Dec 2 - Dec 8
Malaysia to Thailand
Koh Lipe, Thailand



I'm getting closer to getting caught up. I wish I could use the ferry travel time to write, but I'd be puking. I have to take something as it is.

We arrived in Penang from the ferry with plans to stay at a Homestay friend of Khalib's. I had memorized the route, but failed to notice One Way roads. Darn. That really messes me up and when cycling through a city, I hate to be messed up:).

But a quick look at a map and we're back on track. This guesthouse is on what appears to be a residential street. But perhaps it wasn't when two nights one of the houses appeared to be having a funeral service with tents off from the house, tables and covered chairs underneath, a small temple set up in the houses doorway and further back a coffin. Lots of chants and music too. At first glance we thought it was a wedding. They use a lot of color for both.

Penang was our city for collecting our visa for Thailand. While there we met the cutest young Dutch guy, Lukas, who has been bumming around the world for 1000 days. He recently bought a bicycle in Hobart, Australia and is cycling home to Holland. We had to apply in the morning, leaving our passports, and return in the pm to get them back. We hooked up in the pm with Lukas and went sightseeing through old Georgetown while Lukas experienced and photographed the "trike effect". He said it was fun to watch the reactions everyone had to us! It was fun hearing his interpretations on the fun and challenges of travel. Thanks, Lukas! It was fun sharing laughs with you. Safe and adventurous travels:))



We spent another day checking out ferry arrangements to Langkawi, an island to the north of Penang...and touring wealthy mansion museums and the historic architecture of Georgetown. Wish I'd had time to do som hiking but I'll have to save that for when I come back.


One of the different and interesting foods we had were apom...pancakes...actually crepes! The vendor had a cart with 6 pots of charcoal going and each had a crepe pan on it. He would cook 6 at once, like playing a musical instrument as he moved the lids from one to another, checked them and flipped them. Sold as a set of 6 served on a banana leaf for $1. Hard work!


The ferry was going to be a couple of hours so I took a Dramamine and after a short stint on deck, found a row of seats and crashed. I was really knocked for a loop.

Langkawi is quite a mountainous island and after landing we checked in the Information office to get the scoop. It was basically the town near this ferry terminal and the beaches on the west coast. I opted for the beach, but we decided to avoid the quieter coast road because it was hillier. Well, the drug was still in me and every time we stopped I struggled to stay awake. I was okay pedaling though. When we hit the beach strip we knew there were a lot of budget motels but the first 2 we stopped at we're full. And it was about 3 or 4 pm. I was getting concerned. This place was hopping! So when we found one with a room that could handle our bikes we took it. It was very industrial and basic. Not cheap either. $33 per night. But I needed sleep so as I crashed to sleep off that darn drug, Sylvia found a beach cafe with wifi.

Joining her later there for dinner was when I ate the salad. What was I thinking!!! I know better! Guess I was feeling invincible. Well about 4 hours later the problem began. That was Wed evening. Up most of the night in the bathroom or in bed barfing into a gallon ziplock. What a storm! And I'd gone to bed about 7:30. I didn't climb out of that bed until 12:30 the next afternoon.

By Friday I felt good enough to go with S to look for a new place to stay...and we found these cute bungalows for almost half the price...but with no A/C...just a fan. So now I'm sick and hot. Not a good combination. Using wet towels to try and cool my body down and a second, small fan that I brought I tried to sleep. This is just not a good place for a women with hot flashes. I'm trying to find ways to cope but it's not easy. And S hasn't really experienced this problem so I know she's having a hard time understanding how miserable I really am. I'm trying!

When I felt better we made plans to keep moving northward...by ferry. So the next stop was Koh Lipe, a tiny island in southern Thailand. The ferry guy actually drove us to the embassy office on Langkawi to get our passport stamped before hopping the afternoon ferry. We got to see a bit more if the island that way too!

This ferry was a speedboat for about 40 people but S and I and a young guy, Hus, from London were the only passengers. Our private yacht! The trikes were nestled in the bow and the stern. And we ride up on the now in the salty air! It was a beautiful day for an hour long cruise. Half tablet of D this time worked great and no sleepies.

