After a fairly easy 50km cycle we arrived at the Potato Hotel. We don’t know why it is called Potato but it was the cleanest we could find in the area. We showered and relaxed for a while until the kids started to revolt. They wanted out of the hotel room and were bursting with energy. (I’m beginning to think 50km is not long enough to wear out the kids) We checked out TripAdvisor to see what there was to do around the area. Mini golf won out over the charcoal factor, coffee factory or the local zoo.
The mini golf was 5km away from our hotel so we decided to get back on our bikes and ride there. As we left the hotel and headed east we saw dark ominous clouds over the highlands. About half way there, large drops started to fall. Lightning and thunder followed. Luckily for us we were just going under a freeway. We stopped to shelter from the rain. Amazingly there was a large roadside food stall under the freeway. We ordered drinks and the kids joined in a bizarre game of cricket with the local kids involving a piece of 4×2 and rocks.
After an hour the rain stopped and we all decided to head back to the hotel and not worry about playing mini golf.
When Mum eventually ran out of energy, we stopped by the side of the road for a snack from a little side store. They had ice cream, toys and a lot of fruit. Patrick and I found a crazy pineapple It was very ???? cool.
I got a new phone because my old one got wet in an old water proof case, that I got for my birthday from Keir.
This morning we woke to a storm. Thunder, lightning and torrential rain. It started around 3am with a hugh clap of thunder. The alarm went off at 6am but we stayed in bed until 7am, waiting for the rain to decrease. When we go on the road it was lovely and cool. Probably the coolest we have felt in three weeks.
During the first hours of cycling every morning, the boys have got into a routine of looking out for a roadside Roti restaurant. Without fail we have discover one every morning for the past few days. Roti for breakfast is our favorite. The one that we discovered this morning was amazing. Huge selection of food and the roti was the best so far.
Slow start to the day because of thunderstorm. We waited until it had mostly passed before braving the day. Being a Sunday the roads were quiet and the rains made it cool, so very comfortable riding conditions.
Found a nice place for our last rest break. Julie also found a good way to get a great smile from Patrick.
After we got off the ferry from the island we stayed at the last night. We went to frenzy Waterpark. It was very good because we were the only people there, because it was a weekday. I learned how to backflip into water.
We had a lovely night staying with a friends dad in Lumut. Thanks Mike for your hospitality.
When we left Mike’s we had a short ride of 35km onto the next town, Pantai Remis. The ride had two memorable moments. One was that we were joined on the road by three other cycling. We cycled with them for a while but in the end we could not keep up. They were on faster bikes with no panniers.
The other memorable event happened while we cycling over a remote bridge surrounded by jungle. There was a troup of monkeys hanging about on the guard railing on the side of the bridge. Most of them were just monkeying about but two of them were shagging. We were all impressed with their acrobatic skill but the boys were embarrassed for the monkeys. I personally don’t think the monkey’s cared that we caught them at it. I didn’t get a photo because I was cycling and typically it was all over very quickly.
We booked two nights on Pangkor Island so that we could have a rest day. When we chose a hotel on Pangkor, we did not consider the elevation of the road to it. Because it was on the coast we assume the road would be flat. We were wrong. There were two small hills along the coast, the only problem with them was their gradient. The warning signs said 10% gradient but Allister and I both agree that it was more like 14%. Needless to say we made it up and over them but there was a little bit of swearing and sweating.
When we got to our hotel it was beautiful. White sandy beaches with blue water and hardly anyone else around. We played on the beach and drank fruit smoothies all day long.
