The first day after 7 weeks in George Town could be felt in my legs, before I reached my destination for the evening my legs cramped several times. Additionally, the heat and humidity were brutal.

I was also accompanied by the traffic police, who pointed out that I was cycling where I shouldn’t. They safely guided me for the remaining 6 km to a turn-off.

Late afternoon I cycled into Kamunting and choose a cheap two star hotel for two nights.

Today’s distance: 119.0 km               Travel time: 06.53 h.m           Total time: 09.13 h.m.

Maximum speed: 38.2 km/h            Average speed: 17.3 km/h

Max temp: 43 °C                                    Medium temp: 35 0 °C           Min temp: 23,0 °C

See Yeah Later
//P-G, The Global Cyclist

Today Saturday 22 december I slept to nine fifteen before I went down to breakfast, each step I took hurt. After breakfast I went to the big shopping center at the Komtar Tower and left my Huawei as they would change the glass to the back camera. Cost me 30 MYR, about 60 sec and the switch took no more than ten minutes.

I stopped at the bicycle workshop to pick up my Long Haul Trucker that I had dropped in for a rear cassette and chain change.

Shimano rear cassette 

I also bought a new tyre as a spare

8000 km, the Shimano cassette and chain had managed so far so it was time for a change.

On my way back I passed my favorite pub on Love Lane,they alwas serves 2 beers to Happy Hours price, 15 Ringgit or 32 SEK

My favorite pub at Love Lane

After returning from Penang National park and Monkey Beach I felt dull and tired. Later aching neck and back, and the morning after I woke up with fever.

Two days I was completely out of power. All I’m able to do is rest, googla with the computer and eat in the evening.

This picture is copied from ifl science website today 

After my visit at Pinang Hill and The Habitat it wa a day like ”I didn’t do a thing”, just walk around and drinking beer. Tomorrow I will cycle up to the very north part of Pulau Pingang and then a rainforest walk to  a popular beach, Monkey Beach. It not so far, just 20 km cycling and 5 km walk.

Gurney Drive is the most expensive area of Penang. 2000$ per square meters if you want to buy an apartment

See Yeah from the deep of rainforest
// P-G, The Global Cyclist

Have slept unevenly for several reasons, first the heat and then that the air in the mattress was not enough. Maybe there is a small hole somewhere, will check that up later
Outside everything seems calm and only the occasional motorcycle sound I hear so I fall asleep again pretty quickly.

When I finally decide to get up, the sun is at its best preparing for today’s activity but it’s still like me a little tired in the morning. The air outside is lukewarm and no brown-white racals is visible.

It will be sunny even today

Few minutes after 8am some workers come and visit, they don’t talk much, just want to know which direction I had choose. I cycle back same way and the small bridge over the canal. At next junction I turn right against Alor Setar.
A quick stop at a bar for coffee and map review. Just outside the village a sign for Butterworth tells me to turn right.

This is a huge agricultural area, its green all over.

Large rice fields succeed each other but also planting oil palms. Banana trees everywhere, 13 out of the dozen.  The heat rises, so does the humidity , some short stops.

There will be a few stops along the way to shop and look for shade. At 2 pm I cycle through a small community, the Guru, and have no plans to stop right here but at the outskirts of the community I saw a sign advertising Guinness and then it comes to a complete stop.

Old vs Modern bicycles

Can they really have Irish beer, I have to check. It’s a Chinese restaurant or fast food place and I get hungry when I saw the rice bowls and chickens hanging upside down at the chef’s house.

Rice, chicken and a anchor beer. They couldn’t serve my guinness

I order a portion and ask about the advertising sign above the bar. They don’t have any Guiness but Tiger beer and that will have to do. Eat with a good appetite and the throat gets its from the cold beer.

After three quarters of an hour it’s off and I already feel more alert, if it’s because of the food or the beer I don’t know. Just short after 5 pm I enter Sungai Petani which seem to be a fairly large city because the traffic intense.

When I now cycle through the city, I tried as much as possible to visually look for a serious bike dealer but see no one and a search
in Maps.Me gives no tips either.

At one of the traffic lights, a car signals for me and points to my rear wheel and then he turns in front of me and steps out and says..

 – Your rear wheel wobbles
 – Yes, I know, but I could not find a bicycle workshop , a serious one.
 – Follow me, I know where You can find what you are looking for he said

and then he jumps in the car and drives around the block and up towards a residential area that seems to belong to the slightly wealthier part of Sungai Petani.

Just what I’m looking for

A sign in front of a gate with the text Option Bicycle and some nice road racers’ bikes in the window makes my pulse beat faster. The man in the car walks in and a younger guy comes towards me and he says something about my rear wheel.

The mechanic waves me and the bike into the store which is a nice sight to see. Well sorted, tidy, Shimano stuff etc.

The workshop that is located inside has everything that a workshop should have and also seems to have the stuff in order. Stylish, expensive and carbon fiber racing bikes stand on the floor and hang from the ceiling.

Bicycle workshop mechanic assemblying my rear wheel

He promises to fix my rear wheel but has to remove the rear cassette and it takes some time. I realize that it’s probably pitch black when he’s done, so I’m doing research with the guy in the car for a cheap and close hotel.

He checks his mobile phone and gives me a suggestion of Merilton hotel just 1.6 km from here.

