AhPek Biker - Old Dog Rides Again: October 2023

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023: Day 1 - Kuching Night Ride

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Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride 2023

Day 1: Kuching Night Ride

Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia Day 1: Friday, 15th Septemper 2023

Large Group Event Night Ride around Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia:
Merdeka Palace Hotel>W.G. Cycle>Cat Statue Padungan>Satok Bridge>Kubah Ria Complex>State Legislative Building>Darul Hana Bridge>Square Tower>Carpenter Street>Merdeka Palace Hotel.

Distance: 22 km. | Level: Easy

Time: 5:50pm to 9:30pm

Time Taken: 3hrs 40mins. (including stops for regroup & rest, photo at bridges, dinner, and lots of photo opps).

This is page 1 of a 3-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.

<Bikes On Planes | Go to Other Days | D2: Singai Rustic Ride>

Route Recommendations, here're some tips on cycling in Kuching, Sarawak:

1. Getting to Kuching.

Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, is served by several airlines, with direct flights from major cities in Peninsular Malaysia & East Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Jakarta. Click here for to book flights to Kuching via Sky Scanner or Expedia.

2. Route & Traffic Conditions

Traffic in Sarawak and the rest of Malaysia, is right-hand drive, so drive/cycle on the left. Same thing applies when crossing the road, take note of the direction in which traffic is approaching from!

The route is fairly flat and goes around the fringes of the older core of Kuching. It passes two beautiful pedestrian bridges and the iconic state assembly hall.

3. Weather

For Sarawak in September, the weather will be moderate. The average air temperature ranges from 31°C (88 °F) during the day to 22°C (72 °F) at night. September is the wet season month in Sarawak, which means that there could be frequent rains.

A useful weather forecast site is AccuWeather. For more detailed weather, including cloud cover and wind speed, use Weatherspark and Ventusky.

4. Bringing Bikes Onto Planes

We flew Batik Air from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching via KLIA1 (Kuala Lumpur International Airport - Terminal 1); 20kg of free checked-in baggage is allowed (which includes sports equipment for bicycles). We booked a couple of months earlier and the fare was MYR129. Sports equipment is considered over-sized luggage, after physically checking in, one will have to take the packed bicycle to the over-sized section (at the far right end of KLIA1)

Return from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur (KLIA2) was by Air Asia which does not provide for free check-in luggage. We had to purchase 20kg of sports equipment luggage at MYR60. Total fare was MYR165, inclusive of this sports equipment. For Air Asia, it is cheaper to buy additional luggage, sport equipment, food during the purchase of the main ticket. Buying these as add-ons later can be more costly. At Kuching International Airport, sports equipment (our packed folded bikes) can be checked in a the same counter.

A tip, simple but important. Ensure that you DO NOT carry your tool kits or any long/sharp metal objects in your hand luggage. Put your tool kit into your checked-in bike bags. I often seen friends forgetting about this, only to have their tools confiscated at the security checkpoints.

We packed our bikes into a Dimpa; our helmet, some clothes, & Mini-O bag into a second IKEA Dimpa Bag and checked them in a part of our sports equipment luggage. There was no necessity to release tire pressure.

5. Places of Interest

En route were several places of interests, some of which we visited and others we did not for lack of time (Note: click on GPS coordinates for directional map to respective places):

- W.G. Cycle (GPS: 1.55254, 110.35517).

- Cat Statue Padungan (GPS: 1.55348, 110.35878).

- Tua Pek Kong Temple (FB link) (GPS: 1.55719, 110.34898).

- Satok Suspension Bridge (FaceBook Link) (GPS: 1.55513, 110.3239) spanning across the Sarawak River.

- Kubah Ria Commercial Complex (GPS: 1.55484, 110.32287).

- New Sarawak State Legislative Assembly Building (GPS: 1.56937, 110.35005) &

- Kuching South City Hall (GPS: 1.54880, 110.36390), with their unique architecture.

- Darul Hana Bridge (GPS: 1.56120, 110.34593) spanning across the Sarawak River.

- Floating Mosque (GPS: 1.56089, 110.34347).

- Square Tower (GPS: 1.56025, 110.34555).

- Carpenter Street (GPS: 1.55826, 110.34594a).

- Malaysia-China Friendship Park (GPS: 1.51599, 110.36505).

