My phone alarm went off. I picked it up to check the time. 4.45am. No human being should have to wake up at such an ungodly hour, but there I was, rolling my butt out of bed because today was not one of those days I could afford to hit the snooze button. Got in and out of the shower real quick, half blinded by the lights and half asleep, and dressed myself. Wore my cycling shorts underneath a regular pair of shorts as I thought a guy walking around in skin tight shorts at the airport would probably attract a few stares. Would definitely make getting through the security checkpoints a little easier though.
Packed my toiletries into my ruck sack and tossed it into the car. Double checked to make sure I had everything one last time before I hugged my slightly worried-looking mom good bye. At this point, I remembered what my grandmother had told me a couple of weeks ago, about how my mom will have more than a few sleepless nights over the next two weeks, which frankly speaking, left me a little heavy hearted inside. Making your mother worry is probably one of the cruelest things you could do to someone who has given so much for you. I tried not to dwell on it too much and told her I'd take care of myself and that I'd call everyday to let her know I was OK. As my dad started driving, I thought to myself that I should have said more to reassure her. Told her I loved her and to try not to worry at least. Asian people, especially us Malaysians, just aren't that great at expressing our affection towards out parents. Saying things like 'I love you' or 'I miss you' are akin to a foreign language when we speak to them, which frankly speaking, should not be.
The drive to the airport was a smooth one with a few other cars and taxis on the road keeping us company. Not too many people are awake at 5.15 am I suppose. As we were coming up to KLIA 2 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2), my dad reminded me to stay safe and to let them know where I was staying for the night everyday. I told him I would. He pulled the car over near the departure gate and I went to fetch a trolley for my huge bicycle box. After placing the box onto the trolley, I hugged my dad good bye and waited to wave at him one last time as he drove off. I pushed the trolley with it's somewhat over-sized cargo through the airport, attracting more than a handful of stares along the way.
Eventually I reached the check-in counter where an unexpected surprise was waiting for me. It turns out, things like bicycles and other sporting equipment require you to pay a 'Sports Equipment Fee' which I was not aware of. This meant I had to forfeit the regular check-in fee that I had bought when I bought my flight ticket and pay an additional RM106! I was truly and utterly shocked when the staff at the counter quoted me the price as it was more than my flight ticket and check-in fee combined! Feeling frustrated that I had to spend so much money without having yet cycled even a mile, I reluctantly forked out the cash as there was nothing else I could do now. A very pricey lesson learned indeed.
Eventually, after going through a couple of extra counters, I managed to settle the fee and dropped my bike off at the Over-sized Check-in counter, yes, that's the actually term for the counter. Even though my flight was only at 7am, it was a good thing I decided to come early. Had I assumed nothing was going to go wrong and came later, I might have been in a rush. By the time I got to the departure gate, it was already 6.30am. Some time to rest before boarding.
The flight departed punctually at 7am and touched down a few minutes before 8am at the Alor Setar Airport in Kedah. I disembarked rather eagerly as I wanted to know if my bike had survived the flight in one piece. There were a few small parts such as the wheel axles, pedals and bike tools that were packed inside the box as well and I was worried they might have fallen out of the box in the event a large enough hole or cut was made by accident during handling. Thankfully, an intact-looking bike box was waiting for me on the conveyor belt.
I proceeded out of the baggage collection area, my large package attracting a couple of stares, towards the front of the airport and waited for my girlfriend, Sher Minn to arrive. I received a text message from her as I was getting off the plane, letting me know that
she was already near by. Within a couple of minutes, she showed up. Together, we unpacked my bike, made sure all the parts were accounted for. and started assembling it.
Overall, it took a good 20 to 30 minutes to put the bike back together followed by a forearm-burning 15 to 20 minutes of pumping the tyres up to their usual 100 psi pressures with the small mini-pump I had. There was no surefire way of making sure I had reached 100 psi, so I had to do it based on feel. Too high and you'll risk the over-inflating the tyre which will very likely lead to it exploding later on. Too low and you'll risk a pinch flat which is when the rim bottoms out and the inner tube gets pinched between the rim and the tire, causing it to puncture. After what seemed like an eternity, I was finally satisfied with the tyre pressures.
