David and I had breakfast, posed for a couple of pictures and then I set off.
We had talked about his retirement plans and I encouraged him to continue doing what he was doing - his contribution to the tourism industry went way beyond the little money he earned from his efforts. I look forward to keeping in touch and hope one day to find he's earning a good retirement income from David's Homestay.
David assured me the ride to Batu Feringgi was easy if I took the coast road. And indeed, the start of my journey that day was fine. Until I got closer to Butterworth that is.
Like Kelang, it was a case of one bridge after another... and then another, before I got to the Ferry Terminal. Michael, my cousin Margie's husband, had told me not to worry about training too hard and that I would simply get fitter on the ride. I have indeed and the bridges now don't scare me so much. Or cause me too much hassle.
At one stage I recalled my fears of the Hills of Perak. Indeed, while in Parit Buntar I got an SMS from my brother Tony asking how the Hills of Perak were and I replied 'Hills? What hills?'. Well, after hearing of the Hills of Perak (capitalisation just seems so appropriate) from Singam and Francis, I must say I encountered..errr... none!
But it seems someone read my reply and moved the hills to Penang Island....
With David's directions in my head (finally he got them right!) I found the ferry terminal, survived the harrowing rush among the motorcyclists to get on board, enjoyed the trip over to the Island (where I met and spoke with yet another local who thought I was Japanese or Korean!) and did the ride through Georgetown and along Gurney Drive. It was after Gurney Drive that the hills were dumped on me.
A day later, when Mei and I took a cab in to town and we passed the same way, but in the opposite direction, I was amazed I managed without a problem. Some of the roads were very narrow indeed and some of the hills were quite long and steep. I noted the way in to town had no run off nor the security of a cliff wall - if you were bumped off the road going in, you ran the very real risk of falling over a cliff and into the sea. The few times we drove there reinforced my desire not to ride back but to take a cab instead.
The Lone Pine is a very nice hotel - low-rise and without the masses and throngs that blight the bigger establishments. Mei and I enjoyed our stay there, and the wedding of Chris Seow and Mong.
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We had talked about his retirement plans and I encouraged him to continue doing what he was doing - his contribution to the tourism industry went way beyond the little money he earned from his efforts. I look forward to keeping in touch and hope one day to find he's earning a good retirement income from David's Homestay.
David assured me the ride to Batu Feringgi was easy if I took the coast road. And indeed, the start of my journey that day was fine. Until I got closer to Butterworth that is.
Like Kelang, it was a case of one bridge after another... and then another, before I got to the Ferry Terminal. Michael, my cousin Margie's husband, had told me not to worry about training too hard and that I would simply get fitter on the ride. I have indeed and the bridges now don't scare me so much. Or cause me too much hassle.
At one stage I recalled my fears of the Hills of Perak. Indeed, while in Parit Buntar I got an SMS from my brother Tony asking how the Hills of Perak were and I replied 'Hills? What hills?'. Well, after hearing of the Hills of Perak (capitalisation just seems so appropriate) from Singam and Francis, I must say I encountered..errr... none!
But it seems someone read my reply and moved the hills to Penang Island....
With David's directions in my head (finally he got them right!) I found the ferry terminal, survived the harrowing rush among the motorcyclists to get on board, enjoyed the trip over to the Island (where I met and spoke with yet another local who thought I was Japanese or Korean!) and did the ride through Georgetown and along Gurney Drive. It was after Gurney Drive that the hills were dumped on me.
A day later, when Mei and I took a cab in to town and we passed the same way, but in the opposite direction, I was amazed I managed without a problem. Some of the roads were very narrow indeed and some of the hills were quite long and steep. I noted the way in to town had no run off nor the security of a cliff wall - if you were bumped off the road going in, you ran the very real risk of falling over a cliff and into the sea. The few times we drove there reinforced my desire not to ride back but to take a cab instead.
The Lone Pine is a very nice hotel - low-rise and without the masses and throngs that blight the bigger establishments. Mei and I enjoyed our stay there, and the wedding of Chris Seow and Mong.
Post to del.icio.us
1 comment:
Ah but the hills caught up with me again today. I headed to the coast from Sungei Petani and skirted Gunung Jerai. Met the mother of all hills and her 3 offspring. ha ha Will post on that later. :-)
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