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