Breathtaking

Day 5 (18/11/2010):

Today, I woke up pretty late due to last night's late entry. Took a walk around town to check out the place and what might be available. Afternoon, I decided to go to Wat Thum Suea, also known as the tiger cave temple, recommended and challenged by Xunmao.



Here is the challenge.



So here we go. Start time: 2:53pm. My Ipod Touch time is SG time.



I was pretty confident at the start. I meant how hard can it be? Hoho. I realised I was very wrong when I barely reached the 300th step and I was panting pretty hard. At 500th step, sweat were already dripping from my head onto the steps. I can feel the Red Bull I drank earlier giving the extra energy to continue. Had to stop a dozen times to catch my breathe while taking the opportunity to take some photos. At 800th step, I had to engage my marathon runner perseverance to keep me going. At 1000th step, I was taking my time to conquer each step. And, finally, at the 1237th step, I reached the top.



Wat Thum Suea 1237 Steps Climbing Personal Best: 24mins.

The climb wasn't the only thing that took my breathe. The panoramic view of southern Thailand, Krabi province took just as many breathes. Pity I don't have a camera that can really capture the view.





The climb down was easier but still sweaty and breathtaking. Back at ground level, I saw many monkeys playing around the temple.



I went to the provision shop beside the temple to get a drink. Big mistake. A monkey sneak attacked me from behind and tried to grab my drink. It failed but they were persistant. A couple of them stalked me and attempted to jump me. Eventually, their persistance paid off and one of them made it off with my empty bottle.



I spent the rest of the day resting at the hostel and went to the night market later at night.



Thanks to Xunmao who recommended me the Thai pancake. I wasn't sure what it was at first so I ended up eating almost everything that looks like pancake. There was also a stall selling fried insects, maggots, grasshoppers etc. Not gonna try those. Ever. There was also a guy promoting his album. The guy in the MTV is actually him. However, he don't seem too popular in Krabi though.

Wandering Spirit

Day 4 (17/11/2010):

Today, I spend over 12 hours on the road. I set off for Krabi at 11:30am after saying goodbye to my host. Hit the Malaysian/Thailand border at around 3pm.



It's my 1st time going through it and I was pretty amazed at how unorganized the Thailand part of the border is. I could have just went into Thailand without getting my passport checked and stamped if I wanted to and none of the Thai custom officers would have stopped me.

Traveling on Malaysian and Thailand road were totally different experience. Malaysia expressway is pretty much like Singapore's. You can go on non-stop until you reached an exit closest to your destination. However, Thailand's highway pretty much go through every single town along the way. So to get to Krabi, I have to go through Hat Yai, Phatthalung, Trang and Huat Yoi and I was just naming the bigger towns not mentioning the many more smaller villages along the road. On a Malaysian expressway, you probably can ride 120km/h constantly non-stop for hours. You can't really do that on Thailand's and you really have to concentrate on the road. If you don't, one of the following may happen: 1) Hit a jaywalker. 2) Beat the red light. 3) Ride off the cliff. 4) Hit by a oncoming bike on your lane.

I reached Hat Yai at 4pm and only managed to get out at 6pm. I pretty much got screwed by a round-about and exited it the wrong way. Luckily , I found a visitor centre and they pointed me to the right direction.



It was around 9pm when I reach Trang and wanted to find a hotel and call it a day. However, I couldn't find any hotel. Checked my map and realized there really isn't any hotel in Trang. So no choice, have to continue my way. I couldn't find any place to stay in the next town Huat Yoi either and Krabi is just over 100km from Huat Yoi so I mustered all the energy and focus I have left and cheong all the way to Krabi. It was just over 1am when I reached Krabi.



At 1:30am, there were still activities going on in Krabi. There were still people at the night market. Bikes speeding around. People drinking, talking and laughing at pubs. However, I couldn't find any hotel reception that was opened except for one: Pak-Up Hostel, a new addition to Krabi's accommodation for backpackers. I will talk more about the hostel later when I get more photos. Time to get my laundry from the washing machine.

Unusual Day in Penang

Day 3 (16/10/2010):

I have a pretty unusual day in Penang.

It started pretty usual though. I wanted to go on a trail in the Penang National Park. Started the hike at 9am after registering.



Took the trail towards the meromictic lake. It is one of the 19 lakes in the world that has salt and fresh river separated by layers. It took me about one and half hour to get there.



I was expecting to see a beautiful lake. However, there wasn't much of a lake when I reach there. You could imagine how disappointed I was.



So I stayed on the beach and pier for awhile before my one and half hour hike back.

