Honks! Cheers! Thumbs up! And Waves!

Wednesday, November 7th
Pontian, Malaysia

Sunburned BagLady! Ouch!!!



Sylvia's pearl of wisdom for today: "This is why Chinese people are so skinny! Who can eat rice with chopsticks?" She keeps me on stitches!!

Yesterday we cycled 20 miles to this coastal town. It was a much more enjoyable ride although still lots of cars. I think that's going to be a constant. There are few road options going from town to town off the highway and lots of people use them. We cycled past palm tree plantations where palm oil is collected.



Another time I noticed a banner that said "Like us on Facebook!" And had to stop and take a picture. Of course the people were interested in us and our trikes although language was difficult. We asked about a fruit we saw and the farmer broke one open for us to sample. Pulasan.


Tastes and looks like longon that I ate in Hawaii (and have found here,too). We liked it and decided to get some. When we selected a small bunch, the farmer gave it to us. We also sampled Jack Fruit something I also saw in Hawaii but don't think I ever ate it there. It's good! Durian is another popular fruit over here. Loved by Malaysians but not allowed anywhere: not on the subway, not in hotels. Because it stinks! Being brave and adventurous, we tried a glass of durian juice. Gag me!!! YUCK!!! No way! We traded it in for something else. They have the best juices over here. Fresh squeezed. Over ice. The best drink ever!!! Green apples. Watermelon. Honeydew melon. YUM. Gotta break out my juicer when I get back home and whip up some of these. For sure!
Every day is like cycling in a parade. We attract so much attention! Honk! Honk! Hello! Thumbs up out the car windows! Cheers from the sides of the road. It's energizing and exhausting at the same time. And already a couple of times someone has said they saw us earlier in the day. How funny is that?
We took a zero day today. No cycling. We wanted to watch the election returns and knew that would be in the middle of the day. Wifi has been a challenge. Not finding it, but having a good connection. We're finding one or the other us having issues at different times. Today we wandered the streets hoping to find a place with CNN in cable. No luck. Ended up watching the speeches on Sylvia's laptop and how exciting it was! Wahoo!!
Must share about breakfast today at our hotel: sushi, salad, baked beans, toast. Delicious! Later today we had sweet potato fries which had been battered and fried then coated in cinnamon and sugar. Unusual!
Long day tomorrow. 45 miles to next town with hotel. Twice the distance we've been riding. Hard in the heat and humidity, but we have to do it. Early start is planned...and fewer stops:)
That's all she wrote;)
New words for today:
Kanan: right
Kiri: Left

Oh, and you have to take your shoes off outsides stores here:



BagLady
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Heat, Humidity, and Highways

Monday, Nov 5, 1012
Taman Nusa Perintis II Malaysia

Cycled out of Johor Bahru today with great plans of going about 60 km to the coastal town of Pontian...but alas, plans do change. It was a major challenge getting across this city because any road the actually goes some place is a highway...a 6 lane highway...with many entrance and exit lanes...creating very dangerous biking decisions.

Crazy, crazy, hazy day. "Do you need sunscreen?" No...the sun's not even out! Big mistake. Ouch! I am so burned!!!

Our GPS won't load the SE Asia maps. My iPhone doesn't really load the Maps screen nor locate us. Sylvia has an Nexus 7 which does find us, but she forgot to charge it last night so we didn't want to turn it on too often. We decided to get a SIM card in my old iPhone so that we would have 3G capabilities. Good idea. Came in terribly handy already today helping us figure out where we were. But when the road went beyond what was showing on the map and we were on a highway that wasn't on any maps yet, that was a bit creepy. But it was heading west and the traffic was light so we just kept going. And it worked out pretty well. We're not lost. We're in rural Malaysia, for sure! And the phone found us a hotel...yippee!

Today's quote by a Malaysian man where we stopped to have lunch: "Obama's already won!"

