Day 4 (Jelutong, Penang to Taiping, Perak)

Sunday, 8th January 2017

103km
My alarm went off at 7.30 am but if you've read the past few days, you'd know by now that just means a few more minutes of snoozing. I finally got up at 8 am and went to take a shower and get my things in order. Went outside to fetch my clothes which were hanging outside from yesterday's wash, now as fresh and clean as ever, and then proceeded to pack up the rest of my things, phone charger, tooth brush, and other necessities. I slipped into my cycling shorts and lathered on a generous layer of sun screen after remembering not to forget it again like yesterday.

We, Sher Minn, her sister, and myself, had agreed on another roti bakar place for breakfast today, the one on Hutton Lane to be exact. By around 8.30am everyone was awake and ready to leave. I did one final sweep of the place to make sure I didn't leave anything behind, swung my backpack on and off I went. As with yesterday, it had rained the night before although, the air was cooler and the streets were more slippery this time. I made doubly sure to be more cautious this time!

Leaving the Jelutong area.

Proves age is just a number and you don't need a fancy bike to cycle!

Google Maps was again my go-to guide for getting places but this morning, it's help was minimal since the roads were relatively familiar to me. And as it was a Sunday, there wasn't much traffic to worry about and what few cars on the road were moving at a relatively leisurely pace. Pretty good atmosphere for city cycling.

Along Jalan Dato Keramat, the Penang Times Square area. Komtar in the center. 

I arrived at the spot around 8.45am. I would've missed the little hidden kopitiam were it not for the little crowd sitting outside or the row of motorcycles parked out in front. The others had yet to arrive yet so I decided to ride up and done the street a little, to look for a spot where they could park as well as to see what else was around the area.

Eventually, I gave up looking and went inside to order some food instead, thinking it'll take some time for them to prepare as there were quite a number of people there and the roti bakar here was prepared over a tiny make-shift barbecue stand, not exactly the most efficient way to put out a large volume within a small amount of time but this traditional method of cooking had a unique old-fashion appeal to it.

Inside the kopitiam.

The tiny little barbecue stand!

After placing my order, I proceeded to the unsheltered back end of the store as there were just no seats vacant inside. This wasn't a problem as the sky was still gloomy with thick clouds and there was better air flow and ventilation thanks to the lack of a roof and dozens of other people eating away around you.

It was almost 9.00 am when the food arrived, definitely faster than I excepted! However, Sher Minn and her sisters were nowhere to be seen. I called to make sure they hadn't taken the wrong turn or gotten lost. It turns out, they had already arrived and parked but were having a hard time locating the stall. I proceeded to the front and looked up and down the street for them. A few seconds later, I caught them just as they were coming out of a corner and waved at them. See what I mean by this place being a little hidden?

We all sat down together to enjoy our breakfast, the bread and eggs still deliciously warm and jiggly, complemented nicely by the cup of previously-hot-but-now-reasonably-warm Milo.Toasted bread, eggs, and Milo, great sources of carbohydrates and protein, perfect for muscle building, fueling and recovery.

Roti Bakar; Round 2!

As far as flavor goes, the roti bakar was good however, if I'm being entirely honest, I found myself favoring the one from Ah Lye more, no bias here. I waited for the rest to finish their food. They were talking about getting some ice coffee from Toh Sun, the other relatively well-known roti bakar kopitiam in Penang, as they thought the coffee here wasn't all that great. Fortunately for us, Toh Sun was just down the street from where we were.

Once we finished our food and paid, we made our way down the street to Toh Sun. Unfortunately and what I thought was extremely odd for a kopitiam on a Sunday morning, it was closed. This didn't deter their desire for coffee though! With Toh Sun closed and Hutton Lane being less than acceptable, the only other kopitiam that came to their minds was Ah Lai! Yup, two days in a row! Maybe that's enough to convince you to give it a try? *wink*

So, like before, I hoped back onto my bike and they made their way to their car. Ah Lai was perfectly fine with me as I'd be heading in that general direction to get to the Jetty.

It was a round 9.45am when I neared Ah Lai and noticed that quite a number of the roads were sealed off with barriers. Like I mentioned in Day 3, every Sunday, Beach Street and some of the neighboring streets are closed to facilitate Penang's weekly 'Occupy Beech Street' initiative. This made it very enjoyable to coast through the area while waiting for the rest. 