I told the mechanic that I could pick up the bike tomorrow. It’s already too dark to continue and that he also looks over my brakes which have been getting worse and more worse the past few days.

Merliton Hotel 3***

The hotel is a three–star hotel and breakfast is included. Room two hundred eight with flat screen TV, shower in the toilet and AC. I have the essentials cloth with me but forgot the adapter for the electrical outlets.

There is not much visual difference between Thailand and Malaysia wall sockets  but the distances between the wall sockets hole are wider here in Malaysia which is why my connectors pin do not fit. At the reception they don’t have any either, and I need some charging.

What do you do then. I’m not going back. On the small table next to the wall TV there is a kettle and if you lift the kettle itself there is the socket that provides power.

You have to fiddle a little with the middle slot, and I do that using a cap from a Coca-Cola can. I’ve already drunk the contents!😊😌

Now I can take my adapter, insert the wide pins into the other small slots, and voilà, I have a charger.

”Where there’s a will, There’s a way”

Tomorrow I get to sleep in because the bike workshop doesn’t open until half past eleven, but on the other hand it’s only about 40 km to Butterworth and the ferry boat over to Pulau Pinang and George Town

See Yeah Tomorrow from a bike with new spokes and adjusted rear wheel, Yippee Ki–Yay

 // P–G The Global Cyclist

My visit to Kampung Aman or UniCiti Alam was not one of my favorite memories, quite boring. Now my plan or route is southwest towards the coast and on to Butterworth and the island of Pulau Pinang.

I also need to fix my rear wheel, lost three spokes. My hope is to find a bicycle workshop in Sungai Petani.

I cycle through small villages, along smaller roads, sometimes so narrow that it becomes crowded to meet cars.

Tight and narrow road

People living here make their livelihood from agriculture and plantations. In villages near waterways or ponds, fishing is practiced for both personal consumption and sale. Handicrafts, homestays, tourism, cafés, and small shops are also common sources of income.people who live and live here get their livelihood from agriculture and plantations, in villages near waterways or ponds, fishing is practiced for both personal consumption and sale, hadycrafts, homestays , tourism, cafes, small shops.

Dried fish for sale

In Kampung Simpang I stopped for coffee and sandwich at a crowded bar. Then I cycled back but on the other side of the canal to the sea.

Down here it’s lots of fishponds and small fishing boats lies beside the small piers.

Small local fishing boats beside the piers

This is one of several canals from Sungai Besar

Next to another canal near some pumping station I found a place to pitch my tent.

Dusk comes pretty quickly so I ate my supper with the headlamp on.

The thunder god TOR can be heard throughout the evening and he also sends out his lightning bolts

While listening to some downloaded program, I remember I left my GPS on my bike. It is completely dark outside and when I crawl out through the tent opening with the light from the headlamp I see something crawling around the tent. I turn towards and see that it is a snake about 1 meter long that is wriggling.
Stands up and now see that the snake is crawling up towards the tent and the opening… says something like it should not enter the tent.

The snake coils away towards a small wall and I follow with the headlamp and see it snake into the bushes. I myself crawl into the tent quickly and make sure all the zippers are closed. Don’t want unexpected visitors.

Can’t remember if I brought the GPS with me!

See Yeah Later
// P-G The Global Cyclist

From Thailand I crossed the border into Malaysia via the Wang Prachan border post. No problem at all. Only few minutes and two copies of my index fingers,which is very important, but that was all.

Thailand into Malaysian at Wang Prachan

While I was checking my Maps.me a middle age couple show up and asked some curious questions. We had some friedly chat and they gave me some suggestions of bed and breakfast, here i Malaysia they are called ”Homestay”
– Just five or six km from her on your left side they said

Jumped up on my bike and pedaling away south. The weather has been much better, quite nice and the sun’s rays do not yet reach the tall trees that surround the road

A typical village in this area

After four km I see a black Honda Van and the driver waving me to stop. It´s the same copuple from border post and he said…
– ”Homestay” cloesed, but we help you to find another one , just 12 km from here.

– Look for our car, we will wait for you.

Jumped on my bicycle again,  but now it has started to get dark so I speed up a little. After a few km I reached a mountain pass to fight against, and it was quite tough, 14-16 % as steepiest.

It was steep cycling up and through the mountain pass but very beautiful.

After 3 km I was on the top and I stopped at a view point. A wonderful and a scenic view over the valley gave me some extra power… WOW!

a scenic view to to the valley, Wang Kelian View Point

Then the mountain slopes down toward the valley, but now it began to drizzle — not good.

At a T-junction I saw the black Honda Van again. They told me to take left at nex junction and then cycle few km flat and straigt into Kampung Aman.

– On the right side there is a quite new hotel complax.

Last km they guided me and also helped me to check in because the receptionist or hotelowner does´nt speak any english at all

I do belive they were friends with the hotelowner.

Family who helped me to find a nice hotel in Kampung Aman or UniCiti Alam

The hotel is called LS Village hotel and only three month old, I´m also the first forigner to book a room here.

Booked two nights here

Unfortunately no ATM machine available nearby and hotel couldn’t handle my dollar $.

My helping family offers to drive me to nearest ATM machine which is a few miles away, Padang Besar, so I could withdraw Malaysian cash, Ringgit, MYR. 🫶👍
The exchange rate was today 100 MYR 231,60 SEK or 22,47 €

See Yeah Later
// P-G The Global Cyclist 1719