Lots of laughs, lots of fun, lots of sun, and plenty of fatigue. Early to bed at 8:30 pm...and had to work to stay up this late.


BagLady

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Crossing into Malaysia

Sunday, 4 Nov 2012
Johor Bahru, Malaysia



This was day one of "the tour"...really. We finally packed our bikes and cycled out of SIngapore. The direct route was a 6 lane road through the city nation...quite busy, lots of construction, and us tootling along on the edge (there are no shoulders). It was very warm, very muggy, and we are not yet in shape, so we were slow. But then we're slow anyways...what's the rush?

"Love your bikes!"
"Where are you going?"
"We're cycling to Beijing!"
"Holy crap!!!"



We cut the day short and stopped in Johor Bahru. It was 2:30, I was overheated (oh, those hot flashes!) and a storm was on the horizon...so we found a cheap hotel ($35/night) and checked in. This place just opened, but the hotel is old with a new face. The staff is so cute and attentive. The told us to just keep our bikes outside in the entry way and the security guard would keep an eye on them. When we came down later for dinner, they had put plastic bags over the seats for us! Now that's customer service!!!

Ordering dinner is always an interesting process. Trying to recognize something on the menu. Trying to find vegetables...lots of them. We often get one of each and share dishes which expands our exposure. Here everything had noodles in it. But the best was the honey dew juice...yum!

I can't forget to mention an amazing couple of encounters. First, while touring the Gardens by the Bay - domed gardens, I ran into Catalina and Maria, the mother and daughter I spent the first night with at the airport. How incredible is that? In a city this size, what are the chances??? We maysee them in Kuala Lumpur too.

And yesterday we also had a hook-up...the touring definition...when a friend gives you a contact in a city you're traveling through. Sylvia has an older friend in Oregon that knows a young woman in SIngapore (internet conection over Jack Russels, no less). So we met up with Ching yesterday. She grew up in Kuala Lumpur and lives in Singapore now. She shared tons of info on traveling through Malaysia with us from getting hotspot SIM cards for wifi to eating breakfast...and I can't remember the dish name, but I took notes:-/

I left home with a list of foods to try in Singapore and Sylvia and I had done a good job of finding and eating most of them. Ching offered to take us out to a place to sample some more foods and then we could go over to the zoo for the Night Safari. Now, mind you, S and I had just finished a large lunch only an hour meeting up with Ching, so we weren't really hungry...yet. But not to miss an opportunity, off we went. Spring rolls, chicken rice, rojak (crispy fruit salad) and char kwai teow (a noodle dish). Really tasty even if you're not hungry. The skies opened up and that canceled the tour for us, but we had an adventure just finding our way back to the hotel using the subway and then walking down Orchard St where all the shopping is.

Ok...enough said, ...tomorrow's another day...

BagLady

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Link to Picasa Web Album

Here is a link to my Picasa Web Album if ya want to see more photos.

And to view any videos I upload, I'll post a link in blog but you can also go to Youtube and search "zimmerwoman7" for my videos.

For Sylvia's Myrtle the Turtle journal, go to here...

With Trying to get all the blogging kinks ironed out and sightseeing, there hasn't been much time to write my blog. Maybe tonight:)

Cycling out of Singapore today...wahoo!!!

Here's a video of my Bodyflight!!!

BagLady

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Bodyflight and Singapore Slings

Thursday, Nov 1, 2012

My head is not into blogging. I want to just experience. But I know there are some folks who want to know what I'm up to so I'll try and bring you up to date.

Sylvia arrived yesterday afternoon. I got out for a long walk down to the famous Orchard Street shopping district: all the clothes I'd never want... 5 story shopping mall...people of every color! Then walking back, looking for a plastic bag to put my fanny pack in to keep things dry, I stepped into a local food court and got lunch. $4.50 for a plate of Pad Thai, can you believe...and I was the only caucasian in the place. Fun! I hustled my way back to the hotel (thank you for my wonderful sense of direction - I never get lost) and in time to greet Sylvia and Myrtle (her trike) as they unloaded from a van. Sure is fun having a friend touring with me...and I think she's feeling the same way. Lots of laughter and craziness! But first SLEEP. And since we both hadn't had much the last few days, a nap turned into a night's sleep. But not all night.

