Today is OUR first complete cycling trip, 80 kms with panniers, handlebar bags, camelbaks, lots of water, food, disgusting rehydrating drinks, official maps of Malaysia, padded shorts, helmets and my favourite toy: the magic helmet rear view mirror. I can always have a look at Katie, and more importantly the traffic. I say more important because the traffic could be dangerous...
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| I am so happy to have got up at 6:30 am |
So, we left Jerantut at 7:45am after a quick breakfast. Our destination is Maran, a town that has the advantage of being half way to the east coast. The first 40 kms were easy (the French use the expression "finger in the nose" and only the French use it!!!). The weather was fine, there was not much traffic and enough space on the road not to be disturbed by the big lorries carrying enormous tree trunks.
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| Our special gift map |
At roughly 11:00 we decided to search for water, we stopped in a place called "Selemat Jalan". It actually means Bon voyage, but I only remember having read that on a sign at the entrance of this village (to tired to look it up on google map). The most important thing is that in this village there is a magic man. This totally non-English speaking man, after having asked a friend to buy some mineral water for us, managed to explained us the best way to get to Maran. His enthusiasm convinced us. And he was right, we saved 15 kms and we came across a buddist temple built around a tree. After noon, the rain started, we found different shelters on the road and we ate and waited until the rain stopped. It was the opportunity to make a new Malaysian friend. First technical problem, we had to remove urgently the front mudguard from Katie's bike on a national road with storms few miles away.
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We arrived at Maran at 3 pm. It is not at all touristy, people are surprised to see us. We managed to find the only hotel, usually occupied by members of the government. After that, It was time visit the town, to eat and to recover some energy in the unexpected chalet in front of a private park.
Nicolas
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