The Day the Elderly Ran Rampant on Bicycles - Day 44: Biking South From Bangkok

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Day 44: Melaka to Muar

We awoke early and biked ten miles around town, further exploring, checking out all the ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim temples in the old town. Again it rained, but it cleared up within the morning. After our explorations we settled in at a busy Chinese restaurant, reading the local paper, and ordering food in slow waves, while drinking delicious sweetened coffee. The locals bustling around pretty much ignored us, giving us our own big round table to ourselves, while they all shared others with local strangers.

We ate wonton mee, a delicious noodle dish, and homemade toast with homemade brown jam and butter. It was a cute old town, very Chinese, a bit depressed, and oddly enough, reminiscent of Perth, Australia. Elderly folks on bicycles rode rampant. We took a nap from 11-12 back at our whorehouse-esque hotel, then ate more wonderful Chinese moo-shi like rolls, filled with sautéed turnips, bean curd, egg, herbs and sauce. We tried roka, a very distinctive, tangy and spicy salad, made of pineapple, cucumbers and sour tamarind sauce. This was followed up by some sickly-sweet plum tea.

We headed off in the direction of Muar, getting lost for almost an hour trying to escape from Melaka. The signs kept pointing us in a circle, bringing us back to where we’d started. It was a day of beautiful clouds and we biked along a quiet highway, failing to wear sunscreen as we’d assumed it would rain, like it did each day for the past two weeks. Well, this day it didn’t rain, and we got terribly sunburnt.

Muar was a big town, very cute, stock full of old homes and shophouses, mostly Chinese, with a grand street life and loads of traffic. We found a respectable hotel with a fan and a window for 40 ringit. A wise, serene-faced baby helped the family run this hotel. There were no tourists here, like many of the places we’d been, but unlike other places, here, for some reason, we were like celebrities. The locals were fascinated by us. They would nearly fall off their bicycles craning their necks to stare at us as they rode by. Some would stop their cars in the road just to ogle us.

We ate a wonderous wonton mee from a street vendor, homemade soft thick noodles, handmade pork-filled juicy wontons, tender slices of BBQ pork, slices of banana pepper for sweetness and spiciness. In Muar there was a massive thrift store, called the “Five Ringit Store”, where surprise, everything was only 5 ringit, or $1.66. Here, we spent hours shopping, after realizing we would soon be in a cold climate and hadn't brought a single pair of pants or a long sleeved shirt, let alone a sweater or jacket. Much of the clothing seemed new, and what was not new was in excellent shape. It was likely new castoffs from clothing factories, the garment industry being the number 2 industry in Malaysia. I got a whole new wardrobe for $15!

We spent a day relaxing in Muar, enjoying our celebrity status, taking care of business, and of course, eating. We purchased plane tickets, for only $250 each, including a $30 bike fee, to Perth, Australia. In just one week, we would soon be on our way to a whole new adventure. The decision to head to Australia was made almost as quickly as our prior decision to set off on this bike trip. Almost. That decision was more of a twelve-hour one than the three days we'd spent considering Australia.

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