Ya, about 3 am we found ourselves wide awake, so I got the bright idea to go wandering the streets. Why not? There's a nightlife out at that hour, no traffic, and it's safe...it's Singapore! So wander we did. Eventually hunger overcame us and we had the challenge of finding a place to eat at that hour. With several suggestions from people on the street that didn't pan out, we managed to find an Asian place open that was an upscale hotpot place with hot plates built into the table to keep you hot pot simmering. We didn't try that dish though. A flock of young Asian women came in about 5am all dressed in black for Halloween:) Watching them eat these hotpt soups with a medley of ingredients to plop in them was a treat. Theywere so bubbly and spunky before the meal and somber and sluggish afterwards.

After breakfast at the hotel later that morning, Sylvia agreed to join me to go out to Sentosa Island and iFly SIngapore. I got this crazy inspriation to try flying in the world's largest wind tunnel they have there! I've always wanted to skydive but don't know if I could step out of the plane. Still don't. Didn't have to:) So me and 10 kids and 2 young adults suited up to try out our wings. We had some flight training consisting of learning how to conform your body best to stabilize: arms up, back, and bent; legs spread and bent; and chin up with back arched. When asked if I had any neck or back issues, I, ofcourse said NOPE! Not gonna miss this opportunity because of a little neck and back pain..The first kid out of the box did great and flew alone without the training holding him after he got the feel for it. The next kid was panicking and kicking - not so smooth. Keep watching. WHat's the most common error. Gotta keep legs straignt. We learned hand signals from the training so he could communicate with us because its so noisy in there: legs bent, legs straight, chin up, have fun, and I want out. When my time came, I was so nervous, partly because you're in a glass tube and everyone is watching. I didn't want to be that crazy gramma! So I cross my arms, lean into the wind, he grabs me about the waist...and I'm flying!!!! Incredible feeling. I stabilized well and he was able to let me go. Not much control but what a high!!! Round two was just as much fun! I was not willing to pay $30 for another chance, but if it were cheaper and close by I could get addicted!!! Before we did our stint in the tunnel there were teams of people doing maneuvers in there - choreographed. When we finished, our instructor did some acrobatics: fipping, hanging upside down, flying up and down the walls. He said he's a "tunnel rat"!


(Unable to post video of flight here. Will try and post it to Facebook. It's on Picasa (along with tons of photos), but I don't yet how to provide link. Oh so much to learn...:))

Back to the hotel for our afternoon nap. So hot and muggy. Might as well sleep until it cools off. That was after getting a couple of Mango Lassis over at the Indian market.

Dragging our groggy selves out of bed around 7, we found a local Indian eatery for grilled veggies and naan. The streets of Little India were alive with lights and music and people celebrating Deepavali Festival. Wild! Then we hoofed it about a mile over to Raffles, the most famous hotel in Singapore and home of the Singapore Sling. A grand hotel built with that British Colonial tropical feel. The drink was EXPENSIVE, paying for the experience! But when in SIngapore...


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Singapore day 2

Wednesday Oct 31st
Singapore

Let me first finish yesterday. While pedaling around Little India I met Christiana, a woman traveler who loved Blaze and decided that's how she needed to travel too:). We moved our conversation from the street corner to an outside table with cold drinks sharing life stories. Blaze caught the attention of a couple of Polish young men, Michael and Anthony. Shared stories and pictures. These guys are headed to Sydney, Australia to "study" - the quotes are theirs! Turns out they are staying at the same hostel as Christiana. Small world.

