Woke up to a very cold morning. We were high in the mountains, above some clouds. The morning mist had burned off, though.
We started riding downhill and I was freezing! With the windchill, my fingers and toes had me concerned. Not that frostbite was possible, but I hadn't felt this cold since winter in America.
Eventually things started to warm up, but only after 20 kilometers. I kept waiting for a hill to climb to warm up, but it never happened. We just kept descending until we reached an elevation that was not cold.
Lemme tell you this was fun! We kept going down for 60 kilometers! Though we were only coasting (due to Garpor's spoke-situation), this was the longest downhill that I ever experience. Lotsa twists and turns and the scenary was just brilliant - lush tropical jungle foliage and flora.
Only until we reached to bottom of the mountain did it start to get hot - 2.5 hours later! The sun was blazing when we reached the town of Tapah. This is where Garpor and I split up - he returned to Ipoh and I continued south.
Throughout the descent down the mountain, distance signs to Kuala Lampur kept reducing. So much so, that I was entertaining thoughts of going the full distance to K.L. - 212 kilometers! Well, it was possible, seeing how the first 60 km was downhill and I didn't really pedal or expend any energy.
This thought diminished as the miles went by, though. Why? Well, it was really hot today. Hot and steamy. I probably could have made it to KL, but at what cost?!? By the time I reached Mallim, it was 2:30 and I still had another 80 kilometers to go. I saw a hotel by the side of the road and pulled in.
130 kilometers, 6 hours
FOOD: tostai (a thin pancake) with curry sauce, fried chicken, fish with green curry and rice, rice noodles with a red curry sauce, dinner will come after I finish this entry...
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Feb 27: Ipoh to Brigchang (Cameron Highlands)
Zam, my Malasian biker friend, hooked me up with another biker in town. Uncle Garpor is a 63-year retired man who was eager to join me to the Cameron Highlands.
The Highlands are the highest point on the western mountain range of the country. We began at 8AM. After leaving the Ipoh, the climb started. Zam warned me ahead of time that from this point until we reached Brigchang, there would be rolling hills with no villages in between.
I was ready for the lack of villages but not the rolling hills. Actually, there wasn't much rolling at all. It just kept going up and up and up - 80 kilometers until two villages just before Brigchang.
The climbing wasn't too steep, though at the beginning, Garpor had me sucking air. He was cruising so fast and I had to use all my powers just to keep up with him. His secret was that he was locked into the low "granny" gear (or as I will now call it, the grampy gear) and he had a thin slick tire in the front, reducing street friction.
Unfortunately, the star that burns twice as bright burns twice as fast. Eventually, Garpor bonked in the middle of the climb. He wasn't prepared for the lack of villages; he only brought one bottle of water and only Snickers-style candy bars. Fortunately, I had some water, peanuts and a Cliff bar (brought by my brother on his visit) for him. This brought him back to life just enough for us to make it to an oasis another kilometer away - a roadside stand with food in the middle of nowhere.
From this point on, it was slow going. Garpor was trudging along and I stayed behind to spot him just in case.
When we finally got to a major downhill (after the 80km marker), I flew down to the hill. Up until that point, I felt as if I was going in slow motion. At the bottom, I waited for Garpor. It seemed to take longer than it should have and he explained why. A spoke blew out, causing his rear wheel to wobble and jiggle. Rotten luck! At least he was able to ride the bike without any difficulty or serious danger.
The last ten kilometers were rough for me, too. We had been on the road for almost twelve hours and my mind was fried. We rolled into Brigchang with a quick rainfall that hit its apex just as we entered the town. A stroke of good luck?!?
90 kilometers, 12 hours, one stretch of light misty rain, five minutes of heavy rain
food: roti with curry sauce, peanuts, peanuts and more peanuts, soup with veggies, soup with beef, calamari in a spicy tomato sauce
The Highlands are the highest point on the western mountain range of the country. We began at 8AM. After leaving the Ipoh, the climb started. Zam warned me ahead of time that from this point until we reached Brigchang, there would be rolling hills with no villages in between.
I was ready for the lack of villages but not the rolling hills. Actually, there wasn't much rolling at all. It just kept going up and up and up - 80 kilometers until two villages just before Brigchang.
The climbing wasn't too steep, though at the beginning, Garpor had me sucking air. He was cruising so fast and I had to use all my powers just to keep up with him. His secret was that he was locked into the low "granny" gear (or as I will now call it, the grampy gear) and he had a thin slick tire in the front, reducing street friction.
