Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore

25 Nov 2019
Mark

We arrived in Singapore having cycled from Mandalay, in Myanmar, and completed the South East Asia stage of our world record attempt.

We had cycled 8675 miles (in total), and 2195 miles through Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore and on track for our world record but, tired after 28 days of riding without a full day off.

We arrived in Myanmar leaving behind frenetic India. It immediately felt calm and less hurried. We had fun getting from the airport as the taxi was keen to put Alice, (the tandem), on the roof tied on with a bit of plastic. We said no! Finally, 4 of us including the driver, stuffed ourselves into the car with Alice in the back.

We received no selfie requests, we were not mobbed when stopping for a drink, we could sit in a café and drink tea without having 20 or more men stand and watch us. People were interested in us but courteous. Language and communication was more of a problem with fewer people speaking English but, we both loved Myanmar from the second we arrived.

We rode past numerous pagodas and stupas often with local people standing along the roadside collecting for the monks and nuns as we rode the gauntlet past numerous collections everyday.

We passed a significant number of military bases reflecting the size and strength of the military junta which has held power in Myanmar for so long. We also rode along an 8 lane concrete highway around the capital which was practically deserted, but lined with large hotels, one of which we stayed in, which was empty too.

Many of the Myanmar people chew Pann, which is a mixture of betal leaf and areca nut. It comes wrapped in a leaf. It is chewed and sometimes held in the side of the mouth. It is then spat out. The road is covered in red spit. It also seems to rot teeth or send them black – so it’s pretty disconcerting when people smile (which they do a lot). Most people also apply a yellow paste to their face – sometimes in blobs, sometimes covering their entire face. What with the red mouth, rotting teeth and yellow paste – people do look different. I’m sure it’s beautiful to them as they are a beautiful people.

The tea houses are great. They lined our route as we followed the famous road from Mandalay to Yangon. We stopped regularly and drank lots of tea – they also sell snacks including fried pastry similar to churros.

We were still experiencing the monsoon. Much of the countryside was either wet land (unfarmed) or paddy fields. We stopped at an amazing wetland centre, staying in an old boat house which was tiny but had an amazing view of the sunrise.

We noticed the numerous mobile phone shops. There is one in every village and more in the towns. Everyone had a mobile phone.

The main road Mandalay to Yangon was tarmaced (investment from China) but if we cycled off the main road we were soon riding over potholes and gravel. We were heading for the border with Thailand and came across a stretch of road which was almost unridable. The same morning we had seen monks and nuns lining up to be fed by the local community. It felt like a privileged insight into a way of life which I suspect may if not disappear entirely, will not be common place in a few years. We had 5 punctures that day and ended up staying in the Smile World Hotel where there was a power cut across the whole town as a result of a torrential storm. It was still raining, a lot, and we were regularly getting wet. Alice was suffering too with the mud, gravel and in the regular downpours.

We headed for the Thailand border via Mae Sot. There was a big climb to the border where we had yet another puncture but we did see elephants strolling down the road.

We crossed the bridge into Thailand and started riding on the other side of the road half way across, (on purpose – rather than randomly), and set off on good roads towards a national park which we had to cross as we headed towards Bangkok.

The profile showed two long steep climbs. We had already climbed a big hill to the border and it was getting late. We saw three hotels marked on google maps over the first of the climbs. It was really steep and by the time we reached where the hotels were supposed to be it was getting dark and we had run out of water. We carried on finally arriving at a police checkpoint where we were told there were no hotels for at least 10 miles which meant climbing the second (or third) hill of the day. It was incredibly steep and we realised we had a slow puncture in the back tire. We stopped to pump it up. Finally, we came across a night market seemingly in the middle of nowhere.

We asked about the hotel and a lovely Thai women said she would show us where it was if we followed her in her car. It was steep and the back tire was more or less flat. We would never have found the hotel but for the help of the women in the market. We arrived at our first homestay in Thailand at about 11 pm.

It was here that we also had a bout of D&V. I had the V. Raz had the D. After a long night, (or short night given we didn’t arrive until late), we decided to cycle to the nearest town and and rest for the rest of the day. We found a Tesco and bought digestives and we also found new tires, Chinese imports, which we hoped would get us to Singapore (as it turned out they didn’t make it).

