Yesterday we arrived in the remote town of Bagan Datoh. It is an old town that was originally settled by Hindu’s from India. The people where friendly but they were very surprised to see tourists as the road stops at Bagan Datoh. It is a dead end town due to the Perak River. We had discussed with the kids all of the cycling options and they chose to cycle into Bagan Datoh and take the risk that we would not be able to get a boat across the river and would therefore have to cycle back 62 km to go around the only river crossing.

Allister spent 2 hours walking around asking about a boat with no luck. When he got back to the hotel he was hot and bothered and had reached a point were he was happy to cycle the extra 62 km. I on the other hand love cycling but hate backtracking. I convinced him to come out for another walk with me to see if we could find someone to help us. As we were walking along the fishermans road an old Chinese man called out to us, asking what we wanted. I walked over to him and asked about a boat across the river. At the time I could not have predicted how involved this process was going to be.

The Chinese man called out to a friend near by and explained to him what we wanted. The friend phoned anther man who must have  jumped on his motorbike straight away because he turned up about 5 minutes later. He then called someone else and so on until we were in a group of about 6 old Chinese men all talking at each other. After about 30 minutes of discussions the original man asked us how much we were willing to pay. Allister offered half of what he and I had discussed earlier. We obviously offered way too much because the 6 men did not have good poker faces. They were delighted at the offer (~$70 AUS). We were told to meet them at their fishing shack at 8am the following morning to catch our boat.

Best adventure so far.

Bike being lifted on a fishing hoist.

Bike being lowered in the boat View from the fishing shack.

Once we reached the other side of the river we had a lovely cycle to Lumut. We then jumped on a much bigger boat for the 20 ride to the Island of Pangkor.

Had a great afternoon in Port Dickson.  Our small unit had a great view over the ocean and the boys had a wonderful time in the pool. I find it amazing how there can hate each other one minute and then be the best of friends the next. 

The boys also had a game of soccer with some local kids. It was lovely to watch them playing.  They ever had a group of girls cheering for them on the sidelines. 

Had a great ride today.  It felt like we rode up hill for the first half then down hill for the second half. The 50km just flew by. I think we are all getting fitter and acclimatizating to the heat and humidity.  

We have not had WiFi for a couple of days so there is a lot of stories to tell. 

Yesterday it rained and rained and rained. We were all soaked through, and I am talking about every nook and cranny was wet. Due to all of the puddles, we were also covered in grit. For 35km it rained, then suddenly it stopped and the sun came out with avengeance. It was hot. Really really hot. The black bitumen was like a stove top. The boys were going strong but I developed a headache that made me nauseated. I pushed through but with only 5km from our destination, I started to not be able to see properly.  The boys were great.  They poured water on my head while Allister rode ahead to get a cold drink for me.  I had to stop three times in the last 5km but we finally made it to the most beautiful spot so far. Umang-Umang Chalet  (baby turtle chalet). Right on the beach with mangrove trees all around.  Really lovely. I floated in the ocean until my headache subsided. 

During our ride yesterday we also tried another short cut. It was all looking really good until we were stopped by soldiers with guns.  We were told that we were not allowed to proceed because it was a military base. We had to ride all the way back to the main road. This time it was my fault.  Maps.me advised us to not go that way but I could see that the road went through. It did, but it was a no go zone. 

One thing I have noticed is that the further we get away from Johor, the friendlier people have become.  People are constantly waving, smiling and calling out greatings. It is really nice. 

Malacca was an interesting city with a rich history and welcoming to tourists.  The river running through the center of town is like a canal in Europe with building foundations defining the banks of the river.  We had a rest day in Malacca and rather than rest the boys wanted to do something. We talked about the different touristy things to do but in the end we decided on ten pin bowling. We caught an Uber for the first time and travelled 12km out of the city to have two games of bowls. What fun!!

Until our next WiFi. 

Julie 

Spent new years with a group of locals that we met. Fireworks at a Wild Wild West theme park. Probably the strangest new year’s I have ever had.

When we arrived in Malacca after a hot ride we were told be another local that the noodles down the road from our hotel were great. He was correct. Four bowls later we were all stuffed.

This morning we woke up to the sound of our air conditioner going full force and cars racing by on the street below our hotel room. We woke up thinking we had a pretty easy day to look forward to. We packed up quickly and headed out for a 5 km ride to the local train station in Kulai. When we arrived, we were asked if our bikes folded up? I explained that they did but not easily. The train master said “fold them up or no ride the train”. We spent a quick 30 minutes dismantling the bikes into three awkward pieces each, 8 panniers and a bag of bottles. This created quite a scene at the small train platform. Lots of locals were gathering to watch the crazy westerners.

When the train arrived it was action stations. The 4 of us and three train attendants madly trying to get all of our stuff on the train.  We got it all on but we filled up one of the door wells so nobody could use that exit. The other passengers on the train did not seem to mind.  The trip was uneventful except that in the chaos I had not been able to have my morning coffee. I had been thinking about giving up coffee during this trip so I just went with it. The headache was not so bad but I did want to scream at Allister on about 3 occasions.Totally my overreaction to him being perfect. 

When the train arrived at Tampin, we unloaded all of our stuff onto the platform. It was quite easy putting the bikes back together on the platform and before we knew it we were on our way again.

When we arrived at the area that our accommodation was in we realised that our map was not detailed enough to find the house we needed. Allister was happy to just cycle around until he stumbled across it but I decided to ask a local. Luckily we met some really nice ladies who walked us to our house. They have invited us out tonight to see the fire works with them but it will be very late and the boys are already arguing so I am not sure if they will go. Allister seems keen but he will be asleep on the couch by 7pm.

Easy 30km ride to Malacca tomorrow with the plan to stay two nights.

Today we decided to go to the Artscience museum to see the Escher’s World of Wonder. The boys really enjoyed the interactive displays. Science class covered for the week.