Unfortunately, the star that burns twice as bright burns twice as fast. Eventually, Garpor bonked in the middle of the climb. He wasn't prepared for the lack of villages; he only brought one bottle of water and only Snickers-style candy bars. Fortunately, I had some water, peanuts and a Cliff bar (brought by my brother on his visit) for him. This brought him back to life just enough for us to make it to an oasis another kilometer away - a roadside stand with food in the middle of nowhere.
From this point on, it was slow going. Garpor was trudging along and I stayed behind to spot him just in case.
When we finally got to a major downhill (after the 80km marker), I flew down to the hill. Up until that point, I felt as if I was going in slow motion. At the bottom, I waited for Garpor. It seemed to take longer than it should have and he explained why. A spoke blew out, causing his rear wheel to wobble and jiggle. Rotten luck! At least he was able to ride the bike without any difficulty or serious danger.
The last ten kilometers were rough for me, too. We had been on the road for almost twelve hours and my mind was fried. We rolled into Brigchang with a quick rainfall that hit its apex just as we entered the town. A stroke of good luck?!?
90 kilometers, 12 hours, one stretch of light misty rain, five minutes of heavy rain
food: roti with curry sauce, peanuts, peanuts and more peanuts, soup with veggies, soup with beef, calamari in a spicy tomato sauce
Feb 25: Penang to Ipoh
After spending a couple of days in Penang, I felt ready to do an American century (100 miles). Actually, what forced me to do 100 miles was the fact that there weren't any hotels within 30 miles of Ipoh. And there were a couple of other factors that insured that I did 100 miles.
The first being a bend in Highway 1 that went out of the way northwards for 15 miles. An expressway actually undercuts this bend, but bicycles are prohibited. I would not have minded if this was in the beginning of the ride, but it happened in the last quarter.
The second factor was after meeting a Malaysian biker. He pulled me over on the road in his car (just before the bend) and wanted to go biking with me. Zam rallied home, got on his bike and met me by the time I finished the bend on Highway 1. From where he met me, Ipoh was only 15 km away, but at Zam's suggestion, we took a sideroad to avoid rush-hour traffic. This diversion added another 15 km to my ride!
All in all though, I would have to say I felt real good about the Century. This was the first Century since the AIDS ride back in 2001 and this was the first ride done with mountain bike tires.
180 kilomters, 10 hours and 1 liter of 100 Plus (Malaysia's version of Gatorade).
Food: roti with curry sauce, Indian chicken curry with green beans over saffron rice, Rock-salt chicken with rice noodles and steamed bean sprouts.
The first being a bend in Highway 1 that went out of the way northwards for 15 miles. An expressway actually undercuts this bend, but bicycles are prohibited. I would not have minded if this was in the beginning of the ride, but it happened in the last quarter.
The second factor was after meeting a Malaysian biker. He pulled me over on the road in his car (just before the bend) and wanted to go biking with me. Zam rallied home, got on his bike and met me by the time I finished the bend on Highway 1. From where he met me, Ipoh was only 15 km away, but at Zam's suggestion, we took a sideroad to avoid rush-hour traffic. This diversion added another 15 km to my ride!
All in all though, I would have to say I felt real good about the Century. This was the first Century since the AIDS ride back in 2001 and this was the first ride done with mountain bike tires.
180 kilomters, 10 hours and 1 liter of 100 Plus (Malaysia's version of Gatorade).
Food: roti with curry sauce, Indian chicken curry with green beans over saffron rice, Rock-salt chicken with rice noodles and steamed bean sprouts.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Pictures from Malaysia
Casa del Colonel in Penang. I tried the Colonel's fried chicken after seeing a bus stop's ad for the original recipe. In the ad, the chicken looked different than the O.R. in America, and well, it is different. It tasted like Weaver's frozen fried chicken that you bake at home.
Though the country is dominated by Muslims, there is still pork to be had (bless the Chinese!).
a view of Penang from the 55th floor of an office building
Instead of a Hackeysack, Malaysians (and Thais) use a woven ball made of bamboo strips.
check out the tanline!
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Feb 22: Kangor to Penang
I started before the crack of dawn this day, with the knowledge that I would be doing about 150 km, just under 100 miles. It was very interesting to see the area waking up. The biggest obstacles that I encountered were school children on bicycles going against the grain of traffic on the shoulder that I was riding on. I did have a close call with some kids on a motorcycle who were doing the same thing and were too busy looking at the traffic to cross over. Fortunately, they looked at me just in time to turn away.
From that point on, it was smooth sailing. Unlike the previous day, no directions were needed. It was just two different roads to take. It was almost really boring, staying on the same highway for five hours.