After fixing the saddle bag, lights, bottles. pedals, and mini-pump on, I wheeled the bike out the airport to Sher Minn's Toyota Avanza which was parked nearby, collapsed the rear seats and got the bike in without too much trouble. As I was pushing the bike towards the car, a couple of cab drivers, intrigued by my relatively large ruck sack and my bike, inquired about us. So I told them my little 2 week-long plan. All of them were quite impressed with one of them telling me he had never heard of such a thing being attempted before. I had a feeling this was going to be quite a common occurence over the next 2 weeks! We were off by 9.25am, northwards towards Kangar, Perlis.
By the time we arrived in Kangar, it was already 10.15am. I had planned to start cycling from Padang Besar at 11am but judging by the fact we hadn't even had breakfast yet and that Padang Besar was still a good 40km away, I needed to adjust my schedule a little. As we were in a rush and neither of us were familiar with the area, we stopped at a McDonald's along the way and had out breakfast there. McDonald's, so adventurous, I thought to myself!
We made quick work of our food and we were off by 10.45am. After a stop at a local 7-11 to get some water for my ride, we left Kangar for Padang Besar. Eventually, we arrived at the Padang Besar Malaysia-Thailand checkpoint around 11.30am. Not too late, I thought.
We got down and I unloaded my bike while Sher Minn filled my bike bottles with the water we had bought earlier. I changed into my cycling shorts and put on my cycling shoes. Before setting off, I checked that I had everything with me one last time before I took a couple of pictures with Sher Minn and hugged her goodbye. I'd be seeing her and a friend, Eileen who lives in Kangar, in a couple of hours time when I reach Kangar, so no need for overdramatic sayonaras.
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| Kompleks Imigresen Padang Besar Perlis - Padang Besar Immigration Complex, Perlis |
I booted up Google Maps for a minute to make sure I knew where I was going and then I was off! Pedaled out of the check-point area and headed south towards the Timah Tasoh Dam (Empangan Timah Tasoh) which would be my first stop along the way to Kangar.
After approximately 20km of cycling and some fumbling around with Google Maps, I eventually reached the dam around 1pm. Unfortunately, the dam isn't open to the public. The guard manning the entrance into the dam area advised me to head back up the road to one of the resorts beside the lake if I wanted to take some pictures. Not what I expected and seeing as this was my first stop along this entire journey, I was a little disappointed but not disheartened.
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| Empangan Timah Tasoh - Timah Tasoh Dam |
So back up I went to the closest resort which was the Terinai Lake Resort to snap a couple of pictures of the lake. Alas, the pictures were nothing close to spectacular to say the least. I just couldn't find a proper view of the lake from the resort. Only later did I find out from Eileen that I should have gone a little further north to the Tasoh Lake Resort and Retreat which is where most locals and tourists go to take pictures and enjoy themselves by the lake. Doh, should have done a little more research.
After my less than memorable experience with the lake, I set off towards Arau, where the Royal Palace was situated, with hopes that it'll be a far better treat than Timah Tasoh.
A short while after departing the resort, I noticed a strain in my lower back that I had not felt since when I had just started riding a road bike and was getting used to the more aggressive and flexed position of a road bike versus that of a more upright mountain bike position. I stopped at the side of the road, got off my bike and checked my seat post height. I noticed that it was about 3 or 4 centimeters lower than where it normally sits. To a layman, this doesn't sound like much, but if you're going to spend hours upon hours pedaling on a bike that's not sized properly, back ache will start to plague you.
I deduced that this problem probably arose when I was dismantling the bike back at home. In order to get the bike to fit into the box, I had to remove the seat post from the frame. Despite a half hour of pulling on it and a good amount of elbow grease, the seat post didn't even budge. The term for this in cycling is a 'frozen seat post'. Eventually I sprayed some WD40 along the length of the tube in hopes some of it will trickle down into the frame and loosen the seat post. Finally, after some cursing and swearing, it came out. Before packing up the bike, I put a thin layer of grease on the post to prevent it from locking up in the future. It seems I may have been a little overzealous with the grease as the seat was now reclining into the frame. I pulled my muli-tool out, loosened the seat clamp, pulled the seatpost out to clean with a dirty rag i carry with me, set the seat post back to it's normal height, then retightened the clamp again. There, problem solved and I was back on the road once again. Little did I know, this was going to be a big issue later on.
