April 1, 2007
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Next Location: North of here
Estimated time of departure: Apr. 3, 2007

3) Batu Pahat, Malaysia > Muar, Malaysia 47km
Muar
Mar. 27, 2007 - Mar. 28, 2007

47km from Batu Pahat. A short ride today 8am-11am. Most of the riverfront is taken up by religious buildings.

4) Muar, Malaysia > Melaka, Malaysia 45km
Melaka
Mar. 28, 2007 - Mar. 30, 2007

45km from Muar. Stayed at the Klebang Beach Resort. Should've only stayed one day, the 29th was cloudy/rainy, would've been nice to be out of the sun during the long ride to Port Dickson. Hopefully the 30th will be similar.

5) Melaka, Malaysia > Port Dickson, Malaysia 116km
Port Dickson
Mar. 30, 2007 – Mar. 31, 2007

116km to Port Dickson from Melaka, should've been 90km but I wanted to stay in the town center rather than a resort. Had to ride back to the resort because Port Dickson is hardly a town.

6) Port Dickson, Malaysia > Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 127km
Kuala Lumpur
Mar. 31, 2007 - Apr. 3, 2007

127km from Port Dickson and 1 flat tube. While replacing the tube I noticed an unrelated problem with my tire, worn and rusted. Staying at the Corona Inn, plenty of restaurants near by.

Total bicycle km = 507km

The Perfect Beach

I never found the perfect beach in India, a place where you can put up a hammock, sip mango juice, and just relax in peace. Finding a beach with shade that wasn't crowded with tourists, merchants or school children was difficult. Not that I don't like tourists, merchants, or school children, but there's a time and a place. Malaysia has been way too hot to enjoy the beaches, but that's what I should expect so close to the equator. Perhaps it's better later in the year. I'm expecting 10 degrees north of the equator will be more pleasant.

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The Highways of Malaysia

I've mentioned that the highways in Malaysia are very nice, but I should make note of the speed bumps. Only large enough to make a sound and remind you to slow down and pay attention. A stark contrast of Indian speed bumps that were like hitting a curb. One time in India, while going down a steep hill and around a sharp turn, I was wondering why the car that sped by me had slowed down. I looked ahead for cows or foot traffic, and was almost caught off-guard by the unmarked speed bumps that jolted my bicycle. About 6 high bumps in quick succession going down hill around a corner. I'm sure their bumps cause more accidents then they prevent. Normally India paints the speed bumps, but not always. The speed bumps in Malaysia work perfectly fine.

The drivers in Malaysia are very patient. They don't cut you off pulling out from or turning in to a side street. They'll actually pull back from the side street, even though they aren't in your way, just to be respectful. Again, a stark contrast to India, where, cutting you off is the norm. Drivers speeding up to pull in front of you, just to stop quickly and make a left turn, when, if they had waited half a second, could've avoided cutting me off. I don't think that Indian people are trying to be rude, its just how people drive in India. The amount of traffic in India is probably 10 times more than Malaysia, so you either take every advantage you can or end up waiting forever to make your turns.

Mmmm, Corn Sweet Corn

The Malaysians love sweet corn. It's a desert, which makes sense considering how much sugar is in corn. It's served very buttery. The other day, I picked up a pint of ice cream without reading the label. It looked like Mango, or some other fruity flavor, which was what I wanted. The label was in both Malay and English, so it was my own fault when it turned out to be sweet corn ice cream. I tried to eat it, but could only stomach 10 spoonfuls, and I regretted those. Now, I can't stand the smell of corn.

Karioke Night

Several times a day mosques have singing over loud speakers calling people to prayer. This is commong in India, as well as other Muslim countries, including Malaysia. Yes, India is a Hindu/Muslim/Christian country, they had mosques every 500 meters. The other night in Melaka (of the Melaka straights), the mosque next to my resort must've had karioke night because, in addition to the evening call to prayer, they had several hours of individuals singing over the loud speakers. It sounded like a few drunks who found a Mr. Microphone. "Hey baby, I'll be back to pick you up later." Rember that?

