July 11, 2013, Thursday, KL-Kuala Kubu Bahru(Malaysia)
Our alarms went off, we ate breakfast at 5:30, and fell back asleep to wait out the rain we woke up to. We left once the rain eased off and reluctantly said goodbye to Steve. He was our bike touring mentor for so long and now its time for us to venture on our own. Plus, we had been off the bikes for too long! There are mountains to tackle!
Needless to say, getting out of KL was a hassle, more of the same, stopping at every intersection and consulting maps and phones, etc. We finally made it to Batu caves on the edge of the city. It was a bit kitschy with a giant gold statue, souvenir shops, and overpriced food, but to be honest, the cave was pretty darn cool.
After getting lost a bit more, we made it on to the right road out of town and did a small bit of climbing, a good reintroduction. At the top of the climb were pipes gushing with clear water and locals filling up jugs. The locals said it was okay to drink and Andres and I went for it, filling up our bottles and sipping away. It was actually really refreshing. We’ll see in 12-18 hrs if this was a terrible idea.
We thought we’d make it to Bukit Fraser today, but our late start and stop in Batu Caves limited us to Kuala Kubu Bahru. It’s a small quaint town, situated in the foothills. We spotted a Hindu temple at the beginning of town, asked if we could sleep there but were told to come back later to ask. In the meantime, we scouted around, found the Ramadan Bazaar, a café, the nearby houses and then stopped in the park to exercise.
We were met with poor luck at the temple when they said we couldn’t sleep there. A man on a motorbike shared with us that we can camp in the park, at least there’s an option. We got dinner and assessed our options. Tried the church, no one there. Damn. Next we went to the mosque and a man approached us across the street asking us where we were going. We admitted we were going to ask if we could sleep in the gazebos outside. Shot down. Discouraged but not overcome. I led us to a sleeping spot I’d seen next to the mosque. Stadium style seating overlooking a soccer field, with a large overhang and thankfully the security guard cleared us to sleep there! Not a terrible option for sleeping rough. Although we were sleeping rough, we still wanted to shower, so we ventured over to the Petronas gas station and used there buckets and ladle to wash up. I was thinking am I really used this gas station’s bathroom as a shower? But everyone once in a while you’ll have a random night when on the road. This is one of them. I know my mom is laughing and shaking her head. But I’m holding mine up proud.
Back at the field, we opted to lay our mats under the overhang in front of the office entrance, the seating lights were still on. We enclosed a little space with a long stand alone sign, a trashcan and laid our heads down. Ahhh, to be young.
But to be totally honest, I had a really shitty sleep. Tossing in and out of a light sleep until 1 or 2. It was broiling hot. There were mosquitoes and my mat was deflated! Aya, to be young..?
Day 157, July 12, 2013, Friday, Kuala Kubu Bahru-Raub (Malaysia)
Alarms off at 5, fuck. I broke from my slumber and packed up. As we were packing up, a couple pulled up, parked and got out to exercise. As they were walking away I heard one say in Chinese “Either they just got here, or they slept here..” Aha, the latter. Although the town is small it still has a 24hr mamak. Though, they were out of our first choices, we were able to order some thosai telur.
Right out of town, the climb starts, and it’s a long medium climb for 40km. Super quiet roads, through untouched jungle. Finally! Scenery! Mountains! Jungle! It was a great ride, super serene. I caught up with Andres at a nice waterfall where we rested a bit. Then 11k to the top, where we could have started the decent, but we decided to do the full climb to the town Bukit Fraser. It ended being a bourgeois resort town.. Although there is camping space, we carried on, descending into Raub. where we found a Ramadan Bazaar and a mamak.
We powered through the climb, but had no energy to carry out an extra 50 km to Sungai Koyan, especially considering we had another, bigger climb in the Cameron Highlands. We rested, ate dinner and with luck were able to sleep in the gazebo at the nearby mosque. The temperature was cooler and I wasn’t bother by mosquitoes. I only woke up to one animal. In the middle of the night I felt this lump blocking my legs from moving around. A stray cat curled up with me as I slept.