Booths selling snacks, trinkets, knickknacks, clothes, pet animals and other miscellaneous goodies can be found adorning the sides of the road along with performances by clowns, singers, the occasional magician and band. You can rent a bike or one of those four-wheeled quadruple bikes to ride.

Unfortunately my pictures just don't do the event justice as the others arrived soon after I did and I didn't manage to stroll through the entire street. However, if you are interested, here's a link to their Facebook page, you'll find all the updates and unique events that will be taking place on their page.

Pretty soon, the others arrived but as expected, Ah Lai was pretty much a full-house this morning with both regular patrons and Beech Street goers flooding in. Thankfully, all they wanted was coffee, so they placed their orders and waited outside until a staff worker brought out their order. Within a couple of minutes, they were slurping down on their ice-cold coffees. Not too long after, it was time for me to head-off. I bidded Sher Minn and her sisters good bye and starting making my way towards the Jetty.

Thinking back on that moment now, I really wished I had taken a picture of all of us together but I don't know why it never crossed my mind. Maybe it was still early or maybe the sun was starting to get hot and therefore muddling my thinking, but either way, my advise to anyone going to such a trip, especially if you're going with others or meeting up with people along the way, would be to take more pictures than you think you should take, because someday down the line, you'll want to look back on those moments but you won't be able to recollect them perfectly.

Ah Lai and it's horde of patrons!

The Jetty or ferry terminal was less than a five minute ride down Pengkalan Weld. As it was still pretty early on Sunday morning, traffic was still pretty low key, even on a main road like Pengkalan Weld. I turned into the Jetty and made my way towards the waiting area.

The bus terminal and entrance to the Jetty.

The motorcycle/bicycle waiting area.

Not too long after arriving at the Jetty, the ferry docked and began loading up. For those of you who don't know or aren't too familiar with the ferries, you only have to pay a fee or toll when you're coming onto the island from the mainland. Heading back to Butterworth is free. It's also the same with the Penang Bridges, tolls to come in, free to go out.

The ride back to Butterworth was a simple one. I was wondering if I'd bump into Mr Nik again but it didn't look like it was fated to happen. Only months later, during a trip to Alor Setar did I meet him again by chance. I took a glance back at the beautiful island and snapped a picture and quietly wondered, deep down, when would be the next time I'd be back. I sat down close to my bike and shut my eyes a bit to rest, best to conserve my energy, I thought.

The view from the ferry, see you next time Penang!

By 10.15am, I was back on the mainland. I made my way out of the ferry terminal, careful not to get hit by cars, booted up Google to get my bearings right, and then I was off.

I made my way along Lebuhraya Lingkaran Luar Butterworth, distancing myself from the ocean. Eventually, I was on a bridge crossing the Perai River (Sungai Perai) and heading towards Bukit Mertajam.

Perai River to the right.

The majority of the ride was relatively uneventful, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Traffic was pretty tolerable and the roads were wide, allowing for quite a relaxed riding experience. And not crashing is always a good thing.

Pretty soon, I was out of urban Penang and pedaling on intercity roads. Tall buildings and the smell of seawater disappeared, making way for more paddy fields and humble looking wooden 'kampung' houses.

Not before long, I passed through ???

A little over an hour and a half later, I was running low on fluids and the fuel from this mornings breakfast had slowly seeped away. I stopped at a petrol station, Petronas Simpang Lima, just after Parit Buntar for a rest as well as to get something to eat. The sun was high in the sky now, in all it's blistering hot glory. This made the shade, and air conditioning in the petrol station ever the more welcoming.

Petronas Simpang Lima.

I bought a big 1.5L bottle of 100 Plus as well as a smaller 500mL bottle, and a packet of Twiggies as a snack. I sat myself down outside the petrol station as the interior of the station wasn't all that big and there weren't any areas for sitting down. As I ate, I began filling up my bicycle bottles with the 100 Plus.

A station attendant noticed I was sat outside with my bike and invited me inside. He guided me towards the back of the station where there was a table and some chairs used by the station attendees to eat. He even switched on the air conditioning in that section of the station for me. It's people like this that make me hopeful for this country. Even though he didn't need to help me out in any way, he still took the time and effort to make me a little comfortable.

