Malaysia - road to Ipoh

We caught the ferry from Pangkor to the mainland. A less stressful affair than going out as Thom and Pete were fastened to a rail on the bow of the boat. I could breathe easier, knowing they were very unlikely to tumble into the drink.
After everyone else disembarked, the ferry staff helped us manhandle our bikes onto the dock.

The ride to the town of Seri Islander was humdrum. Mostly along the hard shoulder of the Sitiawan bypass and highway for the early part of the day.
The roads were straight and plantations filled the views on both sides of the highway.
Not a great deal to see and we entered a flow state, pedals turning, moving forward and letting our minds wander.
Now and again we would startle an egret or heron, breaking their intense focus and petrified pose, as they loitered by a pool or water course, launching into a frenzied flapping in flight.
Arriving on the outskirts of Seri Islander we stayed at a roadside motel, in the middle of nowhere. A miserable looking row of buildings next to the highway. A touchscreen machine check in was our only greeting as the place didn’t have any staff. Our room had no window - a room without a view!
The following morning a short cycle led us to a small eatery, busy with locals eating breakfast. We feasted on our favourite roti cenai and sweet tea to fuel our days ride.
We followed highway 5 most of the way to Ipoh before finally getting off the busy and noisy road at the outskirts. Quieter roads guided us through pockets of green along the river into the city. We arrived early so Amanda could visit the street market which she throughly enjoyed. She mentioned that “everything” was for sale. Fruits stalls, household wares, farming tools, pickled parts of animals, bric-a-brac and clothes side by side - many spread out on a square of tarpaulin. Chaotic and practical without trying to be cool or with a western qualifier label that makes it hip. Later we grabbed some lunch and found our digs where we’d stay two nights.
Evening found us in Little India searching for some veggie food. We found Little India Villas, a veggie restaurant that served a thali (banana leaf set) at a reasonable price. The banana-leaf meal stems from Southern India dining culture. The banana leaf stands in for a plate, with a dollop of hot rice, served with a variety of vegetables, pickles, curried gravy and yoghurt on the side. It was very filling and very good!

Next day we went to visit the Sam Poh Tong Temple a few kilometres outside the city. The temple is dedicated to Mahāyāna Buddhism - a branch of Buddhism whose goal is to become a Buddha through a specific path. Entering the temple, its facade set in the foot of the cliff of the mogote (limestone hill) we entered a cave with many shrines, statues and paintings. Information stated that the cave became home to a travelling Chinese monk. After he died other monks followed in his footsteps - using the cave for retreat and meditation, later leading to the temple being built.
The cave reflects the multiculturalism we learnt about in Malacca, with deities from Hinduism depicted alongside Buddhist. Sharing the same space temple inside the cave reflecting history of an exchange of cultural and religious beliefs.
Walking through the limestone cavern, we reached an opening where the temple sits in an amphitheatre of sheer limestone cliffs, covered in clinging vegetation. The temple, pagoda like in appearance, glowed as the morning sun crept above the rim, sending beams of light down onto it.
A small fenced enclosure contained many turtles! They could be fed with cherry tomatoes purchased from a stall - all in the pursuit of good karma. The turtles really liked cherry tomatoes and moved pretty fast when someone threw some into their pen. I watched one turtle try to bite at a tomato, only for it to push it further away, several times. Finally, the turtle managed to clamp its jaws onto the tomato, triumphantly squishing it with a ‘pop’!
Leaving Sam Poh Tong we called into Nam Thean Tong, a Taoist temple, next door. A large cavernous space filled with altars, carvings and paintings on the cave wall, incense smoke hung in the air and we ventured into the deep recess of the cavern with its interlinking tunnels and the frozen liquid appearance of its limestone rock formations.
Stairs led upward to the upper floors, and we followed wooden walkways and platforms created within the wall of rock. It was quite eerie.
On the cliff in front of the temple a Buddha face can be seen, high up on the rock wall. The rock's colour naturally forms the shape of the Buddha's face. The likeness formed by mouth, nose, eyes, and hair. It was hard to see at first but we think we picked it out. This is supposed to bring good luck to those that spot it, so fingers crossed!
We headed back into the city centre to explore the streets and alleyways of the old town. A mix of old colonial architecture and shop houses, it was busy and crowded. Tourists ambled along Concubine Lane, populated with food stalls and shops selling gifts and tat. We escaped the crowds by seeking the back streets and art trail, and enjoyed passing the Indian bazaars, material shops and carpet sellers of everyday Ipoh. Trees invaded old buildings and pastel coloured paint faded and peeled from facades. The architecture ranged from pretty shuttered colonial buildings to brutalist blocks of concrete, in contrast to the traditional temples we visited the day before, creating an eclectic cityscape full of styles.
Tomorrow we head to the train station to catch a train to Butterworth, opposite the Island of Penang, as we try to reach Georgetown for Christmas.Læs mere