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The Grand Adventure
  • Helene Rimberg
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  • Helene Rimberg

The Grand Adventure

A bike trip with no end En savoir plus
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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    2How do they convince them to stay by their sign

    To the west and waterfalls

    6 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Skies are nice and clear when we wake up but become a big ominous as we head out across to the east side of the island. Rain begins to fall as we arrive at the start of the walk up to Seven Wells falls. But it passes. Beautiful falls and not too many people. Lounge around in the pools for quite a while, trying not to slip on the rocks. Return to our room and walk along the beach for fish dinner.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg

    To the north side

    5 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    First order of business - determine if we can take a ferry to Thailand. Ride to passenger ferry terminal and confirm - we can! Grab some breakfast and ride the 12 miles across to the north side of the island. Check in to Red Coral Cottages. Skies open and it dumps for a few hours. Afterwards, head to the beach. Long Beach walk. Dinner right next door.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg

    Some days just don’t go as planned

    4 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Another early start to catch ferry to Langkawi. Short ride to port town only to find out that we couldn’t go on the passenger ferry with our bikes. Next ferry port - almost 30 miles to the north. Off we go. More small roads through rice paddies with threatening skies all around. Get a tad bit wet and fight the wind. Arrive at the ferry too late for the 1:00 one that had not yet left. Wait for the 3:00. Roll on no problem. 2+ hours we arrive in Langkawi but at a different ferry dock. Ride back into town to our hotel. We made it! Off for Syrian food.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Goodbye Georgetown
    Goodbye GeorgetownBoat crossing1Yes that is a jellyfishNo idea what those mid skippers are

    Two ferries and quiet roads

    3 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Get an early start as we have always to go and 2 ferry crossings. Streets are quiet as it’s Sunday morning (perhaps). Arrive back in Butterworth and head north out of the city. Pretty quickly find ourselves on very small roads amongst rice paddies. Enjoy oceanside road until it disappears on us. Back to bigger road. Arrive at river crossing and easily catch a boat across. Stop for some food and finish our ride, showing up,at small, rural “resort”. Enjoy pool before heading into to “town” for a very unhealthy dinner (bit of fried seafood and ice cream)En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Sand is like couscous

    A jungle hike and beach

    2 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Opt to not ride anymore as the traffic is horrible and drivers worse. Catch a grab (uber-like) to take us to national park on the other side of island. Sit in a lot of traffic but at least it’s air conditioned. Arrive and find that beach walks are closed. Head up and over, going through jungle to get to turtle beach. Swimming is not advised and the water is hot anyway. Relax a bit before hiking back. Return to the city (less traffic) and have nice Indian dinner. Check out Georgetown festival.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    1No idea what these were.2He is made of jade.1What would you do with 18 handsShe is hugeThese guys were friendlyDoug is armed

    Kek Lok Si Temple

    1 août 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Went out for coffee and wound up eating breakfast after observing the French toast. Quite tasty. Fueled us up to battle the traffic to get to Kek Lok Si Temple - a huge Buddhist temple. The artistry was amazing! Spent several hours there before resting by the turtle pond. Headed to Botanical Gardens which were underwhelming but was full of aggressive monkeys. Head back and out for vegan dinner and then ice cream.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Street art to share history
    Street art to share history1Used to be the ferry dockFun quay out into the waterSo many types of templesTypical street11Beautiful illumination

    Exploring George Town

    31 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Out for good coffees and pastries before exploring the city. Finally some history in this country. Quite the mix of Asian and European influence. Small streets with food stalls abound. Lots of street art. Nice dinner spot - Tina’s Kitchen for local Penang cooking.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    1

    Onto Penang

    30 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Woke to pouring rain but able to wait it out before leaving. The cloud cover stayed awhile which kept temps down. Long ride through very built up area. Not a great day of riding. Made it to ferry port and caught short ferry to Penang Island. Short ride to hotel. Cool down and out for pizza! Wandered the streets a bit.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg

    Taiping

    29 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ 🌩️ 33 °C

    Wound our way out of the busy streets of Ipoh. Hugged the river valley as hazy peaks surrounded us on both sides. Found a few quieter roads enabling us to get off of the busy Hwy 1. Stopped for some lunch where Doug finally tried Durian - reporting that it was slimy. Continued on as day got hotter. We really do need to stop riding in the late afternoon. Arrived in Taiping. Checked in to Hotel Louis. Meandered around a bit before finding a dinner spot.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    1

    A waterfall and cave!

    27 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Take a walk into the hill and jungle behind town to local waterfall. Very nice water! Pack up and head out. Kind of late but short day. Divert off main road to check out Tempunung cave. Very cool. Huge open caverns. Even have little moss and ferns growing. Finish up our ride and eventually make it to our little villa very hot. Enjoy our pool before walking into Ipoh for tasty Indian food. And gelato.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Deserted street

    Long day on the pavement

    26 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Long ride along highway 1. Not much besides pavement through the jungle. Not even a monkey to beak up the day. Arrive in Kampar. Opt to try the region’s dish - clay pot chicken with rice. So good! Crispy, burnt rice bits and moist chicken with occasional bites of salted fish. Highlight of day.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Checkpoint where we were stoppedTypical Malaysian town