That morning, since my little stomach issue was not going away, I started a course of Metronidazole. I had these tablets I'd ordered off the Internet last fall when I had that bout of Giardia. It was also the final antibiotic I used successfully in Nepal when I got the stomach bug there. So when this didn't clear up in a couple of days I decided to ATTACK!

So back to arriving in Thailand. As we're approaching we're not seeing a dock. Hmmm? How's this going to work? We have these bikes! Well, they back in almost to the beach and start hefting Myrtle over the stern with 2 guys carrying her to shore. Well that worked well, but Blaze is in the bow. They try to take her through the opening into the passenger area. Not gonna fit. So the next thing I see, they're carrying her around walking on the narrow gunnel to get her to the stern. After I gather my things and look up, Blaze is being carried to shore like royalty on this guy's shoulder!!





We're here! In Thailand! And it's beautiful!

After another immigration step done at the beach, with our passports being hustled off somewhere to be stamped again, we get the bikes and our gear off the beach and out of the blazing sun. By now, I'm dragging. I haven't eaten anything much in a couple of days and I'm thirsty and I'm coming apart at the seams. We have no Bhatt only Ringetts with us, but manage to get someone to sell me some water for a couple of ringett. We need to exchange some money to pay for a place to stay and we have to figure out where to go. There are no cars here, only scooters... some with sidecars. There's like a paved walkway across the island and sandy, ditched roads to other locations...like where we need to go. "Cheapest accommodations are in the middle...in the jungle." We look at the cheapest. One bed. Really primitive. Not doing it. The next jungle place is high-end and out of our budget. But we looked anyways. Very nice. Too steep for the bikes. So then we head to Sunrise Beach where we're told we should find something for around $20. Looking. Looking. Hard to figure out the funny map. We turn into Varin Village and the guy tells S there's one bungalow left. Lets look. Well we usually get 2 beds but had discussed we may need to share one sometime. Sometime is now. Cute bamboo bungalow one row back from the beach but there staggered so it works ...we have a view! Fan. Mosquito netting. $22.50. We'll take it!


BagLady

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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:

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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

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Tea Time in the Cameron Highlands

Nov 24 - 28, 2012
Ipoh, Cameron Highlands, Kuala Kangsar

So many days. So much to tell. I have been making notes so I hope I can capture some of it.

We cycled into Ipoh, a little city about the middle of Malaysia, north of Kuala Lumpur. We came here because it's near the Cameron Highlands, a tourist stop that everyone has said we need to see. I'm trying to calculate what day it was that we cycled in to Ipoh. Oh, time just gets so lost...what day, what month, what country! Let me think backwards. Last night we stayed in (gotta look at a map to spell the town name right...)...Bagan Serai, and the night before - Wed night - Kuala Kangsar, and Tues night in Iphoh...and Monday night in Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands...and that means we cycled into Ipoh on Saturday because we spent 2 nights there. Oh, it would be so much easier if I wrote every day because my memory is so poor, but it's getting hard to find the time.

Ok, we arrived in Ipoh city and stayed at the Ipoh Boutique Hotel. Here our bikes were stored in a back room and had to be twisted and turned to get through the narrow doorway to get them back there. The people were so helpful and attentive at the hotel. As is our usual timing...the heavens opened with their daily show just after we got settled. We somehow manage to not be caught in these terrific thunderstorms on our bikes...thankfully:)

They next day we laid low, just walking around the city, finding the d town, and getting bus info to Caneron Highlands. It's about 40-50 miles up in the mountains and doesn't look like there are hotels until we get there. With our slow pace (especially uphill) biking it is out of the question. But buses are not high in my preference scale of transport modes...motion sickness is a major issue. Luckily I did bring Dramamine just for such occasions!

Sometimes it's just fun to wander the streets, looking in the shop windows, people watching, sensing the cultural differences. That's how we spent the day.






Monday we had to be at the bus station at 7:30. The hotel agreed to store our bikes and extra gear for the night, so we only took what we needed for one night: sleep clothes, electronics, toothbrush, and pillow! Everything fit in my small backpack. I felt so nimble. Wish I could really travel that light.

OMG. Talk about a twisty, turny mountain road. Even with Dramamine I had trouble by the end of the 2nd hour. But the views were AMAZING! Strawberry fields forever! But you can't see them because they're covered in fabric. And they're grown in self-watering pots. They said they only grow enough up here to sell up here to the locals and the tourists. Yum. I had a strawberry salad, strawberry milkshake, and the next day took a cab back to the strawberry farm for a strawberry float! Now that's the way to eat strawberries!