130km/day...no problem

I wish Malaysia had hotels everywhere like India. How Indian hotels made a profit in the middle of nowhere is beyond me, but good or bad hotels, at least they were there. I'd prefer to just ride 30km/day, and spend the rest of the day enjoying the town, however I've had to ride all day just to find a hotel. Yesterday I rode 130km, the day before 116km. I expect to have to ride 75-90km/day through Malaysia. I'll probably reach a port in northern Malaysia in 4-6 days after leaving Kuala Lumpur, and then take a ferry to an Island in North Malaysia, then take a ferry to Thailand. I'm hoping Thailand will be better, but expect Vietnam to not have many hotels.

Date: March 26, 2007
Location: Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia
Next Destination: Muar or Melaka, Malaysia
ETA: March 28, 2007

1) Singapore > Pontian Kechil, Malaysia 97km
Singapore
Mar. 22, 2007 - Mar. 24, 2007

Strand Hotel
25 Bencoolen St. Singapore 189619
Tel. 63381866 Fax 63381330

Pontian Kechil
Mar. 24, 2007 - Mar. 25, 2007
The Pontian Hotel

97km from Singapore, including getting lost for 10 km. Two flat tires before leaving Singapore. Cycled from 8am to 5:30pm, little shade, very hot. I was expecting the cool temp. that Singapore enjoys, with an evening rain, but even Singapore was sunny when I left. At Pontian, you can see lightning storms on the local islands.

2) Pontian Kechil, Malaysia > Batu Pahat, Malaysia 75km
Batu Pahat
Mar. 25, 2007 - Mar. 27, 2007
The Crystal Inn

75km from Pontian. One flat tire before leaving Pontian. Cycled from 11am to 5300pm, little shade, very hot. I was expecting to ride 35km, but there wasn't a hotel between Pontian and Batu Pahat. I'll have to start my rides early if hotels are hard to find.

Total bicycle km = 172km

Leaving Singapore

I left Singapore for Malaysia on March 24. I was warned not to stay in Jahore Bahru because it was dangerous, so I decided to proceed to Pontian Kechil or a hotel along the way. One big difference between Malaysia and India is that India has hotels everywhere, Malaysia doesn't. The nearest hotel was in Pontian, which made the ride 97km. With overwhelming heat, little shade, and two flat tires before leaving Singapore, I was exhausted at the end of my 8am-6pm ride. The weather had been relatively cool and cloudy in Singapore the past two days, but when I looked out the window upon leaving, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, a bad omen that the weather wouldn't be friendly. My 50 sunproof lotion had to be applied several times and my arms still felt cooked at the end of the day.

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I only spent two days in Singapore, but you could spend a lifetime there and never get bored. The most notable thing about Singapore was that I never saw any police or police cars. I'm assuming they were all undercover. I expected Singapore to be strict and uptight, but nothing could be further from the truth. People followed the rules, but I had the feeling that the people were flexible and non-judgmental. A very relaxed environment. Singapore had a loose feeling about it, unlike in India where I got several comments for wearing shorts in Mumbai, not bicycle shorts that can be tight, but just normal shorts. It was a little different in tourist cities of Goa, but most Indians wear pants and are very conscious about symbols of social status. Shorts and riding bicycles are for poor people.

Malaysia

I expected Malaysia to be Singapore's poorer cousin, and perhaps it is, but Malaysia is doing pretty well. I've only been here three days, and only in the towns along the highway, but the Malaysian cities are as nice as American cities, and the rural towns could be rural towns in America. The highways are very well maintained, have special lanes for motorcycles, and the road signs are logical and numerous. It's almost impossible to get lost, but I'm sure I'll find a way. Singapore and Malaysia were late add-ons of my trip, so I had no idea what to expect. I assumed Malaysia would be even more strict than Singapore, but it's pretty wild. The local shopping mall had a dance competition that could've put the solid gold dancers to shame.

The other day, I was in a good-sized grocery market, full of muslim women in their muslim clothes, but the speakers had American music playing loudly. I'm assuming that English coloqial terms aren't known very well because the female rap singer playing over the speakers was singing about giving her *ussy away. The next song was an 1800's christian song. I'd like to know who's selecting the music and if they know it's playing in a muslim grocery market. Americana does well in Malaysia as it seems to all over Asia. Pizza Hut and KFC are everywhere. I feel sorry for these people if the only pizza they know is from Pizza Hut, hardly a good pizza.

