BIKE TOUR TO THE 4 CORNERS OF WEST MALAYSIA IN 37 DAYS

Our bike story in The Star Weekender, 23rd May 2009

2009-05-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

Hi all!

Just want to let you know that our bike tour story was published in the Star Weekender dated 23rd May, 2009 :o)

You can read about it under this link http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2009/5/23/lifetravel/3899294&sec=lifetravel

Cheers!

The day after....Warning - post tour blues!!

2009-05-06T08:46:00.001-07:00

Date : April 9th, 2009
Location : Langkawi island

Hi all!

Let me remind you that if you should ever decide to do a tour like we did, just be prepared for the post blues after!!

After spending 37 days straight on the road and suddenly, it is over is NO FUN!! For a while, I was left feeling a bit bereft and I didn't know what to do! !

Anyway, it did take me awhile to come back to earth and start living again hehehe....and my last post wasn't the happy ending that I would like to have and so before I forget my manners, I would like to do my "Academy Award" speech and say A BIG THANK YOU to ....

All our sponsors mainly Blue Water Sailing, Lim Thye Kiang Transport, Lufter, Powerbar, 99 Island Tours, Uphold Talent, Eko Megah, Sooi Hin bike shop, Seng Chye Trading, 99bikes Langkawi and Corezone who have supported us in one way or another in our bike tour!! We really appreciate your support throughout our tour and will never forget your generosity!

Friends and family who made us feel at home during our tour namely Tat, Cheah, Andrew, Ms. Yap & family, James & Jenny, Kok & Sylvia, Madzli and Razani! Thank you for everything!!!

The awesome and friendly people we met along the way! It just goes to show that there are still many great people out there who would be willing to open up their hearts and make us feel welcomed!!

The readers of my blog who have been giving me words of encouragement to continue writing until I finish it! Thank you for your support!!

And I am happy to leave you with this quote which is so true! "A journey of a thousand miles must begin with one step!"

Cheers!!

Day 37 :Our last day! Gurun - Alor Star - Langkawi

2009-05-06T04:22:00.001-07:00

Date : April 8th, 2009
Distance travelled : 45 km
Time taken : 2.30 hours

Good morning....wow, it was already our last day of our tour! My, who would have thought that we would be cycling solo home on our last day of the tour!

We woke up at 6am because we decided to leave early to reach Kuala Kedah. Our sponsored ferry was leaving at 10.30am to Langkawi and we had to get there beforehand.

We went out and walked around to look for our breakfast but found out that no shops were opened yet since it was still early. Mak said that we should just ride out a bit further and there should be some stalls opened there. So we went back to our hotel, got our bikes and cycled to Gurun town. Within 5 minutes, we found some food stalls and stopped at one that had more choices :o)

After our breakfast, we cycled back to our hotel to get ready. As Mak was packing his wet clothes, he asked me to put my wet socks together with his. It was then I told him that it was best we went our separate ways. He was nonplussed at first but when he realised that I was serious, the grateful look on his face was enough to tell me that I did the right thing. He couldn't stop thanking me afterwards :o)

Of course he made me promised to cycle safely and to observe the traffic along the way and he asked me to let him know once I got home safely to Langkawi. Well, we'll see...hehehe

After packing up, we thanked each other for a great journey together and exchanged a hug and a pat on our backs for a job well done! We then pushed our bikes out of the hotel and slowly started our solo journey back....

At the traffic lights, I bid him farewell and turned right to Alor Star while he turned left and I didn't look back and continued on my journey until I nearly reached Kuala Kedah. That was when my friend, Anuar saw me cycling and he stopped his car and waited for me to pass. What a coincidence! He told me he wanted to hear all my stories before I went back to Langkawi! He said he had to settle some work related matters first but would meet up with me at the jetty in about 45 minutes.

Since I already missed the first sponsored ferry at 10.30am, my next ferry was at 1.30pm, it was great that I could chat with someone while waiting for my ferry :o) I told him about our adventures over lunch and by the time I finished, it was time to leave! Anuar sent me all the way to the ferry and we said our goodbyes and I was on my way back to Langkawi!

When I reached Langkawi, it was a bit of an anti-climax because most of my friends didn't know that I was coming back on that day. The ones that did couldn't make it to greet me at the jetty. As I cycled home alone, all my earlier sense of euphoria faded and I felt a deep sense of emptiness welling inside me and it really wasn't the greatest feeling ever, I must say! Guess I was also tired and feeling out of sorts after being on the road for 37 days straight, and with a goal to meet each day and now that it was over, I felt lost for a moment!

Oh well, I guess it'll take me a few days to recover and be back to normal again.....

As for my partner in crime, I found out later that he reached Sg. Petani in about 1.15 hours :o)

Day 36 : Betong - Baling - Parit Panjang - Pekan Batu Lima - Jeniang - Pdg.Lembu - Gurun

2009-05-03T07:09:00.001-07:00

Date : April 7th, 2009
Distance travelled : 93 km
Time taken : 5 hours

Morning! We woke up slightly later and went to look for breakfast. Mak asked around and found out that we could go to the market to try some of the local dishes there. We walked to the market which wasn't too far away from our hotel and went upstairs where the food stalls were. The market reminded me of our local markets back here in Malaysia, where downstairs they sold the wet food while the upstairs were mainly dry stuff and food.

There were so many local savouries to choose from and colourful too! You could really tell that there were a mixture of the Malaysian and Thai culture here. We picked some to try and went to a food stall where we ordered thai noodle soup to try. The food was delicious and Nick and Jo had an interesting time trying out the different varieties :o)

The many different type of thai savouries available to us!

You could tell how happy Mak was with that big grin on his face! This was his second home!

After that food tasting episode, Mak took us to another stall, famous for its fish porridge. It was really good! I've never tasted such good porridge before! It was really smooth and tasty and no fishy smell at all!! Normally, I'm not a much of a porridge fan but this was exceptional :o)

Totally filled up for now, we went back to our hotel to get ready for our long ride out. Before leaving Betong, we biked over to the tallest post box in the world! It was really huge and tall!! If you don't believe me, just take a look below....

Can you see how big this post box is? I'm like a tiny spot standing next to it!!!

The four muskeeters!! :o)

Part of Betong town...

Ok, now that we have taken some photos of the tallest post box in the world, we were ready to hit the road again! We said farewell to Amin (Mak's bike shop friend) as well who was there to bid us goodbye too.

Did I tell you that Betong was really hilly? Man, the hills you have to climb to get out of Betong.....:o) After passing through the immigration area, we stopped to take some pictures along the border. We have crossed the border again!

Malaya??? Wow, this is ancient history man!!

Mak, me and Nick at the border.....

The welcome to Betong sign....

Satisfied with our pictures, we headed back to Malaysia! Nick and Jo were heading off to Penang while we were aiming to reach Alor Star which was about 125km! Our plan was to stay one night in Alor Star with my friend Cheah before heading back to Langkawi but that all changed eventually....

The day was starting to get hot and sunny. It was going to be another HOT day for cycling!! After cycling for about an hour, we stopped by a small stall to get some cold drinks and snacks. According to our "tour leader", there will be a 5km uphill climb ahead to Baling and we had to mentally prepare ourselves for this challenge. So after that quick stop, we continued on and I decided to be the last one because I was just going to take my time riding up this "hill". After cycling for awhile, we were actually going downhill. I thought that maybe this was the initial pleasure before the torture! So I went on, trying to look for the other three....they must have been flying down the road!!

The more I rode, the more downhill I encountered and I thought, man...ain't this fun! The scenery was awesome too!! I was really having a good time but all the time, kept thinking there was a 5km hill ahead! As I was zooming past, I saw Mak waiting for me at the side of the road. That was nice of him to do that :o) I thought he was already cruising with the other two!

I told him that this place was really beautiful and I asked him where was the hill. He told me that he got it mixed up!! He was so used to climbing the hill from Sungai Petani to Betong that he forgot that we were heading the opposite direction! Yay!!! I wasn't complaining when I found out that I didn't have to climb another 5km uphill!! Instead, I was cruising down that hill!! It was pure enjoyment!! hehehe

The beautiful scenery begins....

Just cruising, baby!!

Yay!! I was just playing downhill all the way!! Gunung Inas in front...

When we reached Baling, Nick and Jo were waiting for us and we suggested that since it was already noon time, to stop and have our lunch before each of us went on our own way. We had noodles for lunch and Jo took a picture of the food so that she could use them later when she wants to order the same type of food in Penang! It was Mak's suggestion that they did that because it was what he did when he was in Vietnam. He couldn't speak their language, so he took the photos of the food he wanted to eat and showed the food stall guys what he wanted each time he went out for meals! Pretty smart of him :o)

Part of our lunch dish :o)

Well, after lunch, we hit the road again and cycled further up before we went on our separate ways. It was great having them around for the last two days and it felt kind of sad to say our goodbyes to them. We promised to keep in touch and update each other with regards to our adventures!!

So once again, it was back to us again! We really weren't sure how far we could go because Alor Star seemed a long, long way ahead still! The road we cycled on was more of rolling hills and so, the fun began!! We did the momentum thingy for awhile before we got too tired!!

As we were cycling, Mak who was ahead of me, saw a cow with a big bell around its neck just standing by the roadside a bit further ahead. I almost fell off my bike laughing at what he did next!! He swerved to the other side of the road and continued cycling on that side until he passed the cow! He only moved back to the right side of the road after a safe distance from the cow!! hahaha....I know I'm being mean but I just couldn't help it :o) After I cycled passed the cow without any " incident", he stopped and asked me "You weren't scared of the cow meh? It was so BIG!!" I just gave him a huge smile because I thought it was so refreshing to see that he was really opened and honest in admitting he was really scared of cows :o) Ok, ok, I do have my own fear of animals.....snakes for example!!

Lovely countryside roads :o)

Boy, if only it was this shady all the way to Alor Star!!!

Another glimpse of a beautiful scenery along the way :o)

After cycling in the hot sun for more than 2 hours, the weather started to change and it began to rain! We stopped by an empty food stall and decided to have some rest and some snacks while waiting for the rain to stop. It didn't really stop completely so with our faithful rainjackets on, we started riding again after waiting for about half an hour.

The rain continued to pour down on us and it got even heavier as we were heading towards Jeniang! We were thoroughly soaked but we had to go on because if we stopped for shelter, we would be freezing our hats off!! As we cycled towards Gurun, the real thunderstorm came upon us and I was literally singing in the rain!! It was so heavy that we couldn't see far with the strong wind blowing against us! It was like the heavens opened up and decided to dump water on us on our second last day of our tour!!

At one point, I decided to stop at a bus stop because I was getting hungry! I signaled to Mak, who was behind me to stop and have our buns from Betong. (Good thing I bought them!!) He told me that we have to stop in Gurun as he was suffering from heat loss and couldn't cycle anymore. It was also getting dark at 5.30pm. I was pretty amazed that you could get heat loss in Malaysia but apparently, some people do when cycling in the rain. His face was pretty pale and so was mine apparently but I was feeling alright :o) You see, I'd prefer cycling in the rain anytime compared to the scorching hot sun, even though some might deem it to be dangerous!! The best weather would be cool and cloudy hehehe....

We were a bit worried that we couldn't find a motel or a hotel in Gurun but when we passed one hotel signboard along the way, I told Mak that we should just go for it. It turned out to be a pretty new hotel and reasonably priced. After pushing our bikes into the corridor of the hotel, I told Mak to go and shower first since he was feeling cold. He told me that he would be fast and boy, was he fast! It took him all but 5 minutes to come out of the bathroom!! Amazing because if only you knew how much he loved having his shower, you would be amazed too hahaha.....

After our shower, we felt like human beings again :o) Since it was still pouring down, we decided to have a rest before going for dinner. During dinner, Mak made me go through all the places that we have cycled and wow, it was pretty long! It just hit us what an enormous task it was for us and that we actualy did it! We also realised that this was our last night of our tour and I felt really sad to have come to an end so soon!! I guess the saying "Time flies when you are having such a great time!" was true eh??

Initially, Mak had always planned to come back with me to Langkawi before cycling back to Sg. Petani but since he had to go back to Sg. Petani to attend to a personal matter rather importantly, he asked whether I could ride back alone to Alor Star while he cycled back to Sg. Petani since Gurun was like a midway point between Alor Star and Sg. Petani. I told him that since he promised he would send me back to Langkawi first, I would expect him to keep his word. As usual, being the gentleman that he was, he agreed to send me back before heading home the next day.

That night, I got to thinking it would definitely make more sense for him to cycle back from Gurun which was only 25km now rather than cycle back tomorrow from Alor Star which was about 70km away without having much rest since he was already tight for time. Besides, having cycled for over 2,600km, both of us were already pretty tired of cycling and I could understand that he would want to go home using the shorter way. I could cycle 45km to Alor Star alone and that wouldn't be a problem for me.

So with that in mind, I went to sleep and I would let him know of my decision tomorrow.....

Day 34 : Gerik

2009-04-28T02:16:00.001-07:00

Date : April 5th, 2009
Distance travelled : 0 km
Time taken : 0 hours

Wow, it was great to have such a good sleep last night! After the punishment our bodies went through yesterday, they really deserved a good rest :o)

We woke up around 10am and went looking for breakfast. Today, we had a whole load of clothes to wash as it had been accumulating since a few days back! Mak said that we should have just sent our clothes to the laundry but too late as we already soaked them last night! We also needed to clean our bikes as it rained last night and the chains needed to be cleaned from the sand and dirt. So, I guessed it was cleaning day for us today!!

After breakfast, I started washing our clothes and our dear friend decided to "rest" for awhile while waiting for me to finish. Our deal was that I wash the clothes and he would hang them up at the rooftop of the hotel, which was five floors up! In the end, after washing all the clothes, I found our friend sleeping like a baby!! I didn't have the heart to wake him up so I went up to hang the clothes myself....

View of from the rooftop of our hotel :o)

Part of Gerik town from the rooftop...

When Mak woke up next, it was already 3pm!! Hmm....so who was the one that was more tired in the end?? :o) He woke up, looking lost because our room was really dark and you couldn't tell whether it was night or day!! When I told him it was already 3pm, he had a shock that he slept for so long since 12noon! As usual, he started feeling hungry again and we decided to go look for tea since we already skipped lunch.

We walked down the street and found this stall selling all the fried stuff like "cucur udang", curry puffs, doughnuts etc.. We bought some and went to a mamak stall nearby to eat. Boy, the food was delicious!! It was so good that I went back to buy the "cucur udang" for the second time :o) I have never tasted such good "cucur udang"!! Yummy!!

We went exploring the small town and soon came back to our hotel. Mak planned to clean the bikes but we were told that there was no electricity in the whole town of Gerik! So we kind of hung outside the hotel to wait for the electricity to come back. There had been disruption throughout the day! Good thing that it rained earlier and made the day cool and nice. Not too good news for our clothes though! But not to worry, they'll dry in the air condition room, ie if the electricity came back in time!!

It was about 6pm when we saw a foreign couple riding in with their colourful front and back panniers! They were using the same panniers as us! Ortlieb :o) They stopped opposite our hotel and Mak asked me to go and talk to them and let them know that our hotel was cool! So I went over and introduced myself to them. Found out that they were from Australia and Canada. Jo was Australian and Nick was from Canada. They too just came in from Jeli and they said it was a tough ride for them too!!

After chatting for awhile, we made plans to meet for dinner and to exchange our stories :o) It was a nice change, being able to share our stories with another counterpart! That night, we took them for a Chinese meal at a nearby restaurant and just exchanged stories. We had such a great time, introducing the local dishes to them and they really enjoyed the food! They said that without us, they wouldn't know what to order etc! We were their tour guide for the night hehehe

We found out that they started from Singapore and toured from the east coast just like us :o) Their next destination was to Penang and we told them that we were heading for Betong in Thailand next and invited them to join us if they were keen since it was along the way to Penang. They said yes, they would love to join us!