But I'm ahead of myself. So what else is new?

We finally landed at our destination of Tanah Rata and decided to try and find a hotel first so we could drop Sylvia's bag. (Remember my backpack was already light:)) Since it was only 10 am we needed a place that would let us check in early, too. Most hotels are above the stores, but for whatever reason, we didn't notice them as we wandered the main drag...not a one. We wandered a back street and checked out a couple. I didn't want to spend too much time on a hotel hunt and I wanted to go cheap figuring we wouldn't be hanging around the room like we usually do after a long day's ride, so I jumped on one that I thought would do. That done, we hit the streets...to do what else? EAT!

After are bellies were full, we checked around about tours to the tea plantations, strawberry farms, jungle treks, etc. they weren't cheap. The one that went back in the jungle to see famous Malaysian flower, Rafflasia I think it's called...google it...it's humongous!, that trek would take all day. And we didn't have that. We had 2 half days. So we decided to see about getting a taxi because the plan stations were too far to walk and we didn't have our bikes. Sylvia got the cabbie for 20 ringgit an hour ($7) and off we went to tour the area. It worked out great. First stop was a strawberry farm which is more like a manufacturing plant on the hillside. Acres and acres of these mounded rows of white fabric with the potted strawberries inside. There was cactus and lettuce growing too. And parsley growing in the shade of the strawberry pots. And these huge mounded greenhouses cover the mountainsides. Not a pretty sight, but they sure tasted good!






Next was the tea plantation. Rolling hills of green. The tea trees are chopped short so that the leaves can be easily harvested. They used to be picked by hand but now are mowed with a machine held by two men. The factory was shut down but our cabbie gave us a tour educating us on how the tea is processed. Then on to samples!

Off to our next stop, The Ole Smokehouse, a British homestead that's been converted to a restaurant and hotel. Of course we had to have overpriced tea and scones! While our taxi waited for us! Such royal treatment!!! We scrimp and splurge as the moments present themselves.







The next day we took a cab to another nearby town to explore it, with plans to get the bus back to Ipoh from there. In our wanderings here we came upon a Chinese Buddhist Temple that had enormous statues within.

Another bus trip...back down the mountain...in a rickety old bus...in a MAJOR DOWNPOUR!!! Close your eyes. You're not in control any more. Think positive thoughts. As the bus sways and careens back and forth around hairpin turns. Think: this is the best bus driver in Malaysia! Think: he drives this route every day in the rain. Think: do not attract bad energy with negative thoughts. Now go to sleep. And I did!...sorta.

Our next destination is Georgetown, an island near the northern coast of Malaysia. But we have some new friends to visit along the way. A couple of weeks ago, a man pulled over to take our pictures, buy us water, and talk to us. Khalib. We gave him our blog cards and he friended us on Facebook. He also invited us to visit his home as we got closer to Penang. Definite possibility. He had also told us he had cycled around the world. Wow!

Before leaving Ipoh, he gave us the name of a friend that lived in the next town we were headed to: Kuala Kangsar. We friended him on Facebook and messages him that we would be there in the late afternoon and would call him when we got settled in a hotel.

The best laid plans... We got to a hotel on the main street, settled in, showered, and sent Aswad a Facebook message telling him where we were. We also tried to Skype him but no answer. (The problem with Skype calls is the come in with a strange phone number and most people don't answer those:)). I tried to text him with my phone that has a Malaysian SIM card. I didn't call him because I'm always worried about understanding their speech. It's hard in person...harder on the phone.

So we gave up and hit the town, wandering the streets, checking out the shops, and then deciding to eat. All the while I was looking at my phone for a message. After dinner, we wandered around some more. It's a Royal Town and beautifully maintained, decorated, and lit with colored lights. Around 8 o'clock we got back to the hotel...and guess who was there waiting for us? Aswad. So after he helped us move "the kids" into the hotel lobby for the night, he gave us a tour or the city: the mosque and the palace and all around. Beautiful! Then drinks and stories. His English is quite good and we listened to his wonderful stories of his year biking around the world. He's only in his mid 20s but has seen a lot through bike travel.

