Malaysia: Final thoughts, Impressions and Overall Experience

We have now reached Kota Bahru, cycled more than 780 km with about 40 left to go until the border. Our time spent here has been 15 days, with another day off and then we head to the border.We have become well acquainted with the East Coast of Malaysia: it's food, people, attitudes, and religion.

It is a unique place to explore, especially on bike.  We chose the east coast because of the roads; we heard they were top notch.  In that respect, the cycling was great.  Smooth roads, wide shoulders. We didn't have too many moments where we were feeling vulnerable; however, on occasions the shoulder did disappear.  If the quality of the roads of a major plus, the level of traffic was enough to upset the nerves. Although well behaved in general, the traffic was constant and moderate for the entire ride with the exception of a few roads. The traffic was a mix between small tidy cars and massive trucks with seemingly no muffler.  Whenever the shoulder did disappear, many large trucks were sure to pass. Alyssa went to her happy place often.  Rarely, we were blessed with a quite road, through small villages.  These were our favorite moments of the ride.

The scenery. Although beautiful, green, and lush, it was a never ending line of small cities intermingled with forest. This gave us the sensation of never moving forward or gaining any ground. When towns weren't present, it was endless palm oil plantations, sometimes a tropical mangrove, but it was always green.  The beach was never far away.  We could hear the waves, but we almost never saw them. We followed the blog, www.mrpumpy.com; he explained the ride as waves crashing into the shore and palm trees swaying in the light, sea breeze.  We never got that. I think the Malaysians moved hwy 3 around. When we did ride along the coastline, it was spectacular and unique, not developed.  Miles of beach with no buildings, only small farms and, water that was dirty from monsoon run-off, sometimes black.

The Weather. It's monsoon season here. There were flash floods and warnings, but that didn't stop us.  Whose afraid of a little rain, we won't melt. We worked in Fox Glacier for God's sake. We won't freeze, it's hot here. The typical weather pattern is for moderate rainfall throughout the day with brief breaks. Our experience was the opposite and we were told this is quite unusual. We did get wet, but we were very lucky since most of the heavy rains fell at night.  The cycling was great in this weather. The days were mostly cloudy, with brief showers that cooled us down.  But the heavy rainfall was evident in peoples yards; half flooded, with children playing on floaties. 

The cities. They are all very uniform, not much difference from one to the next.  There is always at least one mosque, several shopping outlets and small restaurants.  The buildings are slightly dilapidated due to high moisture, cheap materials and lack of upkeep. The sounds of the city are similar to any city, but there is one unique sound and that is of swallows nesting in the buildings.  And they're not only welcome, but loud speakers pointed out the windows play swallow calls to attract them.  The nests of these birds are essential in the delicacy Bird's Nest Soup. 

The people.  The population of Malay are largely Muslim, with Chinese in the mix. Many of the people speak some English which makes things easier, and they are also reasonably helpful.  But overly hospitable they are not; in fact, they are a shy people in general.  The further north we went, the more conservative the people have become.  In general, most men wear normal street clothes, but very few are in shorts and tank tops and the women, if Muslim, wear headscarves and are fully covered (although sometimes they are in tight clothing or t-shirts).  They seem to lack a certain amount of culture and therefore appear somewhat repressed. 

Lychee, the love affair begins

The overall experience here was nice, but not overly exciting. The east coast of Malaysia was a great place to start the tour as it is flat (good to get cycle-fit), easy to communicate, and very safe.  We ride to the border in anticipation of the unknown.


Matt and Alyssa want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy holiday!!!

Cherating: Religous Beach Bums or Surfer Dudes with a religous conscience?

Two days off in Cherating Beach, Malaysia. Not even a town, just a side road off of Hwy 3 that links up on both ends.  A cool, chilled out place with surfers catching the breakers, long hair/dreadlocks, board shorts and strict Muslims with skin and head coverings (both men and women, but mostly women). In the shops, there are halter tops, sarongs, brightly colored burqas and tie dye.  The accommodation ranges in price but all are close to the beach and many are private chalets with air-con and western toilet (may or may not flush).   Intermingled among shops and chalets are restaurants with open air seating. Only a roof to protect from the monsoon rains. The menus are also presented in English and some restaurants serve western style foods whilst others are strict Muslim meals; No Beer!


We wondered how an old milk carton had gotten on the roof. Cheeky monkeys.


In the morning, bare-foot Rastas carry their boards to the beach, while hard working, Muslim women, sweep out the shops and  prepare food.

What an interesting place where two seemingly opposite views and values converge.  So we ask ourselves, is this place a strict Muslim community with a rowdy hip side? Or, a place with a laid back beach bum attitude and a religious conscience.

Either way, this place is great.  It's the first place we've been with real character.  Every other town on the east coast of Malaysia seems the same, not much variation. Here, it's pleasant change.

Tiny little frogs were everywhere.

For our last night, we'll meet up with some new friends, have dinner and a few beers before we retire to the road tomorrow. We continue to head north on Hwy 3 to Kota Bahru.

Malaise in Malaysia...Nah We're good

The act of cycling is repetative.

Push with the right foot.

Breath.

Push with the left.

Sip water.

Shift upwards, shift back down.

Over and over for 50, 60, 90 km.