I chatted with him a bit, told him about my little cycling expedition and where I was heading, He said there aren't too many people who stop this particular station, which was why it was relatively small, never mind cyclists riding their bikes through the country. After our little talk, he excused himself and went to attend to some customers. As I sat there, relaxed with the cooling after conditioning blowing down on me, I pulled out my phone to check my distance from Taiping as well as the location of a couple of key places of interest I wanted to visit.

I even tried to contact a university friend who lives in Taiping, Pradeep, but unfortunately, of all the days, he was in Penang today and would only be back in Taiping late at night, far too late for us to meet up. A little disappointed but what could I do? Maybe I should've contacted him a couple of days earlier. He did, however, recommend a couple of places to eat and gave his opinion on the Taiping Zoo, which I'll be visiting shortly. Reviews from food-blogs and food-related TV shows can never quite match up to the experience of a local.

Eventually, the 100 Plus bottles were empty, Twiggies were gone, and my legs were starting to get cold. Best to get moving, I thought. Another 50-ish kilometers to go. I bid the attendant goodbye, hopped back onto my back, and proceeded onwards to Taiping.

Almost there!

Over the next hour, I breezed through Bagan Serai and Semanggol without too much trouble. The road was pretty much straight with very few junctions and turns, difficult to get lost. Eventually, I arrived at the cross-junction just after the Northern Taiping Toll exit. According to Google Maps, I'd have to make a left turn and pass through a town called Kamunting first before reaching Taiping.

Coming up to the cross-junction.

Left towards Kamunting and Taiping!

At this point, I was feeling pretty good about myself. My body wasn't too fatigued and I was almost at my destination for the day. And, thinking back on the day, the roads, even up until this point, were fairly wide with a very generously spaced shoulder to ride on. Traffic wasn't an issue either as there weren't too many daredevils on the roads. Even lorries were far and few in between. I would only learn to appreciate such roads in the coming days as such luxuries that I took for granted wouldn't always be there.

Quiet roads ahead.

And finally, Kamunting! Essentially an industrial town, Kamunting is also infamously known for the Kamunting Detention Center, which is essentially a prison for individuals charged under the Internal Security Act. During the Malayan Emergency between 1948 and 1960, Kamunting was the site of a major British/Commonwealth military base, there being a large garrison for the 28th Commonwealth Independent Infantry Brigade and also one of the three British Military Hospitals (BMHs) in Malaya. Between Taiping and Kamunting is one of the main Military Cemeteries in Malaya. Over the many years of the conflict against the Communist terrorists, thousands of British, Australian, New Zealand, Fijian and Gurkha troops lived - and died - in and around Kamunting and Taiping.

The Kamunting roundabout.

Passing through Kamunting town.

Eventually, I came to a stop at a bus stop just opposite the Taiping PULMAT (Pusat Latihan Kor Perkhidmatan) Military base to take a break from the sun and check Google maps. Based on the locations of the places I wanted to visit, the 'La Promise Bakery & Cafe', recommended by Pradeep, would be first as it was the nearest to where I was, and I was craving for lunch. It would then be followed by the 'Ansari Cendol' stall for dessert, and finally the famous Taiping Zoo.

The aforementioned military base.

And so I was off! The cafe didn't seem that far on Google Maps, just under 4 kilometers from where I was. However, Google Maps is still far from perfect as it failed to mention the steep half-kilometer long stretch of uphill pedaling I'd have to go through along the way. On most days, such a stretch would be a welcomed challenge, but after almost a hundred kilometers of pedaling under the ever-present sun, today wasn't most days.

If I had to guess, I'd say the gradient averaged a respectable 20% to 30%. Jalan Larut will be a road I'll remember all the future times I'm in Taiping.

This picture does the gradient and suffering no justice whatsoever. 

Thankfully, what goes up must come down. Once I had crested the climb, it was all downhill from there. The cafe, as it turns out, is located at the end of the street in a shop lot. I parked my bike outside, went in, and enjoyed my lunch, the air con, and the shade from the sun.

Best to keep your bike within view when travelling alone, even if it is locked.

