| Hi,
Monica & myself travelled in Malaysia by bike for three weeks at
the same time last year. The main tips that I can think of are;
- the main roads in the area you're visiting can be *very* busy
and the drivers are just as bad there as eg. Boston. Watch out
for the last, narrow stretch before the divided road into Johore Bahru.
- you'll have heard of the ethnic split that dominates Malaysian
life : the chinese have all the money and the malays govern. This
means that you'll have to choose between the moslem, malay food
and hotels (excellent if you can afford the best) or the chinese (generally
better value at the low-cost end). There were some political problems
caused by this split when we were there so be aware of the locals'
feelings.
- many of the cheap hotels are short-rent joints used for dubious
purposes, so *always* check the room before you say yes - some of
them are horrible.
- The area you have chosen isn't very hilly.
- The weather will be humid, around 30C with occasional cloud-bursts
- If you can head inland there are some fairly good jungle trips
up the river from the south of the national park (I forget the name
of the town but will dig it out if you're keen)
- Enjoy the tropical fruit which will be in season when you arrive.
Rambutan are excellent (red with green hairs), Jack-fruit interesting, There are some nice
hard,purple things about 2" across that you break open and eat the
white flesh from, and of course there's ***Durian***, which SE asians
are inexplicably addicted to, considering it stinks and gets you
covered in mess (it's banned from most hotels!)
- good cycling food? Nasi Goreng (fried rice & things) and chinese
breakfast of savoury dumplings and cake ... mmmmmmmm
That's all I can think of for now. Sorry it's mainly about food
but that is the main hobby of most touring cyclists!
Feel free to ask any questions
Dave
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