30/10/2013 to 01/11/2013–Penang

Penang A.K.A Georgetown was a surprise for me, I had a fantastic time here with all those i met especially the incredibly friendly locals but all this fun came at a cost; the cost of spending too much time and money. I was looking forward to cycling up into the Cameron highlands and seeing the apparent spectacular views and scenery but time for me is now running short as I have to be in Singapore in now just 11 days. I will have to push myself hard to and through Kuala lumpur and onwards to Malaca following the old highway along the southwest coast of Malaysia.
So about my time in Penang; Penang offered more than I expected with hiking, incredible and varied food with also plenty more to see and do in and around the city it had much the same western-esk feel as Singapore does. Many people I had met on my way through to Thailand told me that Penang wasn't a good place, yes, the drinks are expensive compared to Thailand but that is the only fault I found.
During the four nights I spent here I progressively accumulated a group of people to share the experiences around Penang with including hiking up Penang hill,which was more like a mountain with a steep 5 km incline where we ended up walking back down in the dark because the cable car was a little too pricy to get back to the city - still, it was fun with great company.
The first guy I met when arriving in the city was a Canadian named Andrew who was great, we got along well and hiked the trial to Monkey beach (Penang's most pristine beach) which was secluded, overrun by monkeys that would steal food and drink left right and center and although i had seen nicer beaches on my travels. We were short on time and didnt get the time to sit and relax as we had planned to meet some of the others back in town.
David, the Malaysian hostel owner of 'Super K' was a fantastic addition to the group of us who consisted of 2 québécois girls (Anna and Louisa) 2 American girls (Alana and Sarah) an English guy and girl (Shaun and Julie?), Andrew, David myself and a socially inept Aussie guy named Mike.
Mike was borderline retarded but also the laughing stock of our group making us other guys look so much better, he was painfully and awkwardly amusing and more often than not you would cringe at some of the shit at came out if his mouth.
Now back to David, he has the type of attitude that I would want if I were to run and own a hostel, always happy, incredibly generous and willing to help out every single person in our group and at the hostel.. Well, excluding mike. Ill give you an example; on Halloween where we all dressed up (I went as a magician entertaining those who were interested with card tricks) David bought 3 bottles of black label Johnny walker! I can't imagine how much that would have set him back but really should have taken the money we all offered him. He also took us to a wonderful waterfall driving an hour with 5 of us in the back of his truck where the authorities pulled him over and he received verbal bollocking for having too many people in the back of his truck, he took the risk knowing it was illegal. Needless to say, what a guy!
The expensive alcohol in Malaysia I mentioned earlier and mouthwatering food was part of my stable diet everyday here in Penang and although I now have to be even more careful with the lack of funds in my account it was a fantastic and great time on this trip.
It's 800km more to Singapore and I have just 11 days to get there, there certainly won't be anywhere else ill be spending more than 2 nights at along the way.
Overall a very memorable experience and one easily not forgotten.
I'm going to throw this one in there too - Alana (one of he American girls) you are drop dead gorgeous!!!

Monkey Beach, followed by monkeys below

Climbing the 5km up Penang Hill for Sunset

Picturesque Restaurant

The Waterfall Dave took us to

Halloween Party

29/10/2013 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 12

Distance cycled: 113km from Near Alor Star to Georgetown, Malaysia
Average speed: 19.1km/h
Moving time: 5h54m
Total distance: 1400km
Border X'ings: 1
Money spent: 40 Ringgit ($13)

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Today was easily the toughest day I have cycled on this trip. The sun was scorching, the wind not blowing in my favor and the roads getting into Butterworth before crossing over to Georgetown had a lack of shoulder, not to mention the traffic on these roads constantly cutting me off. Needless to say it wasn't the most enjoyable day but I made it to Penang also known as Georgetown. I couldn't be happier to rest my legs and lay down in the bed of a cheap hostel in the middle of little India. It was a great feeling of relief and relaxation. In comparison to where I slept last night this was heaven. And this is my point, if you are willing to live it rough, whether it by camping beside a swamp (as I did last night) or pushing yourself hard under the searing sun on a bicycle you really do appreciate the little things in life; even a fruit juice (or three) is almost orgasmic after spending many hours exhausted and dehydrated peddling into the wind. This is a example of something so simple that many would take for granted; and this is why I like these bike trips to enjoy and savor the little things in life.

 

On the way to Georgetown

 

How’s about an afternoon Nap

28/10/2013 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 11

Distance cycled: 140km from Hat Yai, Thailand to near Alor Star, Malaysia
Average speed: 21.5km/h
Moving time: 6h29m
Total distance: 1287km
Border X'ings: 1
Money spent: 100 Baht & 16 Ringgit ($10)

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Crossing over from Thailand to Malaysia there was a noticeable change, the roads were broader, the traffic consisted of far less scooters and more cars but most importantly there were barely any stray dogs, the ferocious ones that would chase me a few hundred meters down the road.
However items and food I would normally purchase got slightly more expensive.
The street food I also ate today wasn't nearly as tasty as I expected, but I have only been here for a day so hopefully Malaysia's mix of ethnic cultures will tantalize my taste buds.
I pushed hard and strong today hoping I could make it to the beach where I would have seen a fantastic sunset but I was a little too late and as it got dark I was in need to find a decent camping place for the night. It wasn't easy to find a suitable place but with a bit of persistence and nursing a cramped foot I found an unused plot of land where I pitched my tent in the back corner next to a swamp with lizards that dispersed when I arrived.
On a side note, yesterday I was stayed one more night in Hat Yai because I was exhausted and needed another day of rest.

