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Published: March 13th 2007
Welcome to Malaysia
Where the people still smile and are genuinely happy to see a foreigner on his bike passing through their country.Day 283, 10th March
Kaki Bukit - Kangar - Alor Setar - Yan
The bear didn’t return again last night and I surprisingly slept well despite nearly being mauled to death. So, when it was light enough, I hurriedly packed my tent, loaded my bike up, and decided to get the hell out of this jungle before anything else crazy happened.
Back on the small road I had a two-mile climb which I didn’t really need, but was rewarded by the view from the top. Early morning mists rose from the misty hills which was the jungle / rainforest, whever you want to call it. It was beautiful to watch as the red disc of the sun rose in the east colouring the wispy clouds pink. “Red sky in the morning - sailors warning”! so the adage goes. But I’m a cyclist - not a sailor. Let’s see…
The road down into the town of Kaki Bukit was winding and pot-holed, I was to discover that the roads in Malaysia are generally of a poorer standard to those in Thailand. Along the roadside and in the trees were loads of wild monkeys chattering at me as I
Malaysian Entry Stamp
Where I entered the country and near to the spot that I nearly became 'bear-food'! passed. I was soon on route 7, and soon realized that Malaysia is “Car Country”. They have their own brand, The Proton. It was just as bad as England as the day wore on, streams of cars on narrow roads with no shoulders, and lights at every junction. The towns were made for cars with huge one-way systems and no way of avoiding then because you couldn’t walk your bike across the road, due to the massive kerbstones in the median.
The first town I entered was Kangar, and I sought out banks with ATMs so that I could get some cash. None accepted my card. I tried changing the last of my Thai baht, still no-one would accept it! A kind girl in a shop saw my frustration and gave me a can of isotonic drink before I sped off along the rout number 5.
In a small, non-descript village, I saw a very small roadside bank, almost like a shed, with an ATM. So, on the off-chance, I tried it - and it worked! With 200 Ringgit (40 quid) in my pocket, I set out for Alor Setar buying cooling drinks and snacks on route. Alor
Malaysian Roads
Just like in England - riding on the left and very little room when cars and trucks pass you at high speed. Setar is the capital of Kedah State, like Kangar is the capital of Perlis. It was just another big city to me, and I wanted to get out of it asap…
I took state highway 1 south which seemed the only and quickest option, it was horrible! Loads of traffic, and for miles there were garages and spray-painting shops whick stank and polluted not only my lungs but nature too. The headwind was particularly bad today, every direction I turned into the wind blew strongly into my weathered and flaking face (Note: Bring more Oil of Ulay on next trip). After I’d had enough of highway 1 I took the first road right and headed for the coast to try and find a quieter route south.
I found it, the coastal route, and it was much nicer. The route was very rural and through many small traditional villages. I wouldn’t make Pinang today, I was tired after 80 miles of hectic cycling and the humid heat, so after Tajung Jaga I found an old colonial-style lookout building on a high peninsula. It had a name “Tajung Jaga” below some Islamic script and looked derelict. Perhaps the words are
Dawai
The little pier where the small boat took me and my bike across the estuary. a warning to keep out? There was a track behind the builing that led into the trees further onto the peninsula. After a few hundred yards, the track ended at a gate. I went through the gate and the track forked, left and right downwards to the sea. I left my bike by the gate and investigated. The right track went 100 yards down to a small secluded beach on the north side of the peninsula and there was no possibility to camp - no flat land, and I wasn’t going to risk the beach and tides. The left track went down to a rocky, boulder-strewn shoreline on the southern side of the peninsular. Half way down there was a flat area wher I could set up my tent.
I pitched my tent with the opening looking towards the gate, about 50 yards away and higher up. The trees had Jackfruit on them, I pulled one off and went down to sit on the rocks to try and eat it - it was revolting! I chucked it in the sea and watched the sun go down over Strait of Malacca. Out there over the ocean lay the Indonesian island
Malaysian Mosques
Just like in England - Mosques in every town and city... of Sumatra to my south west, to the north was Langkawi and some Thai islands, and about 400 miles west were the Indian Nicobar islands - I sat and dreamed about these places before retiring to my tent to sleep for the night.
It was different camping near the coast. There were not the nocturnal jungle sounds, just the sound of the sea splashing over the rocks below me and a cool breeze. It went dark and I slept. Some hours later I was awoken by a noise, I don’t know what time it was but I was alert again. It was the sound of an approaching motorbike coming along the track above me. Then I saw the light flickering through the trees. I looked out of my now un-zipped tent and saw the bike approach, then stop at the gate. The light went off, so did the engine - then silence…. What could I do now? I kept still and watched the man sitting on the bike, he lit a cigarette and waited. The smoke drifted down to me and I became nervous. It was silent enough for him to hear me if I made any movements, so
BIG NEWS!
I cut these headlines out of a local paper - seems nothing much happens round here... I kept dead still. Who was this guy, what did he want, and was he armed?
Half an hour later I head the ‘putt, putt, putt’ of a distant boat. It got louder as the boat got closer. I saw it through the trees, it was about 30 feet long with no lights, a small fishing boat. The man on the bike flashed his headlights a few times - the boat responded likewise. It seemed that I was in a movie, “Smuggler’s Cove”, “Treasure Island”, or more like “Brainless Bikepacker meets the Armed Smugglers and Dies”! I didn’t like it and grabbed my passport, money, and flick-knife ready to do a runner through the forest. The boat continued to the other side of the peninsular and cut its engine, the motorbiker went down the other path to rendezvous. I took my chance and crept out of my tent, covered the reflectors on my bike with a black T-shirt and waited behind a tree looking towards my tent and bike in the foreground, and gate in the distance - ready to run…
After about 10 minutes, the guy appeared again carrying a big white box with another guy who
BIG NEWS part 2
Wow! Just like the shite you get in the papers in England, too... seemed to be carrying something else over his back - a rifle. They fixed the box to the back of the bike and thankfully, they both left the scene. The boat chugged back the way it came a few minutes later. What had I just witnessed? It was definitely smuggling of some kind - illegal, otherwise they wouln’t have needed guns. What would have happened if they had seen me? Did they know the forest better than I did? What the hell am I doing this for….? I went back to my tent cursing myself. Two nights now, the first two nights, in Malaysia I’ve put my life at risk - what for? I’ve cycled nine months from England to be here and am so close to my goal, so why risk it? Just because it’s going to be a good story to tell people? No, it’s not worth any more danger I’ve decided, it’s got to be hostels from now…
Total Miles: 12995.91 Todays Miles: 86.67 Average speed: 11.8 Time on bike: 7:19
Day 284, 11th March
Yan - Dalian - Butterworth - Georgetown
It was another rough night’s sleep. I spent the rest of the night listening for sounds; footsteps, motorbikes, animals, creatures approaching my tent…trying to decipher what I was hearing through the crashing of the waves. I became somewhat paranoid towards morning and was so glad to see first light. I was alive and well and made a much needed cuppa on my Trangia before packing and dissapearing.
I carried on along the coastal road to Dawai where I was told that a ferry would take me across the estuary, which would cut out about 15 miles of the journey to Butterworth. I found the pier and was told that the ferry only appeared when there were enough people on the pier, and that “It was early, just yet”. The town looked Chinese and the inhabitants were of Chinese origin, so I sat down at a Chinese restaurant and ate egg-fried rice for breakfast, with chillies. The owner told me that the first boat went at around ten, it was now nine. So, I waited…
Exactly one hour later, a small boat appeared. By small I mean for 4 people including the captain! As I was the only passenger he agreed to take me and my bike to the other side for 6 Ringgit. I had to unpack everything to get it on the wee boat, then he sped at top speed across the estuary to a beach on the other side where I had to unload everything onto the sand and the re-pack my bike, breaking off my flagpole in the process…(sob)!
It was a nice rural run down the coast and people waved me down to give me free fruit! Then, I hit highway 1 again… in all its hecticness! Never mind, it wasn’t far to the quaint-sounding Butterworth, which wasn’t all that quaint at all. On the northern outskirts was a big RAAF base, and the centre of town was very commercial with a big confusing port. I had to catch the ferry across to Geogetown on the island of Penang, a 2 mile crossing and a free trip. The ferry was a big old car ferry. I think their days are numbered cos I noticed a huge new bridge to the island further south.
It wasn’t a long crossing and on the other side I found myself in a British Colonial style town - a kind of mini Hong Kong off the coast of Malaysia. I made my way to D’Budget Hostel which I’d heard about and checked in for two nights, then went to explore town…
The area near the hostel is ‘Little India’ and this gave me chance to indulge in my favourite food - curries. It was basically all-you-can-eat for 3R. And lovely Indian tea too with loads of milk and sugar… So, this is where us Brits get that habit from? I wandered the streets looking at the architecture and trying to spot as many signs of the old colonial era as possible: post boxes, street signs, shop signs and some flaking painted signs on buildings with Anglo-Saxon names. It was interesting for me.
Later on, I went round with two guys I met at the hostel, John from England and Frederick from Hannover. We walked through Chinatown and chanced upon a group of people practicing the Lion Dance for some forthcoming event, I suppose. Beer is expensive here at R8.30, so I had to have my border-crossing-beer here. The only beer I’ll have in Malaysia perhaps because I can’t afford these prices. Well, it’s a muslim country and they must have to dissuade people from drinking alcohol, and this is probably the way they do it? I reckon the next couple of days I’ll spend chilling out here in Penang. Maybe some of the other guys are here and we can meet up to cycle the rest of the way to Singapore. I’d like us to all arrive there at the end of the trip together, which, I reckon, is about two weeks away now - unless I do something really stupid…
Total Miles: 13034.91 Todays Miles: 34.31 Average speed: 11.6 Time on bike: 3:16
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Tot: 0.599s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 25; qc: 113; dbt: 0.1709s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.4mb
jaxw17
jackie waring
Jackie
What a palava what with bears tigers and drug smugglers. Talking of ringgts made me remember our breif aquantance with Malaysia at KL airport. We were just passing through and had no currency so i paid for our purchases by credit card. who ever did the data inputting must of been pissing them selves laughin at them - 2 coffees ...............................1 tube of hemmaroid cream........for Dave. I can't believe that you are probably only looking at another 2 weeks. Have you travelled since and are you going to post a blog about it?