Dropping us back at the hotel he said he'd meet us for breakfast and ride out of town with us. Do you realize how slow we go?

Before I sign off this journal I have to share "a first"! I was flashed! Yup! I'm cycling past a large truck parked under a tree and see a man standing in the shadow at the rear of the truck waving his prized possession at me!!! He's not peeing. Nope. That was for my benefit. Yikes! Pedal faster!!!

Pedal on...pedal on,

BagLady

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The Usual Wonderful People - All Day Long

Saturday, Nov 24th
Bidor to Ipoh, 42 miles


So we started out in the rain today, and knowing that we had a long day ahead, we got an early start...8 am:). Well, that's early for us...a girl's gotta get her beauty sleep and at my age I need more than I used to!

But we only go a few miles before its time to stop for breakfast. Roti canai, of course! Her a young woman is spinning the dough to make it very thin...you can see her hand through it. Then she'll fold it so that it captures pockets of air and put it on a big griddle to fry...yum! The canai is a spicy fish sauce that pieces of the roti, that I've torn off, are dipped in. Did I say yum? I can eat it every morning...happily!



Back on the road, this an named Chun started biking with us, showing us different highlights of the town and helping us find a coffee spot. He had an old beat up bike and wore flip flops but had no problem biking with us for 8-10 miles before his turn off.



When we sat for a quick coffee and a bite to eat he showed us his and that had been deformed in a mahining accident - 4 of his fingers were amputated and unable to bee reattached. Conversation with locals can be challenging when their English is limited, like ha was. A couple at a early table picked up our tab...how sweet is that?

Her are "the kids" waiting patiently for us as we get that bite to eat. This looks like the typical stall where we get most of our meals. We can have no concern for hygiene and just trust that it will be all right. So far, so good!



Further down the road, another gentleman pulled over to get our story and check out our bikes. Suhaimi is our newest Facebook friend from Malaysia!



On into Ipoh, a small city. We landed at our 2nd hotel, a darling boutique hotel that has just opened. $33 for the night for the both of us and that's for a very nice room. One question we always have to ask is "Do you have a place for our bikes?" Of course the imagine normal bikes when they say yes. As you can see they were determined to get Blaze into the storage room...Myrtle was already in there!



And last, but not least, I have to tell you what a comfort it is to have Col. Sanders on every street corner, open 24 hours! KFC is really, really big over here!





Pedaling down the road,

BagLady



More pictures are posted at:

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Mama Ching's!

Saturday:
Crazy ride through KL
Friends on the street love the trike
Lots of eating
Touring KL markets at night...omg all that STUFF
Scary Alley - eatery in back alley

Sunday:
Wet market
Wide noodle soup and great coffee...kopi C
Brothers house warming
Tea, rice, salt to scare the spirits away
Out to eat...banquet
Home for nap
Out to eat

Monday:
Roti breakfast and ginger tea
Batu caves
Baby ceremony
Shopping mall
Climbing gym
Fireflies
Late night eating black noodles

Okay, above are my notes of the three days we stayed at "Mama Ching's" in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. We got hooked up with her daughter in Singapore through a friend of Sylvia's back in Portland. Then Ching said we should stay with her mother when we get to Kuala Lumpur. So after our couple of nights staying in downtown KL, Saturday we mapped a route out to Petaling Jaya and "Mama Ching's". I seem to be able to negotiate the cities pretty well so I usually lead. This day was a nightmare for me. Strange cities are hard to drive...imagine cycling through one. WIth no GPS! I was trying to us Google Maps on my old iPhone which we put a Malaysian SIM card in...but the blue dot wouldn't update...the streets turned when the map said they would be straight...then there were dead ends where the map showed the roads continuing. I had to keep stopping and checking and pedaling and stopping and checking and turning around and cutting across 3 lanes to turn right (they drive on the left here)...so confusing, so frustrating, so stressful, so exhausting. At one point we fed onto a highway going the exactly opposite direction from where I wanted to head. And you know how long highways can go before you can get off! We couldn't get on. We had to stop. But do we go the wrong way back up the entrance lane? We pulled into the exit lane of a mall that also fed onto this highway to stop and think this through. We didn't want to go into the parking garage, although I was considering it. Someone stopped to say that there was an upper level road that crossed over this highway intersection and would help us. So we biked against the traffic, up and over. Unbelievable! (Yesterday I showed Mama Ching our route when she was trying to get over this same highway intersection...and she lives 1 km from this place:))

After we landed and showered, the eating began...and we ate...and we ate...and we ate...for all three days. We probably gained 5 pounds but the food was wonderful! We learned more about Chinese and Malaysian food to equip us for the rest of our journey. And I took lots of notes: writing down new words and new dishes.


