is very poor and I'm not SURE I left them at the hotel. I just know I can't find them anywhere in my stuff. Not anywhere. Ok. Call the hotel. What's the number? Did we save our receipt? Of course not. Why carry unnecessary papers? Google it. A room rate page came up but nothing with a phone number. Ok. Aswad is back in that town. Text him and ask him to check. He says he will! Waiting. Waiting. No response. Tour Taiping with Khalib and fam. No answer. Mention problem to Khalib. He calls Aswad. He's going over to hotel at 8:30 pm and if he finds them he'll mail them ahead. But Khakib has kindly offered to drive all the way back to KK to help me get them. But remember, I still don't know the hotel has them. I sure do t want to drive all that way for nada... zippo. But away we go. And it's not a short trip. And of course it's raining...if its evening, it's always raining:) so I text Aswad that we're coming back. So he plans to meet us at the hotel. It's like we just couldn't say goodbye. Just like with Mama Ching. We saw her the next night too! Are they there? Are they there? THEY ARE!!!! ( they're not as big as they look...they're unzipped and wide open...:))
Happy reunion! So we all go out for drinks to celebrate: finding my shorts, bike touring, friendship! It's a great world, isn't it?!
Now during this long evening, mostly spent driving by Khalib, he managed to convince us to come to his house and stay a few days.
So we agreed to head over to Khalib's house in Serdang and spend a couple of nights with his family in rural Malaysian home. "You'll hear the creatures in the wood sat night!" My kind of living!!
Khalib wanted to meet us on the road so he cycled out from his house, starting way before we had even had breakfast. Guess he didn't realize how slow we go...even getting started in the morning:). He met up with us only a couple of miles down the road. The delightful thing I remember from this day's ride was the dirt poor farmer selling rambutan on the side of the road running out to me to give me a handfulof this fruit and then going back for a bagful to share with Sylvia. As I cycled away, tears came to my eyes for the kindness of a man with so little. I was really touched.
Khalib's house is in an old plantation with other homes all nestled amongst old palm oil trees.
It's a small house on a cement foundation. Three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bath...and the kitchen was full of bikes...10-12, half of them hanging...half of them road bikes, the other half mountain bikes...at least 2 for each family member...and more for him! Oh, the meals Norani made for us were delicious! Amazing the food she could prepare on a small 2 burner stove!
Bathrooms, more specifically toilets have been a source of much discussion for Sylvia and me...and here was no different. There are mostly squat toilets here in Malaysia...some you flush by pulling the cord, some automatically flush, some you flush by scooping water and dumping it in...and I even had a continuously flush the other day that had water running through it! We got the flushing thing down. Now comes the wiping:) Ok, toilet paper is our preference and we've learned to carry napkins from the eateries with us most of the time. And sometimes they have TP, but most often they do not. And I'm dreading the day I have to poop and there's no TP. Will I be able to use the water method that is so common here? In our discussions, we've even googled about it to see if there's a video to teach us how this is even done! How to keep your clothes out of the way, pour the water, and rub clean the designated area...I just can't even fathom how it's all done! I like my TP. And what to do with the TP is another issue. I was flushing it, but in my research I read that the plumbing here can't handle it and that it should be tossed in the trash can if provided. Back to Khalib's... no TP...that's okay, we always carry a roll...no trash can except the kitchen...hate to put poopie paper there! Tote it out in a plastic bag, like I do in the woods? That's what I ended up doing. Problem solved.
The shower was interesting too. A bucket scoop and a large basin filled with water. Hey, it worked great! We noticed they rinse frequently during the day and with this humidity, I can see why.
One day at Khalib's we went with him and his family to a Durian Festival held by his bike club. There we met a bunch of bikers, all interested in our trip...and learned about how to select durian. I even got brave enough to try it, but you'll gather from my expression I won't be trying it again soon! I've gotten used to the smell because it IS the smell of Malaysia...but that bitter taste...Yuck!
Now it's Sunday, the 2nd of Dec and we're off to Penang. Khalib left for Penang last night because he has a mountain bike race there today. That left his wife, Norani, to entertain these crazy American women! And she did great! She has a strong understanding of English, she's just afraid to speak it.
The ride to Penang took us on some back roads. I'd like to bike them more but most most roads between here and there become major roads...the most direct route. We got to a major town and were pedaling by a post office when we decided to stop and mail some postcards. While we were remounting, I saw some bicyclists go by. It's not a common sight here. They got just past the intersection and stopped, and we caught up to them. Turned out they were looking for us! He's a member of Khalib's bike club and had wanted to go to the durian fest but couldn't. Timing is everything. If we hadn't stopped at the PO, we would have missed him. So Koh Cheong Meng took us home for drinks...and he didn't mention the hill to get to his house! He had a very upscale house with all the gadgets! We got a lot of information from him about upcoming routes through Thailand. He was a treat to meet! His wife, Helen, stopped home briefly to meet us and bring Chicken Rice but we weren't ready for lunch. He lead us back to the highway and while shaking our hands handed each of us a packet of Energy and a 50 RM bill to cover our dinner. THANK YOU, KOH and HELEN! You guys are so kind!!!
Pedaling on, we got to the ferry to Penang with no time to spare. They ushered us right on!
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Penang, Malaysia
I'm getting further and further behind in my journal...guess I'm too busy touring! That's a good thing, yes?
