From Bangkok to Singapore - after the chaos came paradise
Prison just dodged and then into Thailand...
The flight from Calcutta to Bangkok shouldn't have been a big chapter, but different opinions about whether the use of the GPS device I was using was legal in India or not led to my temporary arrest at Calcutta airport. After a few slightly absurd situations (who has ever held the phone in their left hand to speak to the consul general while at the same time two Indians are carrying out mandatory initial medical examinations on their right arm?) I was released that same night and had to sit in front of, but not in, the detention cell for a few hours (the cell not particularly nice, by the way) - but by that time my flight had long since landed in Bangkok without me. The next evening everything went well with the departure, so I finally arrived in Bangkok the following morning. And what a pleasant contrast this city was to India: the peace, the cleanliness. Hardly anyone honks, even in traffic jams. Cars make room for ambulances. Some people stop at pedestrian lights. There are pedestrian lights. There are traffic lights. “Loud, lively and bustling Bangkok”? Compared to northern India, this was more the western shore of Lake Starnberg (where the King of Thailand often stays). And Bangkok has a lot of interesting things to offer. Over the course of several days, I immersed myself in Thai food and some of the city's main Buddhist and secular attractions. The population of Thailand largely follows the teachings of Buddha. Directly in the neighborhood of my hostel, below a temple, there was a kind of small “donation amusement park” set up for the locals: at all sorts of different “stations” you could donate 20 baht and do something for it, be it lighting an incense candle or putting a tea light in one to put a small pond where it then swims around a Buddha sculpture. Behind a kind of airlock in which some kind of steam came from nozzles, a monk waited for believers to meditate with them. By the way, Bangkok has a new subway system. Everything is clean and modern. The platforms are designed with automatic doors similar to those in Dubai. At the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the national shrine of Thailand, I took part in a free tour, which was led by a woman in a (military?) uniform. It wasn't clear to me why I was the only participant on this tour (which was photographed by other people in uniform) despite numerous visitors until the end, but that was fine with me. After a few very nice days in Bangkok we continued again. After the city traffic in Indian places, cycling in Bangkok couldn't bother me anymore. Outside the city, I was a bit surprised that there was quite a lot of rubbish lying around in the landscape. Southwest of Thailand's capital, always close to the sea coast, you drive on the small country roads through extensive salt lakes in which sea salt is produced. Otherwise, the environment often reminded me of Denmark's west coast: open grassland, a few woods, the sea usually just out of sight, and unfortunately always a constant headwind. The two main differences to Denmark were the humid 33 °C and the many, quite annoying, dogs. The holiday resorts on the route reminded me somewhat of the Polish Baltic Sea coast out of season: many closed restaurants and hotels, a number of abandoned properties and only a few other people appearing. My progress was occasionally slowed down by thunderstorms. But the east coast of Thailand soon showed itself at its best: long sandy beaches, small islands, large caves, very good food and good, quiet roads - a cycling paradise. On the way I met around three dozen (!) local touring cyclists in one day who were riding through the south of Thailand for a good cause. One of them even pulled an entire Buddha shrine on a trailer behind his bike on the highway, that's hard work! I gave him a leaf from the Bodhi tree from India that I had picked up there after it fell from the tree. He was happy, even if he didn't really believe me that the paper actually came from there. Before Krabi I finally had a tailwind pushing me again. I had two good days of rest in Ao Nang. This didn't stop me from taking a short hike up a nearby mountain. The noise in the rainforest was impressive: large insects caused a deafening buzz, whistle and beep. Some sounded like a truck reversing, some like drones, some like alarm systems. From Ao Nang it was only a few stages to Malaysia. The rains were now so heavy that I had to drive over roads that were somewhat flooded. For a short time the water became so deep that the front bags floated - then there is always the risk that the front wheel will lose traction. Shortly before the border I met a Russian touring cyclist who had quite hastily fled Russia on his bike at the start of the mobilization last year. It's a difficult fate to have to continue the journey... I'm happy to be able to decide for myself when the journey ends. But it wasn't that far yet, because after a smooth departure without any preliminary arrest, the next country, Malaysia, was waiting for me...