July 13, 2013, Saturday, Raub-Sungai Koyan(Malaysia)
Slept in. It’s a short day today. Packed up and found a mamak for breakfast. And around 11 we hit the road to Sungai Koyan.
Flat through some back roads and palm oil. On the way, someone we’d met the night earlier at the market stopped us on the road and invited us to his house at his plantation. We decided to take him up on his offer. His directions were in about 10 km, his house is on the right. Ok! The turn lead into a little worker town for the plantation. And we had no idea where to go from there.. It would have been nice to sit and chat considering we especially had the time today..
We made it to Sungai Koyan and despite the short distance, we were wiped out by the heat. Our first priority was food and “town” doesn’t as appropriately describe Sungai Koyan as “intersection” does. Andres asked a restaurant owner if there was place to eat and she simply laughed. It’s Ramadan, not till 6:30. We sat in front of the mini mart discouraged, until soon she came over and offered to cook us some noodles. I took the lead and Andres followed me in falling asleep and when we woke up, the restaurant owner had already left for the Ramadan bazaar. I guess we looked to peaceful to wake up. Napping becomes a thing when you cycletour.
We returned to the mosque in town and got chatting with a patron. He was in the Malaysian Army and went to the DRC in the 60’s! That’s hardcore. Now he’s retired in Sungai Koyan and living on pensions. Apparently there are a few veterans in the village. We got the okay to sleep at the mosque, showered up, set our stuff down and went out to the Ramadan bazaar to buy food. We were so out of place. I mean, really really out of place. This was one of the most random towns for travelers. We perused the options, picked out a few dinner items, paid the restaurant owner and returned to the mosque.
Upon returning, the patrons invited us to break fast with them. Which was a great surprise, it’s one thing to let strangers sleep in your space and now they’re inviting us to share their meal. We waited until the precise sundown time and we ate a date, drank fruit juice, and ate some noodles. Traditionally, the fast is always broken with a date and water, as Mohammed did when he broke his fast. Then they went inside and prayed for fifteen minutes and had a full meal. Lamb, veggies, fish. Yum, yum, yum. The patrons here break fast together almost every night of Ramadan. Interesting to see, or rather, not see the wives or kids though. After eating Andres and I hit the hay while the entire village flooded in to perform the extra evening prayer at 9 or 10ish.
Day 159, July 14, 2013, Sunday, Sungai Koyan-Tanah Rata (Malaysia)
Today is big day. 100km up into the hills. We got up at 5, ate some food from the market packed and left in the twilight. I should mention that we were able to say goodbye to everyone at the mosque… because they were all awake at 5 too! At the mosque, already having eaten and by the time we left they had already done their first prayer.
It was a nice peaceful, car-less ride through rolling hills, undulating upward toward the base of the climb. This had to have been one of my favorite sections of the entire trip. It was meditative in a way, a nice smooth road, with barely any cars meandering up the mountain through pristine, misty jungle. I only heard my breath, birds, and the wind. At one point I thought I had a flat because I heard the rubber of my tire squishing on the pavement. It was simply that I am never able to hear such a subtle sound that I was mistaken. No flat.
From 50km-20km the road traverses through nursery, greenhouses and terraced farmland. Honestly, a bit less scenic but still a cool (temperature) nice climb. I caught up with Andres at Ringlet and we powered through the last 20km, with one stop for locally grown Cameron Highlands tea. We opted for the 1.50 ringet cup of tea at the stand right in front of the café-stop offering the same tea for 3.50. Who needs the view while you’re drinking tea. We got a glimpse when we walked down to check the price.
Refreshed with tea we zoomed up the last 10km and followed the signs to the mosque. Sure enough, its driveway is about a 30 degree slope! But short. We got the okay to stay there and were invited back to break fast that evening.
We surveyed the town, scouting out info for a next-day hike. A friendly local tried to offer his guiding services, warning us of Cobras with heads the size of dinner plates, tigers and getting lost on the confusing jungle trails. I stopped a couple walking by, they navigated our considered hike without a guide, no problem. Boom, staying here for a day and knocking out a hike to Gunung Brinchang.
