The train arrived at Padang Besar station half past nine a.m. The most labouring part about touring is when portaging the bikes. Though it is wrapped inside the bike bags, the one huge chunk is heavier than the complete bike assembled. Carrying one bag from one end of the platform to another is OK, but repeating a couple more have proven to strain ones shoulder muscles. Plus you sweat a lot easily in the humid morning. I can sense that humidity and heat is a great mixture up here in the north.
The next part is assembling the bike. We had the whole boarding hall for us, all twelve bikes all over the floor. For bigger bags we just need to remove the front wheel, loosen the stem to fold the fork and remove the handlebar. For smaller bags, you need to remove both wheels. The trickiest part is when you have fenders. These parts appear to have too many screws to attach itself to the bike. That's tidiest. We took almost an hour to complete.
Then we have the panniers. Panniers reminds me of my old mountaineering days. You have that one big bag for everything and managing the storage is one big challenge as well. You just need to know which stuff for super quick access like tools, camera, which for easy access like rain jackets, passport, wallet, which to be securely waterproof like clothes and those electronic gadgets. Dedicating the right pocket and remembering is another challenge.
I stuffed my camera and wallet on the top pocket of my left pannier because I will dismount from the bike on my left, which is pretty much straight forward to reach the camera instead of moving around the back of the bike to the right side. It is just a matter of easiness and practicality since you'll be repeating these often. Accessing the wrong side and the wrong pocket appear to be frustrating when you are in a hurry.
They have good pannier brands and commonly used by many tourers. These buddies are using the Ortlieb brand. The material is already waterproof from the outside, hence you don't require plastic bags wrapping for your stuff. They have the rear and front panniers as well as the handlebar bags. It is a leading brand for bike bags. I only loaned a pair of Altura panniers from Azmar.
Then we have the panniers. Panniers reminds me of my old mountaineering days. You have that one big bag for everything and managing the storage is one big challenge as well. You just need to know which stuff for super quick access like tools, camera, which for easy access like rain jackets, passport, wallet, which to be securely waterproof like clothes and those electronic gadgets. Dedicating the right pocket and remembering is another challenge.
I stuffed my camera and wallet on the top pocket of my left pannier because I will dismount from the bike on my left, which is pretty much straight forward to reach the camera instead of moving around the back of the bike to the right side. It is just a matter of easiness and practicality since you'll be repeating these often. Accessing the wrong side and the wrong pocket appear to be frustrating when you are in a hurry.
They have good pannier brands and commonly used by many tourers. These buddies are using the Ortlieb brand. The material is already waterproof from the outside, hence you don't require plastic bags wrapping for your stuff. They have the rear and front panniers as well as the handlebar bags. It is a leading brand for bike bags. I only loaned a pair of Altura panniers from Azmar.
OK back to the tour...
By the time we left the train station, we had no choice but to have 'brunch' (breakfast + lunch) since it was already 11.00 a.m., at a recommended stall near the Petronas. A variety of food choice, introduced by our local friend, Mr. Ron and his two buddies. The most preferable was 'roti bakar telur gedik', actually a toast with half fried egg on top where the yoke is still in liquid form.
By the time we left the train station, we had no choice but to have 'brunch' (breakfast + lunch) since it was already 11.00 a.m., at a recommended stall near the Petronas. A variety of food choice, introduced by our local friend, Mr. Ron and his two buddies. The most preferable was 'roti bakar telur gedik', actually a toast with half fried egg on top where the yoke is still in liquid form.
It had started to become so hot by the time we sat on the saddle. The first checkpoint was Wang Kelian, and we had to endure the stabbing hot while climbing the popular 4 km incline from Kaki Bukit to Wang Kelian. It was 1.30 p.m. when we started from the foot. It was torment and horrific.
Though I was churning the granny, my heart was pounding heavily. That was red zone definitely. It was not good. The heat paid it's toll too much. Furthermore, the wind was missing. Plus the load that were were carrying, it was laborious. If it was still morning, it would have been easier. I had to take refuge under a shade. So were a couple of others.
We were 'crawling' and it took us almost two hours to complete the climb and continued on another 4 km to the border. By that time we passed the border, half the daylight have gone, and it may seemed impossible to continue pedalling to Pak Bara.