I should go, Mr. Bean's Excellent Adventure is playing, not that I'm a fan, be it's something about a passport & vacation and I need some touring tips.

-Rick

Date: March 23, 2007
Location: Singapore
Next Location: Malaysia, West Coast
Departing Singapore: March 24, 2007

Leaving India

I spent far less time in India than I had originally planned. There was a lot that I didn't see, but a lot that I did experience. The weather was a lot more tolerable than I had expected. Kerala was warm and partly cloudy with a gentle breeze.

The people were friendly and helpful all over India. Of the people that were helpful, 99% didn't help me for money. Only in Mumbai did people help for profit. The throngs of beggars never materialized, I looked and looked but I guess they were busy elsewhere. Of the beggars I did encounter, none were aggressive, unlike San Francisco where sometimes people will harrass you for several blocks to get a quarter.

The night life in India was rather disappointing. Large cities like Mumbai had a lot to offer, but even large cities elsewhere had nothing exciting at night. I guess the Indian people, who work hard and long hours, don't go to plays, or performances at night. Many people work 6 days/week and have Sunday off. At most places I'd see the same person at 7am and 7pm. Dinner is usually at 7pm-10pm, and restaurant service is very slow, so going out on the town must be difficult if you work long days.

I didn't get any diseases despite not taking medication. Malaria is not as prevalaint as Americans fear, although if I was bitten by a malaria carrying mosquito the symptoms could show up 4 weeks from now, so maybe I shouldn't sound so snooty. I should mention that I was bitten by mosquitos a 1001 times. I should've brought a mosquito net rather than a tent. I have mosquito clothing, and you'd think that such clothing would be cool, but in the heat of the night I preferred the mosquitos to the protective clothing. Even the air-conditioned rooms had a few mosquitos. I prefered rooms with fans over A/C rooms because the A/C rooms got too cold and your choice was no air or cold air. The honeywell thermostats never offered anything over 30 celsius, and even that felt cold after a while.

I have a water-filter, and an UV water purifier, but never used either. Only once did I get kinda-very sick with food poisoning. I say "kinda-very" because sometimes bad bacteria can make you vomit, and I was fortunate not to experience that. Several times I rode my bicycle with diahrea, but with physical fortitude that was never a problem. I never take medication for such ailments, it's a normal and important part of your defense mechanism, although if I were in a meeting for 8 hours, I'd consider medication. I drank normal water until my stomach felt bad, then switched to bottled water until I felt better.

The Indian food was always spicier in non-tourist areas. The resort food was never very spicy, although they never mentioned making mild meals. Every restaurant offered Indian and Chinese food, but most of the times the Chinese food tasted more Indian than Chinese. The vegetarian fried rice had a few slivers of carrot in them, this was common everywhere in India. I wondered if the beef fried rice had only a few toothpick thick slivers of beef in them. Certainly not the fried rice I'm used to in America.

I often opted for American comfort food, but never found pancakes, omeletes, or decent french toast. The last hotel I was at in Cochin was the Abad Airport Hotel, but it wasn't a bad hotel at all, infact it was very nice. They made excellent Indian food, but their menu promised "fluffy" omeletes and the omelete was as thin as a few sheets of paper. It was the only place where I found American pancakes, but they were only similar to "Silver Dollar" pancakes, very small and thin. They also offered french toast but something didn't taste right. I think the batter was a few centimeters thick, but I didn't mind because they had maple syrup instead of ketchup.

The internet cafe's in India weren't really cafe's but hot cells with old computers. In Mumbai I found a cafe that had one computer hooked up to the internet, but an employee was always on it. Only once did I find an internet cafe that had many computers and offered food & drink. Most of the time, sitting in a hot cell with an old, slow computer and slow internet access, I just typed a few notes and never went into detail about my trip. I say that now because I'm in Singapore with fast computers, fast internet, and an air conditioned room. Very comfortable and I could sit here for hours, but I haven't had breakfast yet and its 12:10pm., so I'll just type a few things about Singapore.

