The Highlands had been great but I had a next goal in mind, Georgetown. A town on Penang island famous for its incredible food scene and street art.
One thing I really like about bikepacking is that you get to see the places in between highlights. This often gives a really good insight to life and usually makes social interactions a lot more interesting too too.
Quickly descending the Highlands, sometimes reaching 60km/h on busy Asian roads,(sorry mum) I made my way to Ipoh. It was a good change from the busier highlands to now being the only tourist and seeing how life in a normal city is like. I had lunch in someone’s garage and I’m pretty sure they laughed at me whilst eating incredibly spicy food. Lesson learned. I’m not ready for Asian spicy.
After Ipoh the scenery changed, no longer riding through jungle but the first rice fields and mountains started to appear. The roads were occupied by more motorcycles than cars, which made for a pretty enjoyable ride to Taiping. My last stop before Georgetown. Taiping is best know for it’s zoo and trees in the park. Completely by luck I rode through the park towards my hostel.
Georgetown
The day to Georgetown was incredible. A full day riding through fields surrounded by different birds. Flocks of storks, bright blue kingfishers and some yellow birds were always flying next to me. Monkeys made noise in trees and people gave me a confused look when I cycled through the small village. I like it!
Close to the ferry I suddenly heard someone yell at me and besides me rode a woman on a small bike. I can’t remember the type but it was really cool.
‘’Where you going? The Ferry? I’ll show you a shortcut’’
Trying to keep up we raced through traffic and for half an hour I felt very local and experienced. She bought me an incredible jelly lime drink and then rode home just before the ferry. It’s a small moment but it really made my day.
I took a few days in Georgetown to relax, indulge in street food and enjoyed being around other backpackers in a hostel. I did leave to cycle around Penang for two days which was a nice distraction before I went back for some more food. When reading about Georgetown I was a little worried that it would be too touristy, but it was really nice. Lots of Chinese and Indian influences makes it a cool mix all together. You can wander around for hours looking for street art, the best food, fresh fruits and smell all the spices in Little India and although I could’ve stayed longer it was time for me to get going again. Thailand was calling.
Georgetown to the Thai border
From Georgetown it would take me 2-3 days of cycling to cross the border. I was a little worried because the monsoon season had really started in the North of Malaysia and google maps showed me a lot of warnings for floods. I figured the best strategy would be to keep riding and adjust as needed. Leaving Georgetown early because there was a small river I needed to cross and I couldn’t really tell if there would be a boat so I wanted some more time in case of a detour. Arriving at the ‘’ferry’’ it was quiet. A few food vendors were setting up but nothing gave the impression there would be a boat. I rode a little further and suddenly saw two other cyclists! Bob and Nienke, also from the Netherlands, needed to get across too and had already managed to call someone and a small boat was on its way. The price was discussable, we started a 400 ringgit but eventually only paid 40. Nienke, by surprise, was left in charge of getting us (and more importantly our bikes) across safe and we decided to stick together for the day. Riding together was so much fun and I’ve really enjoyed the company after cycling alone for a while. We shared stories, experiences and just had some mutual confusion about ordering food etc. The route took us through rice fields and small fisherman villages the whole day. It was such a joy to ride they even reached the 100km for the first time. Well done!
After 1,5 day of riding as a trio, we separated. I went towards the border and they set off to Langkawi. We became friends in such a short time and I really hope I manage to meet them again at some point in SE-Asia. We are all heading North so it might just happen.
The first border crossing
Crossing the Malaysia-Thai border was easier than I had thought beforehand. I wasn’t sure how many days I was allowed to stay. Some sources said 30 and then with an extension 60 and others said immediately 60. with some nerves I rode towards the first window. Step 1: getting out of Malaysia. The man had some confusion about my missing entry stamp but after explaining I had flown in I was stamped out of Malaysia. Onwards to the Thai side. Here, as expected, was some confusion too. I didn’t fully understand where to go and apparently I missed a window before the ‘’Arrival booth’’. So it took a little longer but after 30 minutes and filling out a form I got a stamp. A little flustered and mostly excited I rode into Thailand. I forgot to ask about my visa but after quickly checking I saw exit date 29 jan.
60 days to explore another country! I couldn’t be happier! I’ve conquered Malaysia and Thailand is next. The signs all being in Thai? A minor inconvenience!
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