Through Malaysia

We felt like we were racing the clock through much of Malaysia. In our 10 days of riding there, we covered about 1,000 kilometers from the northern tip to the Singapore border. While we are looking forward to our soon return to North America, we certainly wouldn’t have minded spending more time in this country. The people (most of whom spoke English!) were as warm as the weather–and that says a lot. Let me give you an example.

On our third day, we rode into the city of Taiping. Unbeknownst to us, Taiping is one of the most historic cities in Malaysia, boasting 36 of the country’s “firsts,” i.e., first clock tower, first port, first railway station, first museum, etc.

We were rolling into town a bit later than planned. We’d only done about 85K and it had still somehow taken us all day. But with only a few kilometers left to ride, we crossed paths with another guy out on an evening ride. Before we knew it, he had done a quick U-turn and was riding alongside us. He asked if we needed any help, and Dave told him we were just riding into town to find a place to stay. He kindly offered to guide us in and show us a good budget hotel… we were glad to accept.

We rode along chatting for a bit, and our new friend Ong took us into town on the scenic route through the Taiping Gardens, some of the nicest in all of Malaysia. Once he got us to our hotel and we secured a room, he asked if we would like to go to dinner. We decided to meet back in an hour, and he said he’d take us for seafood.

What he really meant was… “I’ll take you for the freshest and best seafood–right on the coast!” He picked us up in his car and drove us 30 minutes out to the tiny fishing village of Portweld. We enjoyed delicious shrimp, crab and fish within a stone’s throw of the water. We spent hours just talking and getting to know Ong and his son. After dinner, he drove us back to Taiping and around the city, showing us many of the “firsts,” making sure we had adequate historical exposure during our short stay.

After the seafood feast with Ong… what a fun night!

Now that’s fresh crab!

At the end of the night, he dropped us off at our hotel, and as we parted ways, Dave and I found ourselves sad to say goodbye, sad for the wonderful evening to come to an end. Something about travel–and perhaps bicycle touring in particular–makes you feel deeply connected to a complete stranger, so that after just a few hours spent together, you know you have made a lifelong friend.

Now that’s just one story… I can’t give all the details about the lady who brought us breakfast or about the guy who dropped what he was doing to guide us out of town and bought us fruity shaved ice drinks while he was at it. I don’t have time to give the whole scoop on Meng, our warmshowers host in KL who has ridden his bike from Beijing to London, or his friend Rivern who treated us to breakfast before joining us for the ride out of town. Or even just the random acts of kindness, like people giving us cold waters or food after bumping into us at a gas station.

On the ride out of town: Meng on the left, Rivern on the right. KL was good to us!

Now, you should know that our opinions of countries is not shaped solely by the people, but also by the availability and quality of food. While we have enjoyed the food in most parts of Asia, on most days we had at least one interaction that went something like this:

(We have just both finished eating one normal-sized entree at lunch.)

Dave: How much?

Random worker: 40 baht each (about $1.25), so 80 baht. (This one’s in Thailand)

Dave: Great. (Pays worker)

Dave: OK, can we get two more? (imagine hand motions going with this, as typically this conversation was in broken, if any, English)

Random worker: (confused) Two more?

Dave: Yes. (offering another 80 baht, making the eating motion). We want two more.

Random worker: Oh! You want take-away?

Dave: No, no. For here.

Timid laughter follows, as the worker seems to finally understand that we are eating TWICE as much as a normal person would. Just a reminder, oh random restaurant worker… we rode our bikes here, thanks. We’re hungry.

But alas, this interaction almost never happened in Malaysia. Because for once, when we ordered, they would heap our plates high with rice, chicken and some kind of vegetable, all for a whopping 4-5 Ringitt (about $1.50). Finally we were getting enough food in just one order… and that was quite satisfying.

Besides the hearty lunches, we were introduced to delicious roti canai for breakfast. It was a type of Indian bread cooked on a griddle with an egg inside.Dip it in curry and enjoy with ice coffee. Thank you, Malaysia.

As for tourist stops, we spent a day in Kuala Lumpur and a half day in Melaka. Both were great, and we could have easily spent more time in these and other places. But alas, we had found airline tickets at a bargain for April 27, so we pressed on to Singapore. But here are some highlights:

We took a trip up the KL Tower for the best view of the Petronas Towers, which for a while were the tallest buildings in the world.

They literally tower above all the other buildings! We liked the mountainous backdrop for the cityscape.

We went shopping and eating (the recommended activities) in colorful Chinatown in KL.

The bustling street market with festive paper lanterns overhead.

We enjoyed a riverfront view from our charming guesthouse in Melaka, where the owner’s wife kept a fresh supply of baked goodies on the community table.

The view from our terrace

Also in Melaka, we watched the world-renowned Master Ho poke his finger through a coconut. That’s right. He pokes his index finger right through a coconut. Unbelievable. You MUST watch it online here. (I recommend going full screen.) Dave somehow got selected as the audience participator and was a part of the show by helping to select the very coconuts Master Ho would pierce open. Very exciting! And hilarious.

Selecting the coconut… he chose wisely!

How often do you get to be featured in the coconut finger Kung Fu master show? Once in a lifetime.

Altogether, we would definitely consider Malaysia a highlight in our tour through Southeast Asia. We crossed the border into Singapore on April 22, and are packing up the bikes for our trip across the Pacific on April 27.  We’re headed home!