Singapore

Singapore is more manicured than Disneyland, very beautiful and clean. Every street is like main street, except not crouded. It's a lot more spacious than I expected. My first perception was that there are a lot of young people in Singapore, but my hotel (The Strand Hotel) is next to three universities, so I feel like I'm in the middle of UCLA, or at least in famed Westwood where all the UCLA kids shop and hang out. I don't think that I mentioned the noise in India. Lots of honking, I mean lots. That's how they avoid accidents in the midst of chaos. Add to that all the honking of people saying hello to me as a bicycle-tourist, and I wished to never hear a horn again. Well, I got my wish. Singapore is the quietest city I could ever imagine. I have yet to hear a single horn. Most every pedestrian uses the cross-walks, instead of the streets being filled with people trying to cross the street like India.

In India, except perhaps Mumbai, cross-streets were uncommon. Once you were on a street, you either had to turn around or get lucky. I found this out many times when on my bicycle I would would ride on to make the next left or right to get to the next street over. Never wanting to go backward on my bicyle, thinking that it would just add km to my trip, I'd sometimes end up full-circle or totally lost if I weren't on the exact street.

I'm hungry so I'll probably add more later. Like why I left my bicycle in India bought a new Trek bicycle in Singapore.

-Rick

From Feb. 2, 2007

Some of you have been asking for pictures of Mumbai, and I wish that I had taken some pictures. Unfortunately, my camera was packed deep down in my bags that I couldn’t just take a camera out and take a shot. I now have my camera ready. The energy and spirit of the Indian people that I felt while riding would’ve probably been lost the moment I stopped, pulled out my camera, and said, “say cheese”. Not that they don’t have their own energy and spirit, but posed pictures tend to lack energy. If I see other bicyclists like me, I’ll follow them and take pictures. But I’m no ordinary bicyclist, I’m a bicyclist with 6 years worth of gear, so even other bicyclists are amazed and amused. I should say that of my two-day sample in Mumbai, people seemed more preoccupied early mornings and more outgoing in the afternoon.

The beautiful women’s dresses, the many colors and various styles are a sight to behold. I’m sure that my staring seems lecherous, but I’m really just admiring their clothes. When I take that perfect picture, I’ll post it.

Pictures from my trip to the New Delhi area

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From India

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Riding the Streets of Mumbai

As for Mumbai, the parts that I saw were mostly small, crowded streets with small shops that gave the corrugated steel feeling to them. The new construction of fancier malls, shops, schools, hospitals, and apartment buildings could possibly rival China’s fourth fastest growing city (whichever city that may be). The entire city was filled with smoke, which burned my eyes and speckled my bags with white ash. Riding in taxis on the streets of Mumbai isn’t for the faint of heart, but riding on a bicycle wasn’t nearly as scary. I’d rather be on the streets of Mumbai than on the streets of San Francisco or Los Angeles because I know that Mumbai drivers are focused on driven. Every moment is like Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, so you have to pay attention or die. Whereas, California drivers get lulled into a false sense of security, assuming that since the last 30 minutes have been uneventful, they can reach down and tie a shoe, or something just as stupid.

It’s 95 degrees with high humidity, and that’s how I like it. Everyone here is amazed that I would ride 30 miles a day and I have to say that with the load I’m carrying, 45 miles may be my limit in these mild conditions. Starting in April, it will be much hotter, so we’ll see how well I do. I now have my bike’s weight adjusted properly so that I only have a minimum of wobbling. The bicycle is a little small for me, but all the bikes in the shop were a little small. The front tire hits my foot if I turn right while my left foot is forward. Fortunately, after a few miles, you get used to mindfully peddling while turning.