Crossing over to Malaysia

Some of the views along the way

26/10/2013 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 10

Distance cycled: 106km from The coast to Hat Yai, Thailand
Average speed: 21.3km/h
Moving time: 4h56m
Total distance: 1148km
Border X'ings: 0
Money spent: 450 Baht

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I really am looking forward to the mountains in Malaysia as I am getting a little bored with the repetitiveness of the terrain and flatness of the cycling in Thailand. As I am now only 60km from the border where I'll be entering a country I have yet to visit, it will be a new experience with food, culture and terrain.
I was caught up in I would almost call a flash flood where only 5km from getting into Hat Yai it just bucketed down, I seeked refuge under the shelter of a restaurant where I waited the tropical monsoon downpour out until it passed and somehow managed to catch some Z's lying down on a bench.
Arriving in Hat Yai dripping wet I checked into a cheap hotel, and a pretty scummy one at that; but with scum comes character; here I met a German guy named Chris, we had dinner and soon after I returned to the hotel to crash.

My only shot for the day… didn’t want to risk damaging my camera in the rain.

25/10/2013 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 9

Distance cycled: 100 km from Toon's place to some beach between there and Hat Yai
Average speed: 20.2km/h
Moving time: 4h58m
Total distance: 1042km
Border X'ings: 0
Money spent: 200 Baht

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Having my bicycle all tuned up and running well I was excited to get back on it and cover a bit of a distance towards the Malaysian border.
Before I set off though I was invited to have breakfast with Toon, his wife and his brother in town, so in truth I cheated just 15km where I got a ride into town.
The road was repetitive all day having to follow the coastal road south... Really nothing of interest occurred, unless of course you think a rotting dead dog with a missing leg that washed ashore is interesting... That I had to take a picture of....
Anyways, I found a temple on the coast where I asked some monks if I could sleep under the shelter for the night and I assumed that they were ok with it, so I grabbed some local seafood and pitched my tent.

Breakfast and saying goodbye to Toon and family

…leaving in the rain

1000km into this trip

The chilled coast of the gulf of Thailand

Shot of the day.

23/10/2013 to 24/10/2013 - Toon's place.

These past two weeks I had somewhat lost interest cycling around the world and I needed some kind of push or to continue. Toon and his family have provided this incentive for me to continue on this epic endeavor, my bike is now functioning as it should and my front pannier bags sit straight - all thanks to Toon, he helped me take my bike to a repair shop and he even swapped out my front pannier rack for some modified ones he had spare.
I was only going to spend one night but given the issues with my bike and some much needed R&R I ended spending a total of three.
A little ways out from Nahkon Si Thamarat Toon took me to a beautiful temple that sat on top of a mountain overlooking the serene surroundings and even the storm clouds progressing our way; it was quite a view.
Like always Thailand offered more wonderful foods, foods that I personally wouldn't choose out myself but food that Toon and his family would recommend and I with a little hesitation at first would after thoroughly enjoy.
All in all, a great time and very memorable time with Toon that I soon won't forget.

Toon feeding me coconut juice and his fish

This is how people collect the sap from a rubber tree – Slit the bark and over the course of the day it collects in the bucket. cool, no?

The views from the temple Toon and his family took me to just before it started dumping down

The last supper with toon and his family.

22/10/2013 - Cycling SE Asia. Day 8

Distance cycled: 135km from Surat Thani to Toon's place
Average speed: 22.2km/h
Moving time:6h 03m
Total distance: 942km
Border X'ings: 0
Money spent: 200 Baht

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What a ridiculous day today was! I disembarked from the boat from Koh Phangan back to the mainland at Surat Thani at 4:30am, I didn't sleep at all due to the smelly Aussie guy next to me on the passenger filled boat.
All I wanted to do was sleep before having to cycle 130km to Toon's place further south; Toon was listed on warmshowers.org offering touring cyclists accommodation and hospitality as they passed through towns or villages.
It was a long way to go to get here and I couldn't see anywhere suitable to rest up as I cycled out of Surat Thani so I kept on going. It wasn't until I had cycled 50km where I could barely keep my eyes open that I found an old abandoned temple that I found my way behind and kipped for a few hours.
Pushing on in the heat of the day I experienced my first flat tire of the trip.. Well it was multiple punctures that I experienced (totaling 3) on 2 tubes one after the other until I was able to keep going. A young local guy approached me when I was repairing my bike and offered me water and even a shower at his workplace where I had broken down, he even brought me lunch :) thanks N-ing (phonetically pronounced).
Still exhausted, sunburnt and dripping with the remaining alcoholic sweat in my system from partying too hard on Koh Phangan I finally made it to Toon's place although having cycled a little too far where I was able to figure things out by asking a local family if I could use their wifi.
Meeting Toon and his family was such a great experience as we had much to talk about cycling and showing off each other bicycles. He and his wife are kind hearted, generous and lovely people living in their quaint home beside the highway with many of their relatives living on the same block of land. Communication in English was only held between myself and Toon as both his wife and son did not speak much. I was taken out for dinner before needing desperately to go to sleep in my tent that I pitched inside the kitchen.

Where I had a nap for a couple of hours.