So after a few hours of chatting, we made plans for tomorrow and headed off for bed. We were told that our room's air condition had a problem and they gave us another room to stay for the night. The second room was much nicer :o)

Tomorrow....Betong, Mak's second home??

Meet our new touring friends from Canada and Australia, Nick and Jo!!

Day 33 :Jeli - Banding island - Gerik

2009-04-28T01:45:00.001-07:00

Date : April 4th, 2009
Distance travelled : 128 km
Time taken : 8.40 hours

We woke up really early this morning, about 5.30am, the earliest ever in our tour!! After having some bread with peanut butter, we got ready and started our journey about 7am. Jeli town was misty and cold in the morning! It was really beautiful though, the air was so fresh because of the mountains nearby :o)

We knew today's ride was going to be toughest ever as there will be lots of uphill and not much downhill!! We started riding out to gradual slopes and passed by this beautiful river. The view was just amazing!

This river looked much better in real life :o)

Opposite view from the bridge

My, you sure look wide awake for this early in the morning, my boy :o)

We stopped by a small stall and had some food before moving on. Mak had to have his coffee in the morning to perk him up before cycling :o) The view was so beautiful that we asked someone to take a picture for us while we were having our breakfast :o)

Having our breakfast in the mist :o)

After our short stop, we continued on with our journey. Since we passed by so many food stalls while riding out of Jeli, I made the mistake of assuming there will be more to come! Of all days, we forgot to buy extra water for today's ride! Well, I must say that wasn't very smart of us but things did work for us in the end :o) We were both running out of water after awhile and were wondering when is the next water stop!!

We stopped by a small waterfall and took a short rest there. Mak took out his multipurpose towel and wet it in the clear stream. He gave it to me to wipe my face and it was so refreshing after the sweat and grime! We met a few guys there who were eating durians and they invited us to have some. We declined as we were already running out of water and besides, durian was "heaty". We asked them about any shops nearby and they described where it was. We weren't too clear but at least, we had an idea that there would be a shop somewhere along the road! We then said goodbye to them and headed on.

We then came across this attractive signboard that said the next R&R was about 3km away! The pictures on the signboard depicted modern looking toilets, people on jet skis on the lake, restaurants etc...We were so happy to see that signboard and it lifted our spirits up! Yay, it was only 3 km more for us to refill our water!!

When we reached the so called R&R, we were in for a surprise as we came to an abandoned lot!! What??? Whatever happened to the restaurants, people mingling around???? Mak was so mad that he stopped to see the so called high tech toilets. I asked him after what he saw and he muttered "It's all a waste of money!!!" and I got the picture :o)

Well, never one to be down for long, we moved on and after cycling for another 2km, we came across a small shop!! Yahoo!!! A shop, a shop at last!!! We quickly went in and asked whether we could buy water and the shopkeeper told us that they ran out of mineral water but we could fill our bottles from their water filter tank. So thankfully, we refilled our bottles and had a snack while resting. We checked our map and realised that we only cycled about 20km so far and had about 100 km plus to go and it was already coming to 12 noon!!! Boy, it was going to be a LOOOOONNNNGGG day!!

Out of this world!!

Man, the hills are tough going!! We had to take a breather every 20 minutes or so!

and more to come!!!!

Yup, another stop!!

Wow, we are in Perak again??

Warning! Wild elephants on the run!!!

Hmm.....they were here!! Elephant dung :o)

As we continued cycling uphill towards the Titiwangsa rest area, we kept stopping and having short breaks,munching snacks and powerbars to keep our energy up as we didn't know how far more we had before reaching the rest area.

The sky too began to change from bright and sunny to dark and gloomy and we knew that a storm was coming! We hoped that we would be able to make it to the rest area before the heavens opened its gates and poured down on us :o) After cycling for a short while, the sight of the rest area in front brought much relief to us and before we knew it, we were there before the rain came down! Phew!!

We were very happy to have reached the peak and knew that it will be downhill all the way until Banding island! (or so we thought!) Initially, we planned to stay in Banding island but due to lack of accommodation, we decided to stay in Gerik instead.

Look at how fast the weather changed from bright and sunny to....

....dark & gloomy next!!

the view from the Titiwangsa rest area

After having a well deserved rest and food, we started our journey again about 3pm after the rain stopped. It was COLD coming down the hill!! Thank goodness for our rain jackets :o) After cruising down the hill, we came to another slope! Eh....what happened to all the downhills?? Anyway, it wasn't that long and soon we were cycling downhill again. The road towards Banding island wasn't downhill all the way but it was more like rolling hills. We reached the picturesque Temengor lake and Banding island about 4.30pm. The sight was beautiful! We stopped to take some photos before heading onwards to Gerik.

My dear partner in crime told me that a lot of people came here for fishing and that he used to come here as well. Apparently, you could only fish on one side of the lake as the other side is prohibited! You should ask him one day to tell you his story about the "other side of the lake" episode hehehe....

Finally, we have reached Temengor lake!!!!

Floating chalets on Banding island

Have wheels will travel!!

While on Banding island, Mak kept telling me that Gerik was only about 25km to 30km and it should take us about an hour plus to reach. We asked a guy who was having a picnic by the roadside and he confirmed it too. So with renewed energy, we plodded on and I thought we would reach Gerik about 6pm the latest. From the map, we knew that there was going to be another 10km of uphill before the downhill but we didn't realise that it was going to be so steep and long!!!

When we hit the first hill, I had to stop and pushed my bike because they were doing roadworks and made it really impossible to cycle. Mak tried to cycle for a bit before he too, got down and pushed his bike! We pushed our bikes up and up and up the steep hill and I was really,really exhausted by then! I had to stop and have a rest.

Because of my sheer exhaustion, I took it out on my poor partner-in-crime! I told him that he pushed me too far this time and that I wished the elephants would come out and chase him!!! (Throughout the tour, this part of the route was the most worrying for him as he didn't wish to meet with any of the wild elephants while I actually wouldn't mind catching sight of one!! hehehe) Poor guy! He took it like a real gentleman and didn't even retaliate back! He told me he too was tired and that we both have been cycling long and hard as well.

I stewed for awhile but one good thing came out of this was that it gave me the extra strength to push on, no matter how tired I was! This was really the time to test my perseverance and I do thank my dear partner for pushing me on, even though at that time I was feeling less than appreciative of his efforts!!

The road was never ending and it was rolling hills all the way! We found out at the end of our journey that we actually cycled another 45km instead! It was getting dark and the roads began to be very quiet. Mak kept saying that he didn't recognise the roads or the signboards along the way (he has been been to Banding island and Gerik before for his fishing trips) I just kept quiet as I was really too exhausted to even care! All I wanted was some food and dry clothes!

It started to drizzle again when we got into the outskirts of Gerik town and Mak found a restaurant nearby before the real thunderstorm came in. We got to the restaurant just in time before it started to pour down heavily soon after!

I couldn't believe what a day it had been! We were on our bikes for about 8 hours plus and mostly uphills...the longest since our tour began. Even though I was hungry, I just couldn't eat because of sheer exhaustion! Mak tried to cheer me up but to no avail! I do marvel at his strength and perseverance and I thank him deeply for that!!

I told him that I would need at least 2 nights in Gerik to recover and he willingly agreed. After waiting for the rain to slow down to a drizzle, we cycled further into town to look for a hotel. We found a pretty decent one and began unpacking and bringing our bikes up.

That night, after a good shower, it dawned on me why I was so exhausted and I apologised to Mak for my outburst. He took in his stride and I told him that he was my shining star for being the awesome guy that he was :o) That must have made his day hehehe.....

Day 32 : Kota Bharu - Wakaf Bharu - Rantau Panjang - Jeli

2009-04-28T01:42:00.001-07:00

Date : April 3rd, 2009
Distance travelled : 125 km
Time taken : 6.40 hours

We woke up to a beautiful morning! No sign of any rain...yay! Guess Mak's wishes did come true :o) Once again, we got up early as we knew it was going to be a long day of riding because we wanted to visit two buddhas before heading down to Jeli.

We found out from Razani that there was another way to Jeli from the sleeping buddha and it was the countryside roads which was what we wanted :o) So from his directions, we headed first for the standing buddha (which turned out to be a sitting buddha instead!) It took us much longer than expected to find the first one. We went into a few temples which we thought was the one but there weren't any huge buddhas around until we asked someone and found out that the sitting buddha was just down the road.

So off we went searching for it and when we finally came to it, it was what I was expecting...a huge buddha sitting down :o) We took a few pictures there and went to look for the big one...the sleeping buddha....the largest in South East Asia!

Huge sitting buddha!

According to Razani, we should turn left at the traffic lights and the sleeping buddha should be around 2-3km away. So with confidence, we turned left at the traffic lights and cycled until the end of the road but still no signs of any sleeping buddha!!! Luckily, it was only 4km to the end of the road. Mak decided to ask some people at a food stall and I secretly laughed when they pointed the opposite direction from where we came from!!! hahaha....Boy, this sleeping buddha has been taking us on a wild goose chase!!! In the end, we realised that Razani did give us the wrong direction!! Oh well, it was all good :o)

Once again, we detoured and went back to where we came from and after the traffic lights, we headed straight on and finally found the entrance to the elusive sleeping buddha!! After taking some photos of the sleeping buddha, we stopped by a food stall within the premise and had something to eat. We had the nasi kerabu, thai style. Tasted a bit different!

Ahh, finally the entrance of the elusive sleeping buddha!

Mak finally got his wish to see this elusive sleeping buddha :o)

Wat Phothivan is where you can find the largest sleeping buddha in South East Asia!

Nasi Kerabu, thai style!

Satisfied now that we have finally gotten to see the famous and elusive sleeping buddha, we started our way to Rantau Panjang, which was about 24km away. The road to there was pretty scenic with paddy fields on our left. Rantau Panjang is on the border between Malaysia and Thailand. It took us about an hour plus to reach there and decided to stop for lunch. The town has a duty free zone as well but the scene wasn't really our cup of tea!

Great! the sign to Rantau Panjang!

One of the many beautiful roads during our tour....:o)

Great sceneries too!

Duty free zone in Rantau Panjang

If you go straight, you will be heading to Sg. Golok, Thailand!

It started to rain while we were about to finish our lunch so we had to wait for awhile for it to stop. Luckily, it was a passing cloud and we could continue with our journey. Halfway riding out of Rantau Panjang, the rain started again and this time, it got really heavy! We had to seek for shelter at a bus stop and decided to play cards while waiting!

Our dear friend wasn't too happy having to wait for the rain to stop!

Our bikes seeking shelter from the rain as well :o)

After waiting for about 40 minutes, the rain subsided a bit but we decided that we have to make a move if we wanted to reach Jeli before dark. It was still a long way to go! We cycled in the rain for about an hour plus before hitting the highway. The light rain continued on while we were on the highway. Once we hit the highway, the highlands were on our left side and the mountains were beautiful with the clouds hanging around them.

Breathtaking....view from the highway to Jeli

We were in pretty high spirits when we realised that our destination was nearing! We passed by a R&R on our right and we didn't think to stop and check it out because friends did tell us that there were a few accommodations in town...hmmm!

When we finally arrived Jeli town, we really didn't know what to expect of this town. Friends have warned us that this town has nothing at all and everything closes on a Friday! Well, we found out the hard way.....:o) It was true, nothing was opened and we couldn't find a place to stay because the one by the lake, the owner wasn't around and there wasn't any other place! Someone said that we should have stopped at the R&R 7 km back!! What???

Finally, a kind soul decided to help us to look for a place. He took us to another place and told us to wait for awhile while he went looking for the person in charged of the run down looking shacks.

After awhile, he came back and had some good news! He managed to locate the guy and he was on his way to meet us. We were already wet, tired, cold and hungry and we couldn't be too fussed about what we got as long as there was a place to stay for the night! Well, we can't say much about the accommodation we had! Just that we had to use our 1.5 litre water bottle to shower and that the bed kind of sunk in the centre!!

It was an early night for us in Jeli as there wasn't anything to do in this sleepy town and also, we had a long day. We walked out to a nearby stall for our dinner (lucky for us it was opened!) and bought some food and water for the next day before heading back to our little shack.....

So what have we learnt from this experience? We should have stopped at the R&R and checked it out first! Oh well, we learn something new everyday!! :o)

Oh by the way....did I tell you that we had a visitor throughout the night? A firefly decided to keep us company for the entire night!!! I told Mak he finally got to see his firefly hehehe.......

Finally, Jeli town is nearby!!

"Wow! Welcome to Jeli in peace!!"

I think this might be the Stong mountain.....:o)

Day 31 : Kota Bharu (yup, still here!!)

2009-04-28T01:01:00.001-07:00

Date : April 2nd, 2009
Distance travelled : 0 km
Time taken : 0 hours

We planned that since we were going to have a pretty long journey today to Jeli, we were going to start around 7am because we still wanted to visit the sleeping & sitting buddha along our way. Yes, we actually got ready by 7.30am! Wow, that was an achievement for us hehehe!

As we were about to get on our bikes, it started to rain!!!! We realised that every time we wanted to start early, it RAINED!! Aarrgghh! I think God must have wanted us to start late each time for our tour!! So we waited and waited and waited but the rain didn't stop!! I told Mak if by 10am, the rain kept continuing, we might as well stay another day here!! By then, I was already getting sleepy and lethargic :o) It was actually such a nice day to sleep in!! hehehe.....

So in the end, we decided that we will stay another night here! We checked in again, went for breakfast and slept!! We woke up around 4pm and were hungry! Mak said he saw a rojak stall nearby and we went looking for it then :o) The fruit rojak was yummy and we found out about one interesting fruit called "buah katak puru" (literally meaning toad fruit!) When eaten, it tasted sourish but nice, similar like young mangoes :o) Goes well with the spicy shrimp paste!

Everyone...this is called buah katak puru! (toad fruit, in direct translation!) Think you can understand why it was named that!

After that, we decided to cycle around the town and to look for bicycle shops just to while our time away. In one shop, we found that someone was really creative in recycling bicycle parts and making an item out of them.....have a look below...

how cool is this??? Amazing!

That night, Mak hoped and prayed that the next day would be a beautiful day for us to start riding to Jeli! Well, let's keep our fingers crossed!! :o)

Day 30 : Kota Bharu - Pantai Cahaya Bulan - Tumpat - Kota Bharu

2009-04-26T20:12:00.001-07:00

Date : April 1st, 2009
Distance travelled : 48 km
Time taken : 2.40 hour

It was a beautiful morning today! Another day of bright sunshine and clear blue skies!! A nice day for sightseeing :o)

Our first aim was to go and visit the "Beach of Passionate Love!" up north. Apparently, while Mak was doing his research on interesting places to visit, this place caught his attention! To tell you the truth, underneath his tough exterior, he really is a true romantic at heart!! :o)

According to the staff at the PCB resort, the beach was named that way because there used to be lots of lovers hanging around the beach at night :o) Well, I'm sure there are still lots now!!

When we reached to the famous beach, we were expecting a sandy beach but what we saw was a beach of rocks! Imagine holding your lover's hand and groping your way in the dark on the rocks!! Not very romantic eh?? hehehe. Anyway, it did have its charms :o)

the way to the "beach of passionate lurve"!

Wow, such a romantic name but it's now changed to Pantai Cahaya Bulan!

Mr. "Macho Man"?? :o)

He said that my hair looked like a horse hair...so much for being a romantic at heart!! hahaha

According to my "lurve guru", the sign above is the symbol of love!! Did you all know this??

Interesting painting on a boat that caught his "artistic" eye :o)

Passage of lurve???