Finding Arnala Beach Resort

You have to be a true adventurer to do what I’m doing. I don’t read Hindi, so street signs are of no use. I know that if I head north, I’ll reach my destination or some other destination. On my way to the small village of Manor, I didn’t get lost, but I did make a detour left because I knew that the beach was somewhere left and I wanted to see what was there. Along the 17km (11-mile) journey I saw signs for the Arnala Beach Resort (101% vegetarian). Since I’m a vegetarian, it seemed like a perfect place to stay. Having just stayed at “The Resort”, a five-star resort in the Marve/Malad area, to get my baring and ease my transition, the Arnala was a good next step. The resort had several pools, three water slides, and a two-minute walk to the beach. I’m probably the first non-local to ever visit the resort, at least that’s how I felt when they opened the front gate for me. I keep mentioning spirit and energy of the Indian people, but when you put those same people in a waterslide-playland, with teenagers “rain-dancing” to Indian-disco-fusion music under waterfalls, you could probably tap the energy to power this sub-continent. I spent several hours with them dancing under the waterfall, but at age 42, I couldn’t dance all day like the kids. Compared to the rather boring 5-star resort I was at a few days ago, I’m getting more of an Indian feeling at Arnala. The beach resort is 6 months away from completing luxury rooms, a conference area, and disco room, so I’ll have to return someday to see their improvements. Until then, bring your own toilet paper.

The food was excellent, and the people were more than friendly. In San Francisco, I would eat at Indian, Thai, Chinese, or Vietnamese restaurants every night and the food at the 5-star resort was typical of what you would find in any Indian restaurant. But, some of the food at the Arnala Beach Resort was unlike anything I’ve had in America. I wish that I had the culinary expertise to describe the traditional textures and flavors that I’ve enjoyed, but when you’re in vegetarian nirvana, sometimes it’s best to just enjoy rather than analyze. As a vegetarian, people often nicely ask me what I eat, and my first thought is that they’re culinary world must be very limited. Well, I think that I’ve added a few culinary worlds to my own palette.

The receptionist (Niyati) invited me to her parent’s house, where her mother made samosas for me, along with a milk-cashew-saffron drink. Niyati and I would’ve walked on the beach to see the sunset, but the uncle, who also worked at the resort, said that he would take me because he spoke better English. I smiled politely and said, “thank you”. The beach was nice, but his hand was cold. Actually, I’m kidding. The uncle was probably also kidding because Niyati and I ended up going to the beach the next day.

The directors of the Arnala Beach Resort came out to visit me, which is a big deal because they live quite a distance from the resort and don’t make personal visits. They turned out to be health, fitness, and bicycle enthusiasts, who cycle with group of friends 16km every day at 5:30am, rain or shine, to a dam, where they swim, and then ride back. One of the directors is a doctor, and has designed the resort to be a place where local kids can get exercise, and eat healthy while having fun. We sat for an hour and had tea, discussing tips for my trip through India, and their upcoming bicycle trip through Europe. They were impressed with my decision to drink natural (tap) water rather than mineral water. We all agreed that on a long journey, you need to build up a resistance, although, during monsoons or floods I doubt that I’ll be so cavalier since water is prone to being heavily polluted. They let me know that I could replenish my supply of protein powder at any medical store, and mentioned that I shouldn’t travel after 9:00pm, and that I shouldn’t leave anything of interest in the open. Fortunately, I brought two tents so that not only would it look like I’m not alone, but also so that I could hide my bicycle in the smaller tent.

Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Location: Cochin, Kerela, India
Duration: Undetermined
Next Destination: Probably Singapore

17) Kasaragod > Nileswar 48.2km
Mar. 04, 2007 - Mar. 05, 2007
Nalanda Resort
N.H. 17 Jn., Nileswar
Kasargod Dt., Kerela, India

Great place for its price. It's along a river, but there doesn't seem much to do, and there aren’t any shops around it, but the rooms were very nice and the food was great. You can even get a bungalow along the river.

18) Nileswar >Tellichery 71.4km
Tellichery
Mar. 05, 2007 - Mar. 07, 2007

Hotel room had two fans, restaurant didn't have a/c or fans, better order room service. Is across the street from the City Center which looks impressive for a small town.

19) Tellichery > Calicut 68.9km
Mar. 07, 2007 - Mar. 08, 2007

20) Calicut > Kottakkal 63km
Mar. 08, 2007 - Mar. 09, 2007
Lots of hills shortened my ride.

21) Kottakkal > Manalur 64.3km

Stayed in a 200 rupee/night room which was above a restaurant/ ice cream parlour. After my ride, I had fresh pineapple juice, fresh "something" juice, fruit salad with ice cream, and a milk shake with ice cream, all of which were fantastic. It's common to put kellogg's cornflakes near the top of ice cream so that it's crunchy when you reach it. Plenty of pistachio nuts instead of peanuts, and the fruit salad had peaches (my favorite) among many other fruit. All totaled 79 rupees, very cheap.

