Departing from Singapore :
Monsoon is going on, and it has been raining for weeks.Year-end vacation also started.
While a limited number of days in hand as per my planned leave from my employer, the most annoying situation was the cloudy weather during those days.
Many times, it made me realize that life is a choice of decision-making. The option you choose for the next moment is going to determine the overall value of your life. For instance, in my case, it was to figure out whether to cancel the biking trip due to the weather or to plan for another non-biking tour in a different neighbouring country. Although lack of time time to do research about my next step, a few of the analyses helped me to proceed with the bicycling trip.
I tried to brainstorm the alternative destinations based on few of my old real-time experiences such as my ability to complete a tour in specific weather and geographical condition and a few of the public opinion about cycle touring in different regions.
Booking a flight and flying to a destination is less challenging as compared to embarking on a bicycling trip as the later demand precise planning to cope with different uncertainties that you might encounter on the road in an unknown territory. However, I opted for the later option even though with the depressing cloudy days.
Finally my leave days started in the mid of December and I just packed my bicycle last night and decided to move out in the next morning.
The clouds were continuously surveilling and I slowly started my journey under the sprinkled water from my room from Singapore.
The service road leads to the express way and adrenaline started boosting with the super fine road and hence the speed accelerated gradually.
Without my awareness I was riding with the other high speed vehicles.Soon the Auxiliary police chased me which I mistakenly thought them as an ordinary recovery van.They asked me to stop and make me understand that I was in a wrong way making a security thread to other vehicle.They took my bike with me and politely warned me not to enter in express Highway any more and left me nearest service road. Wished me a good luck after knowing my expenditure.
On service road my speed went down and the rain with the frequent light droplets made me uncomfortable with the raincoat.
Slowly I reached Woodland, in the North Region of Singapore, which connects neighbouring country Malaysia by a bridge.The emotionally draining part was that I was unnecessary wasting my time figuring out for the immigration check for bicycle . I was roaming around that place finding the immigration office following all sign boards , but unfortunately no where it was mentioned the dedicated road for two wheeler apart from the fast moving cars and lorries and in my case that was my bicycle .Without any doubt ,it made me quite panic and disappointed. This was my very first day of the tour and the challenge I have to face at the beginning itself just to locating the proper road to departing the country.
After taking help from a local police who showed me the way, that I should follow the same way with other vehicle way on that very road leading to Singapore immigration.
Without any queue and any problem, it got finished my check within five minutes and I was going though the bridge connecting Singapore and Malaysia in Woodland.
One I reached the Malaysian Immigration centre, there was a different challenge I was was going though in my mind as few of my friends were alerting me that , without an accommodation proof that I may need to show to the immigration officer, it might be difficult to get the approval to enter the other territory, as according to my plan I was hoping to stay all the nights in my own tent.However, without any hassle I could able to clear from Malaysia check point.
Entered Malaysia:
Welcome to Johor, the southern state in Malaysia .By entering an another territory by bicycle through road felt like an unique experience for the first time in my cycle touring life.
Few tall buildings caught my eyes and most importantly, in the rainy day,the cloud was touching the top of few of the buildings. I was getting confused with the flyovers built at the entrance once I entered Malaysia from Woodland and misdirected to an another road for few kilometres .
By the time I was passing through the Johor town, it was around 1.30pm , spending half of the day entering the new country. And indeed I was desperately finding for some food. Looking at a restaurant thought of filling something in the stomach. As usual I had dal and rice with the price of 2.5 Ringet.
On the table of cashier , looking at my face the shopkeeper asked if I’m from India. He was actually from West Bengal of India and he was happy to speak in Bengali, a regional language in India which is almost similar to my mother tongue .On leaving he offered me a warm water and filled my half filled bottle. This instance of connecting the Indian guy far from our country , made me a realisation that the how small the world is and not quite difficult to meet your native peoples outside of your own territory.
Slowly I was leaving Johor Bahru and the road was following through many flyovers. After riding more than 10 kilometres , the road started going around the greenery with very little elevated rolling road.The cloud were floating above the small hills not higher than 100 to 200 meters .