6. Food

Late Morning Tea: Kolo Mee at Premier Food Republic, (GPS: 1.50782, 110.29876), Taman Desa Wira.

Lunch: Kueh Chap at Lao Ya Keng Foodcourt (阳春台茶室), Carpenter Street (GPS: 1.55851, 110.34568).

Dinner: Nasi Lemak from the Nasi Lemak Ganja Stall (FaceBook Link) at Kubah Ria Commercial Complex (GPS: 1.55470, 110.32291).

7. Accommodations

Kuching offers a range of hotels, hotel-suites from affordable to 5-starred, with prices ranging from MYR100 per pax per night onwards. Three of us stayed at a 3-bedroom suite at the newer wing of the Merdeka Palace Hotel (GPS: 1.55627, 110.34400), at about MYR103 per pax per night.

8. Communicating with Each Other

When travelling in a group it's important to be able to communicate with each other, especially if one got lost.

Pre-paid Malaysin SIM cards can be obtained at most airport or from any mobile phone shop. Click here for a guide to buying Malaysian Sim Cards.

9. Communicating with Locals

Bahasa Malaysia is the official language of Malaysia, it will be good to know some basic Bahasa Malaysia for daily conversation. Most older Malaysians speaks quite fluent English, while many of the younger ones have a good grasp of English. Many Chinese Sarawakian speaks Mandarin or Hokkien or Teochew.

Look out for the tourist information booths at airports, railway stations or bus stations, the guides manning the booths speak very good English and do give good tips on where to visit, directions, train and bus schedule.

10. Navigation

At the towns and cities, we used Google Maps to navigate to various places of interests. Do note that Google Maps does not work in Cycling Mode in Malaysia, so use Walking Mode but do be aware that sometimes recommended routes are against traffic.

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 and the relevant tools.

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PRELUDE

How time flies! It seems like yesterday that we did our Cycling Sarawak Gawai 2015, a private group ride organised by our buddies, Freda & Kimmiskie. There were fifteen of us including a Singaporean buddy. We had great fun then, so it was natural that many of us was itching to ride in Sarawak again. So when Brompton Sarawak posted their event Brompton Sarawak Tribal Ride; in our MY Brompton Malaysia group, many of us without hesitation registered for the event!

10:45am - The three of arrived in Kuching International Airport at about the same time even though we took different airlines; Charles & me by Batik Air, and Sin by Air Asia. Larry who was already in Kuching for some bowling event picked us up in a huge 10-seater van.

First things first though! EATS!

At the Premier Food Republic in Taman Desa Wira, we had very good Kolo Mee with additional crispy lard bits and at very reasonable RM4 per bowl! A good recommendation by Larry.

Popped by W.G. Cycle to collect goodies and a group photo with owner Tay and other Sarawak Brommies, the event organisers! They have done good job of promoting the Brompton bicycle here in Kuching, there are now so many more Brompton riders in this city.

Collected our goodie bags too: which include a very tribal design event t-shirt, a colourful face cloth, a dinner voucher for the following day.

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THE RIDE

Ride Route: Merdeka Palace Hotel>W.G. Cycle>Cat Statue Padungan>Satok Bridge>Kubah Ria Complex>State Legislative Building>Darul Hana Bridge>Square Tower>Carpenter Street>Merdeka Palace Hotel.

The route goes around down-town Kuching and head for it's fringes, passing through two beautiful pedestrian bridges and the iconic state assembly hall. It is a fairly flat route with only some gentle climbs.

(Click here for Kuching Night Ride Route Map)

We had checked into our hotel earlier and had explored some of the foodie places like the Lao Ya Keng Foodcourt in Carpenter Street. Now rejuvenated with good Sarawkian food we are ready to RIDE!

From the hotel we heade to W.G. Cycle, that's where this evening's ride will be starting. Larry led and took us on a longer route for some sight-seeing, passing by the Square Tower and the State Legislative Assembly Building (which looks near but is actually across the Sarawak River. No fear though, there's a new pedestrian to cross over (which we will use later).

Along the way we also passed by the Tua Pek Kong Temple. With colourful dragons decorating it's external wall and located at a major junction, it is easy to spot.

