Malaysia - Championing The Cameron Highlands

With our goodbyes and farewells given to Steve, we moved on to conquer what is the toughest stretch of mountain cycling in Malaysia.

The Cameron Highlands do no lay in the the direct path to Thailand; they do block the path to our next destination; we had not to necessarily cycling up and over them to complete our tour.

That is, what might have taken us from Kuala Lumpur in two days we did in nine. Nine hard days of riding. Doubly for me since my decision to partake in the Fast. Participant-observation (what up Anthro majors!) had something to do with it, more does the added challenge of pushing my "self" further than I thought it could. If I've been pushing the boundaries of my mental capacity in academia the last four years, I feel ready now to push my physical limits as well. Mind and body.

After it all, us Californians just like to do things a little different, don't we?

It happened then that rather continuing along the west coast that we headed North - right into the center region of Malaysia. 

Our route: KL -> Kuala Kubu Baru -> Raub -> Sungai Koyan  -> Tahna Ratta -> Gua Massang -> Jeli -> Grik -> Pinang! 

Something like 4700 m of ascent had been championed by the end of our detour. Check out Chris' blog for more statistical data, you'll realize that although I appreciate accounting our trip in numbers, that it is much more the qualitative essence of the journey I value. Here are my accompanying admissions:

Before completely leaving the KL area, we stopped off at Batu Caves. A beautiful ritualistic space inside the mountain side turned tourist attraction.

The caves are excellent for what they are, a naturally carved out region of private earth used as a place to demonstrate worship. Monks can still be noticed carrying out their daily routine. 

Our routine has also set in. Cycle, cycle, cycle, rest. We've just spent the last week on our ass reminiscing with Steve, the time has come to cycle on.

My bike taking a break at a hidden lake. Just one of the benefits to traveling by bike rather than charged bus is that you will always have the option to stop off and do lunch. Come cycle with us!

You want to be here.

Another bike brake. On occation, when the mood is paired with opportunity, Chris and I will stop off at either an outside exercise structure (more present than you might think) or in cases like this, well stop off a children's playground to do pull ups, planks, press-ups, sit ups, an any other type of repetitive movement and stretching that utilizes parts of the body not activated by cycling. Feels good!

Admission, my travels are not always about the good times. I've had small accidents, food poising, broken bike parts, rain outs, and the type of diarrhea that has you wiping you're legs and your ass (apologies for the visual). Anyways, low points are inevitable.

There is this line in Terrentino's PulpFiction when Vincent Vega turns to Jules portrayed by Samuel Jackson in the morning coffee restaurant and asks him what he plans to do with his life now that he's decided to leave life as a hitman/thug/agent of organized crime. When Jules responds that he simply intends to "walk the Earth," Vincent then retorts, "they have a name for that Jules - it's called being a bum - you're going to be a f**king bum!"

I may (or may not) have left a life or organized crime behind me, but I certainly felt like a bum on this day. No one would take us in and no hotels to provide accommodation, we roughed the night. Showers in gas station bathrooms, and a little apartment (depicted here) bordered by a broken plane of white board and a trash can. Our space was small, out of the way, and covered in case of rain. You know what? I did feel like a bum. And Im glad I did. At least for one night, you realize you don't need all the things you think you do.

Side note: Sorry moms. I know you worry about us from time to time and this does not help. However all was safe and without incident - we ride on.  

Lucky for us, the Brothers in Raub did let us stay with them. This is their mosque and the gazebo we spent the night in.

Breaking the Fast with our Brother friends in Sungai Koya, a town so small it is not mentioned on our paper or digital maps. 

Inside of the mosque at Sungai Koyan where Chris and blew up our inflatable mattresses and rested the night away listening to Islamic hyms.

It took four full days of mountain cycling to reach the secluded town of Tahun Ratta, nestled right in the middle of the Highlands.

The mosque were we spend two nights.

There wasn't much to see for the town itself; a few boutiques, a few shops, and a Starbucks.

However, this does not mean there is nothing to do, especially durring the Holy month of Ramadhan. We made friends with a young man named Muhammad who invited us out for a night at his local hideout. 

Just a wooden shack in a rural backcountry. Muhammad's hideout is comfortably homie. Cards were played and snacks consumed.

And what would a group of young men alone in the would be without explosives? Grab that torch and light this paint bucket mixed with a certain chemical and water to see it go sky high - only cover your ears before you do. Sigh, you just can't have this kind of fun in America!

We took a day off to do some hiking because that's what you do in highlands. Why not rest up and use our other leg muscles.

See the smiley face? 

A view from the top. This is no mount Kerinchi, but it was a solid hike.

Top the day off with meeting a nice trio of women (Margie, why don't I have your picture? See you in Austrailia!) on the uphill, great conversation, and a couple rounds of Tiger beer!

 Leaving the Cameron Highlands. My bike pulls me over to take a snapshot. 

We're we spend another night. Basically a community recreation room. At least it was covered.

Scenes along the way back to the West coast.

And one last night outing in Jeli. Not an easy sleep. I got through it but was not rested at all.

Bumbing off of park benches in Gerik. I'm off to find food before the Sun, Chris won't be up for hours.

And so ended our expedition. Challenge accepted, challenge complete. I do have to say, in retrospect, how much the highlands have conditioned my legs. I am no where close to cycling the capacity I was six months ago. Now I would fly if My bike had wings. What would that look like? Hmmm....

Another post for the books my friends and loved ones. I miss you all.

Love,

-A

Ps. I've done a lot of math in my head while riding this bike. It's an excellent exercise to keep you sharp and kill time. One of the things I've figured is this: that I've officilly spent more time sitting on this bike than I have spent sitting in a Berkely classroom. No judgements on which is of greater value, just a fun fact.