We ate that afternoon at a local shop renowned for its nasi lemak (coconut rice with chili sauce and peanuts), then later we went into KL to Little India to "Scary Alley Restaurant"...our name for the place. After parking we walked down back alleys to an eatery that was in the alley. You had to know about this place because you wouldn't just pass it by. Delicious! We just let Mama Ching order for us. She got good at ordering our vegetarian delights. We may have convinced her to convert, but not likely:)

The next day it was off to the Wet Market, so called because it's in the open air...well, really under a bunch of umbrellas. We learned a whole lot of veggies we never knew before, saw fresh fish, and chickens being chopped. These markets are just amazing and the smells so rich and real. Afterwards it was time for breakfast nearby. Pan Mee. This is a soup with wide noodles cooked fresh right there! And good coffee!



(Above is Gramma Ching...and Auntie Chings!)

Next we went to her brother's house warming. Red ribbon over the front door. A fire (from a portable burner) to chase away evil spirits as well as spreading rice, tea, and salt around to help get rid of spirits too. We toured the new, very modern house: 5 bedrooms on three floors! We ate small treats of various Chinese types and I can't remember what anything was so I can't tell you about it. Small cubed rice thingies in bright colors of blue and green. Then someone announces we're all going out to eat...again. But S and I are still full from breakfast and our snack:). We look at each other and smile: of course, lets go eat!

That evening after a nap, or an attempt to nap (had an espresso beforehand, so no napping for me), Mama Ching took us to another favorite spot for some more special food. This place was packed! Open air eateries are the best. S and I have a new rule: No Doors! If the restaurant has doors we pay 3x and for a lot less food! So no more restaurant with doors for us!!!

Ok, now I'm up to Monday.

Days later I'm back to writing. It's Friday that I'm writing this, but I'll try and fill in the week. We're staying over in a small town smack in the middle of Malaysia on our way to Ipoh, a town just outside the Cameron Highlands. We're planning on staying there a couple of days and taking a bus trip up into the Highlands - don't forget the dramamine, BagLady:)

Ok now to this week. Monday was a big touring day with Mama Ching driving us all over the place. First we went to breakfast, of course. Then to the Batu Caves. This is a Hindu temple built inside these massive caves...MASSIVE! 50 ft high or more up to the top and the openings. There is a gold statue outside that is one of the largest Hindu statues in the world. Then climb 272 steps up to the entrance. And while we were there, there was a ceremony that recognizes a child's first year going on. The babies have their hair shaved as an offering. Quite impressive! Living in the caves were chickens, roosters, and monkeys...living off the food offerings that have been made there.





Then off to the mall to run some errands and, of course, eat again...this time Penang style. We had hoped to get a nap in today before heading north to see the fireflies, but the errands at the mall ate up that time. The malls in KL are everywhere and they are enormous and gorgeous! KL is one of the top 5 shopping cities in the world...and I see why! If it ain't here, they don't make it! Well, except for my style of hiking clothing...couldn't find that anywhere. Guess they aren't hikers in Malaysia!

The drive up to the fireflies was most interesting because the roads here are very confusing. Sylvia was navigating from the backseat (I have motion sickness so she let me ride up front all the time, thank you, Sylvia!). Her Google Nexus tablet has been a lifesaver for its GPS maps. It's saved us time and time again!

The fireflies are famous here because they gather and live on this river's banks in a special tree, eating its leaves. There is no construction or destruction allowed in the area to protect the fireflies. And what a wonder it was. We got on this small, quiet boat and floated down the river seeing faint twinkling in the bushes. So tiny, so many! Like the tiniest Christmas lights filling just some of the bushes and not others. I loved the quiet on the river - no talking allowed - and the sounds coming from the bushes, and the twinkling lights. Like nothing I've ever seen! And something that can't be photographed, at least with our cameras. Maybe that makes it even more special.

