Blog / Selamat Datang

11 March 2012

Up early, not much cycling planned, as it's a ferry day, so a quick 7-11 breakfast will do.

It's just under 10km to the ferry port, through mangroves. I bust it out fast. The port is easy to navigate and bike friendly. There's a 100 baht cargo fee for the bike, which I bungee inside a cargo pen on the roof of the ferry.

The ferry is a bit cramped, but airconned. An atrocious low budget Thai movie with killer snakes plays on the screen.

I run into Diane, with whom I'd discussed ferry tickets and food with at a restaurant last night. She's been travelling since October and has taken in California, New Zealand and pretty much all of Southeast Asia. She offers to grab me a room at Cenang Beach's most popular guesthouse, on the basis that she'll beat me there from the port.

Malaysia immigration in Kuah is easy, though I struggle to get my head around the fingerprinting tech. Fingerprinting? What did I do? Anyway, now in country number six.

The port opens into a shopping centre, and I'm not sure I'm supposed to push my bike through. I spot a sign in Bahasa that I somehow understand is showing me the workaround. Ok, so the word motosikal is present, so I'm not doing anything magical. Guess what bicycle is... basikal.

I rig up in a shady spot and then unleash a fury of a ride across the island. There's something fun about how the roads are laid - rarely flat, rarely straight. It's baking hot and blindingly sunny and it's good to be in another country.

36km, 25.1km/h, 1hr26min, 7210km

Older: Rainy Ride to the Edge of Thailand | Newer: Island to Island Ferry