So what did I do after that was unusual?
I followed behind a bus on bike through Penang. Met a kung fu practicer from a chinese temple. Visited a home for the disabled. Followed a Malaysian bike across George Town. Met a couple from Europe who cycled from Singapore to Penang and continuing up Thailand after that. Learnt Taiji at a Malaysian's place. Gave a lift to a Slovenian girl back to her guesthouse.
Try to piece how all those happened in the same day. Maybe you will find some clues from my photos.

Couchsurfing

Day 2 (15/10/2010):

This is a new thing I'm experimenting on this trip. Couchsurfing.



It is a network which connects travelers and locals from all over the world allowing them to exchange cultural experiences and friendship. Someone can either be a host providing hospitality travelers letting them stay in your place or just meet them for a drink or bring them around your town. Or you can be a surfer receiving the hospitality provided by the hosts and participating in local activities. http://www.couchsurfing.org/home.html
A couple of days ago, I found a very nice host who stayed in a condo in Penang.

Today, I started off for Penang at around 12pm. A couple of drizzle didn't stop me along the way. The heat and petrol did though.





At long last, I reached Penang around 5pm. The view on the bridge to Penang is pretty amazing.





On the way to my host's place, I got stopped by some police who asked for my driving license and said something in malay which I don't understand. Something about hotel or insurances or something and a couple of times held out his hand as if wanting something from me. I just acted blur and keep saying I don't understand him. After awhile, he got frustrated and let me continued.

After awhile, I managed to find the condo which my host lives in. Then, settled in and had dinner with fellow couchsurfers. Getting late. Til tomorrow.

Dry, Full & Happy

Day 1 (14/10/2010):

Forgot to mention something. On my 2nd stopover for the rain, there were 2 Indian guys who stopped at the same flyover. Just after they got off their bike, one of the Indian guys passed the other a can of beer and they started drinking. They sure are prepared for occasions like these.

If you guys ever come KL and want to stay near the Bukit Bintang area, you can consider the hotel I'm staying in right now.



It is called the yy38 hotel. It may sound dodgy but it is actually pretty good imo and new too. I found it by chance when I was in KL for the KL marathon in June. 1stly and most importantly, there is free wifi which I'm using now. The room is clean and cosy. If you drove or rode, you can park just outside the hotel. There are security to look after your vehicles. You need your room access card to get to the floor your room is in, which is pretty common but in the more expensive hotels. It's near Bukit Bintang shopping area and there is a 24hours carrefour just in front of the hotel as well as alot of eating places nearby. I'm staying in a single bed suite which is RM120 a night. It may not be the cheapest but for the standard, I'm happy with it. Here is the link to their website if anyone is interested.
http://www.yy38hotel.com.my/

Wet, Cold & Hungry

Day 1 (14/10/2010):

Current status: Wet, cold and hungry. How I landed in such a situation? Read on to find out..

I left home at 0930. Took 1/2 hr to secure my 65Litre bagpack to my bike (which I'm still pretty amazed myself) and, then, it started raining. Great start eh. Thank God, the rain was light and short-lived.



The problem with having such a big bag on your rear seat is that I keep getting unwanted attention especially from the custom officers and police officers. I had the Malaysian custom officers checking my bag and police officers staring at me when I rode pass.

Nevertheless, I managed to pass the 1st toll on North-South highway at 1107. I stopped shortly after the tollgate to ensure my bagpack was still with me. Then, I had a Malaysian Indian guy on a bike stopped beside me and said something in malay to me which I don't understand. After awhile, I gathered that he was asking if I was ok so I assured him I was ok and he left. This made me wonder if he was really concerned with my well being or just checking out his potential victim. Hmm..



I wanted to spend more time in Penang so I decided to skip Melaka and cheong as far as I can. Hopefully I can reach Penang or at least Ipoh before the sun goes down. All my wishful thinking. Stopped a couple of times for drinks and petrol and at around 100km to KL, it started pouring. It was 1500. The next flyover was about 1km when it started pouring and left me pretty wet when I hit the shelter.



The rain only cleared up after 40mins or so and I carried on my way. When I reached the Kajang exit, which is 60km away from KL, it looked like it was pouring far ahead so I decided to stop for awhile to observe for awhile. Soon enough, it started pouring. That lasted for an hour.



Just when I entered KL, the rain started again. zZzZz. This time the nature was calling me and I had nowhere to answer her. So after a short stop, I decided to brave the rain.



After some hor laning, I managed to find the hotel I stayed in for the KL marathon in June. So here I am. Still wet, cold and hungry yet blogging. Finally, I can have my hot shower and dinner...

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Check out my baby

Check out my baby.
Ain't she swee? *whistles*
She takes me places noone else can.
Can't wait to ride on her again.
Can't wait to elope with her to Phuket.