Long drive home. Went past a special mosque that was quite beautiful, especially all lit up at night.



Getting late, like nearing 11pm, but Mama Ching insisted that we had to go...EAT, of course! Black noodles. Ok! And they were delicious. Hokkien Noodles. Yum! So much fun! This woman has amazing energy! Ran us ragged! But we wouldn't have changed a thing!

The next day after a before breakfast snack of fruit and coffee, we wandered to a local restaurant for our last meal with Mama Ching. Then getting the bikes our of her living room, pumped up, greased up, and road ready...we finally headed out about noon. We changed our plans because we were getting a late start.

On the map, the route looked simple: up 11, catch 54 east, then route 1 to Rawang. How hard can it be? Silly us! These are major thoroughfares with multiple lanes feeding into multiple lanes...and routes splitting up the middle and we need to be on the far side. Yikes! At one point we were literally bike up the middle of a 4 lane highway because we needed to go to the right (left hand driving)...OMG! What are we doing??? Is this safe? I don't think so! Just follow Sylvia! And for whatever reason, the traffic quieted down just then and we made it easily...UNBELIEVABLE!

Communication between the trikes is difficult and sometimes we get a ways apart. Poor Sylvia, who's much more detail oriented and observant than I am (thank goodness!) saw our highway 54 on a sign going right, but I was pedaling on straight, following 11. I knew we had to stay on 11 for quite a ways, so I wasn't looking for 54, just trying to be sure we stayed on 11 when the roads went in every direction. So she's panicking that we're missing our turn (as she should) and trying to get me to stop, calling my name, but I can't hear her over the traffic (deaf in one ear doesn't help things). She finally blows her whistle, I stop, and she catches up. Bit of scare for her, but we decide to continue on and hope I haven't screwed things up. Crazy biking conditions, unable to communicate, noisy roads, stressful to say the least! But we managed to eventually find our way out of KL and into Rawang. Whew!

SItting in our hotel room later, Sylvia says something about the hardness of the beds (they are quite firm over here) and I realize that I've left my Thermarest back at Mama Ching's under the sheet where I put it. Darn! What to do? Email her? Facebook her? (We got her on FB just before we left:)) Sylvia says...Skype call her! So I do. And she offers to drive up that evening and bring it to me! Are you kidding? More driving for Mama Ching? Poor woman! Ok...dinner's on me! Beer too! Besides, we missed her!!!! Missed eating with her!!!! So, the dear sweet woman, did just that. Thank you Mama Ching for everything you did for us: the wonderful place to stay the nights with separate bedrooms...the food, all the different kinds and places, we learned so much...the laughs...your energy! Please meet us in Beijing next year!!!

Okay, I've caught up on all the excitement of our visit to KL, Mama Ching's and getting out of town. We are heading up the middle of Malaysia now, a bit inland, to visit Ipoh. I hope y'all are checking your maps, following along:) Sylvia researched stops along the way based on whether or not they had hotels, figuring on roughly 35 miles a day...it's hot here...we're old ladies...we have other things we like to do as well as bike...like EAT!...and drink iced fruit drinks!...and sit in air conditioning (or like they say here "air con"). But plans don't always work out. Some days we have to quit early because one or the other of us is not feeling so good. And some days we have to go an extra 10 miles because a town we thought had a hotel, does not. That was yesterday. Luckily we left early because we knew it was going to be a long day...but it was longer than we planned. That's ok, when the hotel we find is NICE: large lobby for our trikes; clean, decent rooms; top sheets on the beds (don't laugh, they don't all have that!); and wifi!!!


Not really,

BagLady

More pictures are posted at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104890875270597877610

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Heading Inland to Kuala Lumpur

Wednesday, Nov 13th
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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Oops-a-daisey!

Monday Nov 12
Pasir Penang, Malaysia
49 miles

We had a long day ahead so we got an early start...before 8! Stopped for roti canai, kaya roti bakar (toast with that coconut butter we love:)) and iced coffee just outside of Melaka. Pedal on, pedal on.

Did we miss our turn? Yup, looks like it. Lets go back.