Found the Perak Hotel and settled in. Took a short walk around the neighborhood before taking a brief nap around 3pm. Brief! Right! Waking at 2 am! Down to the lobby for wifi and then out onto the front porch to watch the world go by. The locals use the porch during the night to gather and share drinks and conversation. One guy was detailing his car right out front! Enjoyed the smells and sounds and ambience of the middle of the night. I know why I was up from 2 - 4... But when do these guys sleep?

Never did go back to sleep. Breakfast opened at 7 and I was there shortly after. Met 2 woman travelers, Jan and Lucia who had been here a couple of days and were heading to Indonesia. Nice not to eat alone:) More great stories of traveling. Love meeting all these people who are off the couch and OUT THERE seeing this wide wonderful world!

Figured out I was confused about Sylvia's arrival time -she won't be here until early afternoon. Lets go see Singapore! I hit the streets and wander to see where my feet take me. Why didn't I bring an umbrella? The architecture is amazing! Tall funky buildings - creatively styled. Lush aromatic gardens. Memories of Hawaii are aroused. Shopping district. Too posh for this eclectic bohemian woman! But fun to wander through. 5 story mall. American shops. Same old, same old. It's an homogenized world!!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Singapore

Tuesday October 30, 2012
Singapore

9:30 am. Sitting in a roadside cafe eating who-knows-what stir fry and bean curd pudding that's too red, too flavored, and too sweet. Oh we'll. never know til ya try.
Exhausted! Excited! At home back on Blaze:)
The flight was long. Oh so long. One leg was 13 hours followed by another 6 hours. And I'm not a fan of flying. My body isn't meant to go that fast. Or stay sitting that long. Or to sleep sitting up. So as soon as I can get "supine" (to quote a hiker friend, EZ Duzit), I will, just to sleep. And I did that at the gate in Narita (Tokyo). Thank goodness someone thought maybe I was waiting for the Singapore flight and mentioned it to the gate agents, who woke me up! Or I'd still be sleeping in Narita. Then the same women (mother and daughter, Maria and Cata) overheard me asking a flight attendant about sleeping in the airport and what happens to the baggage. They were planning the same thing. Turns out, they were the ones to have me awakened! My heroes!! We stayed together sharing stories and sleeping in the Snooze Lounge, had breakfast, toured the Butterfly Garden, and assembled Blaze. Wonderful people, great travel stories!!! Thanks for everything. Was good not to spend the first night alone.
Got a van cab to Expo Singapore parking lot. And now am pedaling about 10 miles to the hotel. Traffic is pretty considerate and normal. Nothing unusual. And the folks stare and smile back when I say Hi. I stayed in the sidewalks for a couple of miles but that's so much slower, that I finally took to the streets. Be brave or go home:)
This city is clean and comfortable. Nothing daunting. I just have to remember to stay left:).
It's warm and humid here. Had a bit of a shower just after I got started that felt good actually.
I don't know how I'm going to stay awake until bedtime. I know that's the rule but I feel like a zombie. I think a nap is on the agenda when I check in in a couple of hours.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Getting Ready

The countdown is 3 days and I'm beginning to spin...inside. After having everything all packed on the bike, one of my roomies came home last night to find everything all over the floor!




Just double checking...or is that quadruple checking?  Or hextuplet checking? Mentally, all day, every day, I'm checking. And it's exhausting! Friends keep reminding me that they have stores over there too:))
So this morning's exercise is to test uploading blog posts with my new iPad. With pictures and a short video. Nothing exciting. Just something to test. And the video is rather soothing, I think. And right now I need soothing.

And this post will test using Google Groups to distribute the email. Some of you may need to check your spam folders. Your notification that you were added to Google Groups may be in there as well as this blog post. I can only control so much!