Our days also become repetitive in nature. We have a routine that we abide by.  Wake up early enough to watch the sun rise and catch a cool, peaceful hour before the sun gets high and traffic begins to thicken.  It's during this time that you can be alone with your thoughts and get in sync with your bike, a rhythm that is both calming and satisfying.   Every two hours, or so, rest in the shade. As the average temperature can hover around 33 Celsius during the day, and the temperature on the cycle computer telling us it feels more like 40, we have to be conscious of our core body temperatures. Squeeze lunch in at a roadside restaurant or stall at some point.  If all goes well, we're in a place to escape the heat and have a cool shower by 13:00. And, of course, end the day with a good stretch.

In reality, this is all nothing but a good goal, and wishful thinking at best.  So far, our itinerary has had us cycle vastly different distances from 20 km to 90km daily, and start at random times between 6:30 and 9:00. Whoops.  Okay, we have to give ourselves some credit, we only just started this trip.  The only thing that seems consistent is the fact that we're spent after each day.  Even if we don't end up cycling vast distances, the mental exhaustion of exploring and understanding a new culture is a challenge. Not top mention it's hot.

The Malaysian versoin of a lemonade stand! Juice made from Jambu, simialr to a pear.

Malaysians seem to be quite friendly, but also quite conservative as the majority of the population is Muslim, but they too have funny quirks that are emerging with everyday.  As we cycle, we receive honks, whistles and thumbs up. It seems to be some sort of encouragement, however, Alyssa is still not convinced they're not taking the piss.  We're told this will increase in Thailand. Awesome.

The rare glimpse of the beach. But the clouds were normal

The Malaysians are also not afraid to stare....and stare...and stare.  Alyssa was at first concerned that it was her clothing, as she cycles in lycra shorts during the hot days. However, after purchasing a sarong and seeing other women in tank tops and mid-thigh shorts, Alyssa and Matt are convinced it is just them. Whether they are trying to pay at a restaurant, cycling or walking down the street, all eyes seem to follow them.  But that's not to say they aren't friendly.  Many folks speak some English and help best they can. The women are particularly friendly.

The food here is cheap and plentiful, and delicious; although Alyssa's mother wouldn't touch any of it with a 12 foot pole. We enjoy self-serve restaurants that serve rice, fish, several curries, and fantastic veggies, and Matt can actually get full. A typical meal costs us $2.50 USD per person (includes drink).  All of our accommodation so far has air-con, fresh sheets and towels and our own bathroom, plus plenty of space for our bikes in the rooms.  The cost is typically 50 Malaysian Ringgits, or $8 USD per person. This makes Matt very happy.Malaysians also like to use Western utensils, but have given the heave-hoe to the knife and use only spoon and fork (taking on the role of knife, or maybe the other way around?)



Cows in the road!!



The weather so far is hot, have we mentioned this? It's also the monsoon season, so we've been prepared to get wet. Our rain jackets are forever in reach.  But we've been lucky, cloudy and overcast, but little rain.  The weather is expected to rain heavily for most of the day, with intermittent breaks in rain.  Instead, in the afternoons, we ride with little cloud cover and a beating sun. Rain comes usually at night, but dries up by morning.  The news that some towns had to evacuate residence because of flooding was worrisome, but we kept cycling. Yards were under water, but people still go along as if there property had always been a small body of water.

We are continuing to head north on Hwy 3 to Kota Bahru.

Favorite Moments So Far:

1) At the border crossing, Alyssa misplaced her passport, only to find it in a zipper pocket of her camelback.

2) Matt's tire shooting out a large stone, hitting a moving car's passenger door.  The car braked, then continued driving.

3) Seeing lots of wildlife including, but not limited to: monkeys, water moniters, Tucans (and possibly one Tucan't), and cool little frogs

4) Trying Durian, a fruit that Alyssa can only describe as very weak garlic with a fruity taste and a creamy, rich texture. 



Durian Fruit



Is this Asia? It doesn't smell like Asia...

The days are a balmy 12 hours long, with intermittent showers/downpours.  It's the monsoon season with the average temperature reaching into the low 30s with some god awful percent of humidity.  Down the most prominent street, there are stores featuring Gucci, Prada, Emporio Armani, and many others we will never be able to enter without being asked to leave immediately.  Jump onto the metro and get off in the Red Light District, where a few prostitutes speckle the side-walks at sundown and where the food is cheap and delicious; even though you may not always be sure what it is exactly that you're eating.  The smells that are typically associated with Asian cities are curiously absent (usually), and the streets are impeccably clean, given that it's a city of over 5 million people. Such a curious place it is. The large island, about 700 km squared, where most people are, is almost completely covered in concrete and gives new meaning to the term "Concrete Jungle".

This is Singapore.

We arrived two nights before the Singapore Marathon.  Matt was only 1 out of 20,000 people running the full  marathon, not to mention the 45,000 other participants in the other events.  Alyssa opted out of any of the races, which she regretted on race day. The race began at 5:00 in the morning, Alyssa waited 25 meters past the starting line to try and catch a glimpse of Matt as he passed by.  But after 45 minutes, with runners still crossing the starting line, Alyssa went somewhere else.  Matt put up a hell of a fight, considering he was injured. But in the end, or more like in the middle, he cut off about 10 km, finishing around 3 hours 36 minutes. Alyssa saw him cross the finish line.

Matt's Race Number

Metro Full of Racers at 4:30am

Matt on the way to the race, with many others

Matt After the Race. Great Job Matt!

  The rest of the time in Singapore was filled with walking in the heat and searching for good touring bikes. Which we can now say for certain, Singapore has very few.  After hours of searching, we found two bikes that will hopefully do the trick: M's Trek 7.2 and W's Trek 7.2.

Tomorrow (8/12/11), we leave for Malaysia and we expect many challenges and obstacles to overcome.  The road is calling and we are anxious to move on.