The roads up until now and towards Arau were truly a treat to cycle on. They're relatively flat which is what the northern states are known for, hence the acres of paddy fields, which go on as far as the eyes can see on both sides of the road. The roads themselves are wide for trunk roads, with an ample amount of space at the sides for a cyclist to ride on and for motor vehicles to overtake safely. Cars drove relatively slow here with lorries coming by quite infrequently. I used to study in Kedah and one of the few things I truly missed about the place after graduating was being able to cycle on the roads here.
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| '.... acres of paddy fields, which go on as far as the eyes can see....' |
Eventually I arrived in Arau around 1.45pm and found the place without too much trouble. Unlike the dam, this was an actual palace so I wasn't betting on them being too kind as to let a stranger on a bicycle ride around inside while taking pictures. I did try my luck with the security guard though. Entrance denied!
Just beside the palace is the Royal Gallery which displays the royal paraphernalia of Perlis. Unfortunately, as with the palace itself, it too was off limits to visitors. What's the point of having such historic things on display if people aren't allowed to view them?
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| The main entrance into the palace. |
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| The Royal Gallery next door. |
Before long, I was off again, this time towards Kangar to meet up with Sher Minn and Eileen for lunch and some ice-kacang! The road from Arau to Kangar was fairly straight forward and like the roads up until now, were a joy to ride on due to the view around me and the fairly light traffic.
Back ache set in again. I hopped off and, surprise surprise, the seatpost had receded into the frame once again. At this point, I was wondering if this was how my entire trip was going to be, needing to adjust my seat every half an hour. So again, as with before, I took out my tools to adjust the post, giving the post another wipe down in the process with the rag to make sure all the grease was gone and tightening the seatpost clamp an extra bit more than before.
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| On the bridge over the train tracks, heading towards Kangar. |
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| An unending sea of paddy fields! |
Kangar, the state capital of Perlis, wasn't too far away from Arau and I arrived in well under half an hour despite stopping a couple of times to take some pictures and check Maps. A few minutes after crossing into Kangar territory, I was greeted by this lovely little 'Welcome to Kangar' roundabout. I stopped at the side of the road to take a picture and to check my phone to see where needed to go next. The place we were meeting up at was in a hawker stall type of setting, not a typical big city restaurant with too many signboards pointing the way. Eventually, I found the place without too much trouble.
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| Hello, Kangar! |
The store, Beng Laksa, is apparently famous among locals for it's cendol, ice-kacang and laksa. Located across the road from the local Employee Providence Fund Building (Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja, KWSP) and just beside a Chinese temple, the store is definitely unassuming to say the least. However, after just a couple of minutes sitting down at my table while waiting for the other 2 to arrive, the number of customers who stopped by to take-away ice-kacang and laksa made it's fame apparent.
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| The KWSP building across the street. |
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| The Chinese Temple beside the store. |
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| Beng Laksa |
The heat had gradually taken its toll on me since Padang Besar and I was starting to feel a little hungry. So, I decided to order an ice-kacang first whilst waiting for my companions to arrive. I'm sure they'd understand. Plus, it wasn't as though they had been pedaling for the past 3 hours under the blistering sun with a ruck sack on their backs and had to deal with a stubborn seat post.
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| The store itself. |
As soon as the bowl of sweetness hit the table, I knew I was in for a treat. Now, I don't know for sure how much the thirst, hunger and fatigue affected my judgement, but I really enjoyed the dessert. Despite it's relative simplicity, not many people can make a good ice-kacang. It's not about simply adding more syrup, more condensed milk, more ingredients or more anything for that matter. It's really about striking a balance between all these flavors so that they complement and enhance each other. I would highly recommend anyone visiting Kangar to give this place a try, especially if you have a sweet tooth. In fact, I ended up ordering a second bowl shortly after the other 2 arrived!