Hmm...has he gotten over his phobia about cows?? I meant, fake cows with horns!! hehehe

As we were leaving this interestingly named beach, we decided to stop by a foodstall to have a refreshing coconut drink as it was already hot by then :o) Mmm....the coconut drink was lovely, especially eating the young sweet tasting flesh!! Mak then said that he wanted to see whether we could find a batik factory to see how batik was being printed. So we went in search for one along the way back and finally found a one under a kampung house on stilts!

It was really interesting to see how batik was being painted from the start. In the beginning, a silk cloth will be stretched over a wooden frame where the artist will start drawing from his memory, using candle wax. After which, it will be transferred to another frame where the women will start painting while creating more patterns on the cloth. It was amazing to see how effortlessly they did this.

After the whole cloth was painted, it was then left to dry shortly before soaking in a special solution to maintain its colouring. After which, it will be dried in the hot sun before being packed and ready for shipment.

They told us that the batiks were actually Indonesian batiks and not local ones. Interesting eh?

Batik in the making...

the design drawn by the artist first...

These women effortlessly painting on the cloth free hand!!

the finished product.....

Batiks being dried in the sun...

Ahh...such vibrant colours!!

After our little discovery, we went to look for the famous sleeping buddha which was said to be the largest in South East Asia, 44 metres long, 11 metres high and 9 metres wide! We already had directions from friends but somehow, we seemed to have lost our way finding it!

In the end, we asked a local guy and he gave us directions (which we later found out was wrong!!) We went to the direction that the guy gave us and after cycling for about half an hour with no signs of anything, I decided to call it quits as it was going to rain and getting dark. I asked Mak whether he wanted to continue searching for it but he said it was alright. We could find it tomorrow. So we turned and headed back to Kota Bharu. On our way back, we decided to stop for some tea and try out some local delicacies which was pretty tasty :o)

That night, I called Razani to ask him for the exact directions to the sleeping Buddha and that was when we found out that the local guy gave us the wrong information! So it actually worked out to our favour that we didn't continue on in the end :o) Sometimes, things just work themselves out mysteriously!! hehehe

Next....Jeli??

Day 29 : K.Besut - Cherang Ruku - Bachok - Perupok - Kota Bharu

2009-04-26T03:46:00.001-07:00

Date : March 31st, 2009
Distance travelled : 69 km
Time taken : 3.30 hours

Yay! Today we will be reaching our 4th corner of Malaysia!!

We woke up and cycled out for breakfast where we tried local dishes. The rice with fish was pretty delicious :o)

We went back to the resort (of course, it was nothing like the one we stayed in Merang!) and had a look around the beach. It was pretty nice as it was shady with lots of coconut trees around. Ideal for camping and hammocks! We sat by the bench under the shady trees, just taking time to enjoy the quiet moment :o)

Nice and shady :o)

Hey Mak, what's so interesting up there??

We finally left the resort about 11am and targeted Tok Bali as our next rest stop. It was a place for big fishing boats to dock and deliver their goods. Along the way, we did see a lot of tobacco plantation as well. According to my cycling encyclopedia, these tobacco leaves were mainly produced for the local market. We could see tobacco leaves being dried by the shade as well. Why? Because this would help keep the tobacco smell in the leaves....so said my "Makipidea" :o)

One of the many tobacco plantation along the way...

Tobacco leaves being dried in the shade...

Lovely scene on our way out to Tok Bali

So idyllic with a half sunk sampan!!

Tok Bali...a long way more to Kota Bharu!!

Told you he could pose!! hehehe

"So, how much money you want to borrow?" asked "Ah Long Mak" with his new shell necklace and his tucked-in stomach! :o)

We stopped by a pretty modern looking cafe in Tok Bali and had our lunch. Since the weather was really, really scorching, we decided to only start our journey about 3pm. While waiting, we played cards (Cho Tai Ti meaning the Big 2) and I won most of the time :o) Yes! there was something that I was better than my Makipidea!! hehehe...(If only you knew how smart our friend really is!!)

I have a friend in Kota Bharu who owned a bike shop. His name is Razani...the famous triathlete! He has won so many races that I lost count of the number of medals and trophies he had on his shop when we were there!! When we finally got into Kota Bharu, he gave us directions on how to get to his shop, which was on the way to the airport.

It was nice seeing him again and he gave us suggestions on where to stay and places to eat. Before saying goodbye to him, he gave us 4 Powerbars for our journey. Such a good timing as we were down to one more bar!! Thanks Razani!!

We cycled to the place where he suggested and managed to find a decent hotel to put up for the night. After settling down, I suggested to Mak that we should stay another night in Kota Bharu and go sightseeing the next day instead of rushing off to Jeli. Since we have already come all the way here, it would be great just to spend some time exploring this town and go sight seeing. He agreed wholeheartedly and that was that :o)

For dinner, we went to a restaurant selling homemade Yong Tow Foo and curry fish head nearby and celebrated our success in reaching our 4th corner!! It was such a good feeling, having fulfilled our goal of completing the 4 corners of Malaysia!! But now, we have to work our way back to Langkawi hehehe....

Tomorrow....time to play tourist!!

Day 28 : Kg.Merang - Penarik - Kg.Raja - K.Besut

2009-04-25T03:30:00.001-07:00

Date : March 30th, 2009
Distance travelled : 78 km
Time taken : 4 hours

Good morning and yes! we survived the night before without much hassle :o)

We had a really good buffet breakfast this morning! It had a wide variety of choices from local to western dishes. It was a nice change :o) Since we were already busting our budget on this resort, we decided to make full use of this place before leaving for Kuala Besut :o)

We took another dip again in the sea but it proved to be too rough for us! After a few attempts, I gave up trying to swim and headed for the pool while Mak was still trying to fight the waves! Just as I was about to step onto the the shore, I turned around to see where Mak was and guess what I saw? A sea snake writhing in the waves just a few metres away!! By then, Mak was already out of the water and he tried to warn me about the sea snake when I saw it! Boy, that was a close call! What was with all these interesting creatures that have been following us around!! First, a centipede and now, a sea snake?? Geez!!

Mak decided then that he wasn't going into the water again hehehe....we jumped into the pool instead and continued swimming there :o) At about 11am, we reluctantly got out of the water to start getting ready for our next destination. We were having such a good time there that we would have loved to stay another night there but.....guessed it was time to move on!

the sea view from our room the next morning....

After saying our goodbyes to this lovely place, we had lunch at a budget chalet nearby. We met Jerome last night at the food stall during our dinner and he invited us to come over to try his cooking as he was the chef for this budget resort called Kembara Resort.

We had curry squid rice for lunch and it was pretty good :o) Mak ended up buying two seashell necklaces that he fancied earlier from Jerome :o) We paid for our lunch and thanked Jerome for cooking for us and off we went!

Along the way to Kuala Besut, the scenery was lovely as we were cycling along the coast :o) The day was getting really hot and so we decided to take a rest and have some food at a stall nearby the beach. My partner in crime was feeling hungry as lunch wasn't enough for him! Boy, he did have a huge appetite for a small framed guy like him!!

Sea pineapples...apparently you can't eat them like normal pineapples as they will make you go to the toilet!!

Picture postcard #1....

picture postcard #2 & .....

picture postcard #3! (Ok, ok...actually, I ran out of ideas on what to write as their captions hehehe)

Of course, we had to have one photo for our beloved bikes :o)...

...and mine too!! (Noticed my white & blue armsocks? There were Mak's...my black ones got lost somewhere along the way to Kerteh!)

Wow! a pretty cool shadow picture of me...

and his too :o)

We reached Kuala Besut in the evening and went looking for a cheap hotel. We didn't want to go into town, so we went exploring around the beach side area and finally came to a resort that actually ran goverment teambuilding programs. They did have rooms and so we managed to get one that was pretty alright. The only thing is that there wasn't much stalls around that area so we had to just have our dinner at a nearby stall before retiring for the night :o)

Tomorrow....our 4th corner, Kota Bharu!!

Day 27 : K.Terengganu - Batu Rakit - Kg.Merang

2009-04-25T01:17:00.001-07:00

Date : March 29th, 2009
Distance travelled : 40 km!
Time taken : 2.30 hours!

Today, we started really late as we decided that we would do a short ride to Merang, which was famous for its beaches :o) After having our lunch near the waterfront, we started riding in the hot sun! That was the price to pay when cycling right smack in the noon time!

We crossed the Sg. Terengganu bridge and took some photos of the famous Crystal Mosque and Convention Centre. It did look spectacular from afar :o) By the way, I just found out that my friend was the one that was in charged of constructing this project a few years back! Apparently, it will look even more spectacular at night. Sigh...we will miss that!

At the Sg. Terengganu bridge...

long bridge eh??

the famous Crytal Mosque and convention centre!

"Make sure you have the mosque behind me!"

After riding for about an hour, we came across this huge field which was called "Terengganu International Endurance Park". Pretty impressive! From the signboards that we have been passing, they had a pretty big horse race sometime November last year. It must have been a huge success :o) We had to stop to take some interesting photos of this place!

Just in case a "Trojan Horse" might come by ??

"You must be strong for your masters, my young iron steeds!" so said the Wise One

As we were entering Merang, we saw this tempting sign that said "Sutra Beach Resort" and decided have a look :o) We fell in love with this place the moment we laid our eyes on it!! It was a beautiful resort, overlooking the sea.

Mak and I were trying to make a guess at how much it would be and I said probably about RM200 onwards. He said we should just ask and see and what do you know? They were having their low season prices at only RM138 nett plus breakfast until end of March, after which it would be RM250 onwards!

We decided, heck...why not? After all, who knew when we were going to pass this way again :o) Initially, they told us that they only had garden view rooms but luck was with us when later, they found out they had one more sea front room. Yippee!! God must be smiling on us today :o) Mak said "This is what I call a real hotel!" My dear boy, don't I know it too?? :o)

We didn't waste much time checking into our lovely room, changed and dashed for the sea! It was such a pleasure just swimming and playing with the surfs!! It was a good change from cycling!!

For dinner, we biked out to the nearest stall and had a simple meal and headed back to our resort. We wanted to spend more time there. When we got back, we had a little "surprise" on the bed....as we turned over the bedcovers, there was a huge centipede crawling underneath!! Yikes!! We quickly dropped the covers and called the housekeeping people to deal with it. They came and stripped the bed down but yet, we couldn't find the elusive centipede!!

According to them, the wood flooring attracted the centipedes...hmm. Of all the hotels that we have stayed in, this was the best of them all but we had no strange creatures visiting our rooms except for this one! Strange but true :o)

We decided not to make too much fuss about it and thanked the housekeeping for their help. We just hoped that our little friend wouldn't come crawling onto the bed during the night......

the road to paradise!!

ahh...what utter bliss!!

the pool view from our sea front room :o)

our iron steeds at rest :o)

Sir, how would you like your coffee??

Day 26 :Kerteh - Paka - Dungun - Rantau Abang - Cendering - K.Terengganu

2009-04-23T01:27:00.001-07:00

Date : March 28th, 2009
Distance travelled : 114 km
Time taken : 6 hours

Morning! It was another day of a long and hot ride for us :o)

We started out about 9am (late as usual!) but thank goodness the road was flat!! So flat that it was pretty nice to ride for the first few hours :o)

When we reached Paka, we were really amazed at the huge infrastructure of the Petronas oil refinery! We were totally blown away at how BIG this place was!!Whew! Amazing what oil can do to a place!!

As we were riding further up north, we noticed there were signboards warning travellers not to take any photograph along the way so we stopped taking! A pity though as there were a lot of nice ones we could have captured :o)

Petronas' "pot of gold!"

Balls of fire!!

Pipelines everywhere!!

Told you the road was flat :o)

We passed by this school with beautiful sceneries! Lucky students!!

Man! Another 75km more to go????

After Paka, we headed towards Rantau Abang and the scenery along the route changed. We got to see the sea again on our right side :o) We did manage to capture some nice shots along the way. We just couldn't resist it!! Too lovely to pass up :o)

Ah....makes you want to stop and put up a hammock and sleep, eh??

Poor bike....he looked so lonely...

...but hey! guess who just came along! :o)

Proof once again that I did cycle!!....:o)

We passed by Marang which was about 17km away from Kuala Terengganu and in my humble opinion, although they do have a beautiful sea view, it was marred by small resort owners who were building small chalets along the beach haphazardly. Hopefully, something could be done about this if tourists were to stop by this little town.

We finally reached Kuala Terengganu close to 6.30pm but a heavy thunderstorm was coming in! We had to seek shelter at a bus stop and waited for the heavy rain to pass. It lasted about almost an hour and by then, we were hungry, cold and eager to get to a hotel!

We managed to find one hotel near the town area and quickly showered after lugging our bikes to the room. It was also Earth Hour today....so we did our part by switching off our lights and air condition before leaving the room :o) As we walked towards the restaurant nearby, I was happy to see that KFC and Pizza Hut switched off their signboard lights for Earth Hour! Told Mak about it but he didn't believe me until we came back after 9.30pm and saw that the signboard lights were on again :o)

Next...a pleasant surprise awaits us!!

Beautiful looking mosque :o)

Fancy a giant squid, anyone?

River mouth of Sg. Marang

Guess the long ride is getting to you too eh?? :o)

Day 25 : Kuantan - Cherating - Kemaman - Kijal - Kerteh

2009-04-21T04:46:00.001-07:00

Date : March 27th, 2009
Distance travelled : 100 km
Time taken : 5.20 hours

Well, this morning it rained! We thought of starting earlier but because of the rain, we had to delay our ride. It was all good anyway. Kok took us for a yummy breakfast before we headed out. Thanks Kok for being such a great host to us two!!

Kok & Mak outside Kok's apartment

Ok....one for the road :o)

The day began to grow hot after the morning rain and we had about 100km to go! Another long day of riding :o)

We started heading for Cherating. It has been a very long time since I went to Cherating and it has changed! They have actually given it a facelift it so much so that I don't recognise it anymore!

Which is it....Cherating or Cerating??

Had to have one picture by the beach eh??

Cherating beach....

After Cherating, we stopped by a turtle sanctuary, much to Mak's delight :o) We had a nice time watching the differenct species of turtles swimming in the pool and the baby turtles being kept in another pool. Apparently, there was a Chinese family who's sponsoring 30 baby turtles at RM30 each. Wow! guess more could be done to educate the public about turtle conservation :o)

The pattern on this turtle's back is beautiful!

Feeding time!

Cute lil' ones swimming around....

This sign was outside the turtle sanctuary

We stopped for a late lunch after the turtle sanctuary and we weren't sure where we could stop for the night. We passed by Kijal and thought to check out Awana Kijal but boy, the prices were too steep for us so we had to move on to the next destination. My plan was to try to camp by the beach side in Kemasek but once we reached there, there wasn't a nice place for us to camp and so we headed on and tried our luck in Kerteh.

Cool! We are in Terengganu state now :o)

Awana Kijal

It was late when we reached Kerteh and decided to have dinner first before continuing. We found out from the shop owner that there were two places to stay in Kerteh. Yay! The first hotel wasn't too great so we tried the other one, Kerteh Lodge which proved to be much better! We were lucky as they only had one room left!!

That night, we chilled out at the one and only McD's there and it was pretty fun before heading to bed :o)

Day 24 : Kuantan - rest day!

2009-04-20T20:23:00.001-07:00

Date : March 26th, 2009
Distance travelled : 0 km
Time taken : 0 hours

Today, we planned to send our bikes for service and to exchange our front tires with the back ones in a bike shop and just look around town.

My friend, Kok and his business partner, Sylvia took us for a curry laksa brunch and it was good! After which, he brought us over to his office to show us what he was doing. He was dealing with frozen meats from Australia and New Zealand. His cold storage compartment was huge! I'm glad to see that he's doing well :o)

Kok and me in front of his office....he's got a nice car too...the Hilux :o)

After the short tour, he dropped us back at his house and we took our bikes out and went looking for a bike shop. We went to a few but the one that we wanted was JBS Bike. This bike shop was huge....it spanned over 3 shoplots! There must be a lot of bikers around in Kuantan :o)

Since the owner, Lim wasn't there yet, we left our bikes and went exploring for a bit. At about 4pm, Kok called us and said that they were going to take us for tea! Yay! Food again!!

