Saturday, September 22, 2018

Perlis-Kedah-Penang: Cycling Perlis to Penang Day 1 - Padang Besar To Lake Tasoh

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Cycling Perlis to Penang : Day 1 Padang Besar To Lake Tasoh - Of Trains & Lakes
West Coast Peninsular Malaysia -  Day 1 : Tuesday, 7th August 2018
Small Group Cycling Tour of the west coast of West Malaysia, from Perlis to Penang :
Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station>by ETS train>Padang Besar Railway Station>Padang Besar (Terinai Lakeview Resort).
Cycling Distance: 21.00 km.     Level: Easy
Cycling Time : 4:10 am to 5:45pm
Time Taken :  1hrs 35mins (inclusive of stops for durians and many photo opps).

This is page 1 of a 5-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
< Go to Bikes On ETS Train      |     Go to Other Days       |       Go to D2 Sanglang >

Route Recommendations :
1. Traffic Directions!
Malaysia's traffic is right-hand drive, so cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, be careful and take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!

2. Bringing Bikes Onto Trains
- The Klang Valley MRT operated by MYMRT provides mass rapid transit for the Greater Kuala Lumpur area. Foldies are allowed on board without extra charges but must be folded.
- The ETS (Electrified Train Service) operated by Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) does not allow bicycles (even when bagged) onto their trains. We packed our bikes covered in opaque black garbage bags into Dimpa Bags so that they would look like normal luggage. When travelling on these trains it is advisable not to have more than two bikers in a coach so as too be less conspicuous, and also not to wear cycling gear. Travel time was close to six hours.

3. Route & Traffic Conditions
The route is generally flat and road conditions good.

4. Navigation
Where data signal is available and strong, one can use Google Maps to navigate around. If the cycling options may not be available, just use the walking options.
In cases where data signal is weak or unavailable (like in remote rural areas), install MAP.ME into your phone. It's an off-line map app.   
Alternatively, use a dedicated GPS unit like those from Garmin. However ensure that one install the Malaysia maps into the unit.

5. Weather
At Padang Besar, afternoon temperatures averaged 33°C, but overcast skies made it feel cooler. A useful weather forecast sites is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

6. Places of Interests
Along the route were several places of interests, some of which we visited others we did not for lack of time. (Note: click on the GPS coordinates for the directional map to the respective places):
- Timah Tasoh Lake (Website Link) (GPS: 6.56530, 100.21696).
- Transformer Bumblebee & Optimus Prime statues at the entrance of Institut Kemahiran Mara Beseri Padang Besar (GPS: 6.55424, 100.22931).

7. Food
- Breakfast: McDonald's KL Sentral (GPS: 3.13448, 101.68650).
- Lunch: Prepacked Kentucky Fried Chicken.
- Drinks & Light snacks en-route at the ETS train cafeteria usually located at Coach C, OR purchased from the service trolley the comes along every once a while, usually after the train departs a station stop.
- Tea: Durians at road side stall (GPS: 6.65453, 100.30220) near Caltex Padang Besar.
- Dinner: Nasi Melayu at Warung Che Mat (GPS:  6.55132, 100.22914)(opposite Dewan Tuanku Syed Putra (DTSP)).

8. Accomodations
Near Padang Besar, we stayed at the Terinai Lakeview Resort (GPS: 6.56486, 100.23580) located at the edge of Timah Tasoh Lake. We took three 2-pax rooms at RM80/- at per room per night. Weekend rates are at RM100/-.
Address: Jalan Kaki Bukit, 02400 Kangar, Perlis.
Tel.: +604-9383232/4232     | Mobile: +6013-4574048 (Enc. Shaifull) / +6011-12915876 (Enc. Azmir)
Email: terinailakeview_kop.mpkpb@yahoo.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Terinailakeview/

9. Communicating with Locals
    For the uninitiated cycling in foreign lands can be a daunting experience, especially when one can only speak a smattering of the local language or if there is no common language to speak to each other (like English). The language of the country is Bahasa Malaysia, and many urban Malaysians can speak fairly good English; but in the rural areas the locals speak only some rudimentary English, so learning some basic phrases will be helpful.
    This could be partly overcome by using translation apps like Google Translate. Do install this app into your phone and before you leave on your tour do some basic translation as it will be saved onto a list of recent translations.
    And do install memory-resident translation apps into your mobile phone.

10. Staying in Touch
    When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost or just to share photos and moments. Pre-paid phone sim-cards are easily available from most phone shops in the main towns.

11. Service Your Bicycles & Carry Tools and Spares
    Before leaving on your tour, it will be good to service your bike and bring along some spares like tubes, puncture patches, brake pads with the relevant tools.

