Muar, Malaysia - Long Bike Ride

260 Miles in 36 Hours
I have hardly a friend here so when I get an invite I jump at it without thinking.  Since my last big ride in Indonesia, I've been getting more invites, this one from a Norwegian named Odd who asked if I'd like to "take a spin in Malaysia."  I immediately said yes without asking for details.  A few weeks go by and he explains that we're to get up early and ride to Muar, which is 130 miles north of Singapore.  "So, we're taking the bus back?" I naively asked.  No, he countered, we'll ride back in the morning.  I was stuck.  I'd been hoping to get invites and here I had one, so I pretended.  "I was just joking, come one, of course we'll ride back."

Ipoh, Malaysia - Racing

Practice Makes Perfect
I haven't raced in a long time and with a few more races coming in 2020, I viewed this as a practice race.  I've only been training seriously for about six months so I don't really have the fitness to race, but it's good to get out there and become familiar with it again, see what works and doesn't work, get in some reps.  With the technology available now, I knew what time was realistic - I was targeting around 3.5 hrs based on my power profile.  Everyone now uses a power meter, which measures watts of output, and based on this you can predict your times pretty accurately.  The past winners of my category - 45 years and up - finish in about 2.5 hrs.  So, realistically, I was racing myself.  I wanted to see if I could hold 80% of my hourly power for the entire race - especially since I was not feeling well.

Ipoh, Malaysia - Street Art

There is A Lot of It
Anarchy Grandma gets my vote.

Ipoh, Malaysia - Old Town

Faded Beauty
There's a small river that runs north-south, dividing the old town from the older town, but after I crossed it I didn't notice much of a difference.  Most of the town is composed of beautiful, if ancient and poorly maintained, shop houses.  The Brits left behind many larger, grander buildings in their colonial style also.  After the tin industry crashed, things clearly went downhill.  However, I must admit to being immediately captivated.  Some may see an old wreck, ready for bulldozing.  I see an elderly, elegant lady wearing pearls and a slightly frayed dress, a knockout in her day.

Ipoh, Malaysia - Center Square

God Bless AirBnB
I rented a small house on the SE edge of the city, near the start of the race.  It also happens to be close to many cave temples, which I hope to visit before I leave.

Ipoh, Malaysia - The Reason

It Seemed Like a Good Idea When I Signed Up...
I'm here for a bike race this Sunday.  A 37 mile long KOM (King of the Mountain) race from zero to 4,800 feet.  We start out in Ipoh and head up into the Cameron Highlands.  I will not be crowned king, not even prince.  More like pauper of the mountain, but it should be fun.  Not really fun, per se.  More like an interesting experience.

Ipoh, Malaysia - Bus Trip Escape

Visiting Northern Malaysia
You can fly to Ipoh in just under an hour or you can take a more leisurely approach to the 350 mile trip.  The nine hours on the bus include 30 minutes for customs and immigration as well as an hour lunch stop in a small town called Yong Peng.  When I surveyed the Singaporeans I know about Ipoh they were non-plussed, many admitting they'd never been.  I knew then that I was onto something good.  Matter of fact, the bus was almost empty, just a few of us on the top level and hardly anyone below.  The bus captain looked to be an octogenarian, the wiry, been-through-it all-type.  He gave me an eye roll when I asked for help loading my luggage, so a helpful passenger stepped in.

Kuala Lumpur - Landed

Accompanying the Ball and Chain
Dodomode found out on Thursday afternoon that she had to be in KL today for a meeting.  We got up early to catch the short 1 hr flight.  We'll stay until late Saturday evening.

Penang - Final Word

Lots of Walking, Sightseeing and Eating
Puffin (aka Dodo) eating breakfast at the hotel. Or shall I say, first breakfast since we almost always followed up our hotel breakfast with a "street" breakfast.

Penang - Religion

It's a Toss Up
Like Singapore, there are many different races and religions. I think I've grown accustomed to it but with all the buildings of worship in Penang, it's more pronounced. There are mosques, Hindu temples, churches and Chinese temples. They're all intact in their original form - probably one of the reasons that Penang is a UNESCO world heritage site. This is the Acheen St mosque.

Penang - Khoo Kongsi

Keeping it in the Family
The literal translation for kongsi is "clan hall" but it's much more than that. They're found throughout the Chinese diaspora and serve as benevolent organizations that helped Chinese immigrants overcome economic challenges, racism and social ostracism. To get the benefits though, you have to come from the specific clan, in this case the Khoo clan.

Penang - Regular Hood

People's Court
This small neighborhood is just south of Campbell Street, we discovered it while looking for a bakery. It's old-world Malaysia. Small houses, smaller businesses, laundry hanging out to dry. It's called People's Court and the name seems apt.

Penang - Massage

Chinese Style -No Pain, No Gain
We ordered in 3 masseurs to the hotel. They're very cheap, you can get an hour massage for about $15 US. Since we'd already checked out of one room I got mine outside by the pool. The ladies got theirs in the room, two at a time. I cannot say I'm a fan of Chinese massage - it's so painful, they go after your pressure points and your tender nerve endings. It feels really great once they stop. I look relaxed in the photo but I was on edge, waiting for the next tender spot to be attacked.

Penang - Campbell St

Heart of Chinatown
This street used to be the red light district but turned into the main thoroughfare for the Chinese community. Personally, I find it strange since everyone is all mixed together and I couldn't tell what made this street more "Chinese" than any other. We walked it a few times.

Penang - Another One Rides the Bus

They All Go Back to the City, Right?
I planted a seed in Dodo's mind and it got transferred to the whole crew: we'd jump on the first bus that came by. After visiting Kek Lok Si temple and pigging out, we hopped on bus 201. It said "Jetty" on it so I figured it would go towards the NE side of the island, near the clan jetties.

Penang - Leaving Kek Lok Si

Feeding the Turtles
We walked down from Kek Lok Si through a maze of covered street vendor stalls. As you leave the temple you can feed the turtles. Dodo and Co. got some bread and tossed bite-sized chunks below.

Penang - Kek Lok Si Temple

The Largest Buddhist Temple in SE Asia
Kek Lok Si means "Temple of Supreme Bliss." It's located in the hills, inland, surrounded by thick, green jungle. We took a cab there in the morning and avoided the dreaded climb that those who take the bus must contend with.

Penang - Clan Jetties

The Chew Jetty
Google maps shows it best - the long, rickety piers on the NE side of Penang that are home to six clans. They're called the clan jetties and they've been around since the late 1800's.

Penang - Streetscapes

All Shapes and Sizes

Barbershop.

Penang - Flowers

From Our Hotel Grounds
Pops, can you name them all?