Wow, the place we went to for tea was amazing! You should see the vast variety of food being displayed and it was only tea time! According to Kok, tea time in Kuantan was very popular and heavy! Looking at the spread and the amount of people eating, we could see that was true! And dinner time was late....like 9pm onwards!

We truly enjoyed trying out different types of food. We said that without a local bringing us, we would never have had the opportunity to try! Thanks Kok and Sylvia!

Look at the different types of food for tea!
On the left is sata which tasted a bit like otak-otak

Deep fried fish and the curry fish for the nasi dagang below...

Nasi dagang

Different type of laksa...it's called laksam which was much creamier

Delicious fried battered prawns!

After the heavy tea, Kok sent us back to the bike shop to collect our bikes. We finally got to meet up with the owner, Lim and since he could only speak mandarin, it was Mak who was chatting with him while he changed our tires and tuned our bikes. When we wanted to pay, he wouldn't accept, saying that since we have travelled so far, it was the least he could do! (or at least that was what I understood in my limited mandarin!!) That was really nice of him :o)

In front of his shop, Lim and me...

nice looking bikes lined up inside one of his shops..

a "Korean recruit" in front of the state mosque :o)

For dinner that night, Kok brought us to Teluk Cempedak, the famous beach front in Kuantan for some western food. We ate at his customer's place who served his meats and yup, it was yummy!!

At Teluk Cempedak, we were impressed at how well maintained this place was. I can say it was probably one of the best maintained public beaches around!! Clean and nice! A lovely place to just chill and enjoy the night sea breeze :o)

Tomorrow.....Kemasik or Kerteh??

Day 23 : K.Rompin - Nenasi - Pekan - Kuantan

2009-04-20T09:38:00.001-07:00

Date : March 25th, 2009
Distance travelled : 134 km
Time taken : 6.50 hours

Today was another day of a long long ride! We agreed last night to start early for this journey but as usual, that never happened :o)

I woke up at 6am and went outside our room to have a look around. Wow, it was so peaceful and cooling because we were actually by the Rompin river. I went back to the room to get the camera to capture some sunrise photos. Our friend was still in dreamland! So much for starting early eh??

Kuala Rompin at dawn....beautiful!

The sun just peeping out...

Fishing boats docked by the jetty

Mak and his new buddy!

So this is what it looks like in the daytime!

When Mak finally woke up around 7am, he did the same thing....got out, came back to the room and took the camera and went to take some more shots while I was busy getting ready. He was still in his pjs by the time I got dressed, happily chatting away with some guys down by the jetty!

Did I tell you that he loves deep sea fishing? Boy, the amount of knowledge he had on fishes and other marine life was amazing!! This place was like a second home to him! He kept telling me afterwards that he will definitely come back with his fishing buddies! See my dear boy, there was a reason why we stumbled upon this treasure, eh?? :o)

The people there were very friendly and one of the caretaker offered to buy us breakfast with his motorcycle since it was a hassle going out and coming back again. That worked out fine with us :o)

By the time we got ready to go, there were a few cars coming and people came out with their fishing gears for a day of fun in the sea while we have a long way to go on the road!!

Oh did I mention that today's route was all flat? Despite my grumblings about rolling hills, I think I would prefer them to flats :o) The rolling hills provided more variety and I could play momentum while on the flats, I couldn't!

"On the road again".....there was a song about this, right?

Yes boss, I hear you...I'll try to balance my bike while taking this picture!!

Hmm, I didn't know Pekan was a royalty town....

Some lovely views along the way..

Mak and his multipurpose towel! You'd be amazed at what the towel can do :o)

Can you see the swallow houses ahead? There were so many of these throughout our tour! Bird's nest business must be booming!!

Nice drawing :o)

Along the way, we passed by this huge prawn farm on our right. It was HUGE! Once again, my cycling encyclopedia filled me in on how to rear prawns and all the do's and don'ts. Did you know that if a pair of crabs came into the pond, they would multiply within a week and feed on the prawns? By two weeks, it would no longer be a prawn pond but a crab pond!! Apparently, crabs are known as the silent killers!! Woo0....

I told Mak that that could be good for business too...they now can sell big fat crabs instead of prawns! He told me that it will take about 3kg of crab in order to have the same price for 1kg of prawns and besides, crabs have claws and they can escape from the pond!! Well, I learnt something new today :o)

This was the huge prawn farm we passed along the way to Kuantan

The day was really getting hot and it really tested our endurance! The road seemed never ending and we were getting hungry but there wasn't any stalls along the road! We had to do a pit stop along the seaside area to take a breather! Whew! I couldn't believe it was so hot!

As we were about to leave, we saw two tourers on the other side of the road. We flagged them down, just to have a chat with them. It was a German couple, fully loaded with front and back panniers. The first words they uttered to Mak were "Ni hao!" Hehehe...they must have thought we were from China!

We found out that they have been touring for the past 9 months and had another 4 more months to go! They travelled from Hong Kong right down to Malaysia! Amazing eh? And us? Oh we just did about 24 days of touring and around Malaysia! Oh well, we all have to start somewhere right?? :o)

After saying our goodbyes, we went on our separate ways and continued our journey up north. We finally found a small stall and decided to stop for a late lunch and much needed rest! We couldn't believe how hot it was! I think this was the hottest ever!!

Mak and the German couple who have been touring for the past 9 months already and have 4 more months to go!

After lunch, we trudged on knowing that we still had a lot of kms to cover. We were only halfway through! We passed by Pekan, which was also a royalty town. It was an interesting little town because all the shops were facing the Pahang river and that was it!

The wide Pahang river

The new highway that was being constructed towards Kuantan from Pekan was pretty nice to ride on but there were some parts where lorries would come flying past us, without a care in the world! Crazy!! Reminded me when we were heading to KL....

By the time we reached Kuantan, it was already at night about 8pm. We were putting up with my friend, Kok and he was really amazed at what we were doing! It was great catching up with him as I haven't seen him for ages!

That night, Kok took us to have some lovely Chinese food and he promised to take us to more places the next day as we decided to stay another day in Kuantan. Mmmm....time to enjoy good food and rest!!

Coming into Kuantan town at last!

Day 22 :Mersing - Air Papan - Padang Endau - K.Rompin

2009-04-20T04:02:00.001-07:00

Date : March 24th, 2009
Distance travelled : 79 km
Time taken : 4.50 hours

After yesterday's tough ride, we decided to take it easy and not head out too far to our next destination. We checked our map and decided that Kuala Rompin seemed like a nice place to stop :o)

Yes, we really were here!!

Boats parked along the river

Part of Mersing town...

In the morning, we walked around the town, just taking a look at how Mersing has boomed. It was the transfer point for those who wanted to go to Tioman island. Next time, we'll go to Tioman.....:o)

Mak decided to have a hair cut as he felt his hair was growing like wild grasses! Don't know why he was complaining as his hair was already short!! Anyway, after cutting, he looked more like a recruit from Korea....hahaha! Well, my fringe was getting long too so I asked the barber whether he could just trim my fringe a bit. Guess it must be his first time cutting for a girl but it turned out ok :o) Mak was so tickled by the fact that this was my first time sitting in a barber's chair....oh well, there's always a first for everything!! He said I looked "cute" with my new hair cut! hummpph!!

We left Mersing after having our lunch. The road leading to Air Papan was pretty scenic but had a bit of rolling hills. There were a few of Mak's "friends" hanging around by the roadside :o) There was one huge one just sitting by the roadside, chilling! Cool man!!

On our way out....with the Mersing sign behind on the hill

Nice scenic road with wide road shoulders :o)

and more of this to come...

Heading towards Padang Endau

Yes Mak, I can see that you are very happy with your new haircut! So cooling, right??

River mouth of the Endau river

We reached Kuala Rompin around 6pm and decided to check out places to stay. We cycled to the beach area but found out that there wasn't any places to stay there. We took a rest and had some "keropok lekor" and ice kacang to quench our thirst! We figured it should be easy to find a room on this weekday night but boy, were we in for a surprise!

The prawn must be representing this town....

this must be a place for fishing marlins

Our bikes taking a breather by the beach :o)

After cycling out to the town, we found out that all the hotels were fully booked! What? On a Tuesday night?? We ended up going out of Rompin town for one last try at another hotel. Alas, they too were full! We were contemplating camping out at the last hotel when the reception lady told us that there was one more resort...it was called Rompin River Chalet and it was about 15 minutes away from their hotel. Since there were also 3 other guys looking for a room, we told them about it and asked them to try it since they had a car. We asked them to please call us should there be any more rooms available as we didn't want to cycle in the dark if they were full too!

Finally, they called us and said yes, there were rooms available! Yahoo! We didn't have to camp after all :o) We set out in the dark onto the main road and managed to find the sign that said "Rompin River Chalet" and turned into a dark and lonely road! It was a really interesting experience as we cycled further in. All was in total darkness except for our bike lights! I looked up to the sky and saw beautiful stars twinkling down! I told Mak to have a look but he obviously didn't bother hehehe....Suddenly, our friend started letting out some expletives and I asked him why, what did he see? There were a group of cows in front of us and he was afraid of them!!Poor guy!! ! I told him that they were only harmless cows and when I rang my bell, they all moved to the side of the road :o) He said they were big and scary!! It' s ok, we all have our little phobias and cows were one of his :o)

We cycled further until we came to the end of the tarred road and had to veer off to the right to where the lights were further down. We really didn't know what to expect when we reached there. But lo and behold, we landed right smack into a open air Chinese seafood restaurant!! How crazy was that??

We also found out that the restaurant owner did have a room for us!! Cheap and nice!! Yay!! Man, it was pretty amazing how we stumbled upon this little treasure! That night, we had the best prawn and fish dish ever!! Sorry, we forgot to take pictures of them as we were too busy enjoying the food!!

Highly recommended to those interested in deep sea fishing and good seafood!!

Day 21 : Desaru - Mawai - Sedili - Lukut - Jemaluang - Mersing

2009-04-20T00:39:00.002-07:00

Date : March 23rd, 2009
Distance travelled : 132 km
Time taken : 6.40 hours

Alrighty! We have had our rest and we should be full of energy for our long ride today!! Today was the mother of all rolling hills! A total of 132km of it!! Looking back, I really wondered how we actually did it!! I guess it was all about persevering and being strong mentally :o)

Before we left, we asked for directions for the shortest route to Mersing but it turned out that it didn't make much of a difference whichever way we chose! It was still going to be rolling hills and of similar distances :o)

Our bikes, looking all new and clean, raring to go!!

The day started bright and sunny! It was actually quite lovely cycling past Bandar Penawar and slowly getting used to riding the rolling hills ahead. I must say that the scenery along the way was beautiful and because of that, it made my riding much more exhilarating! There was a point where I was cycling alone and I just had the wind on my face and there was vast green land and clear blue skies everywhere...the feeling was amazing! A total sense of freedom!!

This was only the beginning.....

and it continued on and on....

but it was beautiful...just green and blue everywhere!!

I took this picture! Loved the clouds :o)

Well, I can't say much for my partner in crime though! He was actually quite far behind me, taking pictures and when he caught up with me, he wasn't a very happy camper! He said that the sun was blazing down on his neck and back and it was really hot for him! We took a short break under the trees and had some of my raisins for an energy boost!

It was also a day where we found out that our map wasn't that accurate! You may ask why not use a gps? Well, I think it was more fun using a map and learning how to mind map and just exploring the possibilities :o) Did you also know that not many of us know how to read maps??

We stopped by a place near Mawai for lunch and it was really hot by then! We always seemed to draw attention from people wherever we went! Actually, the fault lies with our bikes...they were the attention seekers!!

But once we start asking questions and directions, people are always willing to help :o) We had an interesting conversation with this group of people who said that they rarely travelled and probably the furthest they went was Johor Bahru!! Well, I think we Malaysians should really take the time to explore our very own beautiful country! So many things to see and try!!

We also had a useful tip from a lorry driver who told us that if we needed any help along the way to Mersing, all we had to do was to flag down an empty lorry and they will definitely give us a lift! Hmm....something to note, just in case hehehe...

After resting for awhile, we bade our newfound friends goodbye and left around 3pm. It was still scorching hot and we still had about 80km more to go!! Luckily for us, the weather started to change and became a bit more cloudy soon. By then we have hit the main road with wide road shoulders and that made our riding much safer :o)

Throughout the ride, we kept getting beeps of encouragement from motorcyclists to lorry drivers and that felt good :o) It made us more resolute to reach our destination, by hook or by crook!! While riding, we came across a few strange looking fort like rocks. I was about to ask Mak to take some photos of them as they were pretty interesting. when he already did! I wonder what was the story behind them...hmm.

Strange looking fort by the road

and there's the other one....

Anyway, it started to drizzle and we had to stop and put on our rain jackets before continuing on. There was lightning ahead and we thought we were going to be caught in a heavy downpour but lucky for us, it blew away from us eventually and the weather stayed cool and nice throughout the ride :o)

More winding roads ahead, baby!!

Somewhere during the ride, we came across a dragon fruit stall and Mak yelled out and asked me whether I would like to have some. I said yes, that would be great! Sweating and breathless from the ride, we pulled up to the stall and had the most delicious and juicy reddish pink dragon fruit! This was the first time I have eaten a reddish pink one. Normally, the flesh was white. Apparently after eating them, it looked like I was wearing lipstick and Mak said I looked nice!! Gee, such a charmer, aren't you?? hehehe....

This was where we came from....

.... and that's where we are heading for!
(and in between these two pictures was where we stopped for dragon fruit!)

Sibu island, anyone??

Yes, there's the sign but how far more????

After riding for about 60km, we reached Jemaluang around 5.40pm. We had another 21km more to go but we decided to stop and have some food. Hmm....this town was a bit weird in a sense that it had some strange characters! We finished our noodles quickly and left as we didn't feel like lingering on any further!!

Even the sign looked eerie!!

The last stage of our ride to Mersing still had some rolling hills but it was getting dark already. The roads were pretty deserted and only towards the last 10km were there any signs of shops. It was with a sigh of relief when we finally reached Mersing town around 7.45pm. Now, to look for a decent hotel and some food!

Phew, what a day it had been!! Yet another adventure under our belts :o)

Our well earned dinner in Mersing!!!

Day 20 : Desaru - Bandar Penawar - Desaru

2009-04-19T11:14:00.001-07:00

Date : March 22nd, 2009
Distance travelled : 10 km
Time taken : 30 minutes

Yup, you guessed right :o) We decided to stay one more night here after the long ride yesterday! Sometimes, it was just nice to chill and relax when we are at a nice place :o) Besides, it gave us the opportunity to do laundry and dry our shoes!!

After the buffet breakfast at the resort, we took our bikes down and cycled to Bandar Penawar nearby. Mak's shoes were coming off again and we were in search for a cobbler there. After cycling around the small town for awhile, we found out that they didn't have any cobblers! So what was the next best thing to do? Just get some strong glue and sandpaper and be your own cobbler for the day!!

the road to Bandar Penawar

Heading towards Desaru...

Looks so green and cooling :o)

We went looking for a bike shop as well as Mak wanted to patch his front tire where the tiny pieces of glass were. We found the one and only bike shop and it was opened. It was a Sunday, you see, and lots of shops were closed.

After patching his tire with some sticky tape, he told me to pump up my tires as well. We over pumped my back tire and before I know it, piiissss.....the sound of the inner tube leaking! Darn! Oh well, it was a good thing that we were in a bike shop when it happened!