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| Bowl of ice-cold goodness on a bright hot afternoon. |
It was around 2.30pm when the other 2 arrived, just as I was finishing my bowl. They sat down and rather quickly ordered some laksa as they'd yet to have lunch. The laksa itself was pretty good. I generally don't favor laksa all too much. The only kind of laksa I really enjoy is the Sarawak kind, which frankly speaking, should be called something else entirely as it's so different from the typical Penang laksa, but the ones served at the store were quite flavorful and definitely not the typical Penang-style of laksa which I find to be a little tasteless and too watery. This one had a slightly thicker and richer broth to it. You can also grab a raw egg from the plate on the table and crack it onto the laksa, then mixing it in to add to it's flavor and nutritional value too!
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Whilst the other two were eating, I noticed the seat post on my bike had receded once again. This was really starting to be an annoyance. So, while i was waiting for them to finish, I tried to clean the seatpost one more time, this time cleaning the inside of the frame as well to remove any potential grease that was still there. After that, I set the post at it's proper height and proceeded to tighten the screw on the seatpost clamp, this time as tight as I could get it. That's when the rest of the day went sideways.
My overzealous tightening resulted in the screw on the clamp breaking in half, with one half still stuck inside the threaded end. I just stood there is disbelief. What was I going to do now?! Not only was the screw stuck inside the clamp, but the clamp itself was a very unique piece, no local bicycle store in Kangar would possibly have a replacement!
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| The broken screw with one half still stuck in it's thread. |
I was utterly stumped. Was this how my epic journey was going to end? Without even reaching my first day's rest stop? By a singular broken screw? My dream and 2 years of planning, foiled by such an intricate problem? What would my friends and family think of me?
I couldn't give up so soon. I had to try and crawl my way out of this. I removed the seat post clamp and inspected it closer to get a better idea of what I was dealing with. The clamp was essentially a C-shaped piece of metal. I could force the clamp open slightly, further separating the head and tail ends of the C. By doing this, I could see the half of the screw that was stuck in it's thread. If I had a decent pair of pliers, I could perhaps grab hold of the stuck half of the screw and twist it out, I thought to myself. Eileen knew of a couple of bike stores near by, so we decided to try our luck there.
Unfortunately, both the bike stores could not help us. I did borrow a pair of pliers from one of them to try unscrewing the broken half of the screw but there was no give at all. The broken half was stuck in there good. Not only that, while we were driving from store to store in Eileen's car, I contacted as many bike contacts and bike stores I knew to ask if they had a replacement seat post clamp that was specific or even remotely specific to my bike. Sadly, as I suspected, none of them carry such a unique piece. I even searched online and found a replacement all the way in England which would take about a week to get here and would cost approximately RM 150! Definitely not a viable opinion.
After exhausting our efforts at the bike stores, I decided that we might have better luck in Alor Setar where I knew of a bike store that was a little more specialised than the ones we had been to, maybe they would know what to do. So, we headed to Eileen's house where Sher Minn's Avanza was parked. While we were there, we met Eileen's dad, Mr Ooi, who is a retired technician. She recommended letting her dad have a look at it to see if he could help. At this point, I was about to throw in the towel and give up. But heck, wouldn't hurt to try. So I handed him the clamp and explained what was wrong. He asked me if it was alright if he tried to shatter the stuck half screw with a drill, to which I replied definitely, because a replacement screw would be easy to find. So he pulled out his hand-held power drill and gave it a shot. Unsuccessful. The stuck half screw just didn't want to give up. But neither did Mr Ooi. He told us he'd go see a friend who has a workshop with more technical tools if I didn't mind waiting. Without the clamp, I wasn't going anywhere fast. So I told him to take his time, he was already helping me out more than both the previous bike stores combined.
In the mean time, I went back to looking for a replacement clamp online. After almost 2 hours of waiting and coming up with nothing online, Mr Ooi called and said he managed to get the screw out! Thank God, I thought. It turns out, his friend is a fabricator of sorts. He used a piece of metal in the shape of a short ice-cream stick and welded it onto the struck half screw. Once the weld had set, he then proceeded to gently tap away at the metal piece while my seatpost clamp itself was clamped in a bench vise, essentially turning the welded metal piece into a lever, with the fulcrum being the stuck half screw. Genius!