In addition to breaking fast, tonight we experienced a new aspect of celebrating Ramadan. Mohammed a Uni student home for break invited us to celebrate Ramadan by lighting some improvised fireworks. I honestly can’t remember the name he used, I’ll do my best to find it out, but a brief search online doesn’t yield anything. As I read and waiting for Mohammed to return and pick us up, I heard deafening booms echoing through the valley. Nearby, some kids would hold flame to the end of a metal pipe, igniting a huge boom and flame ball. Mohommed picked us up, and drove us over to his friend David’s house where we exploded the night away. They were taking fruit-ripening-agent putting it in a bowl, pouring water on it and covering it with a 5 gallon bucket, sealing a hole at the top with their hand. Then the bucket holder runs and someone else comes in with a ten foot pole with fire at the end and boom I mean, BOOM! The bucket would fly ten feet plus in the air and a the surrounding atmosphere would be consumed in a ball of fire. Mohammed admitted that this is traditionally done for the last few days of Ramadan, but they got started early this year.. It was less then a week into Ramadan. Andres and I gave it a go. And I could help but laugh that I was lighting fireballs in the mountains of Malaysia. Life is silly sometimes. Mohamed, David, Andres and I finished the night off with cards while the rest of the guys continued on with the pyrotechnics. Every minute, a loud bang would go off and occasionally we’d be sprayed with dirt, hit with the sound and feel a puff of air compress against your skin. It’s like we were in a war bunker.
With a bit of limited chemistry knowledge and the help of the internet. I think I know what exactly they were doing. I’m pretty sure the agent is calcium carbide, when mixed with water, produces acetylene (the gas used for welding torches) and there you go. Great balls of fire!
July 15, 2013, Monday, Tanah Rata (Malaysia)
Today was a rest day. Well a non-bike day. I found a jungle gym to do some exercises and found Andres in town, had breakfast, got gear and headed out to hike Gunung Brinchang. We meandered through back streets to the next town over, Brinchang. A golf course, hotels, home-stays, some cafes and tourist oriented produce stands(ahem, double the price) dotted our route. It was still a nice walk.
Then we tackled summiting Brinchang. The trail was easily navigable, had some mud, good views and a few steep sections. It took us about an hour and a half to get to the top, where we met Charlotte (UK raised, living in Aus) Anna (UK born and still living there) and Margaret (Australian native) We sat at the top with them and chatted about our travel and then made our way down the backside, taking in the tea landscape and checking out various plants that Margaret knew. They were all really awesome and Anna is thinking of biking through Europe with us! When we get there. We hitched a ride back to Tanah Rata, had our respective dinners, washed up and met back up that evening and chatted until 12 a.m. Shout out to y’all!
Day 161, July 15, 2013, Tuesday, Tanah Rata-Gua Musang (Malaysia)
I am going to start by saying that I have mad respect for those who have climbed into the Cameron Highlands via Gua Musang. Both Andres and I were wiped at the end of the day, and we were leaving the highlands. I’d say there’s less than 20 flat k out of the whole 130km. No descent was gratifying because it bottomed out into the bottom of the next hill. One of the “hills” was an hour climb! No jungle, The scenery went from nursery’s and greenhouses to palm oil. Oh yeah, rain too? And only one spot to get water, which you had to buy. Today is what Andres and I refer to as a Get-me-the-fuck-off-my-bike-day. Not too mention, I missed Andres on my way into town and added an hour of riding around looking for him. Aya. Leaving 1200m in altitude, we did 1400m of climbing. One big climb is ok. But rolling hills is the worst! There is no gratification in summiting a.. hill.
Our luck ran out with the mosques as well, we tried a few (3) and none wanted us to stay there. We pulled through at the town’s rec center, where we asked the security guard if we could pitch under the overhang. At first, he denied our request because people play at night, but a local exerciser said “Ayyy, tidak ada orang main disana, harus bole” (C’mon no one is playing over there.) And he agreed. Phew. It was actually fine accommodation. A big cool room, with fans. Not bad for sleeping rough, but I don’t think I can call it that this day.