So I pull out for a U turn...after checking traffic, and halfway across hear a beep and see a motorcycle bearing down on me. I must have tried to pedal faster, or something, because I tipped over in the road! We were on a slight downhill so that had to play in there somewhere. Never done that before on the road...only when I've been trying to finagle the trike over rough terrain. Blaze seems a bit top heavy. I'll have to rethink my packing maybe.

So back we go...find our turn (which has no route marking) and head down that road that will take us along the coast instead of the major route 5 which is more inland.

What's that ahead?

A military post. No, you can't bike on this road (they motion...no English...but they do have guns.

On the way back we saw this monkey on the side of the road:



Back we go. Arrghh!

I was leading today and because I knew it was a long ride, I think I was pushing hard and not stopping enough. Poor Sylvia:(. One time when I stopped to let her catch up, she said shed been yelling at me for a while. She was parched! Oops!! Sure wish we had headsets like they do on motorcycles:).

At one stop, this guy, Mat (so he said:)), was so funny and excited to meet us...and so proud of his regional flag (we think)...he even tried one of the trikes!



We were quite unsure of how long we were going to have to ride and what we would find at day's end. But we would never have imagined THIS!!!

We're at the Eagle Ranch Resort, a cowboy-themed resort with tepees and quasi covered wagons to stay in! What a rip!!! And lots of fun things to do like high ropes course, go cart course, horses to ride, etc. In Malaysia!!!



Tuesday

Still working our way to Kuala Lumpur. Not really sure what route to take and waiting on hearing if we have a place to stay with a friend's mom. After lunching in Port Dickson, the sky started getting dark. Sylvia asked me what I thought about it and should we maybe get a hotel. I said it might blow by and I didn't mind biking in the rain, but if she wanted to stop, I was ok with it. We pushed on but she wasn't comfortable with the decision. I really hoped it would blow over because we had about 25 mikes til we reached a hotel. It didn't. It rained. And if that wasn't enough, it really poured...cats and dogs. I cycle with an umbrella. It really helps reduce the wetness and worked for most of the time except when the wind picked up. Sylvia wasn't comfortable with the bought of trying to hold it, so she really got drenched. But it did finally cease. And it wasn't as cold as the rain this summer. In the first town we came to we asked about a hotel.

6 km down the road the wrong way. Another said probably more like 9 km. but 20 the other way...the way we were headed. So we opted for the closer. 9 was more like 12:(. But we have a room after a 40 mile day.

Tomorrow we have to retrace those 7 miles. Oh we'll.

Today this guy pulled over and stopped us. He bought us water and then told us he had biked around the world for a year. We're going to try and stay with him a bit further north. That should be fun!!! His shirt says "Bikepacker"...referring to bike tourists! Go Chalib!




And now it's sunset on the Malaysian coast:



BagLady

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Lights and Music of Melaka

Sunday, Nov 11th
Melaka, Melaysia



I'm trying to write every other day instead of every day so that I can spend a bit less time recording the journey and a bit more time living it:). But memory is not my strong point and I'm finding u can't even remember yesterday enough to write anything about it. Oops! Notes. Gonna have to write some notes.

Speaking of writing, yesterday I did record a lot of the words I was seeing on the roadside stalls so that we could look them up later. That has helped to increase our vocabulary quite a bit. We can say:
No meat, no milk, no sugar, rice, ice, water, fruit juice,

And we understand many more!



We got into Melaka mid afternoon. A city! Traffic! But we're good at negotiating the cars so that's no problem. Sylvia had researched that the collection of hotels was down near the river. Since last night we spent more than usual, I wanted to cut costs a bit. But still wanted: clean, window, 2 beds, air conditioning (ya me! It's necessary here with the heat and humidity.)...and a place for Myrtle and Blaze, our kids:))

The first place was too expensive - $60/night and the kids would have to stay outside. No go. Right across the street was a more budgety hotel for only $40/night and the kids could sleep under the stairs. Perfect. More like a Motel 6 high rise, but works for us. The shower reminds me a little of Nepal. It's a rain shower head in the middle of the bathroom!

Last night after our daily showers (best part of this type of touring:)) we hit the town! There are ruins here from the Dutch settlements and forts and churches and wonderful architecture of wooden shutters. (And of course I don't have any pictures of all that. )

We did find the trishaws which are popular here: wild decorations and loud, lively music. It's Deepavali festival time now and it's bigger than Christmas...if that's possible. So there are crowds of people. Was lots of fun walking the streets after dark with the lights and music.