The spaghetti and strawberry milkshakes were pretty decent but nothing to shout about. Nonetheless, the a hearty filling meal and an ice-cold milkshake after any workout will always be appreciated and earned.

My lunch. No McDonald's today!

For dessert, the cendol stall was of a more traditional and rustic old-town feel. Having been in operation for a couple of decades, the Ansari Famous Cendol stall is very well known among the locals, and with good reason. Have is with glutinous rice (pulut), kidney beans or just plain cendol, either way, there's nothing quite like a good bowl of cendol on a hot sunny day. They also serve rojak/pasembor  for those looking for a more proper meal. I'm generally more of an ice-kacang person, but even I have say this cendol was pretty enjoyable.

The colonial-looking St George Secondary School, on the way to Ansari.

A simple looking store with a long-established fan base.

Now, I can't quite remember how much my pulut and red bean combo of cendol cost, but I'm pretty sure it was under RM2.50, with a basic bowl going for as low as RM1.60. Old-town taste at an old-town price. Not too sweet and not too rich. As I was sitting down, slurping away at my bowl, I couldn't help but notice the number of customers coming and going, some eating-in but most having theirs as take-aways. There aren't a whole lot of tables and chairs available, but I guess I came at a pretty good time as the remaining vacant seats were occupied soon after I sat down. 

My bowl of sugary goodness.

With food taken care off, it was time for me to make my way to the Zoo. On my way there, I couldn't help but stop a handful of times at various spots throughout the town as there was always something interesting to look at.

As I was nearing the Taiping Lake Garden, I came across this gallery of sorts, the First Galleria (Gallery Perbandaran Taiping), which is apparently a museum. It wasn't open when I was there but the beautiful heritage building was built in 1891 and functioned as a furniture shop before being restored and repurposed. As Taiping was one of the first towns in Malaysia, it technically was the first in many fields including the first town to open a hospital, prison, and post office in the country, the histories of which are all preserved by the museum. It's also a popular place amongst locals for wedding shoots!

The outside of the Gallery.

In case you have a hard time locating the museum, the big green old-fashion locomotive on the outside will certainly stand out!

Le green train.

Signs like these are almost like mile stone markers to me.

The abandoned colonial building across the street.

I see murals and street art culture aren't just prevalent in Penang.

A few more minutes of pedalling and I passed the local District and Land Office as well as the Esplanade Field. Not too long after that, I wasn't too sure where I as going. I knew that both the Taiping Lake Gardens and the Zoo were more or less in the same area but I had a hard time localing the entrance to the Lake Gardens. I stopped beside a club, the Taiping New Club, as Google Maps was telling me the Lake Gardens was just nearby but I still had difficulty believing it.

After a few minutes of scratching my head and looking more lost that I thought I was, a Malay gentleman who was just about to get on his motorcycle asked me if I needed any help as it looked to him as though I was having trouble with something. It's these kinds of people that keep me optimistic about the country. The colorless willingness to offer help to a total stranger, never mind a smelly weirdo on a bike wearing tights, is something that society nowadays lacks and desperately needs.

The New Club, Taiping.

I storied him about my situation and he explained to me that I wasn't too far off. He explained that I was already in the Lake Gardens area and that the road I was on was essentially a big loop around the gardens, with the Zoo being in the centre. All I had to do was head down one of the narrower stretches of road near by, make one or two turns and I'd be at the zoo in no time. I thanked him for his sincerity and help, and was on my way.

If I'm being at all honest, this is one of the most serene parks I've ever been to in my life. Green just stretches in all directions with hills filling up the backgrounds and, as the name suggests, lakes upon lakes are present with the main lake being the star attraction. The slower cycling pace combined with the cool evening breeze and soft green replacing blinding sun light flooding my eyes, the moment was a very welcomed change of pace from most of the day. After a few minutes of riding, I almost forgot what I was doing there!

As the gentleman earlier mentioned, the Zoo was more or less in the center of the park. The front or entrance is marked by a prominent-looking fountain that acts as a roundabout too. I parked my bike at the designated motorcycle parking area, changed out of my cycling shoes into slippers and made my way to the counter to get a ticket.

Toss out your NMDs and Yeezys, the next big thing is already here.

