Day 2: 78km Port Dickson to Melaka
I was riding and swearing (to nobody in particular- I guess mostly to myself) incessantly for starting really late - 1pm. Pedaling under the hot sun in brain melting temperature is not fun at all. But along the way to Melaka there were loads of roadside stalls selling absolutely everything and whatever that the makcik can concoct in their wooden kitchen belakang kedai. And kueh! Loadsa cheap kueh!
Seringgit for six kueh, boleh mix and match. Murahhhh
While I was taking this shot, there were these fellas in kopiahs and taliban style facial hair a few meters away yang tengah baca doa likedat. Then suddenly they tipped over a big black heavy looking plastic bag from the bridge into the waters below. They then calmly walked away to a car waiting nearby. hmmm..
Oh hi hello Melaka. It's nice to see you again.
Reached Melaka about 7pm ish and checked-in to the usual RM30 Samasama backpackers guesthouse. But waitaminute Melaka cash points why are you so far away at the other side of whatevers? Turns out some idiot gave me the wrong direction by misidentifying between left and right then I found myself at the other side of town. This is the second time someone from Melaka gave me bad directions. Previously I wanted the route to Muar via Merlimau pastu dude directed me to AMJ highway pulak. Mampus. Hilly uppity uppity as fuck and added an extra 30km to my route.
Rooftop sunset
Realised I was in Melaka during the weekends so by 8pm the Jonker Night Market was roaring with hundreds of locals and tourists. Kungfu fighting unker was demonstrating how he can karate chop a coconut into two with his bare hands, thanks to some magic snake oil. Only rm20 per bottle.
The Guesthouse I'm staying is located at Jalan Tukang Besi aka Blacksmith Street and Unker Lee is the last remaining blacksmith here.
This street is one of the streets in the heritage quarter of Melaka and is likely to date all the way to the Dutch era. Dulu berderet kedai besi sini but now semua dah tutup except this one. Unker Lee said that his children is not interested to continue the family's 100 year old legacy, so when he finally closes his workshop then it'll be the end.
In Melaka everyone sure recommend the cendol at the riverside opposite the Red Church. Actually its not very good at all, biasa aje - Penang Road cendol lagi power. In Melaka I love this version where a dollop of palm sugar is allowed to caramelized with the ice and turn it into a crunchy caramel soggy mix of palm sugar and coconut milk awesomeballs silky creamy ultinoms! It's super good! See, That's my 4th bowl. Sangat Nikmat.
Edit 2018 - Damn, the cendol is no longer good. Sad.
Day 3: 48km Melaka to Muar
Woke up at 8am by somekinda chinese prayer thing. I do not know what to make of it but there were loadsa paper burning, so I assume its paper money for their ancestors. I didn't get an opportunity to ask as the fellas who was running the guesthouse was pretty engrossed in the ceremony so I left, albeit tiptoeing quietly.
Reminds me of Om's Advaitic Songs album.
DIY Tugu Negara right before Kampung Merlimau.
Pokok saudara Lucifer Morningstar.
Quiet.
If you are heading towards Muar city and right after Sekolah Sains Muar on your left, take the following left junction to a shophouse area to get to this shop. Fuh, I can't recommend the Mee Bandung Muar place enough. Mee Bandung is noodles and eggs in addition to a soup made of a mixture of chilli, onion, spices, meat, shrimp paste and dried shrimp. The version served here is so good. Thick brothy gravy with bagazillions blended dried shrimps as its base. Also, the portions are MASSIVE! Even my local Muarian friends can attest that this place do serve authentic Mee Bandung Muar.
Lookidat. LOOKITDAT.
Met an interesting character named Chill in Muar. He showed me around town, the local attractions, where's cheap to stay and eat and he waited for me to lepak breakfast from 12 midnight. hmm...
Day 4: 138km Muar to Pontian
At 6am the hotel concierge called my room. The guy on the other end was like "Abang, kawan abang ni duduk sini sejak tengah malam. Dia suruh saya call abang dia nak ajak sarapan". What?
Altho Mr. Chill is a random MF he showed me this beautiful breakfast place. The lontong and satay breakfast was top notch, with authentic kopi muar kaw somemore. Kedai ni melayu buat makan and a Chinese couple buat air and roti bakar arang. The customers pun semua bangsa ada. Kat Kolompo and Selangor jangan harap nak ada kedai camni, after sebulan sure lah ada orang cakap air unker tu ada lemak babi la ada arak la nak rosakkan iman la kepala kote fitnah macam macam. Haihhh melayu.
Trying to be artsy but i dont know how to pull it off.
Sungai Balang onwards there's no shade barely any roadside trees. Freakin direct sun rays straight down to my exposed bits. Takde mercy lah.
Cooling huge shady trees are cool.
Cooling huge shady trees while fixing a puncture due to tangled rimtape are so much cooler
Its getting late tapi sempat lagi berhenti henti tangkap gambar.
Trying to be fartsy arty but basikal tumbang pulak.
The ride to Pontian was uneventful. Which is good. We dont need extra drama in our life. The road was flat all the way, weather was good, gerai and kedai tepi jalan banyak, kereta pun bersopan dan bertatasususila. This stupid signboard gave me a false sense of yay-i-have-arrived because it turns out I need to pedal another 25km in to get to Pontian town. Got in rather late almost 9pm jugak.
Rode up and down and around Pontian town for cool 30 minutes looking for a cheap place to stay until an unker barber on his cigarette break shouted at me from across the street 'Pegi sana mcdonalds belakang ada banyak hotel murah'. He was right! Scored a rm35 air conditioned room with water heater. Ahhhh bontot yang letih dipenyekkan seharian memang syurga bila dimandikan dengan air panas. Wooo
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Raged nar kitak ngembal sikal kitak ya..sik kepak kh?hahaha