Once our bikes were settled, we packed our lunch and went around taking some photos before heading back to our resort. Back in the resort, Mak was kind enough to clean both our bikes as well as oil our chains :o)

The big shell at Bandar Penawar

After waiting for him to finish, we went to the beach and had our lunch there. Later, he brought his shoes over and began to repair them while I wrote down about our tour. It was really peaceful...both of us doing our own things but yet in harmony :o) In the end, he told me he knew how to repair shoes effectively and I told him he can open a cobbler stall when he got back to Sungai Petani!!

Mak, so intent on fixing his shoe!!

The resort that we stayed in :o)

That evening, we went for a swim by the sea (it's a must, having come so far!!) and he collected some shells for his home. I was glad that we took a break from riding and just had a great time relaxing :o)

Tomorrow...the tough ride to Mersing!!

Day 19 :Kota Tinggi - Air Tawar -Kg.Sungai Rengit - Desaru

2009-04-19T04:45:00.001-07:00

Date : March 21st, 2009
Distance travelled : 122 km
Time taken : 6.30 hours

Today was another long day for us :o) We had about 122 km to go because we intended to reach our 3rd corner in Sg. Rengit today and then head to Desaru! My partner in crime has never been there , so he was pretty excited to see what Desaru was like :o) Told you he loves beaches!!

The clock tower in the morning
(Ok, today was Mak's day...all the photos will be on him :o))

Well, if we thought that yesterday's rolling hills were bad, we were in for a surprise today! All I could say was that I had a lot of opportunity practising my momentum!! As we cycled towards Sg. Rengit, we saw a lot of tourist buses passing us by and we wondered why? What was in Sg. Rengit that brought so many tourists there? People tell me that it was famous for its seafood but it couldn't be that good, right?

Aww....Desaru is so near yet so far!! (because we had to go to Sg. Rengit first!)

Well, when we finally reached Sg, Rengit, we were feeling happy because we have reached our 3rd corner! It was coming close to 3pm and we haven't had our lunch yet. I was actually looking forward to having some seafood but guess the restaurant we went didn't do seafood during lunch time....oh well!

While we were resting, we met these two nice gentlemen from KL. They were having their lunch when we came into the restaurant. They asked us where did we come from etc..and we told them. One of them, Mr. Virinder asked whether we had any sponsors and I told him we had some small sponsors but we were mainly on our own :o) We chatted for awhile and then they left us alone to have our lunch.

Yay, our 3rd corner coming up!! (Oops...there's me :o))

Later on, we asked Mr. Virinder whether he knew why so many tourist buses came here and he said it was probably because of the seafood and lobster! Hmm....guess he must be right because right opposite the restaurant, there was this giant lobster with the sign saying "Sg. Rengit" below :o)

Careful Mak, the big lobster might jump down and eat you!!!

After they have settled their bill and were about to leave, the restaurant lady came over and told us that the nice gentleman had already paid for our lunch too! We were really surprised and thanked him for his kind gesture! He told us that it was just a small sponsor and that he would consider giving us a bigger sponsor next time! He gave me his card and found out that he was a marketing director for a travel company in KL. Thank you so much, Mr. Virinder Singh of Sudee CPL Travel Services! It was really wonderful to meet so many nice people along the way!!

After our lunch, we were about to start riding to Desaru when the heavy downpour started! Oh well, guess we have to stay on for awhile longer! Mak then made this unforgettable remark "I think our panniers are only waterproofed on the front part and not on the side!!"

That comment took me by surprise! " What did you mean by waterproof on the front part and not on the side?" I asked and he told me it was because the front part looked shining and waterproof where else the side didn't!! Hahaha....I couldn't believe my ears when he said that!! I'm sorry I'm being mean but really?? I told him to check his panniers after the rain and to tell me whether his things were still dry after that :o)

Obviously from his sheepish smile, the answer was yes, his things were still dry!!! Hahaha....that sure made my day because this was coming from someone who was really bright and intelligent :o) He could really be cute sometimes!!

Don't our bikes look cool??

Told you it was Mak's day for photos :o)

A pretty Chinese temple along the way to Desaru from Sg. Rengit

After the rain subsided, we set off for Desaru which was about 20 km away. The road became really flat and nice to ride but there was a storm coming up soon and we had to ride against the wind! After awhile, it started to rain again but we continued riding as there wasn't any shelter for us. Poor Mak!! The road we were on started to have gradual hills and it was pretty deserted! There wasn't many cars passing by! After awhile, I asked Mak how far have we done and he said more than 20km already but still no sign of Desaru!!

It was also getting dark quickly and I got a bit worried. Ok, for once, I was!! I remembered going this way before but it didn't seemed that long!! We decided to stop and wait for a motorcyclist to ask for directions. Luckily for us, there was one passing by shortly and he did stop when we flagged him down :o) When we asked how far more was Desaru, his reply was " Oh...just another 2km to the roundabout!" Hooray!! That got our confidence up and soon, we were cycling into Desaru but only to find out that there were no cheap hotels around!! We finally had to settle for the cheapest hotel which was the Damai resort. By then, we were cold, wet, tired and hungry!!! All we wanted to do was to get out of our wet clothes and have a hot shower and some warm food then we will be ourselves again!!

to be continued.......

Day 18 : Singapore - Johor Bahru - Kota Tinggi

2009-04-19T02:26:00.001-07:00

Date : March 20th, 2009
Distance travelled : 74 km
Time taken : 4.15 hours

Wow...it's Day 18 of our tour already! We have actually completed the first half of West Malaysia and did about 1196 km!! Yay...now we only have another 1500km more to go!!

We said our goodbyes to Jenny and left around 10.30am. We were heading out to Johor this morning and didn't have a clue of how to get there! After asking the kind security guard, we had some directions :o) We were heading towards Woodlands....

The nice pool and jacuzzi behind Mak

Pleasant riding in Singapore :o)

After cycling for about an hour, we passed by Bukit Timah road and there was a bike shop! We couldn't resist and so we stopped to have a look at this nice bike shop :o) They were dealing with Specialized bikes. It was amazing to see how different bike shops were in Singapore and in Malaysia. Anyway, after munching some snacks, we were on our bikes again towards Woodlands.

Mak couldn't resist stopping at this bike shop!

Lunch time traffic....

At one point, we weren't too sure of the directions, we stopped by a petrol station for reconfirmation and we met one of the friendliest Singaporean ever! Mr. Victor Chee who is the owner of two petrol stations side by side.

He offered us some sandwiches and cold drinks for our trip, without even knowing us! What a guy! I remembered he asked us how did we survive?? Didn't we have to work?? We told him that a lot of people often don't take time to stop and smell the roses and he agreed wholeheartedly. He said that everybody is just so concerned about making money that they forget what is life all about! He said that he wants to do a bike tour across Europe some day soon! Well, I do hope he will fulfill that dream one day :o) He sure made a lasting impression on me!! Thanks Victor for your warm friendliness and generosity!!

Everyone, meet Victor....the most friendliest guy in Singapore!!

In front of his petrol station...

It was an interesting experience riding across the Causeway! Pretty unique....we could see the obvious difference between Singapore and Johor after the crossing the border! After going through the immigration, we asked for directions on how to get to Kota Tinggi. Think we had about 40km to go from Johor Bahru.

Bye-bye Singapore!

Oh yeah, had to have one picture while on the Causeway!!

.... and so did he! :o)

What we didn't know was it was going to be rolling hills all the way! Never mind, it was good practise for our future rides ahead hehehe....

Mak's bike and the half buried keris...

Woohoo!! only 5km more to go!!!

Kota Tinggi, at last!!

When we finally reached Kota Tinggi, we were pretty exhausted and in much need of a shower and good food! That night, we walked around the town and took some pictures of the clock tower :o)

hmm....can you tell me what is the time, Mr. Wolf?? :o)

Two little buddhas chilling out at our hotel??
(Trust Mak to find unique pictures like this!! :o))

Day 17 : P.Karimun Besar - Singapore (Potong Pasir)

2009-04-19T00:12:00.001-07:00

Date : March 19th, 2009
Distance travelled : 21 km
Time taken : 1 hour

Last evening, when we got into Tg. Balai, we didn't have to go very far to look for a good but cheap hotel :o) It was very near the jetty! Think it was called Karimun Hotel.

Well, I'm not too sure whether you would want to drop by this island in the first place unless you are here looking for "ahem" girls! That was what the friendly immigration officer told us when we first arrived! Since he was so friendly, we asked him about the ferry schedule to Singapore and he told us it was every hour. Ok, now that we know, we could plan our time around or so we thought!

Well, one thing's for sure, the people here are very friendly and helpful :o) We had our dinner just next to the hotel and it was alright. We were amazed how cheap beer was!! No wonder men liked coming here :o)

So for this morning, we decided to go take a look around the town before leaving for Singapore in the afternoon. Initially, we thought of cycling around the island which was as big as Langkawi but we canned it. Just a short tour around town will do :o)

The little town was busy, full of vehicles and motorcycles zooming around! We explored a bit and found a bike shop. One of our favourite past time is to go looking around for bike shops in different towns and just chatting with the owner and this was no exception :o) While looking around this small shop, Mak found a bike that was pretty interesting and he was thinking of buying it at a later stage! Well, I'm not sure whether he'll follow that up though but I must admit it was a pretty interesing bike!

a glimpse of Tg. Balai.....

Bustling little town...

the public bus...

Mak checking out the interesting bike...

Cute little roundabout!

Well, after awhile, I got tired of cycling around with the crazy traffic and told Mak that I would like to go back to the hotel. He agreed and we went back to pack and get ready. I asked Mak to confirm what time was the next ferry to Singapore at the reception and he came rushing saying that there were only two ferry left for Singapore! One was at 11am and the other at 5pm! Since we reached the hotel at 10.30am, we had to rush to catch the 11am ferry! Whatever happened to the hourly service?? That one was for going to Kukup only!!

Boy, you should have seen how our dear friend packed! I have never seen him packed so fast in his life hahaha! Normally, I would have to wait for him to slowly organise his stuff etc...He told me smugly that he could be as fast or as slow as he wants! It all depended on the situation :o) Aaahhh....men!

Well , so much for being amused at him....while on board the ferry, I realised I left my favourite pareo on the bed!! Aargghh!! Guess that was the punishment for me for making fun at him!!

The ferry ride took longer than expected to Singapore. It took about 2 hours to reach the marina at the south of Singapore. I must say that I preferred the ferry going to Tg. Balai than this one. The other ferry was in much better condition.

Upon arriving the terminal, the Singaporean immigration staff told us to leave our bikes together with our panniers with them and they will push them through and we can collect them after having our passport stamped. At first, we were a bit wary about it but all was well in the end. We were reunited with our bikes and panniers after going through immigration without any hassles :o)

Wow...we were now in Singapore! My cousin, James and his wife were staying in Singapore and we were going to put up with them for the night. Now, we just have to figure out how to get to their apartment which was somewhere in the middle of Singapore! Easy, just get a map and go!!

We are in Singapore!! Outside the ferry terminal...

Ok, think we might have to go back to the main road hehehe....

To me, cycling in Singapore was nice! I was amazed at how courteous the drivers were and no one beeped us or anything! They gave us enough space to ride and it was pretty amazing, riding in between buses and cars and yet, felt safe!!

By the time we got to my cousin's place, it was around 5pm. His wife, Jenny came out to meet us with Jasper, their dog, somewhere near the Potong Pasir mrt station. It was good to see her again and we went up to their nice apartment. Jenny told us that while waiting for James to come back from work, we could relax by the pool and enjoy the jacuzzi too! Ah, what more could we ask for!! :o)

View from their apartment balcony

That night, we went out and packed food back and had a really yummy dinner :o) Thanks James & Jenny for your warm hospitality!

Meet the triple Js....James, Jenny & Jasper!

Day 16 : Pontian Kecil - Kukup - Tg.Piai - Kukup - P.Karimun Besar, Indonesia

2009-04-17T22:17:00.001-07:00

Date : March 18th, 2009
Distance travelled : 51 km
Time taken : 2.50 hours

Morning! We had a good rest and were eager to reach our second of corner of Malaysia today!

After our breakfast, we walked to the sea front to take some pictures as it was pretty before heading off :o) Actually, we really didn't have a clue of where we wanted to go after Tg. Piai! We knew wanted to go into Singapore but we still haven't decided how to get there! Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure it out along the way......

Sea front at Pontian Kecil....nice right?

Bed of rocks!

Our hotel in Pontian Kecil...clean & nice!

We had to pass Kukup first before going to Tg. Piai, as shown on our waterproof map. By the way, our waterproof map of Malaysia has been awesome! Highly recommended for those who wants to do touring! You might want to close one eye to some inaccurate routes though hehehe....

We cycled through the shady trees on roads which had a slight incline and reached Kukup about an hour later. It was about 20km from Pontian Kecil. Upon arriving Kukup, we made an amazing discovery....it was just a stopover point for those who wanted to go Tg. Balai in Indonesia and to Singapore! Well, what do you know?? hehehe....

When Mak heard this, he got all excited because we had a chance to go to Indonesia too!! We then decided that we will stay one night in Tg. Balai and then off to Singapore the next day :o) There, our problems solved!

The journey to Tg. Balai will take about an hour and the ticket was RM70 per person and our bikes were not charged :o) There were a few money changers around so we could change our money but no banks! The nearest banks around were in Pontian Kecil!

We found out that the ferries were going every hour and thought we'd try for the second last ferry which was about 4pm. That will give us ample time to come back from Tg. Piai since it was only 11.30am.

Welcome to Kukup!

Kukup town...

So, after a cold drink, we were off to Tg. Piai which was about 8km away. People told us not to stay over there for too long because apparently there were a lot of immigrants and it wasn't too safe....oh well, that's the adventure!!!

As we got closer, we realised that there weren't any signs that said "Welcome to the end of Asia!" or any clear direction to it! We kept seeing Taman Negara (Johor) signs along the way! Hmm, you would think there would be clearer signs right? Maybe the kind people at Tourism Malaysia can do something about this??

After a few uncertain turns, we stumbled upon this quiet Tg. Piai Resort. There wasn't anyone in sight but since the view was pretty nice, we took some shots and thought that this was it! Hmm...it was a bit disappointing! We thought it would have more significant landmark or something to mark its existence....

Well, never one to be standing still, our dear friend went exploring and came back with some good news! He met a this guy who was having lunch inside with his family and he told Mak that there was a globe that said "End of Asia"! We had to go out of this resort and bike about 400m and it should be there! Woohoo!! We made another discovery!!

Outside the resort

View from the left side...

Ahh...the welcome sign to where??

A conference hall on stilts ??

After getting all excited about the globe, we went off eagerly searching for it. Following the guy's directions, we cycled through a pretty nice road until we came to a place where they were doing some works by the sea! We thought, hmm....maybe this was the wrong route and started to turn back. We stopped and asked someone who was nearby for directions and he said we were on the right track....it was just about 100m more to go! Goes to show that sometimes, we have to be a bit more patient!!

Finally, we came across this mangrove conservation centre and it's called Taman Negara (Johor) Tg. Piai! They charged RM5 each to go in and have a look around. We didn't care....as long as we got to see the globe!! We pushed our bikes to the end of the boardwalk and came to a place where there were directional arrows pointing to places all over the world from here but no globe!! Sigh! Where was this elusive globe???

The scenic route to Taman Negara (Johor) Tg. Piai

Amazing tall trees along the way....

The gigantic rock piai leaf....

The entrance to Taman Negara (Johor) Tg. Piai

One of the many boardwalks...

Directional arrows pointing to places all over the world from here.... (Singapore is behind)

Ok, since we are here already...why not take a photo? :o)

After asking around, we finally found our way to the globe but it was a pretty long way from the centre!! When we got there, it was well worthed our efforts! The view was spectacular, as you can judge for yourselves :o)

the globe! the globe!!