Today was really sunny, as shown by my consumption of beverages. I probably drank four liters during the ride and another two afterwards. Only now as I am writing this (five hours later), do I feel that my thirst has been quenched.
I started to get fatigued by the end of the ride, as I was entering Butterworth. I really did not have any idea how I was going to get the island of Penang, I just assumed that there was going to be a bridge to cross. As I was going through town, I started to stress out, wondering where the bridge was. Eventually I started to see signs for a ferry and was relieved to an extent.
It turned out to be a good thing, as the ferry docked on the island less than a kilometer from where I wanted to sleep.
Kangor to Penang: 150 km, seven hours (not including the 1 km ferry ride).
Food: Little India is next to my hotel - samosas and chai were consumed after the ride. Chinatown is next to Little India - fried noodles on the street was my dinner, though I'll probably get something more to eat after finishing this blog entry.
From that point on, it was smooth sailing. Unlike the previous day, no directions were needed. It was just two different roads to take. It was almost really boring, staying on the same highway for five hours.
Today was really sunny, as shown by my consumption of beverages. I probably drank four liters during the ride and another two afterwards. Only now as I am writing this (five hours later), do I feel that my thirst has been quenched.
I started to get fatigued by the end of the ride, as I was entering Butterworth. I really did not have any idea how I was going to get the island of Penang, I just assumed that there was going to be a bridge to cross. As I was going through town, I started to stress out, wondering where the bridge was. Eventually I started to see signs for a ferry and was relieved to an extent.
It turned out to be a good thing, as the ferry docked on the island less than a kilometer from where I wanted to sleep.
Kangor to Penang: 150 km, seven hours (not including the 1 km ferry ride).
Food: Little India is next to my hotel - samosas and chai were consumed after the ride. Chinatown is next to Little India - fried noodles on the street was my dinner, though I'll probably get something more to eat after finishing this blog entry.
Feb 21: Satun, Thailand to Kangor, Malaysia
The start of a new adventure! I began the trip through Malaysia at the crack of dawn. Being so close to the equator has made me realize the necessity of biking as soon as possible. The morning temperature is around 25 degrees centigrade, and eventually it rises to at least 35 degrees, not factoring in the intensity of the sunshine (and lemme tell you it's freakin' intense!).
It took me 87 km just to get out of Thailand, through flat terrain and a slight wind to my back. Crossing the border on my bike was nice and easy. No hassles and I was in Malaysia in no time.
As I crossed the border, I realized that I had no ringgit, the Malaysian currency. Unlike Laos, I heard of no reports that Malaysia accepts Thai baht or US dollars. Not that I was hungry or in need to purchase anything at the moment, but it did put me in a position that I needed to make it to a big town that had ATMs. That town was Kangor, another 35 km away.
I hadn't set out to break the hundred kilometer barrier this day, but well, I didn't really have a choice. This was the most riding I have done in one day since doing the AIDS charity rides back in 2001. No worries, I told myself, I've been kinda "training" myself for this in the past few months in Thailand.
The only real problem was finding Kangor. Every sign that I encountered was followed by a sign telling me to got the opposite direction. Often times the first sign would say to go south (which is what I assumed, looking at the map) and the next sign, just a hundred meters away, would say to go north. This happened at least four times.
Eventually I made it Kangor: 125 km, five hours.
My first thoughts of Malaysia: large Indian population, not dominating the country in numbers, though. The countryside is rather flat with lush green flora. It's a Muslim country, so alcohol is not too popular. The upside of this is that the roads are not peppered with broken bottles. The downside is that beer can be found, but at American prices. A bottle of beer costs a little over a dollar in the stores! A half pint of Guiness at the bar costs $2.50, a full pint cost $5.
Food has Indian and Chinese influences - at a Muslim restaurant, I had green beans in a yellow Indian curry, a peppery beef stir fry and sliced Chinese mustard greens, fried chicken with Indian curry spices in the batter and this weird dish that contained deep-fried crab and shrimp, dried beef served over sliced cucumbers and a very sweet BBQ sauce.
It took me 87 km just to get out of Thailand, through flat terrain and a slight wind to my back. Crossing the border on my bike was nice and easy. No hassles and I was in Malaysia in no time.
As I crossed the border, I realized that I had no ringgit, the Malaysian currency. Unlike Laos, I heard of no reports that Malaysia accepts Thai baht or US dollars. Not that I was hungry or in need to purchase anything at the moment, but it did put me in a position that I needed to make it to a big town that had ATMs. That town was Kangor, another 35 km away.
