As the sun rose above the horizon, we found ourselves among mist-shrouded towns that seem to be lined with a never-ending range of mountains. Traffic was also becoming heavier and at one town, we saw kids cycling or walking to school. The luckier ones had their parents fetch them to school by motorbike. As we were hungry, we had breakfast (wanton mee) around 7.30am before continuing our journey to Penang.
By mid-day, the weather was incredibly hot. The last 30km “felt” impossible to complete with our empty stomachs. We pulled over at a fringe town to have a hearty lunch. I definitely didn’t feel like going out into the scalding heat after lunch!
Then our luck turned for the worst. Within the last 10km, I had a puncture. There were several patches of glass which we had to run over as traffic was too heavy for us to filter out. Some of shards had pierced through my rear tire. I removed the shards and replaced the inner tube.
By mistake, we turned onto the Lebuhraya Utara Selatan. There was no way to backtrack but we managed to find an exit due to some construction works. I thought we were finally crossing over to Penang when we approached the toll booths. Imagine my surprise when I was told bicycles were not allowed on the Penang bridge! The lady at the counter mentioned the ferry. Without any option, we backtracked to a side road and headed for the Butterworth Ferry Terminal. Uncertainty crowded our thoughts as we wondered if we could catch the last ferry.
Unfortunately, my rear went flat again. Some shards had been embedded rather deeply in the tire and had not been removed previously. I had to dig out the pieces with my Swiss Army Knife and pray my final tube held for the rest of the day!
The Butterworth Ferry Terminal was co-located with the KTM railway station and express bus terminal. We were a little confused over the entry point but some guidance from passer-bys pointed us in the right direction. Surprise, surprise. We found ourselves on a huge vehicle ferry. And the charge for a bicycle was RM1.40! The return leg was free.
I was so glad to be on Penang! We had yet again completed another epic stage of our tour up North and Penang had always been our primary objective! The evening traffic in Georgetown was crazy but we were fortunate to get around without any incident. It was difficult to locate the cheaper hotels – so much have changed since I was there in 2008! We finally found Hotel Rope Walk (the one which we stayed in 2008) but the old ah-pek in-charge of the hotel would not even listen to the idea of bringing bikes into the room. I think his impression of bikes (which I will not be surprised at all) was that of a “Flying Pigeon”-style, heavy piece of metal almost impossible to carry. Times have changed. We moved on.
Finally, we found the Crystal Guesthouse along Lebuh Chulia which looked relatively new and offered decent rates. The rooms were very small but the furnishing and air-conditioner were very modern. We managed to squeeze the bikes in. I was glad with my find but Dad seemed to expect a water-cooler around and windows to dry clothes (which our small room didn’t have). I thought his demands were pretty ridiculous for the price we were charged. I was very satisfied that everything was in working order and couldn’t ask for more. For the price, he would settle for an old hotel with the amenities he wanted (be it working or not) and I don’t trust his taste! A good rest was the most important! Lesson learnt in Ipoh!
Total distance: 169km
Money spent: RM104
Participants: LSH, Dad
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