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| Mr Ooi's friend tapping away at the make-shift lever. |
After some patient tapping, the stuck half screw came loose and could be unscrewed relatively easily. Eileen's dad then went to one of the bike stores we had visited earlier in order to get a replacement screw, which he found without too much hassle. What a relief! My journey was saved! But another issue had come up, time. It was already 5.15pm and Mr Ooi had yet to return with my fixed seatpost clamp and I still had another 50km to go. I was running out of daylight and trunk roads aren't exactly well known for being very well lit at night. Eventually he got home around 5.30pm and I just couldn't thank him enough! He refused to accept any money for his help despite me insisting on it and him forking out some of his own cash to the fabricator and bike shop. I was just so thankful and owed him a great deal of gratitude and promised myself to find a way to pay him back someday. If you're reading this, thank you so much Mr Ooi!
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| Fixed clamp with new screw, albeit a little scratched up now. |
I put the clamp and seatpost back on, gathered my things, filled up my bottles, and was ready to be on my way towards Alor Setar. No more time to waste, daylight was running out and it would be dark soon. Just before I left, Eileen passed me a can of 100 Plus to have along the way and we managed to take a photo together along with her dad. Then I was off by 5.45pm.
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| From the left: Eileen, Mr Ooi, and myself. |
My initial plan, had I not broken the clamp, was to head West after Kangar, towards the coast line and cycle along it towards Alor Setar, where I'd stay the night at Sher Minn's place before continuing on the following day to Penang. Seeing as that it's very close to the seaside, the view would've been spectacular. Unfortunately, life had other plans in mind for me and I had to take a more direct route to Alor Setar. Nevertheless, I was just glad to be back on the road again with my seatpost clamp fixed. I even noticed that the seatpost had stopped receding into the frame. Things were definitely looking much better than a few hours ago.
On the way towards Alor Setar, I didn't stop as often or take as many pictures as I had done earlier in the day because I was just focused on getting to my destination before it got dark. The only times I stopped were at traffic lights and to check Maps to make sure I was on the right track. As I headed out of Kangar, I was greeted once again by beautiful fields of paddy to my left and right. Combined with the cooler weather of the evening, the ride back was very serene despite me being in a slight rush.
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| The view was still so serene. |
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| See something you like? |
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| Turn right! |
Eventually I arrived at the Perlis-Kedah border and thought it was worth a quick stop and a picture. I was making decent pace already so a single photo wouldn't make too much of a difference. Plus, it was a landmark of sorts, both geographical and achievement-wise.
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| "Terima kasih" - Good bye. "Selamat jalan" - Safe travels. |
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| Selamat datang ke negeri Kedah Darul Aman - Welcome to the state of Kedah Darul Aman |
Eventually the sky started to dim. I looked at my watch. 7.00pm. This wasn't my first time riding at night but I definitely don't favor it too much, especially when it's on roads I've never been on. Who knows when an eccentric pothole or two will spring out on you. Fortunately, the traffic wasn't too crazy and I eventually arrived at the outskirts of Alor Setar around 7.15pm. For those of you who don't know, Alor Setar is the state capitol of Kedah and because it's a city, the traffic was noticeably getting heavier and heavier as I approached the city center.
Not too long after I had entered the city, I passed a few landmarks at which I stopped for a quick photo opportunity as I was almost at Sher Minn's place. One of those aforementioned landmarks was the Zahir Mosque (Masjid Zahir) which, in my opinion, is one of the most beautiful mosques I've ever seen. There is another mosque in Alor Setar, the Al-Bukhary Mosque (Masjid Al-Bukhary) which is newer and, in my opinion, more spectacular in design that Zahir. In fact, because of it's beauty, it's a common spot for engaged Muslim couples to come with photographers to take pictures.