Location:Home in New York

The Next Adventure

Saturday, October 13, 2012
Fairport NY

My motto, if someone asks me to join them on an adventure, is to say Yes unless I have an absolute reason to say No. So when Sylvia Halpern (www.myrtletheturtle.me) asked me to join her biking SE Asia for 7 months, I said "But I just got off the plane from Europe! I need time at home before I can decide." And she patiently waited while I adjusted to being home, went backpacking in Maine, vascillated every day thinking about going, and got bored not traveling... and said YES! Let's go! It was a torturous decision, but I want no regrets in this life (well, only a few) and I had nothing to do this winter and I would have been reading her blog wishing I was with her. So I booked my flight to Singapore. Sylvia already had her flight and a guesthouse lined up. When I went to book (using those great frequent flier miles), I had to arrive about 31 hours ahead of her...at 12:20 in the morning. Being cheap, and thinking the middle of the night is not a good time to check in, I'm planning on crashing on the airport floor til morning. (I've actually slept in the Singapore airport before, so I know my way around:))

So the plan is to trike - ya, we both ride trikes, how cool is that? - from Singapore to Beijing, through Malaysia, Thsiland, and across China. 4000 miles. 7 months. Yup, somebody who likes to go as slow as I do! I'm doing it! I'm biking around the world - just in stages. It's gonna be such a blast! Two blonde ladies on trikes pedaling along into little Asian villages. Can't you just see us?!

Here is a rough map of the route we will be taking.  I haven't a clue how we'll actually cross China other than enter up the Mekong River by "ferry".  We're flexible and will make decisions as we go along.  Nothing's written in stone:)

Two weeks left to get ready, store the car, prepare the house for winter, enjoy these autumn days, and fret over "what am I forgetting to think about?" My mind is exhausted from thinking, worrying, concentrating, exploring, and processing.

Some exciting new things on this trip: using an iPad to journal and process photos and videos while on the road, downloading library books (both evokes and audiobooks) on the road, staying indoors every night -no tent, and traveling with another trike, and biking through third world countries. I'm glad I'm going with Brave Sylvia:) !

So that's what's going on right now. Next update will be from Singapore!

Keep on pedaling,

BagLady


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Fairport, New York

Departure Day

Wednesday July 25th



I'm leaving for home with mixed emotions. I had to book my flight a couple of weeks ahead and my mood then was different than my mood now. But finding an airport to fly out of was not easy seeing as how I was using frequent flyer miles at the economy level. So I didn't really have the flexibility I thought I would. And thinking about going to another new country with all the adjustments to language and culture yet again is exhausting. And I know that much of it will also be the same as the last 5 countries, too. So I think everything is unfolding perfectly:)


Spending a few days with Heike was relaxing and wonderfully easy as usual. She has become such a dear friend. And she was such an amazing help with getting my boxes for me and helping understand that my worry was normal.

But everything went amazingly well at the airport. They accepted my dimensions for Blaze's box. And they never weighed either one. All that worry for naught.

So a quick shopping trip through the airport to use up the few euros left and I'm on my way for a very long day to the open and welcoming arms of dear friends back home:)))

So what have I learned? Wild camping is less accepted in Europe though not impossible. I like some time alone AND I like companionship. I make friends easily and wherever I go. It's just so much harder with a language barrier. I like to talk. Surprise. Surprise. I continue to do something while the enjoyment outweighs the hardships, but when that shifts it's time to change plans. I can and did handle everything that came my way: the abrupt departure of my traveling companion, rain day after day, being asked to break camp and move at night in the rain, trying to get info even when there's no common language, finding out where I was or how to get found when misplaced using mutiple maps and map app, building a new box in 6 hours with a toy box cutter, heavy cardboard and only 2 bike boxes. And I'm sure there's things I handled and have forgotten. there never was a plan for this voyage, only many options: bike Europe with Fuat for 4 months, break away after a while and bike some of Europe solo, go on to Australia and New Zealand if I felt like it. Options. Go with the flow. See where the current takes me. And that's what I did.



Going home with a smile on my face:

5 countries
8 weeks
40 inches of rain (my estimate:))
1500 miles (2500 kms)
Many, many new friends!!!

Whew!!!

BagLady


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone