Day 67: Phuket Old Town to Phang Nga

Splitting tacks and we run into the Brownlee brothers

Today, Tiger and the tandem split tacks. Tiger wanted to head off on his own for a few days , and who can blame him. If Sarina could spend some alone time too, I think she would!

Phuket Old Town was pretty nice. It reminded us of George Town in Penang. The monthly market was in full swing and we made our way through throngs if people still celebrating Chinese New Year.  

Then this morning Tiger headed off after breakfast and we were on our own to head north out of Phuket.  

We took a diversion off the main road and headed towards HatBang Thao on the west coast so we didn’t head up the main airport road the whole way. 

We stopped at a nice coffee shop on our way through and as we were leaving, first one then another cyclist arrived. It was obvious from their legs they were serious riders, and after a chat we found out they were triathletes, one based in Phuket, one visiting. We chatted about our journey and headed off, whilst they waited for “another couple of guys from Leeds.”  

(We actually headed in completely the wrong direction initially, but after a u-turn, we were back in the right direction.)

We had a lovely ride through rural Phuket before emerging on the main road again before the airport. ​

We could here the chat coming from behind us for a while, and then a broad Yorkshire accent asks” Where are you from?” as a group of four riders come past. It’s the two triathletes again, plus Jonny Brownlee telling us we should head back to Yorkshire.

As luck would have it​, they were stopped up ahead at a junction and we were able to have a chat. They seemed surprised we weren’t supported and wanted to know how many punctures we’d had – five as it happens. 

Then they were off. An interesting interlude though. Shame Tiger missed it.  

Then we continued on down the road, knocking off a comfortable 100 km by the end of the day.  

We did have another small navigational error that led to us being the wrong side of a large ditch. Soon sorted though. We’re missing Tiger’s navigation! 

The last kilometre was a wee bit uphill, with a switchback climb up to our guesthouse for the night, but the view with our well earned beer was worth every pedal stroke. ​

We even got to have a plunge in the swimming lake at the bottom of the hill. You don’t get that with most accommodation. ​

We hope Tiger found somewhere as good to stay. ​

Day 66: Ko Lanta to Phuket by ferry

Last island hop on the west coast 

It’s our last hop up the west coast, landing in Phuket to continue by pedal power tomorrow. If you want to make island hopping more challenging I can recommend taking a couple of bikes, especially if one is a tandem. 

This was a pretty easy trip and we managed to get a direct ferry rather than changing in Ko Phi Phi. 

Now the cycling starts again - at least until we get to the east coast, when Tiger’s going to spend a few days getting his PADI diving certificate.  

Day 65: Sarina’s birthday ride around Ko Lanta

​We called a rest day for Sarina’s birthday and headed off for a gentle cycle across Ko Lanta and down the east coast of the island. 

The west coast is well developed with tourist resorts, but the east coast is all about fishing and rubber farming and dramatic views across the straits to the mainland. ​

We rode down to the end of the road, past a village of semi nomadic fisherman whose village had bee destroyed in the 2007 tsunami. They still live in their rebuilt, much stronger huts on the water’s edge, but there is an early warning system and evacuation signage now, which saw none of the population hurt by the 2010 tsunami. 

We also swung by the old town and Sarina found herself a very nice necklace and pair of earrings as a birthday present. They are made from “Shiva” shell, named after the Hindu god. 

The evening was  the main event, with a cooking course where we are staying. A great teacher, Noi, took us through the basics of Thai cooking as we assembled our meal for the evening. Spicy fish salad with spring rolls followed by tom yam soup and mussaman curry. 

It was a very entertaining evening which also taught us a great deal about Thai food, how to cook it and how to eat it. 

Biggest learnings -  

1. “Killing“ a clove of garlic with a blow from the side of a cleaver is much easier than chopping  

2. Prepring all the veg takes much longer than cooking, and you have to get all the prep done so you don’t overcook the food

3. How to tell which ingredients are intended to be eaten and which are just there for flavour.  

4. Tiger has picked up a lot of knowledge about wine.

Day 64: Ko Lipe to Ko Lanta by ferry

Speedboat ride​

We packed up our tents early this morning and said goodbye to the Rasta campground that had been home for a couple of nights. We were catching the 08:00 speedboat out of town, with the usual complications caused by two bikes and ten bags. ​

The Ko Lipe Camping Zone

Soon we were charging across the waves in what felt too exciting a ride to keep up for three hours. ​

Eventually the sea became calmer​ and the ride a little more comfortable. 