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PRELUDE

9:00am We met up at KL Sentral Railway Station, had a simple congee breakfast at McDonald's and were ready to board the 10:00am ETS (Electrified Train Service) for Padang Besar. Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM), Peninsular Malaysia train service is rather strict in not allowing bicycles (even folded ones) onto the ETS trains; so we had packed our folded Bromptons wrapped in black opaque garbage bags before putting them into Dimpa Bags. This way, they would look like normal luggage. There were five of us and we had also booked seats in separate coaches so as not to be so conspicuous. If any of us were to be found out, then he/she would disembark without contacting and jeopardizing the others, and find other means to go up (by bus, etc) or just abort. This all sounds very espionage, but realistically this was about the only way to get on board. 
 Fortunately, there was no such incident and we quickly settled in for the six-hour journey. The trains can get pretty cold, especially during the rainy months. I had just used a thin wind-breaker and it was just not good enough - every once a while I got up to do some exercise to warm up; or just bought some warm drinks from the food vending cart.
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THE RIDE

Route: Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station>by ETS train>Padang Besar Railway Station>Terinai Lakeview Resort.
The cycling route starts from the Padang Besar Railway Station goes along Federal Route 7 which passes through rustic kampongs and is fairly flat.
Cycling Distance - 21.00 km.     Level: Easy
(Click Here for Google route map link)

3:45pm - After almost six hours we arrived at the Padang Besar Railway Station. Our cycling legs were itching for our first experience of cycling in Perlis, we quickly unpacked and unfolded our "contraband" cargo.
But before that a photo at the Padang Besar signage (see top most photo). This reminded me of a similar photo taken about a couple of years back when we were touring South Thailand with Andrew Ng. Back then the Malaysian train goes direct to Hat Yai in Southern Thailand, and one just had to temporarily disembark at Padang Besar for immigration checks.

We could have stayed in Padang Besar, but wanting to cut the following day's route shorter, we decided to stay at the Timah Tasoh Lake, about 20 km. away.
Heading out from the station through and underpass we were soon cycling on Federal Route 7. Although this is the the trunk road that leads to Alor Setar (where it connects to the busier main trunk road, Federal Route 1), traffic was just moderately heavy only and we could cycle without fear. Also it was shady and there was an emergency lane where we could cycle on.

Then our peaceful cycling was broken by a security checkpoint across the road. This is the border checks regularly operated by AKSEM (Agensi Kawalan Sempadan Malaysia, i.e. the Malaysian Border Control Agency). Fortunately we did not have to stop for checks, as probably the officers could see that our bicycles could not be hiding any illegals.

Suddenly ahead, my buddies rolled to a stop. It's a durian stall. After some haggling the were soon munching down the durians. I don't eat durians (... click here to see why), but from the way they were wolfing down these durians, they must be pretty good. These were durian kampung (which are usually from wild trees and not from dedicated plantations) and may not be top grade but for their pricing one can't complain.
We swing off the trunk road and were cycling a short stretch on rural roads. Up north here in Perlis the hills looked very unique, being more rounded and often standing alone.
Along these rustic roads, don't be surprised to find goats and cows grazing along the roadside, and every once a while a chicken will come out and try to cross the road.
5:45pm - We arrive at Terinai Lakeview Resort, our stay for the night, and were surprised to find the place all locked up despite us having made prior bookings. We tried calling their land line but there was no response. Fortunately, stuck up at the glass entrance doors were a couple of mobile numbers and we called one. An Enc. Shaifull responded and mentioned that on weekdays the place is quiet and their reception is usually closed. He came over checked us in and took us to our rooms. From the rooms there was no view of the Timah Tasoh Lake as they are blocked by the restaurant; getting out to restaurants edge we had a beautiful view of the lake and the dam on the left.
There is no access from here to the lake as it's too close to the dam which is a secured area. But on weekends many come to enjoy fishing and water sports on the lake. The access to do this is from the Tasoh Resort (GPS: 6.58231, 100.23447).
6:30pm: Dinner time and we went cycling out to hunt for a suitable place.
Oh-oh.... we passed by many road-side shops and stall but all seemed to be closed. Further along this giant statue of Bumblebee at the front of the Institut Kemahiran Mara Beseri caught our eyes; it's made by the students of this vocational institution.
Finally, we saw some shops that were opened and quickly zoomed into one called Warung Che Mat as they had laid our a good range of Nasi Melayu dishes. The problem was not with the shops, the problem was that we came out too early - most of the shops here only start opening at seven in the evening... Hahaha.... got us worried for a moment there!
Anyways, we settled down for a simple but good first meal in Perlis.

TOMORROW WE START ON MORE SEROUS THINGS, TILL THEN:
SELAMAT MALAM!
(that's Good Night in Bahasa Malaysia)

(For more photos of the day Click Here)
This is page 1 of a 5-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.
< Go to Bikes On ETS Train      |     Go to Other Days       |       Go to D2 Sanglang >

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