I don't think y'all need a day by day blow but I'll try and capture the highlights. When we left Kuala Kangsar, our plan was to keep heading towards the coast and Penang, even though Khalib had invited us to his house. It looked too far east for us to wind that way...we're too slow for major side trips! So Khalib agreed to meet us in our next town and take us for a tour of Taiping, a town we passed that day..Ok...we agreed. He met us with almost the whole family: wife, Norani; daughter, Karmelia; and two sons, Hadi and Harkim. It's always nice to be able to tour a city with locals and this was no exception. The best was walking through this large, well-landscaped park with the mountains in the background. Earlier in the evening, after arriving at the hotel, I realized I had left my shorts (my only pair of shorts, mind you!) back at the hotel in Kuala Kungsar! Not a good situation. I need those shorts. It's what I wear post cycling EVERY day. When you have few clothes with you already, losing a pair is critical. Now you have to understand my memory is very poor and I'm not SURE I left them at the hotel. I just know I can't find them anywhere in my stuff. Not anywhere. Ok. Call the hotel. What's the number? Did we save our receipt? Of course not. Why carry unnecessary papers? Google it. A room rate page came up but nothing with a phone number. Ok. Aswad is back in that town. Text him and ask him to check. He says he will! Waiting. Waiting. No response. Tour Taiping with Khalib and fam. No answer. Mention problem to Khalib. He calls Aswad. He's going over to hotel at 8:30 pm and if he finds them he'll mail them ahead. But Khakib has kindly offered to drive all the way back to KK to help me get them. But remember, I still don't know the hotel has them. I sure do t want to drive all that way for nada... zippo. But away we go. And it's not a short trip. And of course it's raining...if its evening, it's always raining:) so I text Aswad that we're coming back. So he plans to meet us at the hotel. It's like we just couldn't say goodbye. Just like with Mama Ching. We saw her the next night too! Are they there? Are they there? THEY ARE!!!! ( they're not as big as they look...they're unzipped and wide open...:))
Happy reunion! So we all go out for drinks to celebrate: finding my shorts, bike touring, friendship! It's a great world, isn't it?!
Now during this long evening, mostly spent driving by Khalib, he managed to convince us to come to his house and stay a few days.
So we agreed to head over to Khalib's house in Serdang and spend a couple of nights with his family in rural Malaysian home. "You'll hear the creatures in the wood sat night!" My kind of living!!
Khalib wanted to meet us on the road so he cycled out from his house, starting way before we had even had breakfast. Guess he didn't realize how slow we go...even getting started in the morning:). He met up with us only a couple of miles down the road. The delightful thing I remember from this day's ride was the dirt poor farmer selling rambutan on the side of the road running out to me to give me a handfulof this fruit and then going back for a bagful to share with Sylvia. As I cycled away, tears came to my eyes for the kindness of a man with so little. I was really touched.
Khalib's house is in an old plantation with other homes all nestled amongst old palm oil trees.
It's a small house on a cement foundation. Three bedrooms, living room, kitchen, and bath...and the kitchen was full of bikes...10-12, half of them hanging...half of them road bikes, the other half mountain bikes...at least 2 for each family member...and more for him! Oh, the meals Norani made for us were delicious! Amazing the food she could prepare on a small 2 burner stove!
Bathrooms, more specifically toilets have been a source of much discussion for Sylvia and me...and here was no different. There are mostly squat toilets here in Malaysia...some you flush by pulling the cord, some automatically flush, some you flush by scooping water and dumping it in...and I even had a continuously flush the other day that had water running through it! We got the flushing thing down. Now comes the wiping:) Ok, toilet paper is our preference and we've learned to carry napkins from the eateries with us most of the time. And sometimes they have TP, but most often they do not. And I'm dreading the day I have to poop and there's no TP. Will I be able to use the water method that is so common here? In our discussions, we've even googled about it to see if there's a video to teach us how this is even done! How to keep your clothes out of the way, pour the water, and rub clean the designated area...I just can't even fathom how it's all done! I like my TP. And what to do with the TP is another issue. I was flushing it, but in my research I read that the plumbing here can't handle it and that it should be tossed in the trash can if provided. Back to Khalib's... no TP...that's okay, we always carry a roll...no trash can except the kitchen...hate to put poopie paper there! Tote it out in a plastic bag, like I do in the woods? That's what I ended up doing. Problem solved.
The shower was interesting too. A bucket scoop and a large basin filled with water. Hey, it worked great! We noticed they rinse frequently during the day and with this humidity, I can see why.
One day at Khalib's we went with him and his family to a Durian Festival held by his bike club. There we met a bunch of bikers, all interested in our trip...and learned about how to select durian. I even got brave enough to try it, but you'll gather from my expression I won't be trying it again soon! I've gotten used to the smell because it IS the smell of Malaysia...but that bitter taste...Yuck!
Now it's Sunday, the 2nd of Dec and we're off to Penang. Khalib left for Penang last night because he has a mountain bike race there today. That left his wife, Norani, to entertain these crazy American women! And she did great! She has a strong understanding of English, she's just afraid to speak it.
The ride to Penang took us on some back roads. I'd like to bike them more but most most roads between here and there become major roads...the most direct route. We got to a major town and were pedaling by a post office when we decided to stop and mail some postcards. While we were remounting, I saw some bicyclists go by. It's not a common sight here. They got just past the intersection and stopped, and we caught up to them. Turned out they were looking for us! He's a member of Khalib's bike club and had wanted to go to the durian fest but couldn't. Timing is everything. If we hadn't stopped at the PO, we would have missed him. So Koh Cheong Meng took us home for drinks...and he didn't mention the hill to get to his house! He had a very upscale house with all the gadgets! We got a lot of information from him about upcoming routes through Thailand. He was a treat to meet! His wife, Helen, stopped home briefly to meet us and bring Chicken Rice but we weren't ready for lunch. He lead us back to the highway and while shaking our hands handed each of us a packet of Energy and a 50 RM bill to cover our dinner. THANK YOU, KOH and HELEN! You guys are so kind!!!
Pedaling on, we got to the ferry to Penang with no time to spare. They ushered us right on!
BagLady
More pictures are posted at:
https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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