Rest is crucial to muscle growth, and we certainly had our fair share in Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur with 5 nights in both of the respective capitals of Indonesia and Malaysia. Spending so much time off the bikes was strange, and made it even more strange getting back on. Wondering whether the bikes had sustained any subtle damage or whether we'd rebuilt them correctly was soon to be found out. Sean and I with our somewhat blase attitude to prepping for this trip had very little experience with bike mechanics, so it was a minor miracle that we assembled the bikes correctly (though breaking them down in Jakarta did help the process).
You can see straight through the smile and thumbs up... I had no idea if my bike would last the first kilometre
Leaving the comfort of Rick's place was hard. Never before had I experienced such hospitality, and for that we're truly indebted to the man. Aside from simply housing us for five nights, he took us under his wing, showing us the best spots of KL, shouting us lunch, dinner and beers throughout our stay. It just so happened that our stay in KL aligned with the demise of my iPhone, a cost we had not wanted to incur. Coincidentally, Rick had bought his daughter an iPhone 5 and had ordered it online for his daughters birthday in two weeks. He gave me that one, ordered a new one and had my troubles sorted with no hassle at all! What a great man!
Ramadan was over, and the Eid holiday had begun on the weekend, so the roads out of Kuala Lumpur were uncharacteristically quiet (on the Monday). This was a god/Allah send, as the immensely ordered nature of the city and its superior modernity to Jakarta led us to believe that it would be harder to find our way out. Lots of highways and motorways, and Google Maps was very keen to direct us onto the bigger, busier roads. Fred struggled with navigation, but eventually got us out of there after a screwing a few U-ies and having a brief ride on the motorway. The alternate route was amazing. It was basically like riding out in the Waitaks, the only difference being the heat, humidity and the fact that monkeys and snakes were lurking in the trees. We motored up the 600m ascent out of KL and found a spot for lunch at the summit.
Blending in with the Malaysian jungle
Arriving in Bentong, the priority was wifi. Emirates Team New Zealand were on match point, and we weren't going to miss a monumental victory. The heartbreak of 2013 still very fresh. The racing started at the slightly awkward time of 1.30am, so we were very keen for the boys to kick Jimmy and the 'USA' team to the curb on their first go. Despite a sketchy connection, cutting out just as the boys were about to cross the line, we saw history being made. What a marvellous campaign. Clinical. Strategically genius. Fast. Very fast. The three of us may be interested in getting a job as a cyclor for 2021.
The face of ETNZ's America's Cup defence 2021 - aero helmet included. Sign him up!
The ride east was very scenic. Despite the only major hill immediately out of KL, the terrain was undulating, which really tested the gear configuration on the bikes. The heat was oppressive and the sun out in force. There is certainly more to offer for lunch than on Java, and it's very cheap, with Indian roti and dahl being our go to at the moment.
Enjoying the tranquility of the roads out of KL. Quite the contrast to the congested, reckless, horn-heavy traffic of Java
On our third day out of KL, we came across Kampung New Zealand, a small FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority of Malaysia) settlement nestled amidst the thicket of palm oil and rubber plantations. It was a quaint, bucolic village with a silver fern monument erected proudly in front of the Malaysian and Pahang flag. A rather bizarre moment for all of us, with the few locals that were present wondering why three white men on bicycles were taking photos of their village.
Kampung New Zealand. How bizarre
The unfortunately named town of Gambang was next on the list of in-between-towns (IBTs). A tacky resort city, built around a waterpark, being the only available spot to stay. It's fair to say, the city was well-under occupied for its capacity, with high rise hotel-styled buildings built with different themes to meet the needs of every traveller. We were landed with the Caribbean Bay Resort. Not much resembled the Caribbean apart from it having a pool. No rum in sight. No beers either.
We trooped on to Kuantan the next day with the first bit of rain since our ride into Trawas on Java. An easy days riding got us there by 11am, two hours before we could even check in! We used up the time eating a massive Indian roti lunch, and throwing the frisbee in the park just across the road.
Another short day on the bike got us to Cherating. We had no accomodation booked, so we just rocked up on the main stretch and were eventually ushered into a small chalet styled accomodation by a man on a scooter. Our hosts greeted us with tea and snacks before showing us to our small, fan-cooled room. Gold sand beach, cheap food and accomodation, beachfront bars and pina coladas! Everyone there was on island time. The perfect environment for a few days off the bikes. Malaysia was really starting to turn it on for us. Having come here not knowing what to expect, we have been pleasantly surprised to say the very least.
The view from the bar in Cherating