    Over the mountain range

    25 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Early morning start to try and avoid heat while we make it to the top of the mountain. It is quite hazy with smoke from fires in Indonesia. Stop and chat with monkeys and then are stopped as the road prohibits cyclists - too dangerous. Policeman at checkpoint tries to flag down trucks to transport us with no luck. Finally a car passing the other way stops and offers a ride. Manage to fit everything in and finish the last 1000 feet of climbing with ease. Pop out at next checkpoint and cruise down the hill. Go another 20 miles before stopping in Tanjung Malim. Walk through large university to very good Thai food.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Malaysia is a real mix of cultures

    Bukit Tinggi

    23 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Enjoy a good breakfast before heading back out of the jungle and continuing our westward journey. Rolling hills aren’t too bad thought the trucks carrying palm oil fruits are unfortunately plentiful. Luckily the final miles, which are uphill are mostly in the shade. Arrive in Bukit Tinggi - basically an exit off the highway and make our way up to our apartment. Walk back down to the town for Chinese dinner.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Waiting to check in
    Waiting to check inFirst you must make contact1

    Elephants!

    22 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Leave the lowlands and head up into the jungle to Kuala Gandah - Ho,e of the Elephant Conservation Center. With our tour guide, get to feed the baby elephants. Watch the big elephants get their bath. After, assist in bathing and exfoliating the baby elephants. Quite rough skin. Interesting note: they utilize the elephants at the center to assist when other wild elephants need to be rescued. Stay at Chalet right next to center. Lovely “local dinner”.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Mosque in Pekan
    Mosque in PekanLunch stopMonkey on wireLights in Maran

    Maran

    20 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

    Get an earlier start as not sure how far we will go. Find a good quiet road along a river - though only catch fleeting glimpses of it. Wind is less favorable but still make good time. Lots of rustling in the trees means monkeys are around. They tend to disappear as we get closer. Opt to keep going. Wind up with a 60+ mile day. Heat gets rough towards the end. Somehow manage to find a homestay - on the grounds of a mosque.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg

    Pekan

    19 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 34 °C

    Watch sun rise - though obscured by clouds. Long day planned as limited options for accommodations. Seems to be a trend for us here in Malaysia. Fortunately it is flat and we have a good tail wind. Stop for lunch along the China Sea. Arrive in Pekan but can’t find our lodging. Go in circles until the host finally sends us a correct map. New food for dinner - Muetabak. Rolled pancake with tasty fillings.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Very low tide
    Very low tide"Our" beach2

    Kuala Rompin

    18 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☀️ 35 °C

    Very sunny day. Fortunately the first half of our ride is through forest land with lots of trees and shade. Spot quite a few monkeys - who look a tad bit more aggressive than the ones we saw in Indonesia. Maintain our distance. After a lunch break - re-enter the main road and although it’s relatively quiet it’s more exposed and thus hotter. Arrive at the semi-deserted beach resort and hit the pool and then the beach. China Sea is very warm! Cycle into town for dinner though it being a Friday, many things are closed. Overwhelmed again by the menu (how many types of fried rice can there be) but manage to try something new Tom Yam soup which was quite tasty.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    1
    1Ferry boats headed out to islands

    Futzing around in Mersing

    17 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    After yesterday’s adventure, opt to only change hotels vs. cycling onward. Enjoy a cappuccino while we do some laundry. Check out the beach - kind of murky and dirty. Decide not to venture out to the islands so check into hotel. Wander back out later for some food. Very tasty fried stingray!En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Urban jungle
    Urban jungleTapir crossing

    Jungle hopping

    16 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Venture out onto busy roadways, still trying to get out of the city of Johor Bahru. Eventually the traffic ruins and we have a calmer ride. As the jungle builds next to us, see some interesting wildlife signs. Do spot actual monkeys, large monitor lizards and dead snakes. Consider stopping after 24 miles but the accommodations were expensive and not very nice. Press on into the heat. Options are very limited which results in a 71 mile day. Arrive at a hotel in Mersing as sun is setting. Tired and filthy but manage to clean up and find some food.En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg

    Malaysia is just a bridge away

    15 juillet 2025, Malaisie ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    The ride out of Singapore varied from busy roads to beautiful paths. Lots of twists and turns took some time
    to navigate as did finding our entrance to the causeway into Malaysia. We were separated with the motorbikes which helped. Popped out on the other side and poof - another country. Big city with hectic traffic. Survived the motorways and found a hotel. Relax before venturing out for dinner. Too chaotic for pictures (few more orchids)En savoir plus

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  • Helene RimbergThe Grand AdventureHelene Rimberg
    Advantage of age!21

    A colorful birthday celebration

    14 juillet 2025, Singapour ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Fortunately, Doug is feeling better in time for his birthday. Start the day with pastries before hopping on the metro to the Botanic Gardens. Emerge into light rain, but it’s a warm rain. Walk through the greenery before exploring the orchid gardens - the largest collection of orchids in the world. Amazing array of flowers representing native and worldwide varieties. Finish our stroll and go out separate ways to complete shopping errands. Meet up at a mega mall. Drop off our purchases at our hotel and back downtown to catch the evening lights in Gardens by the Bay. Phenomenal light show! Try out Korean BBQ. New experience for both of us. (I need to work on my non-existent chopstick skills).En savoir plus

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