According to the attendant at the ticket booth, there are essentially 2 options when it comes to getting admittance into the zoo. There's a day ticket and a night ticket. The day ticket is priced at RM17 per adult while the night one is priced at RM 21. This got me thinking a little about all the bits of advertisement I've heard over the years about the Taiping Night Safari and how it's a major tourist attraction here. I even thought back to the time my family and I visited the Singapore Zoo and experienced it's night safari. Unfortunately, all that wishful thinking about an epic wildlife experience at night quickly died down as the ticket booth operator told me that there really isn't any difference at all between the tickets and that you're just paying for the night time atmosphere. So, rather disappointedly, I paid for the regular ticket and went in.

Overall, the zoo was not too bad really. But then again, the last time I went to a zoo was when I was in primary school so my repertoire on zoo standards might not be that great. Honestly, my expectations weren't too high going in as, with most Malaysian attractions, they tend to lack proper maintenance in the long run. 

Fortunately though, the zoo was decently impressive. First off, it was clean. This may sound like a meaningless point but I'd like to disagree by saying that any tourist attraction, whether you're catering towards locals or a more international clientele, regardless of however terrible your features are, should at the very least be clean and not revolting to the senses. And taking into account the number of tourists there (a part of me thought I might be the only one), the zoo's overall cleanliness was commendable as I couldn't find a single speck of trash littered anywhere. Trash bins were a plenty and regular janitorial staff were visible ensuring the cleanliness of the area.

Next, the zoo boasted a respectable range of animals. From the outside of the zoo, one can't be blamed for assuming the zoo would only hold small animals, with the largest being a couple of water buffallos. Fortunately to my surprise, this was not the case.

As I entered the general area, I noticed a tram that would take visitors around the zoo. I decided to stretch my legs and walk a little, see the animals at my own pace. Plus, I've been sitting for most of the day already!

I first walked by a few small-animal enclosures. Unfortunately, as a result of their caged-up areas, the animals here were rather hard to spot as very little light was getting into their enclosures, and I was pretty much reading the information placards outside their cages. As I moved further into the zoo, the larger animals became more visible as most of their enclosures were roofless and allowed plenty of sunlight in, improving visibility.

The orang utans were kept in a rather spacious enclosure with various artificial climbing structures to allow them to move about and conduct their acrobatics.

Looks like someone escaped!

The rabbits were as adorable as rabbits can be, hopping around in their own little section of the zoo. They didn't seem at all phased or frightened by the kids squealing around them, which probably means they've been there for quite awhile.

Eventually I came upon this odd-looking closed door. It had no 'Employees Only' signs around it. However, I wasn't too sure if it was locked or if I could go in. Eventually, a little boy ran up to the door, yanked it open, and went it. Well OK then, I guess I can go in.

The door lead to this swamp-like enclosure with a good number of white storks in it. There was netting up in the trees, allowing a good amount of light, and ventilation in while preventing the birds from flying off. Although, I do suspect that one or two occasionally escape via the entrance or exit doors when held open too long.

In the water below, fishes were visible. Your guess is as good as mine as to what species they are as well as if they're part of the attraction or meant to be food for their winged-roommates.

Next up on this little tour of mine are some mouse deers (think Sang Kancil) and sun bears. The mouse deers' pen did look decently spacious enough for them to roam around in although to be fair, it did look a little plain and neglected too. Merely a space to put them in rather than a habitat or home. 

The sun bears didn't fare that much better as their enclosure was even smaller and there was a large and dangerous-looking ditch or drain that separated them from the enclosure's fence. There were a couple of time when I though one or two of them were going to fall in as they were so precariously close to the edge.

The mouse deers...

...and acrobatic sunbears.

As you move closer towards the center of the Zoo, the animals get gradually larger. Before long, I reached the zebras and deers. Some of the animals, like the elephants, giraffes, and rhinos, seemed pretty spirited and were moving about a great deal while the tigers and lions were not nearly as active, snoozing the day away in their pens.

The deers.

Having not been able to remember the last time I saw such animals up close in real life, it was a refreshing treat to see these creatures right in front of me with my own two eyes and not through a computer or TV screen. It was good to know then, that in spite of all the modern day gizmos and social media jazz, traditional means of fun and recreation were still entertaining, to me at least. Or maybe they've just always been entertaining but have taken a back seat in recent years due to our tablets, and cinemas, and drones, and fidget spinners. Either way, I was happy with the experience.