Feeling on top of the world as we have made it to our second corner!!!
The end of Asia!!....

..... and this quote says it all!!

On our way out from the globe, we stopped by to take some pictures by the gigantic rock piai leaf at the entrance. According to Mak, from his sharp observations, he told me that Tg. Piai was supposedly named after this leaf. Maybe that explained the leaves on the rock??

Feeling pleased with ourselves now that we have completed our second corner, we rode back to Kukup with a sense of accomplishment and looked forward to another adventure in Indonesia :o)

More to come tomorrow :o)

Tg Balai from the ferry....

Day 15 :Muar - Parit Jawa - Semerah - Kg.Bagan - Batu Pahat - Senggarang - Rengit - Senglang - Pontian Kecil

2009-04-17T21:43:00.001-07:00

Date : March 17th, 2009
Distance travelled : 130km
Time taken : 6.50 hours

Today would be a pretty long ride for us...a total of 130km! This would be the longest distance travelled since we started and the roads were not flat either hehehe....

Yes, it was a pretty tough day for us....lots of gradual hill climbing and the weather was hot and sunny again! We did stop several times for breaks, just to rest and cool down before continuing on.

When we finally reached Pontian Kecil, it was already in the evening. We saw this nice hotel by the sea and tried our luck but the price was too high for us. They then recommended us another hotel called the Travel Hotel just nearby and it was actually pretty nice :o) I think this was one of the better hotels that we have stayed in!

I found Pontian Kecil to be pretty quaint! It's got a pretty nice coast line which was built on reclaimed land and it was peaceful :o) That night, we didn't have to go very far for dinner. There were a few Chinese restaurants near our hotel which was just by the sea and the food was enjoyable! Ahh, what a good way to relax after a long day's ride :o)

Next stop...our second corner, the southern most tip of Asia, Tg Piai!

Here we go again!!

Leaving Batu Pahat...

Ahh....the Pontian Kecil sign :o)

The winding road ahead....

"Have a look at the dragon...it must have been there for so long until the creepers have intertwined with it"(this was the reason for Mak's fascination with the dragon :o))

More hills to climb!

A lovely Chinese temple on top a hill....

Wild ferns growing on this tree

Can you see the sign that says "Penghujung Benua Asia" (Tip of Asia!)?

Coming into Pontian Kecil

Day 14 :Malacca - Telok Mas - Merlimau - Parit Bunga - Muar

2009-04-17T19:58:00.001-07:00

Date : March 16th, 2009
Distance travelled : 53 km
Time taken : 3 hours

We discussed the night before that we will stay in Muar for one night instead of Batu Pahat. That made it much easier for us as we only had about 50plus km to go and we would have some time to spend visiting the historical sites in Malacca :o)

And yes, I had my wish to eat some nyonya food in the end! We went to a nyonya restaurant in Melaka Raya named Nyonya Makko Restaurant. Mak was telling me that the first chinese character of the restaurant name was the same as his surname....hmm, funny how we went to a restaurant that sounded like his name!

We ordered fried belacan chicken, pucuk paku vegetables and fried egg with cincaluk. Cincaluk is a local delicacy made from tiny pink shrimps preserved in brine (salt & water) solution. Well, the food was good and I was a happy camper!

The nyonya restaurant named after my partner in crime??

The delicious spread of (clockwise) pucuk paku, fried cincaluk egg and fried belacan chicken!

After lunch, we decided to do the tourist thing and went back to the Stadhuy's building (the famous red coloured building) and the A'famosa fortress to take some pictures.

The famous A'famosa building behind us.....

and the church...

and the clock tower....

... and the ship muzeum called "Samudera"

Fancy a ride on this colourful trishaw, anyone??

The traffic was getting a bit too heavy for our piece of mind and we were happy to be away after snapping some photos! As we headed out of Malacca, the traffic eased off and it was nice to ride again on the road :o)

A traditional kampung house along the way..

The Muar river!!

Dark clouds looming ahead!

Hmm...I shall not comment on this picture hehehe...

Welcome to Muar town!!

We reached Muar town about 4.30pm and it looked like it was going to pour! We hurriedly went looking for a hotel and found a pretty decent one that was within our budget :o) By then, the rain seemed to have passed us by!

Since we arrived early, we had the chance to go and try out the local deserts by the road stall like the boiled peanut drink and green bean drink. According to my cycling encyclopedia, he said that the boiled peanut drink was really good for the skin! If taken regularly, your skin will be as smooth as a baby's bottom hehehe...no wonder his face was so smooth!! Now I know........:o)

Muar is also famous for its "otak-otak" (literally means brains!) but it's not! Some call it fish or prawn mousse :o) It is actually made of either fish or prawn meat mixed with dried chili, garlic, salt etc..It is then wrapped in banana leaves and put to grill. Yummy!! Alas, my photographer didn't manage to get a picture of it this round but you can google it if interested to know more :o)

Tomorrow....the long, long ride to Pontian Kecil!!

Day 13 : Port Dickson - Sg.Linggi - Pengkalan Balak - Tg.Kling - Malacca

2009-04-17T17:09:00.001-07:00

Date : March 15th, 2009
Distance travelled : 94 km
Time taken : 5 hours

Ok...today, we will definitely make it to Malacca but alas, just as we were about to leave our room, Mak discovered he had a flat again on his front tire! This was the second time he had a flatty! The first time was in PJ, when we finally reached Ms. Yap's house and his front tire became flat after awhile. How convenient it was that both times he had a flat, it was when we were not riding! Hmm....:o)

Since this was the second time he was facing the same problem, he suspected that there must be tiny pieces of glass or something sharp that must be slowly puncturing his tube. After changing the inner tube, we decided to go to the bike shop nearby to see have it checked out. Since it was a Sunday, we didn't know whether it would be opened but we figured there wasn't any harm trying.

Good thing it was opened and the bike shop owner did find the culprit! Tiny pieces of glass being stuck on the tire and that was causing the leakage! Once that was solved, we were ready to hit the road! It was beginning to be hot and sunny and we knew we were in for a very hot ride today!!

This was what happened when Mak tried to take a picture while riding :o)

After riding for about 1.30 hours, we found a rest stop by the Linggi river. It was also coming up to lunch time and was getting really hot for cycling. We normally take a break during the hottest time of the day...between 12.30 noon till 2.30pm.

We rested and I ordered a very tempting "ais kacang" with ice cream! Mmm....that went down really quickly! Of course, I had to share it with someone who initially didn't want any! Mak cleaned our chains and also took this opportunity to dry his damp clothes in the hot sun :o)

View by the Sg. Linggi rest stop area...

Ahh...just what I was looking for!!

View overlooking Sg. Linggi from the top of the bridge

and more of it.....

We started riding again about 3pm and followed the coastal road towards Pengkalan Balak. The scenery along the road was really quite beautiful and that helped to keep me occupied during the ride :o)

Nice scene nearby Pengkalan Balak

Great shot, Mak!

Beach side at Pengkalan Balak

Hmm...ever noticed how he likes to pose for the camera hehehe...

Coconut trees everywhere!

More of the scenic routes...

Something unique....a gula melaka house??

When we got into Malacca town, we weren't sure where to stay and it took us quite awhile to look for a suitable place! This was what happened when you didn't do any research beforehand but then again, we never did for the past towns hehehe....

Finally, after finding one suitable hotel, we lugged our bikes up the room, showered and went looking for dinner. By the way, did I mention that throughout the tour, Mak was the one that has been carrying our bikes up to our rooms! Such a gentleman hehehe....

We asked the receptionist where we could get food and she gave us some choices. We ended up walking to a food court to have our dinner! I was actually looking forward to having some nyonya food since we were in Malacca...oh well, maybe lunch tomorrow :o)

After dinner, we took a stroll down Jonker Street and looked at handicrafts and souvenir gifts. There was a two man band playing at one of the open bar and we stood there listening to the performer. We also walked along the river bank watching the river cruise passing by. It was nice, just chilling and stretching our legs after a hard day's ride :o)

Tomorrow, we plan to do the tourist thingy before moving down to Muar!!

Day 12 : Port Dickson - PD town

2009-04-17T03:45:00.001-07:00

Date : March 14th, 2009
Distance travelled : 10km
Time taken : 30 minutes

Well, what can I say but we ended up staying one more night in PD instead of heading down to Malacca as planned :o)

It started like this.....

True enough, at 3am in the morning, it started to get windy and I woke up to drops of rain on our roof tent! Being so used to staying in a tent from my previous job as an outdoor trainer, I got up and collected all our clothes that were drying outside. I knew the rain would come but just didn't know how heavy it would be. I woke Mak up and told him that it was raining. Poor guy was still still in dreamland :o) Soon, it got heavier and water started dripping from the roof and pretty soon, water was coming into our tent hehehe...

We had to move our panniers around and tried to wipe out the water from the roof as much as we could. It wasn't that bad that we couldn't sleep but it did break our chain of sleep! Eventually, we got back to sleeping again and before we knew it, it was morning already! The very first words that came out from Mak's mouth were "THANK GOD I'M STILL ALIVE!" hahaha...talk about a city boy and how dramatic he could be!!!! Wait until he faces real storm and strong winds hehehe.....

We got up and decided to go for breakfast first before doing anything else. It was nice to just chill and not rush into anything. We knew we had to dry our stuff and the tent when we got back.

The many choices we had for breakfast!

After breakfast, we walked back and started sorting out our things and dried whatever was wet. It was a pretty relaxed day for us :o) When we were about to finish packing, a group of people came over the beach and they looked like they were going to do some shooting. Curious about what they were up to, I asked them and they told me that they were doing a program about raising awareness for clean beaches in Malaysia. This topic was close to my heart too as I really wanted to promote and educate the public about just trying to keep Malaysia clean!

In fact, we do have an NGO called Kampung Hijau - Friends of Langkawi, back in Langkawi, trying to do beach clean ups and raising awareness to the public. This NGO was the brainchild of one of my main sponsor, Blue Water Sailing. Eva, who runs boat cruises over in Langkawi, is a dynamic German lady who really believes in keeping the environment clean and she wants to do her bit for Langkawi.

As we got on to talking, I met the producer and she said she wanted to interview me for the program! When the program is aired, they will have the kids doing the interviewing instead.

Well, it was pretty weird being interviewed and with the cameras shooting! Didn't think I'll ever become an actress hehehe...They wanted to rope Mak in as well but he declined! In the end, they made us ride through the camping grounds and act as though the beach was really filthy!! Hey, we were actor and actress for a few minutes!! Anyway, they said that they will inform us when the program will be aired over RTM. Oh well, I'm not too fussed about it :o) Ah, never a dull moment in our trip eh??

Me, being interviewed for the program...

Ok, now lights, camera & action!!

By the time we finally got out of the camping grounds, it was lunch time! We had to go into town to fix my shoes...yup, now it was my turn! Well, it took so long to get them repaired until Mak, who was waiting for me downstairs at the bus station , got really worried! He thought I was kidnapped or something! He was ready to leave our bikes unattended and come looking for me! Luckily, I was just coming down when he decided to do that hehehe.....well, what did I tell you? He was like my knight in shining armour and me, the carefree princess??? hahaha.....

It was about 4pm when we were finally ready to set off to Malacca but the sky didn't looked too good! Dark clouds were forming and in the end, we decided it was better for us to stay one more night in PD town and head off early tomorrow to Malacca, which was about 80 over km away.
Well, for this time, we stayed in a cheap hotel to get some real rest!! :o) What a day it has been!

Day 11 : Petaling Jaya - Putra Jaya - Dengkil - Salak - Sepang - Lukut - Port Dickson

2009-04-17T01:12:00.001-07:00

Date : March 13th, 2009
Distance travelled : 97 km
Time taken : 5.30 hours

Wow! Can't believe it's been 11 days since we started our journey :o) After having spent two days in PJ, we thought we'll make a change for once and start really early, like 7am so that we can reach Port Dickson by lunch time and chill......or so we thought!

We woke up at 6am and got ready only to hear the thunder rumbling outside the house! Hahaha...so much for wanting to start early!! In the end, we left the house at 9am and it was still drizzling! It looked like it was going to be like this the whole day!!

After saying our goodbyes, we left ss5 and headed towards the Motorola bridge and then towards Puchong, using the LDP. We were following Boon Foo's direction but somehow along the way, the road signs got a bit confusing and we ended up heading for Dengkil in another route!

Wow, my bike looks pretty cool with the new kickstand :o)

...and of course, his too!

The rain stopped and it began to get drier the further we went. Half way through, my dear partner in crime said he needed time out as he was feeling too cold because of the rain earlier hehehe....remember I told you he doesn't like cycling in the rain!! So we stopped somewhere along the highway and took five :o)

Mak, taking time to dry out while telling me that he'll carry the bikes across to the motor lane...you should hear how he was "telling" me hahaha

While we were resting, I noticed there was the motorcycle lane that wasn't being used and I told Mak why don't we just use the motorcycle lane instead of riding on the highway which was pretty dangerous to me. He reluctantly agreed and after a 10 minutes break, we headed off towards Dengkil, using the motor lane instead.

Man, that was an adventure in itself because we later realised that the lanes were pretty abandoned and that the motorcyclists didn't use them. It was pretty eerie when we had to pass through a few underground tunnels.

Later on, Mak had a nice time "reminding" me how dangerous it was to go through the lonely underground tunnels and blah blah blah hehehe...I told him it was fun that we went for a bit of exploring! He snorted at the word and said " Yeah right, explororing indeed!!" After a while, we abandoned the idea and headed back for the highway, which we felt was the lesser of two evils hehehe....

Ok now....which way huh??

We soon realised that there was going to be rolling hills as we headed towards Port Dickson. Now, I have to tell you that I am no expert in playing momentum on rolling hills but I guess I have to start somewhere if I wanted to be good at it! What better time than now....I can practise all the rolling hills I want with my panniers!!

Whereas on the other hand, Mak is an expert on playing momentum with the rolling hills and I can see him flying past me, attacking the first hill and then pushing on! I often yelled out and asked "How do you do that?" but to deaf ears! Oh well, I learned how to do it eventually and I'm happy to announce that now I know how to play momentum!!

I think we are supposed to follow Sepang....

Man, the long, long road ahead!

Wow, an atomic plant!

Nilai or Seremban??

I promised to take some photos of him during the tour...

Darn, just when I thought PD was only about 20km away!!

Despite the complaints, it was a pretty nice road :o)

My beautiful Scott Contessa with those awesome panniers!

Upon reaching Port Dickson town, there was another 4km to the beach area. I remembered Mak giving me a wide smile when we biked through the town. I asked him why was he smiling this time, he said that this was his first time in Port Dickson and he was really looking forward to seeing how it was :o) He really does love beaches! It was really nice to see how happy he was! As for me, it has been ages since I last came to PD and I couldn't recognise this place anymore! So much changes but it looked good!

We went around searching for accommodation but found that the hotels were a bit pricey for us and so we decided to camp!! Yay! After carrying the tent from Langkawi, it would be great to test out the tent!!

We set camp at this public beach area and there were two other families camping there. That eased Mak's worries because he didn't want to camp if there weren't any other groups camping. Said it wasn't too safe! We made friends with one of the families and this guy was telling us that he has been travelling all around Malaysia for the past 3 months with his wife and 5 kids, just using public transport! Amazing eh?

After showering in the public toilet, we went looking for dinner. We asked our neighbour if he could helped us look after our stuff while we were away and he said " No worries!" Ah, the nice people we meet along the way!!

Well, the tent was a pretty nice change from the hotel rooms that we have been staying! The cooling breeze from the sea was nice. We took a stroll by the beach for awhile before heading for bed and that was nice :o)

Now, if only the weather would stay dry for the night for I'm not too sure about how waterproof our tent was!!! Apparently, it rained the night before at 3am with strong winds. Hmm...there's only one way to find out!!