July 17, 2013, Wednesday, Gua Musang-Jeli (Malaysia)
We ate at 7-11 and left in cover of twilight. A nice quiet road through the back country. We must have really been in the boonies because the “Hello” and “Where are you from”s made a mild showing. One small climb and then lulling hills. I turned off to check out a waterfall, and eat my lunch. I was half expecting to find Andres here, but aware that the 300m steep-ass-hill would be a turn-off. I got off and pushed my bike up it(even pushing was a struggle) and Andres carried on. I found Andres napping in a gazebo, and I followed suit. Enjoying my nap until we were both startled awake by an immense rumble coming from an old man’s motorcycle. He revved it a few times, stared and simply took off, so we did too.
Jeli is a more than an intersection, but not much more. I’ll call it a junction. We got the okay to stay at the mosque and headed out to eat at the Ramadan bazaar. But had to eat in the dark of an empty open-air food court. No restaurants were open. Come to think of it, nothing was open. Sunset comes and it’s time to sleep for this town! We got lost looking for the Petronas gas station (the only market like shop around) and returned to the mosque early to get out of the rain. We slept outside on the patio as the community gathered to do their extra evening prayer. All the grown ups inside and then all the kids running around playing tag, hide and go seek, and doing some plain-old romping.
July 18, 2013, Thursday, Jeli-Gerik (Malaysia)
We slept in! Till 6.. had breakfast at the Shell station, which we got lost trying to find(never found the Petronas). At 8:30, we set off to do the most rugged, adventurous stretch of our mountain journey! Akmal told us it was hard, and if we do this stretch, other cyclist will say “WOAH” I’m up for a challenge, as is Andres, so this stretch is much anticipated.
The climb starts at about 10 or 15km in and then we start climbing into the jungle, up and up back over the mountains we’d been hopping over for this last stretch. Near the top I saw a sign for elephant crossing! I was stoked and also hoping I would see an elephant from afar or on a steep downhill so I had a sure escape. The climb tops out and then has some upward rolling hills until the true top where I caught up with Andres at the one open rest stop.
Although their was no wildlife, the descent was a reward for finishing the climb. It was all downhill, I mean all downhill for almost a full hour. Smooth roads with nice wide turns and mild traffic. Two five minute uphills and then more, descent until we reached Lake Temengor. We paused for nice views and cool temperatures and then started the climb out of the lake. We met a German cyclist Pe Dar on the road and chatted for over an hour! A little bit more climbing and then surprisingly, more downhill, for a long time!
I caught up with Andres just before sunset and we scouted the local mosque. Before we could say anything, someone (Halil, as we learned) came straight up to us and invited us to break fast with them. We hadn’t even introduced our self yet! And they invited us to eat! We agreed and got cleared to sleep in the garden gazebos. Halil was incredibly intellectual and our conversation ran from religion to language to theories of knowledge. We checked out Gerik after dinner and then settled into our gazebo.
July 19, 2013, Friday, Gerik-Butterworth (Malaysia)
We left a bit later because it was a flat stretch, finally!
Only kind of though. After breakfast we had a small bit of climbing which led to a surprise descent. I didn’t know we still had elevation to lose! The rest of the day was tedious. Can you guess? Flat, hot, palm oil. One rest and then the final push into Butterwoth, which was easy to navigate, thank god.
Around 5 we got to kilometer 0 and as fate would have it, I spotted a bike+person+bags-on-bike waiting to cross the intersection. I shouted out “CYCLIST!” and motioned to meet on the other end of the intersection.
And this is where Steve 2.0 comes to be. Raj was planning on staying in Butterworth and then carrying on northward. If so, we’ll meet up on the road in Southern Thailand. However I enlightened him that he might only get 15 days, and might need to apply for his Thai visa in Georgetown, as well. After chatting a bit, he went to search out a budget hotel and Andres sought out our own respective accommodation. The local mosque? No. The local Sikh Temple? Almost. One patron was up for the idea, but it was shot down by the higher up there.
Discouraged but not hopeless, we found a Mamak to check the internet, eat and assess our options. Turns out, our would-have-been host in Butterwoth was still on a bike trip. Andres and I decided to head over the island of Penang, and luckily before we needed to scout around town for random accommodation a host got back to us! Alex, our savior!!!
We crossed on the ferry, met him at a bar/art gallery, hung out a bit, biked across town to his home, settled in and passed out! Ready for rest after a big nine days.
