Countries visited: Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia
Cycled mileage in April: 1,518.2km
Cycled mileage per country: 819.1km Malaysia, 57.2km Singapore, 641.9km Indonesia
Total cycled mileage incl. April: 17,880.0km
April mileage not cycled 597.1km (ferry, walking)
Days per country: 11d - Malaysia, 5d - Singapore, 14d - Indonesia
Days cycling: 18d
Technical failures: 2 punctures, 1 rear fender, 1 freewheel, 1 bottle cage
Link to this month's route
We finished March just one day short of the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. The way into town was a nightmare with lots of traffic, countless construction sites and bumpy roads. Eventually we got there and were lucky to find a cheap deal that allowed us to stay in the sublet room of one of the upscale hotels.
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| Kuala Lumpur's skyline at night |
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| The Petronas Towers are a symbol of the modern Kuala Lumpur... |
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| ...whereas Jamek mosque stands for it's colonial heritage |
After exploring Kuala Lumpur for a couple of days we cycled on and reached famous Melaka after 3 days of riding. We enjoyed exploring the old town with its Dutch, British, Indian and Chinese influences – and we enjoyed a lot of excellent food.
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| On our way to Melaka |
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| Melaka's old town |
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| One of numerous Chinese temples |
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| Enjoying the food in Little India |
The way from Melaka to Singapore was rather uneventful. We mostly cycled along palm oil plantations.
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| Stopping for a chat with Malaysian cyclists |
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| Cooling down with some A.B.C. (Shaved ice with syrup and coconut cream) |
We had a pleasant time there staying at the famous Tree In Lodge run by touring cyclist SK and his fellow Yong. They were brilliant hosts, a great help to fix Dominik's broken freewheel and an amazing source of information. We had already given up our plan to visit Sumatra but at Tree In Lodge we learnt that there would be ferry services from Singapore to Battam and on to Sumatra and from there back to central Malaysia.
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| Causeway between Malaysia and Singapore |
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| Exploring Singapore's China Town |
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| Kampong Glam, the Muslim quarter |
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| Skyline at night |
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| Dominik changing the freewheel of his bike |
Five days after our arrival to Singapore we consequently caught a ferry to Battam, an Indonesian Island only 30 kilometres from Singapore. From there we used another domestic ferry service to get to Dumai on Sumatra.
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| On the ferry to Dumai |
Unfortunately landscape was pretty similar to Malaysia – palm tree plantations in abundance. People, however, were amazing. On an average day we said hello to dozens of people or waved back to them. Whenever we stopped we were asked to pose for selfies.
Unfortunately we both had a travel tummy for nearly 1.5 weeks and were close to skip Sumatra's main attraction – Lake Toba, the largest volcanic lake on earth. But in the end we cycled there! It was a tough ride on narrow, hilly and awfully bumpy roads that took us 2 days and yet it was completely worth it.
We celebrated Simon's birthday on the way from Lake Toba back to the coast. From Tanjung Balai we then took a ferry back to Malaysia.
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| Just outside Dumai |
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| We've seen these giant bugs numerous times |
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| Posing for a selfie... |
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| ...and another selfie... |
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| ...yet one more :-D |
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| Tired of the local cuisine! |
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| You could tell from the pink sheets and the mirror above the bed that this hotel would charge by the hour. Even though we both must have looked as sick as we felt, they tried to convince us of their "extra services" |
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| Waterfall on the way to Lake Toba |
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| Nice views of the jungle but awfully humid heat! |
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| Short rest along the way |
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| No hotels in sight so we asked to stay in this church for the night |
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| Finally - Lake Toba! |
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| Unfortunately the weather was mostly cloudy |
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| Celebrating Simon's birthday with a stay in an upscale hotel |
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| When we arrived to Tanjung Balai the city centre was partially flooded. No idea why. The next morning the water was gone. |
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| Waiting to board the ferry back to Malaysia |
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| The departure of the ferry delayed further to give these mobile foodstalls time to sell their products |
In May we'll continue our journey north back to Bangkok – on a different route than the way down anyway. From Bangkok we'll then catch a flight to Australia in June – Stay tuned.