Ko Lanta is a fun place. We were greeted by a large number of Swedish ex-pats in a volley ball tournament- that seems to be fairly typical round here. 

Now we’re settled in to our bungalows at  Time for Lime and looking forward to Sarina’s birthday and a Thai cooking course tomorrow. 

Day 63: Rest day, Koh Lipe

Too good leave

After half a day in Koh Lipe we decided we needed to spend more time here. The beautiful white sand beach, incredible food and fun filled activity options persuaded us we needed to explore further.

We relaxed all morning after swimming, sorting breakfast at the Elephant Bar and booking our ferry ticket to Ko Lanta for tomorrow. 

Then another swim and relaxing on the beach before heading off for an afternoon of snorkeling in the surrounding islands.

The coral on the Panta Pattaya was very dead, but a short trip in a long-tail boat and we were snorkeling above thriving coral reefs full of life. The visibility wasn’t great, too much plankton apparently, but there were many fish and incredible coral structures  

Not much cycling to do here. Maybe tomorrow. The real cycling doesn’t start again until we hit the mainland at Phuket. 

Day 62: Cenang Beach to Koh Lipe

We’re seriously island hopping now

We jumped on another ferry, but we had the good grace to at least ride around the coast of Langkawi to another ferry port.  

Sunrise on Langkawi, Malaysia  

These high speed ferries are pretty cool though. In an hour and a half we’d shot up the Andaman Sea and we’re in Thailand, a small ( really small) island at the southern end of Thailand. 

Immigration was the most amazing experience. We arrived in the bay and were ferried assure by “long-tails” - local boats with a large Diesel engine mounted on a long shaft to a propellor 5m behind the boat. The other end is then used as a tiller roster. It’s a diy outboard motor. 

Once ashore, and reunited with our bikes, we had to clear immigration.  This involved sitting on the beach and waiting for our names to be called (unintelligibley) by the man in charge. He seemed to think he was running a game show. Quite the most entertaining wait for immigration ever. 

Once in, we headed to our accommodation - a camp site. Our tents were very excited to be called upon for the first time since leaving Australia. 

Then, time for a swim on a beach of the most incredible white sand, with a picturesque sunset and drinks at a beachside bar. Gorgeous.  

Sunset on Ko Lipe, Thailand  

The other thing Thailand does incredibly well is food and we finished the day with some of the largest prawns i’ve ever seen in my life, grilled on a barbecue to perfection.  

Day 61: Kuah to Cenang Beach

Finally we’ve found some beaches

​Today was a big cheat on a ferry, but not without its troubles. We’d decided to catch a ferry from Penang to Langkawi island, but the ferry operator’s website said there was no 8:30 am sailing today. Was it because of Chinese New Year? There was no way to know. 

We decided to head down to the ferry office for 7:00 am and see what the news was. ​

When we arrived it was still dark, but the office was open and the ferry was running- but it was full. ​

Heading to the ferry office

We put ourselves on the standby list and headed off for a coffee. At 8:00am there was still no news and it was not looking good, but then at 8:25am they said we’re on, but we had to hurry. ​

We got over​ to the dock, unloaded our bags and then the bikes were strapped to the foredeck. 

Then we sat in a small tin box doing over 30 knots for two and a half hours at about 14°C. But, we got there. 

Now it’s all beautiful beaches and no expressways in site. Perfect. 

Day 60: Rest day in Penang

A lot of walking for a rest day.  

Hawker street food - tick. Blue Mansion - tick. Clan jetties - tick. Street art - tick. Clan houses - tick.  

Penang - tick.  

Char kweuy tau from a street hawker. 

Blue Mansion. Was the home of the most influential Chinese man in Penang. Now a swanky hotel.  

The clan jetties were, and are, home to many Chinese immigrants.  

Street art was commissioned to liven the place up. Tourists love it, so locals love it.  

A Chinese clan house - their clubhouse if you like.  

Day 59: Taiping to George Town

Weary legs brought us home

We were up pretty early and riding before the day warmed up, which was a blessed relief. In fact, we were so early that Tiger came alongside at one point and told us that we were way ahead of schedule and we could afford to slow down if we wanted. 

It was another day on the expressway.  Breakfast was in a service station; ​mid morning coffee, service station; lunch, service station. 

The plan was to get to Penang via one of two large bridges, but as we approached the toll booth a guy flagged us down. “No bicycles- you must take the ferry.”

