Cycle Touring Malaysia - Kota Tinggi to Mersing
We made it to Mersing yesterday at around 1pm after almost 6 hours in the saddle, it was a tough slog, especially the last 10-15km. We’ve done longer legs before but never in heat like this, we went through about 10 litres of water between us so we weren’t dehydrated but our bodies were still overheating. Tina was especially feeling the effects and getting a bit shaky so we took a break every few kms towards the end to cool down.
Before the heat kicked in though it was good riding, the road was perfect the whole way to Mersing, undulating but no big climbs, not too much traffic and it was surprisingly cool from when we started riding at 6:30am until about 10:30am. Every couple of minutes we’d get a wave and honk of a horn from somebody driving past, and we even spotted monkeys swinging around the trees from time to time. It also feels a lot safer on the roads here than in Australia, all the vehicles keep a safe distance and give way when we need to change lanes or cross the road.
There’s not much to say about Kota Tinggi, it’s a medium sized town that looks pretty run down like Johor Bahru, except the people in Kota Tinggi were much friendlier. We realised later that the people in Johor Bahru may not have been so welcoming because Tina was dressed in shorts and singlet which we think shows a bit more skin than they’re comfortable with. It’s our first time to a muslim country.
We’re taking a rest day in Mersing to recover and do some laundry. And also thinking about changing our plans to cut short our time in Malaysia to spend more time in Thailand. It’s interesting seeing the vast culture difference over here but pretty soon we’ll be wanting some nightlife again.
Mar 25, 2013