Ahh...our comfy home for the night :o)

The fishing boats docked by the beach..

the beach besides our camping ground...taken in the evening

Day 10 : Petaling Jaya - rest day!!

2009-04-16T23:39:00.001-07:00

Date : March 12th, 2009
Distance travelled : 0km
Time taken : o hours

It was time for us to have a well deserved rest day after our "adventure" last night! Besides, we didn't have any rest days every since Penang!

It was a nice day for us.....we did laundry and after that, we took our bikes to Bike Pro in Taman Megah for servicing and then we went off exploring KL :o) I brought Mak to Mid Valley and just chilled out there, since PJ was my hometown :o). It was nice not being on the bike for now...hehehe

While at Bike Pro, we asked Boon Foo of for directions to Port Dickson as we totally had no clue how we were going there! He was kind enough to draw us a map....

Met up with my friend Melody, who organises races for tea and we were about to take our bikes back from being serviced when it started to pour! She offered to take us back to the house together with our bikes. Thank God her car had roof racks :o) Thanks Mel!

I had a new addition to my bike....a kickstand! After having to bear the "nagging" from Mak all the way from Padang Besar to KL, we managed to find a kickstand for my bike! Well, I have to admit he was right...it was much more easier with a kickstand :o) Oh did I mention that I had a bell and a mirror sponsored by Gary of CCI in Penang? Thanks Gary! Those things were really handy throughout the tour!! (besides, it helped that Mak stopped "reminding" me about getting them in the first place!!) Actually, he was really sweet....he really cared for my wellbeing :o)

That night, Ms Yap and Ham (her husband) took us for a delightful steamboat somewhere in Puchong. They ordered so much food that we couldn't finish! Think they wanted to load us up before our journey the next day!! Thank you both for a wonderful time in PJ and for putting up with us for two nights!

Mak showing off his three toned coloured tan :o)

Any clue where this is, all you KL'lites?

Something that caught Mak's roving eyes....

Ms. Yap and her family....we were having yummy steamboat for dinner :o)

This was only the beginning!

Looked like jelly fish but it didn't taste like one!

My, what big and beautiful eyes you have, mei mei!!

Next destination.....Port Dickson, here we come!!

Day 9 : K.Selangor - Sg.Buloh - Petaling Jaya

2009-04-16T20:46:00.001-07:00

Date : March 11th, 2009
Distance travelled : 73 km
Time taken : 3.50 hours

Ahh...another day of touring! Mak found out that his shoes were opening up and he had to send to the cobbler for repair. Luckily, today we didn't have to go very far.... just 70 plus km :o)

Hey ma, look? A crocodile mouth shoe!!

Mak looking a bit dejected after finding out that his favourite pair of shoes were opening up...

Along the way, we came across this beautiful Indian temple that was being constructed. I'm sure it will be magnificent once finished. There must be a huge Indian community living in Kuala Selangor area.

A beautiful Indian temple under construction...

Oh well, even though we didn't get to see the fireflies, the signboard will do for now and no, we are not in Kuantan yet :o)

The day started out fine with the sun slowly warming up our backs. Initially, we planned to cycle along the coastal road towards Klang but decided otherwise as we had to go into Petaling Jaya where we will be staying with my friend, Ms. Yap and her family for two nights. So we opted for the inner road towards Sg. Buloh and then, Petaling Jaya.

We didn't have much problems following the direction to Sg. Buloh. The sun had begun to blast its fully glory on us by the time we took a breather at this very special petrol station. It had an electrical shop next to it! Throughout our tour, we have stopped at many countless petrol stations but none were like this! Hmm, maybe I might need a blender for my tour :o)

Hi sir/ma'am, would you like to buy a fridge together with your petrol?? :o)

Scenic but rolling hills along the way to Sg. Buloh

A "lone" rider with no cares in the world!! hehehe

Hot & dry along the way!

At last, we got into the crazy town of Sg. Buloh and nearly got knocked over by a public bus! Geez!

Lunch time! We stopped by a chinese restaurant and we created a bit of a stir among the food vendors as they were looking at our bikes. They must be wondering why are these crazy two clowns travelling by bike when they can use cars!

Naturally, they assumed that we were foreigners and not Malaysians. It was really funny to know that everywhere we went, nobody ever guessed we were Malaysians! We were either Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese!! Hmm, maybe it's a sign for us to change our identity?? hehehe

The weather changed just as we were about to get on our bikes. Big huge drops of rain started to rain down on us! We decided to get some shelter at a nearby building and waited for the rain to stop. It never did and finally, I told Mak that we have to get going as it was getting late and so with our rainjackets on, we hit the road.

Mak asked for directions for the shortest way to Petaling Jaya and the guy gave us the Sg. Buloh-Kepong highway, which turned out to be a very challenging road for us to go!!! Because of the heavy rain, the road was flooded and we had to wait for the water to slowly subside. Well, being on our bikes, that wasn't a problem. The problem was that we couldn't move because everywhere was stuck with cars, buses and lorries! But once the water subsided, you should see how fast the cars were going! One thing's for sure, drivers in KL just don't give two hoots about cyclists! It was way TOO DANGEROUS for us to continue and we had to stop by a petrol station to wait it out.

We waited for almost 3 hours for the traffic to subside but it didn't! This really tested our perseverance and patience. We were wet, cold and hungry but we were happy to say that we managed to sit this through :o) The hot "mee in my mug" helped!!

In the end, we decided to brave the roads again around 7pm. I think we would never forget our adventure coming into Petaling Jaya! It was with a sigh of relief when we finally reached my friend's house in ss5 around 8.30pm, phew!!

View of Damansara Damai in between Sg. Buloh & Kepong...

to be continued.....

Day 8 :Teluk Intan - Sabak Bernam - Sekinchan - Tg.Karang - K.Selangor

2009-04-16T18:13:00.001-07:00

Date : March 10th, 2009
Distance travelled : 106km
Time taken : 5.30 hours

The next morning, we took our bikes down from our room and cycled to the town, looking for breakfast but got a bit lost hahaha! Well, we eventually found some food stalls around and got to chowing down some food!

We decided that we'll go visit the famous leaning tower of Teluk Intan while on our way out. We went there, took some snaps and left! It was the case of been there, done that syndrome! :o)

The famous leaning tower of Teluk Intan!

Ahh, finally I get to hold the camera! Back view of Mak riding :o)

Dang! he got me too!!

Sigh....another signboard telling us how far we still have to go!!!!

Somewhere along the way, we came across empty stalls advertising "MENTARANG" Initially, I thought it was some kind of fruit that we never heard of but when we finally stopped at one stall that was selling it, it had nothing to do with fruits! Duh!

Mentarang comes from the shell family except that it's much larger than your normal mussels. We asked the guy how to cook this and he said, normally they just boil it and eat! You can also stir fry them with dark sauce and chili. Hmm, we learn something new everyday!!

We noticed that the first few stalls we passed by were selling at RM7 per kg but as we head further down, the price came down to RM4 per kg! Tip for those who are keen to try them....just drive down a bit further and you'll get a better bargain!!

Big signages about MENTARANG...

So this is MENTARANG!

A close up view of a MENTARANG

As the day wore one, the road was pretty flat but it got busy with lorries carrying seafood towards the evening. At one point, we came across about 6 large prawns on the road! Mak, Mr. Observant, asked me later whether I saw those big prawns...I answered I saw one squashed one by the road! He told me there were 6 large prawns and they must have dropped off by a lorry carrying loads of prawns! He said, man...if only he stopped and picked them up and had them for dinner !!! Think our poor boy must have been hungry!!

Is this Kuala Selangor already? Nah...wishful thinking! Still had far more to go!!

When we finally reached the town of Kuala Selangor, it was already dark and by then, we didn't have too much fun riding with the heavy vehicles beside us. We found out that if we wanted to watch the fireflies, it was another 12km out of town! We decided, nah...we are not going to be bothered. It was way too troublesome. It was a pity though because Mak wanted to watch the fireflies but he said, it was alright. He could always come another day....

Kuala Selangor was supposed to be famous for its seafood but sadly, the one we had in town didn't live up to my expectations. Guess the popular ones were out of town. Oh well, it didn't matter as I only wanted food in my tummy and a nice shower! Well, as for my partner in crime, he seemed to have fared pretty well and was in a jovial mood although he did agree that riding into Kuala Selangor had been a bit of a nightmare with the heavy vehicles. That's what I enjoy about biking with him! He never seemed to be fazed about anything! Amazing!!

After dinner, we biked to our hotel which was nearby, showered and what else....zzzzz!! :O)

Day 7 : Kuala Kangsar - Manong - Parit - Bota Kanan - Teluk Intan

2009-04-12T00:08:00.001-07:00

Date : March 9th, 2009
Distance travelled : 118km
Time taken : 5.5 hours

The next day, we woke up to a cool and cloudy morning! God must have read my mind and decided to give me a break for today!! hehehe...

After breakfast, we left Kuala Kangsar about 8.20am and we were supposed to meet up with Madzli in Manong, some 25km away around 9am.

On our way out to Manong, we passed by this lovely golf course on our right with beautiful trees and it was so green everywhere! Too bad our dear friend didn't stop to take a snap of this beautiful golf course! Never mind that as the scenery along the way was really beautiful!

the view along the way to Manong

We only managed to meet up with Madzli around 9.30am....half an hour late! Oops!! We apologised for our lateness but he was cool with it :o) What a guy!! He was a really strong rider and he was pulling us at 25/26km per hour some time! We had to ask to him to slow down a bit as we do have our "ahem" panniers to bring along too!!

Madzli....Manong's Ironman??

See Madzli, we have our panniers to bring along hehehe...but thank you for thanking our picture...at least, there's proof that we were cycling!!

He told us that there would be about 3 hills to climb before hitting flat roads and the road looked like this.....

Waah....let's play downhill!!

Stunning view of the mountains in the background

Ok...take 5 time after climbing the first hill!

M&M's...:o)

Alrighty....one more for the road!

If you look closely, you can see that this tree is unique in a way...it's got purplish leaves!

Half finished bridge....

Just look at the heavy clouds looming around the top of the hills....

Hey guys....look here!

We crossed over the Perak river and headed for Parit town. There we took a break and had a drink at the stalls nearby. It had been a pretty scenic ride for us so far...the rain hasn't poured on us yet.....:o)

The bridge crossing the Perak river on the way to Parit

Parit town...the clock tower doesn't work, by the way!

Ahh...life is so laid back in this little town :o) Something that we all need to do sometimes!

Well, it started to rain after we left Parit town and we had to make another pit stop along the way. Why? You guessed right....all for dear old Mak's sake!! hehehe. We reached Bota Kanan nearing noon time and decided to stop for lunch. Madzli told us that after lunch, he'll bring us to the "tuntung" sanctuary if it was opened. That got us both curious...what was a tuntung"?

We cycled to the sanctuary and woohoo! it was opened :o) When we came upon the sign below, we then understood what a "tuntung" was! You should have seen how Mak's face changed when he realised what it was! It was like giving a candy to a child! He was grinning from ear to ear!!!

A "tuntung" is actually a river terrapin!

the pool where they rear the tuntung

Can you see the elusive river terrapin?

At the tuntung sanctuary in Bota Kanan

When we got out of the sanctuary, I asked Mak why was he so happy to see the river terrapins and he told me that he loves river terrapins, tortoises & turtles! Watching them swim in the pond makes him happy as a lark :o) So now I know.....

We thanked Madzli for being our guide and bid him farewell at Bota Kanan and we were on our own again!

After riding for almost 1.5 hours, we came across a pottery shop and made a pit stop there. My partner in crime really loves handicrafts and this place was like a sanctuary for him! He was busy snapping away with my camera!

We went behind the shop to watch the staff make pottery. There were various type of moulds to make the different patterns. It was pretty interesting as I have never seen the real thing before :o)

Mak and I were having a brief debate on how the ceramic vases were formed from the moulds...how did they do it? Well, we found out that the moulds come in 2 parts. Put them together and pour in the mud until it feels up the whole mould. After 20 minutes, the leftover mud is being poured out and left the ones that have been set already on the wall of the mould. Then, it is left to set for a longer period of time before breaking the 2 moulds up and voila! you have a vase!

Moulds for making the ceramic pots

Cleaning up the ceramic vase

Beauty and the Beast...
(Mak tried his hand on moulding one and it turned out like the one on the right! hehehe)

Staff cleaning the vases before drying them

Little ceramic vases waiting to be painted...

Ceramic pots anyone?

Well, after that little tour, we were off again on our bikes and headed towards Teluk Intan. We reached the town around 5 pm. It had been a good day....lots of great sceneries and interesting things to see! After checking into a hotel, we rested and then went off hunting for dinner! Another day's ride has been accomplished :o)

Darn...another 28km to go!!

Finally, signs of Teluk Intan!!

I really don't know what is this but think I'll be making Mak happy by posting this picture! It was taken outside our hotel in Teluk Intan :o)

Right...our next destination.....the fireflies of Kuala Selangor!!

Day 6 : Kuala Gula - Simpang Empat-Taiping -Changkat Jering-Bukit Gantang- Kuala Kangsar

2009-04-11T08:39:00.001-07:00

Date : March 8th, 2009
Distance travelled : 80km
Time taken : 3.45 hours

After breakfast, we left around 8.40am for Ipoh (or so we thought!) The day was once again beautiful with blue skies :o)

Along the flat road, we watched little kingfishers, sitting on the telephone wire, singing to us and they were literally following us along the road! We had the opportunity to catch sight of a huge otter running for cover into the oil palm estate from the river it was playing in! Then, there was this cute little dog that wanted to follow us! It ran behind us for awhile before deciding it was way too hard to keep up with us ....poor thing! Told Mak that I wished I could take him with us!! He just grunted hehehe....

Lovely view on our way out from Kuala Gula!

Smile Mak...you are on camera!!

After riding some 16km, we chanced upon a charcoal mine and took this opportunity to have a look around. There were tourists mulling around the area too. We did get some stares when we parked our bikes outside :o)

Inside the charcoal mine....

the furnace for burning mangrove trunks

and the end result is......black charcoal!

outside the charcoal mine....

After this brief stop, we were on our bikes again, heading for Taiping :o) I told Mak that we had to make a pit stop in Taiping to try its famous koay teow soup! (that is if I can remember where the shop is!! hehehe)

Hmm...I didn't realise that dead oil palm trees can make a lovely picture too!!

Yay! Only another 11km to good food!!

Yeah...only 11km! Man, it sure seemed further than that!!!!

Wow! still so far more to go!!!!

At last, Taiping town!!! Now, where is the shop???

Found it! It's called Restoran Kakak and they also serve their special coffee brew called "Kakak" Mak, our coffee lover, found out that it was a mixture of nescafe and barley and he swears by it!

Hehehe....this was what I was looking forward too! You have to put the special sambal to get that special taste! Also behind is the "Kakak" drink

After our yummy brunch, we decided to get a move on as we still had quite a distance to go if we want to reach Ipoh before dark. It was about 12 noon and the sun was blazing its full glory on us when we left the restaurant!

Mak must be thinking..."darn, another 71km more to go in this hot, hot sun!!!"

After biking for about an hour, Mak had to stop for a cold drink as it was getting really hot! The shop where we stopped at, happened to be also a supplier of dried assam pieces. Since we have never seen how does the dried assam pieces come about, this was a good time to know more about its process :o)

This is how assam fruits look like.....

one by one, the fruit is being sliced by hand (mind you!) with this very sharp knife! I shudder to think what will happen if he accidentally slips up!! arrrghh!!! Apparently, there have been incidents!!

and you will get lovely thinly sliced assam pieces! Even the seed is not spared!

the sliced assam pieces are then distributed on top of this rack

and the drying process begins behind their house

and after drying in the hot sun for a few days, this is how the dried assam pieces will look like! Interesting, isn't it?