Northern Malaysia: three ethnic groups and a forest where elephants live
Malaysia initially greeted me a bit harshly with a fairly short but brutally steep climb and an even steeper descent (more like a controlled falling down the mountain...), which required replacing the rear brake pads. Once at the bottom I cycled along a smaller country road to Kangar (not to be confused with “Kangal”, the cyclist’s best friend…), the first major city in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the driving style of the Malaysians was considerably more risk-taking than that of the Thais. In Kangar there was a picture that is typical of (west) Malaysian cities (and also Singapore): in addition to the Malay community, there are also lively Chinese quarters and the occasional Indian street. The population of Malaysia is made up of these three ethnic groups. The rural areas between the towns were generally populated by Malays and were conservative and Islamic. The men there wear beards and always wear long trousers, the women almost always wear a headscarf, while in the cities, especially in the Chinese districts, the dress code is more relaxed. It was the first country on my trip since Turkey to primarily use the Latin alphabet again. A laundry owner in Kangar immediately taught me how to order a coffee and say thank you in Malay. The coexistence of the three large population groups means that three of the richest cuisines come together in Malaysia - if you are looking for a holiday destination where you can eat non-stop, you are in good hands here! (This only applies to the cities, however - in the countryside it can be harder to find an open restaurant.) From Kangar I rode along the coast of the Strait of Malacca to Butterworth, where my bike was loaded onto the roof of a passenger ferry, which took me to George Town on the island of Penang. George Town has a real “Little India” and a very extensive Chinese quarter. The close coexistence of Chinese trading houses, Hindu temples, mosques and British colonial architecture is special. In between there are a few more Art Deco buildings, very nice! From George Town I crossed back to Butterworth to set off for the rainforest of northern Malaysia. As soon as I got there, I was greeted again by the special, but sometimes somewhat spooky, background noise. There were signs on the side of the road about tapirs and elephants. Unfortunately, the black-backed tapirs that live here are extremely rare and also nocturnal, which is why the chances of meeting one on the street during the day tend to be zero. However, the more frequently seen elephant dung revealed that the pachyderms are more frequent here. One morning, shortly after setting off, less than a kilometer from where I had camped, I actually came across a bull elephant eating bushes and tall grass to the right of the road. Cycling past the elephant was associated with some tension (it would be very unfortunate to be identified by it as a threat...). At one point there was a sign about monkeys on the left side of the road. And little by little more and more of them gathered near me until there were probably about three dozen in the bushes on the opposite side of the street. One of the larger monkeys, certainly the alpha male, let me know by hissing and showing his teeth that I had better curl up. A few days later, a snarling monkey stormed towards me from the left, but luckily got caught in a guard rail - they are certainly less relaxed here than their Indian counterparts... The drive through the rainforest offered many beautiful views and some wonderful sections of road. Trucks loaded with thick tree trunks driving past every now and then showed that this world is not unthreatened here either. At the latest, all biological diversity was gone in the extensive oil palm plantations of the east coast. A few monkeys here and there, but there were no signs of elephants and tapirs. But I don't want to point the finger at oil palm cultivation here - the process that is taking place here has long since been completed in Central Europe since the end of the 19th century at the latest. You only have to spend a day driving through the pine monocultures or endless fields of Germany to realize that the situation there is not any better, in fact it is even more depressing.
On Malaysia's east coast to the very furthest street and into Singapore
When I arrived on Malaysia's east coast, I mostly cycled south along smaller country roads along the coast. I rarely saw the sea, but in some places you can easily reach the beach by bike. Near Kuala Terengganu (“Kuala” refers to the mouth of a river or the confluence of two rivers) on a Friday morning there were a lot of local road cyclists out and about, a few of whom invited me to breakfast. The athletes from the middle and upper classes in Malaysia are ambitious and ride on the best material that well-known racing bike manufacturers currently have to offer. At the weekend it feels like half of Malaysia camps in the rows of trees behind the beaches. In a forest by the sea I met a Vespa club from Terengganu - so the Italian scooters also have their fan base here. I got a good insight into the societal expectations placed on young people in Malaysia. Later someone brought over a selection of fried Malay snacks: chopped and fried fish (“Keropok Lekor”), potatoes or bananas, all quite tasty, plus chips made from ground fish. The hospitality was very great here! The east coast is usually more densely populated, but there are also more isolated areas. At one point the road went through a dense coastal forest for about 90 kilometers. Only very rarely did I find a few small houses along the road, but there were even more packs of monkeys wreaking havoc on and next to the asphalt. After about 20,000 kilometers on the bike and about 500 days of travel, I reached a bend in a