Cyber café, Melaka, Malaysia, 20-02-08
The perfect time to go
Kathmandu to Melaka
2 (+1 hour) cycling days; a 4
hour flight; 154km; 591m
Kathmandu to Salak Tinggi (15 km; 18 m)
Salak Tinggi to Port Dickson (52 km; 275 m)
Port Dickson to Melaka (87 km; 298 m)
Our bikes are ready
to be picked up on Monday 4 and they are just perfect.
Meanwhile, we have done the sightseeing stuff: Durbar
Square, Monkey Temple etc; generally wandered round
town, caught up with a couple of friends, Ken and Rupa,
who are presently living in Kathmandu; bought a few
pressies for the family and ourselves and booked my
bus ticket to Varanasi. I make the side trip the following
day and will get back to Kathmandu on Sunday 10, just
4 days before we fly to Kuala Lumpur.
It's still uncomfortably cold in the
evenings, when I return to Kathmandu; the days are a
little brighter, so we manage a cycle trip into the
valley with John,
who we met in Agra, and Beate, a sport and music enthusiast
from Germany...
Tip of the month: pillow equipment stabiliser
It was always a toss up whether
we would take a pillow along or not on this
trip. Comfort won out and amazingly enough,
the super small and lightweight Yeti pillow
gives just that little bit of angled support
that it really does makes all the difference
to your night's sleep.
And, as time went on we found a dual role
for this little creature comfort...
After trying all sorts of foam padding,
which works well, but does take up a lot
of space, I now pack my camera in the pillow,
which fits perfectly double folded around
the equipment, in my handlebar bag.
Kuala Lumpur - Kota Tinggi (Malaysia)
Kilometres: 522 kilometers and 600 meters
Riding days: 8 days only
Alti meters: 1765 meters
Weather: apart from the cold evenings
in Kathmandu:
hot, hot, hot!
Best accommodation: Patterson Guesthouse in
Singapore :-)
Special thanks to:
Sonam Gurung at Dawn Till Dusk in Kathmandu for taking such
good care of our bicycles • John for all the lengthy conversations during
out stay @ Yellow House and here's hoping that we'll meet up again somewhere
on the bike path • The staff at Yellow House for their abundant
friendliness • Mark for being a true blue Ozzie bloke with
a slight Indian tilt :-) • Yeti Airlines for allowing our bikes on for free
after a 'misunderstanding'
over the airport departure tax fee... • Allan Goh from Transit Budget Hotel in Kota Warisan for not only helping us order our great meal at the
local Thai restaurant but for generously settling
the bill as well • Marlene and Victor for cycling with us, sharing
several nasi goreng lunches and diners
as well as a couple of great discussions over
an evening beer • Gerry and Shoko for generously letting us stay
at their condo for 5 days in Singapore;
use of the internet, white fluffy towels, washing machine and all
those things you miss when on the road; showing
us all their favourite
restaurants; allowing Ali on the dragonboat team;
and for the super conversations.
Good luck in France guys!
Breakdowns:
04: In Kathmandu, we had our first major
overhaul on the bikes since leaving The Netherlands.
Son got new wheels, cassette, crank set, chain,
brake blocks, seat, pedals, tube and fresh cable
housing. Ali changed his wheels, brake blocks,
pedals, brake cable and housing as well. And with
a full service on the bikes, they are like new
again! Thanks again Sonam!
12: flat tyre (Son)
16: flat tyre (Son)