Well, after the educational lesson on dried assam pieces and having our thirst quenched, we were on our bikes again! We knew we had to climb a hill further up and we were not looking forward to it in the scorching hot sun! Anyway, I have to admit that the lovely sceneries along the way did make up for the climb, for me at least!

Nice road except for the narrow road shoulders!

Next to the Changkat Jering highway

The famous cement factory along Changkat Jering

One of the many hills that will be cut down, sooner or later!!

Me taking a breather under a bridge....darn, it was such a hot day!!

Under this bridge, both Mak & I decided that we probably will have to stop in Kuala Kangsar instead of Ipoh :o) I was elated because I really love this beautiful town and actually, there was a reason for this change of plans (as we found out later on!!)

We were wondering how far more was Kuala Kangsar from this bridge. The day was really blazing hot but luckily for us, it was just another 5km to our destination! We only realised this when we saw the arch in front of us hehehe....

Ahh...what a sight for sore eyes!!

The road towards the town....lovely, isn't it?

When we finally got into the town area, dark clouds have gathered and it looked like it was going to pour down anytime! We stopped at a modern kopitiam and had our late lunch there. While we were discussing about our next venue, a guy passed by and he recognised me! What to do? I admit I'm pretty famous amongst the biking community! (just kidding!!! hehehe)

Anyway, we found out that Madzli was a cyclist too and he did do a solo tour around West Malaysia recently, just a bit different route from ours. When he realised that we were planning to go to Ipoh the next day, he advised us to use the inner roads to Teluk Intan instead. He said the roads and sceneries were much better there and he even volunteered to take us up to Bota Kanan! It then dawned upon me why we were in Kuala Kangsar at that moment! It was to meet up with him hehehe....see, the law of attraction does work :o)

Since he was familiar with Kuala Kangsar, we asked him where we could stay for the night and he suggested a place nearby and we found out that downstairs, they served the best white bread, either toasted or steamed! All thanks to Mak, who is really observant about all these kind of things!

After a quick shower, we went exploring the little town but not before trying out the bread downstairs! Too bad I forgot what was the name of the hotel we stayed in! Oh well, I'm sure it will be easy to find out :o)

One of the bridges in Kuala Kangsar

View from the bridge....

Ok, ok....I will take a picture of you on this bridge!!

Nice lights but too bad the picture is not too clear!!

The hotel we stayed in with the yummy bread stall downstairs

In the end, Mak did admit that Kuala Kangsar was nice :o) Well, will keep you posted on our next destination....Teluk Intan!

Day 5 :Penang - Sg.Bakap - Nibong Tebal - Parit Buntar - Kuala Kurau - Kg.Gula - K.Gula (Perak)

2009-04-11T03:55:00.001-07:00

Hi all!

I know I was supposed to blog a few days once but it was really impossible for me to do so during the tour! But there's one good news....I have found out how to make my pictures larger!Will try to resize the earlier days soon. Hope you all will enjoy continue reading my blog ;o)

Date : March 7th, 2009
Distance travelled : 100km
Time taken : 5 hours

We started getting ready around 8am for our next destination which was Kuala Gula in Perak. It is said to be famous for its bird watching ;o)

After saying our goodbyes to our kind host Andrew, off we went again!

Saying our goodbyes....Mak & Andrew.....

......... & me!

As we headed off towards our next destination, Mak suddenly veered off when we reached a small town along the way and stopped at a small printing company. He told me that this company used to be his supplier and he wanted to say hello ;o)

The staff of TL Laser Print Enterprise and us

The day turned out to be bright and beautiful, with blue skies everywhere! We decided to stop at Kuala Kurau for lunch and rest along the river bank.

Somewhere along the way to Kuala Kurau....

Ahh....finally, the signboard to Kuala Kurau!!

a traditional Malay house

Mak posing at the riverbank of Sg. Kurau

After lunch, it started to drizzle! So much for the clear blue skies earlier!! I told Mak that we still have to get going if we wanted to reach Kuala Gula before evening. He was reluctant to ride in the rain as he didn't want to get wet! Ohh....poor baby!! hehehe....

the bridge over Sg. Kurau....see Mak, the rain stopped after awhile ;o)

The road towards Kuala Gula was flat and nice albeit it was a bit hot after the short rain. When we first arrived in Kuala Gula, we didn't know what to expect except that people have been telling us that it is famous for its bird watching activities. The place was nondescript....it was just one road in with a few buildings on the left side of the road! We were wondering where we could stay for the night as it didn't look like there was any cheap hotel or motel around! We decided to venture further in and discovered that there was a residence area as well as some shops along the main road before coming to a dead end.

We stopped by a place which looked like a bird sanctuary and asked someone about where to stay etc. I was ready to hit the road again if there wasn't any place for us to stay for the night. But there was a nice surprise waiting for us. The guy we asked managed to contact Tan, who happened to be a guide for tourists for the bird watching activities. He came around and told us that he has a place for us to stay. It turned out to be a beautiful house with many rooms! Since we were the only ones around, we had the whole house to ourselves but only paid for one room ;o) Outside the house, Tan planted some green leafy vegetables and he told us to take some when we go for our dinner later on (which we totally forgot!)

Since he had a mountain bike, Tan graciously offered to take us around the mangrove area nearby where the birds are! We followed him on this mangrove tour on our bikes, playing off road with our slick tires! Since he was explaining in Mandarin, only Mak could understand what he was saying as I was a "banana" :o) We managed to look at some beautiful birds that was around the mangrove area. Tan said that Kuala Gula has about 197 species of birds and he knows every single one of them!! According to him, many bird enthusiasts will come from all over just to do bird watching there!

Oh yeah! what's a bit of offroading after riding some 100kms!!

Mak with his "man bag" at the mangrove area...

Tan said " If you focus closely on the 2nd pole from the right, you can see the largest bird in Malaysia!" Huh?? Where???

Towards the end of our mangrove tour....a place which reminded me of Pulau Ketam!

Everyone, meet Tan...the bird expert! Do let me know if you are keen to do some bird watching in Kuala Gula any time soon!

After the tour, we were famished! Did I also mention that this place does serve some yummy seafood dishes?? Below were what we had for our dinner....delicious fried mee hoon with crab and semilang curry fish head and when you mixed them together, it's lips smacking good!!

And as for our breakfast, a very "healthy" nasi lemak either with prawns or fish!!

After our breakfast, we were all set for another day of riding and bid goodbye to the lovely house and this quaint little place :o)

Told you this house was lovely!!

Our next destination...Ipoh or so we thought!!!

Day 4 : Penang....rest day!!

2009-03-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

Date : 6th March, 2009

We decided to stay on another day in Penang and take it easy for today :o) What a good idea it was as we spent the day eating good food, watched a movie and eating again!!! Great way to relax before the next big ride tomorrow to Kuala Gula in Perak....estimated distance 80km ;o)

Will keep you all posted!!

Cheers

Day 2 : Padang Besar - Changlun - Alor Setar - Kuala Kedah

2009-03-05T16:52:00.004-08:00

Date : Wednesday, 4th March 2009
Distance travelled : 91km

Time taken : 4.30 hours

Come morning, Tat came over to meet us at our hotel. The hotel was pretty basic and the room costs us RM54 plus a simple breakfast. Tat told us that he and another 2 of his friends will escort us to Changlun that morning ;o)

Our first hotel in Thailand!!

Ahh...proof that we have crossed the border!!

Tat & me at the immigration border...

A Dutch couple we met in Padang Besar, heading to Taman Negara :o)

We met up with Lim and Ah Huat in Padang Besar and we left about 11am. The weather was starting to be really hot that day! We biked through the semi highway towards Changlun. The scenery was amazing ....there was a sugar factory further ahead and they were growing sugar cane along the highway. The highway was rolling hills and it can be really hot as there are no shades on both sides of the road. Lots of big lorries passing by and one have to be a bit careful on this highway!

Flat road ahead!!

Tat & me....like specks of dust!

Hey guys, look here!!!

While biking, Lim surprised both Mak and me by giving us each a good luck "angpow"!! That was really sweet of him and we were really touched by his kind thoughts! Everywhere we go, we meet beautiful people who just want to help out!!! We truly are very lucky!!

Upon reaching Changlun about 1pm, we said our goodbyes to our kind escorts from Padang Besar. They have to cycle another 30km back in the scorching hot sun!! We decided that it was way too hot to continue our journey to Alor Star yet and rested at the coffeeshop until about 3pm. We had another 60km to go!

Saying our goodbyes...Tat, Mak, me and Lim at the coffeeshop

We took another pit stop in Jitra at a bike shop, the one that organised the Jitra Jamboree in January. (sorry...couldn't remember the bike shop name!!) There, Mak chatted with the owners while resting. It was truly a very hot day!!! When we finally reached Alor Star, it was coming close to 7pm! Crazy traffic!! It was with a sigh of relief that we finally reached my friend's house near Kuala Kedah! By then, I look like a panda bear....sunburnt face with two white circles around my eyes hahaha....

My friend, Cheah and his girlfriend took us for a really yummy dinner to recover!! Did I also mention that while touring, it was also part of our plan to enjoy the good food around!!! Next day...some 120 km away...Penang!!

Day 3 : K.Kedah - Yan - Guar Chempedak - SP - Butterworth - Penang (Bayan Lepas)

2009-03-05T16:52:00.003-08:00

Date : Thursday, 5th March 2009

Distance travelled : 122km
Time taken : 6.5 hours

We left Kuala Kedah about 9am and biked through the village road towards Yan. Weather was nice and cool and the road was great! Once in Yan, I told Mak that we should stop by my friend, Nadia's house just to pay her a visit as she will be getting married this Saturday! Since I couldn't attend her wedding, the least I could do was to send her my best regards! It was a surprised visit for her as she didn't know I was doing this bike tour ;o) It was great catching up and her family fed us with good food before moving on!!

Mak & Cheah...outside Cheah's house

Gunung Jerai behind me...if you can see it!!

Wow! so beautiful!!

Mak's special design for his bottles in front of his handlebars :o)

That's a really creative shot of me in the mirror, Mak!!

Nadia & me at her house....

We stopped by Gunung Jerai's park & snapped a photo & we were off to Sungai Petani! We had to stop by a bike shop, Sooi Hin in SP who sponsored us tubes & tools to snap a picture too! There, we met up with Ah Yoong who owned the bike shop as well as the famous Ramly SP! Chatted for awhile before heading off again towards Penang!

At the foothill of Gunung Jerai!!

In front of Kedai Basikal Sooi Hin...Ah Yoong, Mak, me and Ramly

We got into Butterworth about 5.30pm and took the ferry across to Penang ;o) We had to then cycle another 20km to my friend's house in Bayan Lepas! If I thought the traffic in Alor Star and SP was crazy, try biking in Penang during the rush hour!!!!!

On the ferry terminal...

"...and then we turned left..." Mak seemed to be saying to the uncle on the ferry :o)

Meet Andrew from Penang!!

Our tired but happy faces said it all!! Happy to have reached our destination at last!!

My friend Andrew took us to a yummy seafood restaurant called Hai Boey Restaurant near the end of the world. There I got to eat my favourite clam dish and I was happy again :o) It was a tiring day for us after riding for about 122km and the good food was just so rewarding!!

Ok....that's all for now! Boy, it's pretty hard cracking my head trying to write for 3 days! Will try to update daily if possible!! Our next 3 proposed destination will be Kuala Gula in Perak, Taiping & Ipoh......

Until then, cheers!

Day 1 : Langkawi - K.Perlis - Kangar - Padang Besar

2009-03-05T16:51:00.002-08:00

Date : Tuesday, March 3rd 2009

Distance travelled : 60km

Time taken : 3 hours

My, what a beautiful morning! The sun was shining, clear blue skies and birds chirping from my home....you couldn't have asked for a better day to start our journey :o)

Mak with his bicycle at Jetty Point, Langkawi

Our sponsors...

and more sponsors....

We left my house in Langkawi around 9am and cycled to the jetty which was about 6km away. There, we were met by two of my biking buddies from the 99bikes club, Ad & Kai who came to send us off (so sweet of them!) Our ferry was at 10am to Kuala Perlis. It took us about an hour to reach Kuala Perlis and yay! we started biking at last!

We stopped by Kangar for lunch and met up with Mak's friend, Wan Shahidan who have cycled around Malaysia for about 6 times and he's planning to do another round in August! I guess some people just love to cycle hehehe...

Our bikes parked outside a restaurant in Kangar :o)

Initially, we thought of heading to Wang Kelian to spend the night but since I have a friend in Padang Besar, even better! Along the way to Padang Besar, we wanted to visit Gua Kelam. Boy, the road towards Gua Kelam was really enjoyable! Beautiful scenery along the way....these are things that we would like to see more during our tour!!

On the way to Gua Kelam...

Somewhere along the way....

The difference with a stand and without one!!

Amazing scenery!!

A lone hut out in the wild.....

Ahh....my first backview photo :o)

Finally, at the entrance of Gua Kelam!!

If you go to Padang Besar looking for a bike, look for this shop!!

the eve of our big adventure....

2009-03-05T16:37:00.001-08:00

Hi all!

My apologies for not updating my blog for the past 3 days since we started our adventure. It has been a flurry of actions for these past 3 days!! Time flies when you are really having fun :o) Anyway, our story continues......

Monday, March 2nd 2009

It was the eve of our big journey and we started packing our things. Our beautiful Ortlieb waterproofed panniers are just fantastic! So easy to pack things in and easy to lift them off the bikes when needed. Obviously, the things we brought are of the bare mininum so as to not load the bikes too much :o) My panniers weighed about 5kg each while Mak's was about 6kg each (hmm....you'd think for a guy, it should be the other way round right? hehehe) Just kidding! He was being the gentleman and carried the extra tubes, tools etc...

Once packed and our bikes checked, we were ready to go the next morning!

cheerio!

In preparation for the tour....

2009-02-17T18:26:00.001-08:00

Hi all!

My friend, Mak from SP and I are going for a bike tour around Malaysia in 30 days or so in March :) It'll be an awesome experience for the both of us, I'm sure! Imagine the many great exciting places for us to explore, places that we never know even exists right here in our very own backyard! Not to mention the lovely and friendly people that we will meet along our journey as well as the biking hahaha!!

Our plan is to start from Kuala Perlis and head down south to Johor, then bike across to the east coast and up to Kelantan. We will then cross over the beautiful east-west highway where I do hope to see some elephants along the way before heading up to the most northern part of the west coast. We want to cover the four corners of the peninsular :o)

I am indeed very overwhelmed by the amount of support that we have been getting from friends as well as business associates both here in Langkawi as well as in KL!! It's really amazing to see how many people will come out to support our touring! And the thing that matters most is that they give from their hearts without expecting much in return! We would really like to say special thanks to our current sponsors (and they are growing!)

1) Blue Water Star Sailing who gave us cash
2) Wantas Shipping & Lim Thye Kiang Transport who gave us cash as well
3) Powerbar for sponsoring us bars, gels & recovery drink for the tour!
4) My brother, Simon & his company, Lufter Sdn Bhd for sponsoring me a pair of brand new Ortlieb panniers and rack!
5) Corezone in PJ for agreeing to loan us a MSR FLING TENT for the tour
6) 99 Island Tours Sdn Bhd for a pair of brand new slick tires from Kenda
7) Ekomegah Travel & Tours for the complimentary ferry tickets to & fro Langkawi
and more to come.....

Well, it's definitely going to be an exciting trip and we will keep you all posted as the day gets nearer! Our exact date of departure is not fixed yet but it should be around early March :o)

Until then, here's a thought to ponder...."Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go..." T.S. Eliot

cheers!
two zany cyclists :o)