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| Zahir Mosque (Masjid Zahir) |
Aside from mosques, it would be rather difficult for anyone to miss the Alor Setar Tower when driving through Alor Setar as it, albeit not being as tall as it's older brother in Kuala Lumpur, is very clearly visible even from the North-South Highway. There's a revolving restaurant at the top of the tower at which a couple of friends and I had dinner once before so as to treat ourselves after completing our final year exams. Unfortunately, the food was nowhere nearly as memorable as the occasion we were celebrating, nor was the service. I still remember, after sitting down and placing our orders, a waiter came out of the kitchen 10 minutes later to inform us they had run out of gas and had to send someone down to get a new tank! You'd think, as a major landmark of a state's capitol, it would be run much more efficiently. Maybe that's why we were the only ones dining in the entire restaurant that night.
Just across the street from the tower is the Aman Central shopping mall, the most recent mall to open in Alor Setar at the time of writing this. The mall, in my opinion, is pretty significant as far as the state's level of consumerism and development are concerned. It introduced a lot of franchises which, despite being common sightings in more developed cities like Kuala Lumpur or even Penang, had never set foot in Kedah before. The state's first Uniqlo, Nando's, Padini, Toys 'R' Us and many more, all opened their doors for the first time in this mall.
Eventually, I had enough of sightseeing for a day and was longing for a warm bath and a hearty meal. I continued on for about another kilometer or two before I arrived at Sher Minn's place at 7.30pm. Such a relief to finally be off the road for the day. I took Eileen's can of 100 Plus, which I left in my bag because I was intentionally saving it for when I finally arrived at Sher Minn's place, put some ice in a cup, filled up the cup with 100 Plus and drank what was probably the most refreshing cup of 100 Plus I've ever had in my life. I texted Eileen a short while later to let her know I had arrived and to thank her dad again for helping me out, and for the 100 Plus too of course!
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| Cold carbonated concoction of cations in a cup. |
One, or rather six, of the many reasons why I always look forward to coming over to visit are her six dogs! Four Shih Tzus, one Husky and a mixed breed. They're always a joy to play with and I never knew how of a dog person I was until I met them.
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| Look at this bundle of cuteness! |
After enjoying my drink and playing with the dogs, I set aside my ruck sack and hit the showers. I washed my soiled shirt and cycling shorts and hung them out to dry. I didn't expect to finish that late so I hoped my clothes had enough time to dry, especially my cycling shorts as I only had one pair. I later found out I had forgot to pack an extra pair of socks, so those had to be dry too.
Once that was done, I just laid down on my bed for the night to rest. There's a saying that most professionals use when they talk about recovering faster between races; "Never stand when you can lean, never lean when you can sit, and never sit when you can lie down". So there I was, doing some serious recovering!
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| The mark of a cyclist. |
Not long after my shower, Sher Minn's dad came back and took us out for dinner as his way of showing support. We headed to this cafe that my friends and I usually frequent called Tiffz. Sher Minn's parents had never been there before and wanted to give it a try. I highly recommend going for their 'King's Breakfast' which is the best semi-English breakfast I've ever had at any price range. Scrambled eggs with cheese, turkey bacon, tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms and potatoes with slices of bread and salsa sauce, a fantastically balanced meal after a day of riding. All four of us ordered the same thing and I think it's safe to say her parent's will definitely be coming back here in the future. In fact, I was looking forward to the food so much that I only thought of taking a group photo of us when we were already in the car on the way back to her place! Doh!
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| Image take from http://mablemaeve.blogspot.my/ |
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| Image take from http://mablemaeve.blogspot.my/ |
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| Le King's Breakfast. |
Sher Minn's dad also took the trouble of picking up a bottle of sunblock when he had learnt that I wasn't using any. Truth be told, I thought I wouldn't need it as I've never used any before on any of my previous rides. However, I'm very thankful that he did because towards the end of the ride, I felt the skin on my forearms becoming tender.
Pretty soon it was time for me to hit the hay. My back was aching and it had been a long day. Plus, at this point, I still didn't know how fast my body would recover in between rides so I wanted to get as much rest as possible before the following day's ride which I knew was going to be significantly further than Day 1.
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