5:45pm - We arrived at W.G. Cycle, the start point of the night ride. Already there was a large group of eager cyclists awaiting. Time to mingle around to catch up with old friends and make new ones. There were Malaysians, Singaporeans, Filipinos, Mainland Chinese, etc., all proud owners of the Brompton bicycle! I was surprise to see many Sarawakian Brompton owners; many more than what I saw the last time I was in Kuching in 2015. W.G. cycle has done very well to promote cycling with the Brompton!

6:30pm - Tay from W.G. Cycle, leading the ride; coolly riding his Brompton while staying in touch with the ride marshals and sweepers on his walkie-talkie.

Kuching town must be impressed to see so many Bromptons riding into the sunset; yes it was dusk so we were literally riding into the sunset!

After several climbs we went coasting down a couple of long down-slopes.

At one of the re-grouping points, my friends smiling away, happy to be riding in Kuching ...... and also happy to have a pretty lady marshal escorting them.

7:00 pm - We reached the first pedestrian bridge, the Satok Suspension Bridge. The main span of the bridge is about twenty-thirty feet up, but no worries, next to the steps leading up is a ramp for us to push our bicycles, how thought full of the bridge planners!

As we climbed up, we can see how lovely the bridge looked, with neon lights hanging down it's suspension cables. It spans 700 feet across the Sarawak River.

Our timing was just right! Dusk was setting, and the horizon the sky was layered blue to red AND the neon lights on the bridge cables started flickering, making this a grand memorable sight.

As the sky darkened on one side the blue lights of the Datuk Patinggi Haji Abdul Rahman Bridge traffic bridge reflected onto the river in a surrealistic blue sheen.

On the other side, the violet lights of the Kubah Ria Commercial Complex beckons us.

We will be there soon to savour something addictive!

In the dark night sky, the flickering lights of the bridge became even more enchanting, almost magical.

Going down another set of ramps, we landed on the other bank, my friend Sin (of the haPpY HaPpY blogs) happily posing with the bridge in the background.

We headed to the Kubah Ria Complex, where a cute yellow cat signage makes for Instangramable post.

It's here that we stopped for dinner and got hooked with nasi lemak that's so delicious that it's addictive, no wonder it's called Nasi Lemak Ganja!

Ganja is the local name for cannabis.

(Pricing was reasonable too, a basic set of rice, a chunky pieces of fried chicken, hard boil eggs, ikan bilis, cucumber slices was at RM9, I added on sambal petai for and additional RM5)

Fellow cyclist all smiles, now that their tummy has been sated with the delicious Nasi Lemak Ganja.

It dark now, but we are in the safe hands of the marshals as they stopped traffic to let us pass.

In the night sky, the colourful decorations on the lamp-posts became even more vivid.

Kuching has many huge round-a-bouts, and at one of this a neon sign shouted out "Sarawak Maju Makmur!" the theme for Sarawak 60 years of independence.

If we had thought our ride was interesting, the next sight endeared us even more to the city.

It's the view of the majestic State Legislative Assembly Building with the colourful Darul Hana Bridge bridge next to it.

A closer look at the State Legislative Assembly Building, it's roof design similar to a Malaysian royal umbrella (payung negara in Malay).

The Darul Hana Bridge, with it's S-bend design spanning 336m over the Sarawak River.

It's a pedestrian bridge, so we alit and happily pushed our bikes across, while at the same time admiring it's design. It's a cable-stay bridge with two tall piers holding up its span. At each of the pier is a viewing platform.

We stopped at one of the platforms to take in the view of the Sarawak River. To one side was the Floating Mosque, with a colourfully lit riverbank behind it.

And on the other side was the Square Tower, its grounds also decked colourfully!

Looking back from the other bank, we could see the bridge in its glory, with one of it's tall pier looking like dragon soaring upwards. Its head peering up to the sky, promising another exciting day tomorrow!

We ended the ride at the Square Tower, each riding back to their respective hotels. It was a fitting end to a nice, memorable ride. We look forward to the following day!
Many thanks to the team from Bromtpon Sarawak & W.G. Cycle.

SELAMAT MALAM!

(That's Good Night in Bahasa Malaysia)

Click here for a Face Book Reel of our Kuching Night Ride.

(Click Speaker Icon to unmute!)

(For more photos of Day 1 Ride, Click Here)

(For photos of Day 1 Pre-ride, Click Here)

This is page 1 of a 3-page blog, Click Here To Go To Title Page.