I hadn't set out to break the hundred kilometer barrier this day, but well, I didn't really have a choice. This was the most riding I have done in one day since doing the AIDS charity rides back in 2001. No worries, I told myself, I've been kinda "training" myself for this in the past few months in Thailand.
The only real problem was finding Kangor. Every sign that I encountered was followed by a sign telling me to got the opposite direction. Often times the first sign would say to go south (which is what I assumed, looking at the map) and the next sign, just a hundred meters away, would say to go north. This happened at least four times.
Eventually I made it Kangor: 125 km, five hours.
My first thoughts of Malaysia: large Indian population, not dominating the country in numbers, though. The countryside is rather flat with lush green flora. It's a Muslim country, so alcohol is not too popular. The upside of this is that the roads are not peppered with broken bottles. The downside is that beer can be found, but at American prices. A bottle of beer costs a little over a dollar in the stores! A half pint of Guiness at the bar costs $2.50, a full pint cost $5.
Food has Indian and Chinese influences - at a Muslim restaurant, I had green beans in a yellow Indian curry, a peppery beef stir fry and sliced Chinese mustard greens, fried chicken with Indian curry spices in the batter and this weird dish that contained deep-fried crab and shrimp, dried beef served over sliced cucumbers and a very sweet BBQ sauce.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Lopburi - the land of monkeys and Bangkok - an urban sprawl
My brother Derek came to Thailand for a visit this month for a short nine-day holiday. For him, it was a planes, trains and automobiles experience... but in a good way... Criss-crossing the country, going from Bangkok to Phuket back to Bangkok to Lopburi to Chiang Mai and back to Bangkok once again. Fortunately, there were no break-downs or train wrecks.
The only new sight for me was to visit Lopburi. Known for its ancient temples (though less than five hundred years old) that are homes for a rather large population of macaques, we stopped for the day. The timing of it was perfect. We took the midnight bus out of Phuket and arrived in Bangkok early in the morning. A taxi took us to the train station, where we were just in time to catch an outgoing train to Lopburi.
The macaques were a huge presence in one particular temple. Not fearing the hand of man, these animals would go as far as jump on people in hopes of catching some food possibly located on their person. I saw a team of them sneak up on a seven-year old girl and take her bag of sweets from her hand that she just purchased ten seconds before. ("taking candy from a baby")
The final stop of Derek's stay was in Bangkok. We stayed at a friend's of his back in the college days. It was swanky apartment on the 13th and 14th floors, overlooking some of Bangkok's financial district. I think that this is probably one of the top five most luxurious homes that I have ever stepped foot in.
Having been in Bangkok three other times for only one day at a time, I was looking forward to being able to spend some time there. The city is very big (population-wise and size-wise), with traffic jams everywhere to underscore the point.
Our first day was spent doing probably what every other tourist does on thier first visit to Bangkok - check out the Grand Palace. While it houses the king, only the temples are open to visiters. When we got there, the area was elbow to elbow in tourists. Tour groups were walking around, being led by guides speaking German, English, Japanese, Russian and French. The number of Russian tourists was surprising. Just on observation only, I would estimate that a quarter of the tourists that day were Russian.
Next to the Grand Palace was a temple housing one of the biggest buddha statues that I have ever seen. He is laying on his side and stretches to about forty yards long. There were other buddha statues in other buildings in the temple, but well, I starting to get bored with all the temples in this country. While not all the temples are the same, they really aren't that much different.
After the day, we pretty much felt that we had seen all that we wanted to see in Bangkok. This was confirmed by talking to Derek's friend. Bangkok's tourist highlights for the world are centered on food, temples, shopping and raunchy sex clubs. Shopping seems to have gotten out of control. In the Siam neighborhood, I counted at least ten shopping malls in one intersection. One of these malls has a handful of car dealerships on the fifth floor: Ferrari, Lambourghini, Porshe, BMW (for the poor people) and Maserati.
Along a couple blocks in the Financial District are rows and rows of clubs (straight and gay). In the middle of the streets are merchandise vendors, hawking clothing, pirated DVDs and CDs, jewelry, crap and junk. This gives the area a weird effect of clean-cut tourists innocently walking around looking for stuff to buy and party people checking out the bars where touts are on the sidewalk holding cards with a list saying "pussy ping pong... pussy bottle rocket... " and other sordid acts. Some of the bars leave their doors open, allowing you a taste of what you are getting into - Handfuls of girls dancing on a ten-foot diameter stage wearing bikinis.
Three days in Bangkok was more than enough for me. I can't take the immensity of the city (it's hell getting from one place to another) and everything is so expensive compared to the rest of the country.
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