The hungry giraffes.

Zebras.

Them lazy/sleepy tigers.

Rhinos roaming around.

Elephants just before their feeding.

The sun was obviously dimmer now. It was getting late and I was looking forward to getting out of my soiled smelly clothes and into a warm shower to wash off the dirt and grime. A hearty meal wasn't a bad idea either. So, I retraced my steps back to the entrance and got back into my cycling shoes.

As I was making my way out of the Gardens, I passed by a tourist map of the area and saw that the Taiping Was Memorial Cemetery was nearby. I've seen pictures of the place before online and always thought it was a serenely picturesque sight but, like the Zoo, I have never actually been there before. So I thought, since I was already there, might as well have a look right?

I took a detour and, instead of heading towards the exit, made my way to the cemetery. Who'd have thought a cemetery would be in someone's travel itinerary?!

Like the map suggested, I arrived in a manner of minutes.

The cemetery was erected to commemorate the 850 plus Allied personnel who died during World Was II, particularly the Malayan Campaign, of which over 500 were unidentified.

The cemetery is essentially two parts, each facing the other and separated by a road. On one side, the southeastern side, are Christian graves, marked by the prominent white cross in the middle, while the opposite side houses the non-Christian graves, marked by a Stone of Remembrance.

The Christian section, Cross of Sacrifice on the left.

The graves were marked with beautiful white granite headstones. Muslim graves, if known, had their headstones aligned facing Mecca, in accordance with religious convictions.

The gates were closed at the time so I did not enter. I took my pictures as respectfully as I could from the outside, closed my eyes for a brief moment, just to take in the peace and quiet of the area, and took my leave.

I guess the good thing about the area being a cemetery is that it doesn't attract too many visitors, especially the faint-hearted. Although, sadly, this cemetery has seen instances of vandalism in the past, the most recent episode was a mere few days before I started my trip. It's just hard to brain hooligans who would see joy in vandalising a cemetery.

The Stone of Remembrance

The hotel was just 2 kilometers away and traffic, as it was the weekend, was no issue. Common sense would suggest booking hotel rooms a few days in advance so as to guarantee myself a room. However, I didn't want to confine myself to a schedule and wanted the freedom of not knowing for sure if I'd make it to a particular town or city on any particular day. 

Most online booking websites allowed me to compare room prices and offered lower-than-normal rates if I were to make my reservation through them. However, they required either a full-payment to secure the room or for me to link a bank card and, in the event of a last minute cancellation, I'd be charged a fee. Because of this, I decided to make my reservations just one day in advance. This would allow me to be sure about the following day's plan before committing on a place to stay.

Tonight's stay would be at the Panorama Hotel. At RM85, I thought my room was pretty decently priced although I would learn in the following days that this was, in fact, a little pricey and I could get significantly better rates than this!

My room for the night.

I wound myself down, showered, washed my clothes, and headed out for dinner. There was a shopping mall, the Taiping Mall, literally just down the road from the hotel. Naturally, the millennial in me decided to check it out as I was hungry and hunting around for dinner. I left the camera in the room to charge, layed my wet clothes out on the furniture to try and dry them as best I could, and left. The lazy side of me won over again as I simply opted for the Marry Brown's in the mall. Although, in my defence, it was already past 8pm and I was just famished. I had it to go, picked up a few bottles of water, and made my way back to the hotel, ready to lie down on the bed and have dinner.

They even allowed me to bring the bike up.

When I got back to the hotel, I noticed that the hotel's restaurant on the ground floor, right beside the reception, was quite packed with people, all busy munching away at their dinners. From yuppies to a whole family, everyone seemed to be enjoying their meals. I picked up a menu and noticed that the hotels selection of dishes was quite appealing, both in terms of variety and price. It quickly made my burger so much less appetising. This stuck with me throughout the rest of the journey and really made me regret being lazy with fast food yet again. So I made myself a promise to not set foot in another fast food joint for the rest of the journey, and to come back to this same restaurant the next time I'm in Taiping.

Not long after dinner, I roughly planned out the following day, reservations and all, before shutting off the lights and hitting the hay. Ipoh tomorrow!