The next day we set off on route to Bangkok stopping at so called resorts on route which in reality were a collection of huts similar to mobile homes.

In one no questions were asked about our ID, (normally we had to give passport details). It had mirrors all over the room and the beds had black sheets. It was attached to a karaoke bar which played on into the night. I’m sure we could have paid by the hour.

We entered Bangkok following the road under the sky train passing through the modern city with its homogeneous shops found on any high street, and into the old town with its narrower streets and wires hanging like spaghetti. We found a bike shop and bought new shorts which was a great relief. We met up with Julie and Chris who have a tandem and had cycled through Malaysia. They were great company as we chatted about where we had been riding.

We headed for the coast cycling through the small towns and villages stopping regularly at 7/11 for toasted sandwiches and iced tea. We passed spectacular Watts (Pagodas), very different from those in Myanmar often with toneless chanting coming from the resident monks blasted on speakers. Thailand is very different to Myanmar. The trucks on the road are often American and you can shop in 7/11 or Tesco. We could buy coffee and get western food on occasions. It felt almost bland when compared to Myanmar and India but it was beautiful in the rainforest and passing the monasteries was lovely. We came across a shrine in a mountain side which was truly magical.

We crossed the border into Malaysia and into a predominantly Muslim country. We heard call to pray regularly for the first time since Turkey. The food was different too. Road side buffets were on offer where you could stop and help yourself to barbecued fish and curries. The cats seemed to enjoy them too! We also had fried roti (bread) in the mornings often made with egg.

The rainforest in Malaysia is amazing. As we crossed the border having met up with a fellow Brit, Darren, who had been travelling for 4 years on a recumbent bike, we could see the steam rising from the road as it started to rain and the monkeys swinging down from the trees to get fruit. The forest is incredibly dense hot and humid with all sorts of sounds, birds as well as insects.

The tragedy is however that much of it is being cut back and replaced by palm plantations supplying palm oil. We saw lots of evidence of this with massive areas of forest laid to waste before the palms are planted.

It was also incredibly wet. Most afternoons we were caught in a massive thunderstorm and the fields in the flatlands were mainly under water. We also saw crocodiles swimming in the rivers and waterways.

We headed to the coast and crossed the Malacca Straight on an incredibly busy ferry to George Town which is full of heritage buildings. We arrived as the sun was setting and the sky was an incredible red glow. We had a sleepless night until we swapped rooms at midnight as the air conditioning heated the room to over 30 degrees. We set off early morning and rode across the Penang Bridge, which is over 8 miles long connecting George Town with the mainland. This certainly woke us up as it was breath taking.

We continued south passing through rainforest and staying in the coolest hotel called the Shop in Kuala Kangsar were we drank the best coffee since Europe.

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur in search of a bike shop. It had been a public holiday for a few days and many of the shops were shut. Having got lost on the complicated and spaghetti like road system we abandoned our search and found accommodation. In the morning we set off early to see the Petronas Towers which were the highest building in the world until 2004. It was amazing to look up and see the sun rising between the two towers.

We carried on towards the coast staying at a beach side resort after stopping for food at a night market. We passed through the lovely city of Melaka where the streets were lined with Chinese lanterns and we finally found a bike shop selling Schwalbe tires which was very exciting.

We were heading for the border with Singapore and had a deadline to meet because our flight was booked. We made for the border crossing at Johor Bahru. The crossing itself was automated. We joined the motor bike lane and faced a series and steep slopes, speed bumps, rain grates (which were tire width) and no signage of where we should go given we are not Malaysian. It was like a cycling proficiency test on steroids.

Crossing the border into Singapore felt like a real milestone. It was our last day of riding in Asia. Singapore was country number 18 of our trip. We had cycled 28 days without a day off and over nearly 2200 miles from Mandalay.

Singapore is breathtaking with its skyscrapers, parks and trees and strict rules on littering. However, it retains it’s Asian character and identity with it’s China town and little India. We rode into the city along the main shopping street Orchard Road and past the famous Raffles. We finally found a hotel having cycled over 100 miles that day. We had a couple of days off in Singapore as we pack up Alice and headed to Perth to start the Australian part of our world record attempt.