The ride started a little differently today. We stayed in a small sleepy fishing town that is cut off from the north by a large river mouth. We wanted to continue north and thought we could get to the other side via a ferry. However, no ferry service, so we organised a fishing boat. For the full story of how that was organised see Julie’s post.
Once we got to the other side it was a good ride through some back roads to Marina Island. The two highlights were our best roti yet paid for by a friendly local and riding through a rubber plantation.
Once we got to Marina Island we caught our second boat for the day to Pulau Pangkor. Great ride to our accommodation, with a couple of very steep inclines, before ending in a great swimming pool to cool off.
It was a long hot day, but we are all getting stronger and acclimatised to the conditions. No head aches or melt downs or I can’t go any further, which is a credit to everyone in such tough conditions.
We taught the boys 500 (card game) at the beginning of the cycling and they are becoming quite accomplished in their play and strategies. The highlight of the day was stopping at a small community (Kedai makan rashid) restaurant for a break just before noon. Nobody spoke English, but they were so welcoming and very positive. We played 500 for about half an hour and helped ourselves to the food on table (based on an honour system). When I went to pay we had eaten eight different things and it came to 2 RM ($0.67).
In the afternoon Robert and I went in search to organise a boat trip for tomorrow. We were unsuccessful in that, but our driver took us to a monument in the middle of nowhere, where their King takes a shower (where Robert’s right hand id pointing).
Another good day of cycling. Most of the time off the beaten path, but not so rough that we were bogged in sand or stuck in foot deep mud like yesterday.
While cycling along the coast we came across a couple of Belgium cyclists who had started in Phuket and were heading to Klang. Pity they were heading in the opposite direction, because it would have been good to share some of the ride.
The day started out leaving from our first Warm Showers stay. Our hosts were very welcoming and showed us around on our rest day in Klang.
It was another hot day and by 10:00am we had ridden halfway, but needed a rest stop in shade. We came across a Buddhist temple on the side of the road that made a perfect spot to cool down and rest.
We made it to the coast by late morning and we found a road right on the beach. Luckily it was only too sandy right at the end, which made it a perfect spot to take a photo.
We had another adventure after lunch with a muddy track, but I will let Patrick tell the story.
We are starting to get our bike legs and get into a good rhythm. We were up and ready to ride by 7:30am. There was heaps of traffic and trucks on the road to start with, but then most of the traffic disappeared and we had an enjoyable ride up the coast.
When we were 5kms from our destination a local road bike peloton passed us, all the while they were taking selfies with us in the background. Paddy felt like a challenge, so we chased them all the way to our hotel.
Hard day’s cycle in the rain then mid day heat when the clouds cleared.
The ride did have some highlights. As we got to the beach two guys on motor bikes said ‘Hi’. Being close to lunch Julie asked where we could get fried banana, so they said ‘Follow us’. They led us to a great restaurant on the beach, where we enjoyed fried banana, sweet potato and rice.
After some trials and tribulations we got to our destination and had a very relaxing afternoon lazying on the beach.
Tried a few side routes to keep off main road today, one worked spectacularly, while another put an extra 10 kms to the trip because we had to turn back to the main road. The boys weren’t happy, but handled the situation really well. Part of touring (and life) is trying alternative routes and sometimes having to turn back, but other times having the rewards of the less travelled path.
Picnic in a car wash just after our 10km detour, with 10kms left to go.