very small coastal road at the southeasternmost end of the Malay Peninsula. This curve is the piece of road on the Eurasian-African mainland that is furthest from Germany as the crow flies. I often looked at the satellite image of this place before starting the trip. What would it look like there in reality? A right turn, on the left an abandoned looking house between palm trees, straight ahead the sea shore and some grass on a hill. It was quiet here. The wind blew from the sea, a small boat with a man passed by. Further out I could see an oil rig. A single car drove past. Ultimately, this curve was just a small piece of asphalt at this point. What else could it be, of course? At least a piece of fairly new asphalt. I took a few pictures and drove on happily. About 120 kilometers back west I reached Singapore. The city has always been a place I wanted to reach by bike. The entry almost went wrong here: the border police wanted to see my onward travel ticket to Indonesia, which of course I didn't have yet because this was a damn land border. I did what I always do in such situations: politely brabbling some incomprehensible English sentences and confidently show random documents. The officer quickly got annoyed with me and told me to go away. I soon ended up on a mountain bike trail through dense forest (in Singapore!) that gradually became steeper and muddier. At the latest when the word “Survival” appeared on a signpost, I realized that I actually had no business here with a loaded touring bike. After the torture, I was back on Singapore's paved and sometimes very good cycling infrastructure. I stayed in a hostel in Chinatown. In the neighborhood, Chinese people danced every evening in front of a Buddhist temple. There are many traditional buildings next to modern skyscrapers - a very exciting cityscape. In many ways, Singapore seemed like the “big brother” of George Town to me. The following days I devoted myself primarily to eating. There are simple hawker stalls in Singapore that have been awarded a Michelin star. They stayed based anyway and a meal costs no more than a few dollars, which is remarkable in what is otherwise a very expensive city. Along a long coastal cycle path, which reminded me somewhat of the cycle path in the Asian part of Istanbul due to the many cargo ships waiting at sea, I then drove to a small ferry pier, from where I continued my journey to the islands of Indonesia.
Two videos: Sounds of the rainforest
in southern Thailand near “Dragon`s Crest”
in northern Malaysia near Gerik
About cycling on this section
Thailand, from Bangkok to Malaysia: Cycling in Bangkok wasn't particularly difficult. While there are certainly more bike-friendly cities in the world, the streets were usually wide enough and the traffic was never too hectic. The small country roads on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand were always in very good condition and with little traffic. In several places I was even able to use modern cycle paths that were over 20 kilometers long. The supply situation in Thailand is extremely convenient: you can find many good street restaurants at any time of the day and in many villages there are 7-Eleven supermarkets that are open around the clock. Hardly any other country on the trip so far was as easy to deal with as Thailand when it came to choosing the route and supplies along the way! The only thing I noticed negatively was the dogs. These are not street dogs, but free-roaming house and farm dogs that are exempt from every training. Especially on the east coast of Thailand, sometimes more dogs charged me within 30 kilometers than within almost 3,000 kilometers in India and Nepal.
Malaysia: Unfortunately, the driving style in Malaysia is considerably less relaxed than in Thailand and the country roads are often narrow. A nice advantage: there are actually no dogs chasing after you in Malaysia anymore. It's always amazing how differently dogs behave in different countries... Along the west coast you can usually follow a really nice, small coastal road to Penang/George Town (there's also a very small gravel section). The main line No. 4 from Penang to the east coast of Malaysia is in good condition, but the traffic density is quite significant. The probability of encountering wild elephants is quite high there. If you want to cycle from the Malaysian east coast to Singapore, you can try to get a ticket for the ferry from Pengerang to Singapore - this way you would avoid the dangerous streets of Johor Bahru. The supply situation with food and water is no longer quite as convenient as in Thailand (well, it really couldn't be any easier than there), but the dry spells usually don't last longer than around 80 kilometers. The many street restaurants (unfortunately) usually only specialize in one specific meal of the day. Breakfast restaurants are only open in the morning and dinner restaurants only open after sunset. Finding a suitable one on the go is sometimes a matter of luck. The prices in street restaurants are extremely cheap. I doubt that you could even beat them in terms of price by cooking yourself (which would be an outrage given Malaysian cuisine anyway).
Singapur: Fortunately, the wealthy city in the middle of Southeast Asia has an extensive cycling infrastructure. In practice, however, these are usually combined footpaths and cycle paths, which is why you need a lot of patience at peak times in the busier districts. The mountain bike trail in the Bukit Timah Reserve is actually a real mountain bike trail, which is why I advise against getting lost here with a loaded touring bike. A very easy route is along an old railway line (“Rail Corridor”) in the west of the city. There is a very good, continuous cycle path over 20 kilometers long along the south coast, which can also be used to easily reach the Tanah Merah ferry terminal.