Strangest site was seeing other Caucasians! Didn't realize it until it happened that there just hasn't been any anywhere...until here.

Sylvia's researching tomorrow's ride by reading others' journals who gave ridden through here. Thank you, Sylvia! We may have to stay in a resort tomorrow night if we can't find anything else along the way. The next town is a bit far for one day: 50 miles. But maybe it will happen.

Not if I don't get any sleep...


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BagLady

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Sunstroke!

Friday, Nov 9th
Muar, Malaysia




We knew that yesterday was going to be a long day...46 miles between towns...but it was longer than expected due to heat and sun scorching. We got a fairly early start out of Pontian...8:00 (ok, not THAT early, but come on...we're on vacation here!...and getting up any earlier than 6:30 just isn't happening...not here...not now...not yet, anyways!)

So off we pedaled to all the usual cheers and honks and waves and smiles:) It is fun...for a while...being a celebrity. Then it started to feel a bit burning on my legs even with the SPF 50 on them, so up popped the umbrella. And we stopped every 5 miles for juice...then rice and veggies...then more juice (this time cane juice in a bag with a straw for 30 cents US)...and I got hotter and hotter and hotter. Hot flashes! When I get hot...I get HOTTER!!! It just isn't fair. And I hadn't yet planned on how I would handle the heat, other than trying to ignore it...and it wasn't working. I finally told Sylvia I needed ice and pretty quickly. We found a store with bottled water and I dumped it on my head. But I was feeling like vomiting. Not good. Gotta keep going. "Pedal on, pedal on, pedal on for miles...pedal on..." Eclectic Motorbike




This photo is all the kids going home after stopping by the "Restaurant" after school. So adorable!

We managed to pedal our way into town, turn on my old iPhone (for which we've bought a SIM card so the GPS works - Sylvia's Garmin is tracking our route (Facebook "Myrtle the Turtle Tour"), but not picking up SE Asia during the day for us to use) and searched for a hotel. We'll took the first big one...big so that there's room for the trikes...inside:) I was too beat to go any further. Got to our room, got a shower, and collapsed on the bed...for the night...except Facebook time. Sylvia tried to go down for dinner about 7 pm (I passed...out) but there was no food in the hotel and it was pouring out and there was no restaurant nearby. So crackers and Nutella for dinner, pour girl. Me, I had no interest in food. Just sleep.

Today was a different story. Not going to let that happen again. Carrying a bottle of water just for soaking the bandanna to keep my neck cool. And it worked. I had a great day! Another fun day of greetings from the locals, juices at the roadside stands, taking in the sites as we pedaled by. Had a lot of fun with the girl at a fruit stand where we got the little bananas and a small pineapple that we could eat for dessert...just the right size. She was able to answer our many language questions: what's the word for meat, milk, lemon, sugar, fruit...and no. Oh, we're ready now!


We also picked up a follower. This guy with few teeth who had been biking the other way, turned and fell in behind us. The girl at the fruit stand told us his name was Laymon. She seemed concerned that he was following us, stopping whenever we stopped, but we weren't. He seemed harmless especially since there was two of us. We stopped to shop for some danglies for my trike...I got purple plastic flowers...he stopped with us. We stopped for lunch...he stopped with us. So I told him to go get something to eat...or should I say, motioned to him...and he did. The least we could do was feed our fan club:) It's so funny how our conversations at these tiny Ma and Pa lunch places go. Sylvia's good at just talking away like they understand her and she understands them...and I guess they sorta do. We seem to get what we want. She has the knack! After lunch, Laymon shook our hands and headed on his way. What a treat meeting him was withour our being able to communicate one word.

Tonight we're in the lap of luxury...a 5 star hotel...for $50 total for the night. Splurge! That's $10 more than we've paid for scuzzy hotels...like last night...where we needed a 3rd towel to put on the wet bathroom floor and the front desk gave Sylvia a very difficult time, finally relented, and then someone showed up at our door asking for the towel back because we could only have TWO towels in our room (we gave him the wet one off the floor and asked for something to put down...Towel Natze!)

Goodnight!


Sent from my iPhone

BagLady

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