We had a another break at a stall in Wang Kelian upon settling with the immigration and a quick meeting for decision. It was still sizzling hot outside and becoming more and more uncomfortable. Pak Bara is another 80 km from Wang Prachan (the Thai side of Wang Kelian). The route and terrain is unknown, hence a good anticipation to cycle it is also unknown. That would only add up more uncertainties to our effort.
Ron, our local friend utilises his contact and managed an arrangement for a transport. We have two pickups to portage 12 of us and 12 bikes. Surprisingly we managed to squeeze everything without hassle and headed on to Pak Bara.
Pak Bara is a dead end place, merely meant for a pier for people to board ferries to island escapes. Something almost similar to Lumut but smaller. Pak Bara lies along a beach but not the one that we can swim and have seaside picnic. It's muddy and the coastline are forged with concrete walls like Gurney Drive where food stalls and small resorts were placed. Nice big streets and almost discreet with only local on motorbikes.
We had no booking here, hence we rode in to Pak Bara Resort, a nice place like a motel with clean and cosy chalet type rooms at superb price. 600 Thai Baht a room. Magnificent place. Recommended for travellers and families as well.
Our dinner was at a local stall. It's a Muslim stall and serves a variety of sumptuous menus. The first obstacle was to make an order. The locals seemed to know only Thai language. Hence the war started. The simplest order of ice tea can be frustrating after taking huge effort explaining. We were slightly accommodated with the picture menu. But the war was victorious with great delicious foods and drinks.
None time wasted after dinner. We hit the bunk early for tomorrow's journey will be a long one. Malaysia time is an hour faster that local time. I kept on getting confused with the time different. Night time may not felt significant but the Fajr time is something that one may loose to get dazed.
A pinch from the album...
Though I was churning the granny, my heart was pounding heavily. That was red zone definitely. It was not good. The heat paid it's toll too much. Furthermore, the wind was missing. Plus the load that were were carrying, it was laborious. If it was still morning, it would have been easier. I had to take refuge under a shade. So were a couple of others.
We were 'crawling' and it took us almost two hours to complete the climb and continued on another 4 km to the border. By that time we passed the border, half the daylight have gone, and it may seemed impossible to continue pedalling to Pak Bara.
We had a another break at a stall in Wang Kelian upon settling with the immigration and a quick meeting for decision. It was still sizzling hot outside and becoming more and more uncomfortable. Pak Bara is another 80 km from Wang Prachan (the Thai side of Wang Kelian). The route and terrain is unknown, hence a good anticipation to cycle it is also unknown. That would only add up more uncertainties to our effort.
Ron, our local friend utilises his contact and managed an arrangement for a transport. We have two pickups to portage 12 of us and 12 bikes. Surprisingly we managed to squeeze everything without hassle and headed on to Pak Bara.
Pak Bara is a dead end place, merely meant for a pier for people to board ferries to island escapes. Something almost similar to Lumut but smaller. Pak Bara lies along a beach but not the one that we can swim and have seaside picnic. It's muddy and the coastline are forged with concrete walls like Gurney Drive where food stalls and small resorts were placed. Nice big streets and almost discreet with only local on motorbikes.
We had no booking here, hence we rode in to Pak Bara Resort, a nice place like a motel with clean and cosy chalet type rooms at superb price. 600 Thai Baht a room. Magnificent place. Recommended for travellers and families as well.
Our dinner was at a local stall. It's a Muslim stall and serves a variety of sumptuous menus. The first obstacle was to make an order. The locals seemed to know only Thai language. Hence the war started. The simplest order of ice tea can be frustrating after taking huge effort explaining. We were slightly accommodated with the picture menu. But the war was victorious with great delicious foods and drinks.
None time wasted after dinner. We hit the bunk early for tomorrow's journey will be a long one. Malaysia time is an hour faster that local time. I kept on getting confused with the time different. Night time may not felt significant but the Fajr time is something that one may loose to get dazed.
A pinch from the album...
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| Ortlieb panniers |
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| Border check out and check in |
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| Time for a quick meeting |
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| The rescuers |
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| Pak Bara Pier |
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| Roti bakar teloq gedik, famous in Padang Besar |
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| Kaki Bukit, literally named before the big one ahead |
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| Our night cosy stay |
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