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...


Sent from my iPhone


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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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
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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

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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

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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

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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...


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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!!!


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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.
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