Malaysia - Melaka to Penang by Bike (via Pantai Pedang, Port Dickson, Morib, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Teluk Intan, Sitiawan, Taiping and Nibung Tebal)

We managed to cycle out of KL to the bus station and although it wasn't easy we arrived in one piece. We managed to get our bikes on the bus, even though the bus driver was very grumpy and at first said we couldn't put them on, even though nobody else had any luggage to store. What a plonker.

We had 2 days in Malaka and we had a lovely time pottering around and seeing the sights.

Then we got back on the bikes and started our cycle ride up the west coast. This consisted of 10 days of cycling and on the whole it was pretty dull as much of it was through palm oil plantations or urban/industrial areas. We had a lot of rain and cool weather, which made it more bearable and we also did our first 105km day since NZ.

Here's the memorable parts:

In Klang I woke up with a cockroach on my leg (yuk!).

In Kuala Selangor we walked up a hill to see the cute leaf-eating monkeys and spent time 'hanging out' with them.

We don't know why the babies our ginger?

In Teluk Intan we saw the clock tower that was built in 1885 and leans a bit (not as much as the tower in Pisa).

In Sitiawan we had a rat in our room (gross!)

In Taiping we had a couple of days recharging our batteries, looking at the once-beautiful but now faded buildings and eating a lot of delicious food.

So as you can see there weren't many highlights!!

However, then we stayed with David for 2 nights in Nibung Tebal and things changed. David is quite famous in the cycling world; he took up cycling 7 years ago for health reasons and also opened his house up to fellow cyclists. He's cycled all over the world and has also hosted people from all over the world. He's a very inspirational man.

We had 2 fun-packed, very busy days with David and he took us to many places in the local area and opened our eyes to what's going on in rural Malaysia.

Below is a beautiful kingfisher:

We visited a Dragon fruit farm - delicious.

We visited many Toddy plantations. Toddy is a white alcoholic drink made by tying up the unopened flower of a coconut palm tree. It takes 15 days for the liquid to ferment and you should drink it within 4 hours. Here's Nic climbing the cocunut tree:

Here's me with David trying some toddy:

Here's some Toddy drinkers who befriended us:

In the evening we went on a river trip to see the Fire Flies - they look like fairy lights.

The following day we went to a pottery:

then we went to a factory that makes salted/century eggs. First they size the eggs with this machine:

Then they cover them in salted mud:

and then they cover them in rice husk ash. You then wait 2 weeks and eat them (if you dare!)

We also went to a charcoal making factory:

and we went to cool off in the mangroves:

We also, went for more Toddy and saw lots of dogs and puppies. The dogs here are so desperate for a bit of love, it's heart-breaking.

On our last night we met up with some of David's lovely friends and had a very enjoyable evening:

The following day David very kindly cycled with us to Butterworth and we got the ferry over to Georgetown, Penang. It felt weird to be back there without my Mum and Dad.

Here's me and David on the ferry:

David then left us and he cycled back home. THANK YOU DAVID for everything.

We spent a few days in Georgetown and met up with our Aussie friends Kat and Hamish and it was great to see them again and hang out with them.

We discovered that the ferry to Medan, Sumatra (our next destination) no longer operates, so we decided to leave the bikes behind and fly instead.

We flew out of Malaysia on 24th July. Indonesia here we come!