22) Manalur > Cherrai Beach 34.2km
Cherrai Beach
Mar. 10, 2007 - Mar. 12, 2007

A nice coco-hut resort along a lake and 100 meters from the beach. Too many mosquitos; ants got into my food and thousands made a home in my computer

23) Cherrai Beach > Cochin 40.8km
Mar. 12, 2007 - Mar. 15, 2007
Mareena Regency
On my third day, they gave me toilet paper.

24) Cochin > Cochin airport 37.7km
Mar. 15, 2007 - Mar. 21, 2007
Abad Airport Hotel

Across from airport, one of the few places with Wifi Internet access. Very good food, superior service.

Total bicycle in India = 1,149km (714 miles)

American Pancakes

What I miss the most are pancakes. The rare times I've found pancakes on a menu, it's been wimpy European crepes, nice, but not hearty American pancakes. I had french toast, but they gave me ketchup with it. I wasn't expecting maple syrup, but ketchup? ICK!!! I would've made a mango syrup for it.

I have yet to have a good orange juice or pineapple juice in a restaurant, and I order those everywhere I go. It's usually whipped, with little flavor, and a lot of food coloring. Coincidentally, Tang makes an orange flavor and a pineapple flavor. I can only hope I'm drinking tang because it's sure not fruit juice. On the other hand, the watermelon juice and Musambi juice are very good, until tang can replicate those flavors.

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India can be frustrating at times, nothing works right and Indian hotels never fix anything they don't absolutely have to fix (even the good hotels). It's a good thing they're service oriented, even the Indian people laugh at their own products. A plastic bag broke and the Indian cashier said, "that bag was made in India".

The Indian people have been very helpful, and not expecting money for it. The only time I've experienced help for profit was in Mumbai, the rest of the time people have gone out of their way just to be helpful. One hotel porter was insulted that I tried to give him a tip for bringing up the luggage. Most resorts discourage tipping, and it's not common anywhere else. In Mumbai, people would fight over my bags, sometimes two people would carry one bag just for a tip. It's kinda funny.

I've met a Brit cyclist, two Germans, and a German who had the best british accent I've ever heard. I think he was a spy. Yesterday I had lunch with a french cyclist who was just heading north and wanted information. 80KM of up/down hills north of Cochin, followed by 50km of flat, tree shaded roads, followed by 80km of up/down hills was what he could expect, then relative flatness until Northern Goa (except for one steep hill south of Gokima Beach). The two germans cycled from Thailand through Malaysia, then to Cochin. The opposite of what I expect to do, and their only complaint was the up/down hills north of Cochin. I missed a lone California woman cycling north from Cochin to Goa. She was staying in Gokima (I think I'm spelling it correctly), but I missed the turn-off. She's a professional bicycle tour guide.

For the past few weeks, while riding my bicycle and being greeted by Indian children and some adults with hello, I've been responding with the Tigger "HELLLLLOO". So when you call for tech. support, and are greeted with, "HELLLLLOO", you know that I've corrupted a whole generation of Indian children.

Sunday, Mar. 04, 2007
Location: Kasaragod, Kerela, India
Deistination: South (Heading to Cochin)

12) Kumta > Bhatkali 56.3km
Bhatkali
Feb. 25, 2007 - Feb. 26, 2007

13) Bhatkali > Kundapura 52.3km
Kundapura
Feb. 26, 2007 - Feb. 27, 2007

14) Kundapura > Udupi 37.9km
Feb. 27, 2007 - Mar. 02, 2007

15) Udupi > Mangalore 65.7km
Mar. 02, 2007 - Mar. 03, 2007

16) Mangalore > Kasaragod 50.7km
Mar. 03, 2007 - Mar. 04, 2007

Total bicycle = 731km

Not much to write right now, just checking in. India has more ice cream than the U.S., not as many flavors though. The national fruit must be Tutti-Fruiti. Try saying Tutti-Fruiti in your most endearing Indian accent. I think that's why it's popular, because they like saying it.

-Rick

From India

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