I am not as quick getting out of the door of my almost posh place, as I would have liked to be. The other rider was an early bird, and has already left, though, so I never got a chance to say hello to him. Instead, I begin by checking mails while having breakfast served (rice, what did you think?) As was the case yesterday everybody is jumping at my requests and being chatty. But today, I enjoy myself and I have to say the place and the people working there was very nice. I’m presented with the bill for the food and drinks I consumed and to my surprise the amount is rather symbolic. This fact further raises my mood, so I happily comply to stand up for a photo session and uses this as an opportunity do a bit of advertising for my blog wile we’re at it.

Then I leave the place with good spirit – and just a little bit excited what today’s cycling will bring. Remember that sign about elephants I posted a while ago? Well, I asked a Malays couple I talked to in Cherating and it IS a warning about the possibility of elephants on the road. And I have also heard that the road I’m riding at today is frequently visited by elephants. So what do I do if I suddenly see an elephant at the roadside while I’m climbing with 10 Km/h?

1. Keep going with a poker smile on my face and perhaps a respectful nod?
2. Turn around and hope that I’m faster downhill than a running elephant?
3. Do as any proper adventure photograhper would do: Stop still and discreetly bring out the camera?

You please tell me, for I don’t know!

With these thoughts going though my mind I head into the unknown. My eyes catches sight of something in the woods a few times, but it turns out to be rustling palm leaves or the like. So no elephants for this cyclist.

In Gerik I opt for the first hotel I see, not sure if there will be others. It is cheap, but also rather depressing – a fan and a light, that makes a constant noise, squat toilet in the hall. Gerik has a reputation for being a transit town and a stop over for cyclists that comes this way – the point is, there is no other good reason to come to this place. It turns of it does have a rather bustling market with lots of foods exotica where I spend most afternoon. And in the evening the birds moves in – the part of town where I stay is completely occupied with thousands of birds. I pay a visit to an Internet café to research where I should go next. The Cameron Highlands is tempting me, but that means mowing in the “wrong” direction. The beaches and old town of Georgetown on the island of Penang is my other option.

Nice morning view from the hotels restaurant.

... and the restaurant itself.

It’s not easy to give up the comfort of my hotel in Kota Bharu in favour of the unknown territory that lies ahead. As the town according to Lonely Planet’s website is a Malaysian top 5 destination I decide to stay one more day, to see what it is all about. Part one of this plan is to get into the city centre, which – for me – involves walking along the busy inroad trying to find the small windows of opportunities that makes it possible to cross the streets without getting hit by a car or scooter. Kota Bharu is a pedestrians nightmare and that goes for all the Malaysian towns.

I check out the town’s main attractions but to be honest I find myself slightly underwhelmed. It’s charming that you can visit the rather modest former home of members of the royal family (including all the personal stuff including their family photos) but it is not the stuff that legend is made of. I am just about ready to give up now and by a Lonely Planet guide book … if only I could find one. On the other hand the city is alive with markets, a few bicycle taxi drivers are still doing business, and it’s still possible to find patches of the old city of wooden houses among the later concrete buildings.

If you sense of bit of disappointment with Kota Bharu and the coastal towns in general it might stem from the fact that from my previous visit I remember going into the jungle, together with another restless traveller, on a sweaty day trip that involved going on a motorboat taxi up the river and deep into the jungle and then walk the rest of the way through this to finally take a well deserved dip in the cool pools of a waterfall. I have seen no signs that this would be possible today. With all the new roads in place I would even be surprised that such motorboat taxi service is still available. Malaysia has just changed so much I can hardly believe it and for me some of the charm has gone with the transformation.

With these thought in my head I spend the small fortune of 5 RM for a pair of sunglasses to replace the pair I lost in Cherating (and let’s just go through this again … we’re talking about a little more that 1 Euro). And then head into the traffic to walk back to my hotel.

Traffic intersection. Kota Bharu, Malaysia

Finally! I booked some 8+ hours of sleep this night and it is 8 o’clock before I wake up. No troubles getting enough sleep, tonight. For the only time so far my stomach is feeling just a little bit shaky this morning, but fortunately that is soon gone. Despite the fact that I eat and drink almost everything and from the tiniest stalls along the road I haven’t got my self at least a bit of troubles. Scott reports he’s fine as well. I do have one minor health issue and that is my lips, which are in a sorry condition and means I have to live with the fact that I don’t look all that charming right now. They are being treated with lots of vaseline containing aloe vera and sunblock so I hope they will soon be fine again.

My morning walk takes me to the beach and through the small village of Cherating before I have cornflakes with fresh fruits and a mug of coffee. While I’m eating Scott shows up and we hang out for a couple of hours but otherwise we are largely doing our own things today – for both of us it in fact means very little, if anything. Scott reports that he has been troubled by mosquitoes (no mosquito net to keep the ever present plague away) and woke up freezing because the aircondition was out of control. I come to appreciate my cheap place even more. The greatest thing about it is no doubt how quiet it is. After several days on rather hectic roads I cannot say how much I appreciate not to have the sound of cars and scooters in my ear constantly. Instead the soundtrack has been replaced with one from Animal Channel and the dominant sounds are now birds singing and making cooing and chirping sounds. Apart from birds I share the place with a few squirrels and at one time a rather big lizard passes by only five meters from where I’m sitting. Welcome to the jungle!

In case you thought the sole point of coconuts falling to the ground was to hit somebody in the head – I now I did – well, think again! As this pictorial evidence will show there is more to the story.

I hope to introduce a guest writer on these pages soon. I think I have persuaded Scott to do a post one of the next days – with a bit a luck we will get the full story of why a Techie goes touring on a bicycle.

Introducing Scott (without permission) and a local cat.

And finally the place I stay:

And my parking lot:

A Red Bull in a parking lot

Fortunately today’s ride to Cherating will be short. When I wake up, Scott is already having a conversation with another guest at the hotel, a Malay from Kuala Lumpur. He is openly fascinated with hearing about our trip, but in fact does most of the talking himself. In the end Scott and him exchange addresses. Following yesterdays marathon ride it’s a slow start and speed never picks up. We also have a few difficulties finding the right road so it’s mid afternoon before we reach Cherating.

Scott decides to go for some of the more upmarket places – I don’t quite understand he can’t do without a TV on his room, but he’s paying the bill… I finally settles down in what is probably the cheapest place in Cherating. “Kampung Inn” is just a bit out of town. But it’s clean, quiet and has view of the ocean. And it’s still just a short walk away from restaurants and small shops. For the price it’s a bargain.

At dinner Scott gives me a introduction to some Ray Kurzweill – an articifial intelligence prophet that he is fond of. This launches quite a philosophical discussion about the future of mankind. Ray is apparently a proponent of computers becoming an integrated part of mankind and Scott is enthusiastic to the idea. I play the devils advocate and argues in favour of good old embodied intelligence and argues that most artificial intelligence experiments have been rather pathetic and most theorist have become a lot more sceptical to the idea. I’ll have to look up the Kurzwell fella, though!