There was enough direction of the road towards main destination like Mersing, KL etc. I was following 3 no highway . Initially I was following till Kota Tinggi which was around 30km from my current location in Johor Bahru.
The rain was making my journey comfortable one way , sprinkling water throughout the road and I was immensely benefited from dehydration. But the raincoat was not so suitable for those continuous rain, and which was making my inside wet that was bit uncomfortable and cold .
The clouds on my way at the hill tops were catching my eyes and I was thinking even at low altitude near sea, you can feel the cloud moving at low altitudes.
Being a forest rich location, I noticed there few wood mill long the highway. Born and brought up around the tea estates in my home town in Assam, India ; it was surprising for me to notice few tea gardens in few small hills in Malaysia . Whole Malaysia is dominated my palm estates.I was the first glimpse of those palm plantations in those small hills of sliding surface on my way.Few queries also got my attention .
The highway was with usual traffic .There were many vehicles with wide tyres like SUVs . I saw even few were carrying a boats at their tops , which made me a feeling that this road is a commonly used road for the adventure enthusiast.
On the way from Kotta Tinggi towards Merging, one customer in a restaurant told me that he met a cyclist from Germany heading towards East .This was a great confidence booster for me to know that’s this location is usual for bicycle travellers.
Hungy me :
As I was passing by,my stomach started getting empty and soon I started feeing hungry .Even at 4.30 pm , I was finding difficulty to find a restaurant ,might be due to rainy weather and Sunday. With uncontrollable hunger I bought whatever I was finding on the way. A bunch of banana with 6 Ringgit was not enough for me to dominate my hunger in that afternoon. However, luckily I found in a small road near a Palm oil factory, a lady was selling BBQ chicken . Without much thinking I bought a small tondury chicken for 6 Ringgit. Atleast one headache was cleared my my head that no more I need to think for food for that night.Now it was the time to find a place to put my tent in that rainy evening . I was looking for rice and it made me disappoint that all the restaurent were closed by that time.
My first interaction with a Malaysian :
After going ahead few distance I saw a restaurant just about to close for the day and somebody coming outside looked like the owner. I immediately asked if had some food even though it was closed.Unfortunately it was over . I also asked that I was finding a place nearby to pitch my tent for the night. And with my surprise ,he made me happy with his eagerness to help a stranger like me that I can tent in his restaurant itself. It was a huge relief for me. This was the first instance for me to have a friendly conversation with a Malaysia dweller. This first meet was equally exciting for me as it had provided me the necessary confidence that the localities were welcoming . Without any surprise , with my touring costumes , he was genuinely interested to know more about my cycling tours and my epic forthcoming journey around Malaysia.
This was how we spent time together with our broken English . He offered me a hot coffee in that chilled cloudy evening .One thing I observed about human body after experiencing in many cycling trips is that, even a cup of tea with little sugar might act like an energy booster for that moment. I could feel the same sensation in my veins flowing though my arms and legs specially after hot coffee offered by my host .That friend Muslim by his religion was kind enough to arrange an space for me to sleep at his home temple itself (Muslim prayer room). I was so greatful to have that luxury in an unknown place.
Spending free time with host:
As I was having few daylight time , I made a cartoon sketch as a gratitude to occupy that free time while discussing about each others life as a whole.Even he offered me a meal with an omlet and rice. For the time being I just thought how clean and happy their heart was. The shop owner with the smiling face even have some conversation about his won country, Malaysia and how different religious people are peacefully sharing that common nation.
After our few short conversations in the evening after our dinner we separated for the night and I prepared pitching my for the first night in that new territory .In my observation ,the night was clear with no rain and the clouds from the nearby hills also moved away after the whole day of pouring water. The noise of the frogs was again making an alert of further rain.
After riding nearly a hundred kilometres in that day, body naturally demanded to lie in the tend and very soon I fall asleep.
Link for my Strava link:
Total expenditure of the day:
Resins:10 Ringgit
Dal rice: 2.5 Ringgit
Banana: 6 Ringgit
Tandoori chicken: 6 Ringgit
Total day 1: 24.5 Ringgit