Great.  

It turned out that wasn’t too bad, although as we approached the ferry terminal we had a slow puncture on Blue Strawberry. Luckily it stayed up for long enough for us to get on the ferry and the we had plenty of time to change the tube on the ferry. 

Tyre change with an audience  

Now we’re checked in to the Museum Hotel in George Town and looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. We’ve ridden ten days in a row and we’re starting to feel a little secondhand.  

The Museum Hotel, home for our rest day

Day 58: Lumut to Taiping

Malaysia’s getting more interesting  

Whether they are dosa, dosai or tosai, our breakfast of egg dosa with curry was a perfect start to the day. 

Then we were back on the same dull road again. However, it brightened up at the end when we managed to find a smaller road through some back country. 

Much more fun with bends and goats and all sorts. ​

This evening we had our Chinese New Year celebrations in a restaurant full of families. We got the hang of what we were doing eventually, with some coaching from granny the waitress. 

Gōngxǐ fācái. 

Video: Singapore

Day 57: Hutan Melintang to Lumut

More of the same

We need to keep cracking on north to get to more exciting bits of Malaysia and we’re making good progress, but you’veseen One 1,000 acre palm plantation and you’ve seen them all.  

Fluffy clouds, boring road

Add to that the fact that they seem to be trying to rebuild every single road in Malaysia simultaneously, rather than finishing one bit and moving on to the next, and you have the stress of constantly avoiding bollards and potholes. 

Still, mustn’t grumble. There’s always the odd shitty day in bicycle touring paradise.  

Video: Indonesia, Java

Day 56: Kuala Selangor to Hutan Melintang

Not the most interesting road

We spent a lot of time on a very dull road today. It was only half built and had no sights to see of any significance.

I guess you’re going to have one or two of those on a trip this long.

Day 55: Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Selangor

Tawdry temples and expressways​

Unfortunately, KL seemed to be shut at 8:30 when we left, so, no coffee for us, just straight on the expressway out of town. ​

We headed towards the Batu Caves and did find ​a coffee at a new development down the road. The security guard was very kind to not make us park our bikes in the underground car park and let me unplug their Chinese New Year decoration to plug in our satellite tracker, which is still on the fritz. 

The New Year decos after we plugged them back in

The Batu Caves are part amazing limestone cliff formation and part Tamil shrine, and the huge gold statue of ​Murugan makes it clear which of these roles is dominant. 

The overall impression was of a slightly tawdry, litter strewn temple that had somewhat obscured an amazing natural phenomenon. However, I recognise that the religious element just doesn’t resonate with me. ​

Then it was on to the freeway again, and on to a very smart expressway that lead us down to the coast. The last ten kilometres were a little hairy where they hadn’t built the road yet, we made it in one piece.  

Finally to a hotel with a pool, the VI boutique hotel, the only hotel I know named after a command line text editor. 

Day 54: Port Dickson to Kuala Lumpur

Time to hit the big city.

We headed north from PD on roads that grew gradually as we neared KL. A stop by the road yielded fresh dragon fruit and lychees that we wolfed down in the shade of a bus stop and then back on the road again.

Then we met another cycle tourist. We’ve only seen one other group since leaving Australia so we were excited- but not as excited as Sven from Hungary, who sprinted after us up a hill, despite the fact he wasn’t actually heading that way.  

Sven had been on the road since April and had hardly seen another cycle tourist in all that time. He’d also been in Thailand for a while and was keen to talk English to someone and we were happy to oblige. 

We exchanged tips about where we’d been, Sven was heading from Bangkok to Singapore, so our route in advance, so we picked up some good ideas for our route.  

As we were hitting the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur the clouds drew in and we sat in a Petronas petrol station with a bunch of scooter riders sheltering from the worst of the rain.

One ice cream later the sky had cleared and we were off again.

We’d read of cycle routes into KL but nothing appeared for us as we barrelled down the freeway into town. The traffic was very courteous though giving us plenty of room so it didn’t feel dangerous. In fact, as it snarled to a halt in the city centre we were able to weave our way through the stationary cars and make good progress.

Our objective was an OYO boutique hotel, and we found it pretty easily, before showering and heading out to see the sights. 

First was the Bicycle Artisans bike shop round the corner. The most amazing bike shop with a superb collection of handmade bicycles from a variety of European and local frame builders. They also had a very classy range of clothing. We came for a couple of gear cables, we left with new cycling shorts for Sarina and Tiger and a tube of very expensive sunscreen. It better work!

Shopping frenzy

With purchases

Then we headed off to take a look at the Petronas Towers. They were the only think I knew about KL, so it seemed sensible to take a look. I could write a long essay about the influences that I believe show in their form - Ankor Wat for example, but I don’t have an architecture professor to impress, so I’ll leave that to Tiger.

Unfortunately the trips up the tower were sold out, so we made do with a stroll around the Mall instead.

Where would you park your second hand F1 cars?

Day 53: Murua to Port Dickson

Epic ride time - 132km with a head wind.

We set off from Murua with a send off from Sven at the Wakaliliy lodge, knowing it was going to be a big day - but we didn’t know quite how big at that point.

First stop was Malacca for a spot of breakfast with a very nice coffee and baguette. We also tried a gorgeous chinese pow steamed bun with a sweet by savoury filling of red beans.

Then we started a long ride along the coast on a very pleasant road. Not too much traffic, not too many potholes.

Gradually the environment became more and ​more like a seaside resort. Small hotels became larger hotels. Small cafés became larger restaurants and the shops just stopped short of selling Kiss Me Quick hats. 

We stopped at the Hisbiscus Resort, a network of apartments on stilts over the water arranged in the shape of a hibiscus flower, but it was out of our price range, and a little lacking in class too. ​

So, we searched around and found an apartment at Coco Beach that sounded good, so we headed off up the road. On the way we clocked up 100km for the day - but not far left to go. 

When we arrived at the apartments it was a little rough from the start. It became clear that the owner was subletting without the knowledge of the management office. It was also looking like a seriously shabby block of apartments.  

The owner texted through instructions for our “self check in” and we set off to find the key safe. However, when we opened it there was no key inside. Oh.  

A phone call late it turns out the cleaner hasn’t cleaned the apartment yet - and we’re outside waiting to get in.  

So we canceled and booked a hotel up the road. Quite a way up the road it turned out. Hence the 132km total for the day. 

Luckily there was a pool and we flopped, exhausted into that, still in cycling kit and slightly ignoring the strict Islamic dress code required.  

Day 52: Batu Pahat to Murua

We took a half day today, with a flat road speeding us to Murua.  

A long lunch in a local hotel gave Tiger time to pit the finishing touches to his portfolio before we made the final trip to the Wakalily hostel. Lily is a cycle tourer herself and was just back from Laos, and Sue, another cyclist had more interesting tales of what was to come in Malaysia.  

Proofreading the portfolio  

Video: Indonesia, Bali

Day 51: Setia Eco Gardens to Batu Pahat

Morning brought an overcast day and happy cyclists. A bit of cooler weather makes life so much easier.  

We hammered off up the road after breakfast of “dry noodles” - no dry, they are cooked, it’s just the are accompanied by a separate soup rather than swimming in it.  

For once we had flat roads, a food surface and even a slight tailwind and we covered over 30 km in a little over an hour to arrive at Pontain, the destination we’d planned to reach the day before.  

We took a break by the seafront in Pontain and had some of the more amusing cans of drink in the fridge, dorian fruit juice, tea with lumps in, that sort of thing. 

As we were just leaving a man pulled up in a car and said:

“I am from Pontain Cycling Club. We have a place around the corner- follow me and I’ll take you there.” 

Ok then.  

The Pontain Cycling Club base, with photos of all the touring cyclists who’d stayed there.  

What an amazing place. It’s a clubhouse for the members, but also a hostel for visiting cycle tourers, who can stay in the bunk beds for free. They also have a well stocked fridge, from which we consumed a local pineapple juice, as well as many snacks and a generous drinks cabinet, with whiskies and Penfolds reds to choose from. 

We had to disappoint Jacky who was showing us around that we wouldn’t be able to stay. We needed to get a lot more miles under our belt today. 

However, Jacky did us a couple of great favours. I mentioned that we’d been trying to find Malaysian flags as courtesy flags on our bikes, but local shops only had the Johor flag of the local region. Quick as a flash Jacky was off and moments later returned with two flags perfect for our bikes.  

He also took us into town and helped us buy a local SIM card - never the simplest operation. 

Thanks Jacky - you made our day and we only wish we could have stayed in your clubhouse. That would have been a treat.  

A fair bit more riding and we made it to Batu Pahat. A nice hotel, an excellent Japanese meal and we retired very happy cyclists.