I really enjoyed our short bike ride in Hoi An, Vietnam. Even though the bikes weren’t in great shape and the path had these huge, open drainage ditches on either side, I wouldn’t let that deter me from a future ride. So, Phil and I booked a morning bicycle tour in the countryside of Penang, in an area called Balik Pulau. The tour in the Penang countryside promised a relatively chill, relatively flat, relatively traffic-free time, with several stops along the route. Low-stakes adventuring is my kind of adventuring.
Unfortunately, Phil wasn’t feeling well the morning of the ride. So, although I was sad he couldn’t join me and a little nervous about my ability to successfully ride the bike any great distance (about 10 km total) without running off the road, I got up and was ready, bright and early, in the lobby at 6:45.
I joined our driver, a couple from India named MJ and Mari, and a lovely Belgian man who’s name I never quite caught, and, by the end of the tour, we had talked quite a bit and it seemed awkward to ask again. Plus, Phil is our name rememberer, so I was already at a disadvantage.
We drove for about 45 minutes before arriving at Balik Pulau. We stopped at a local store and restaurant where the bikes were housed. We met up with our guide, Eddie, and a young, newlywed couple from the UK. I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t ridden a bike in quite a while, so we all chose a bike, adjusted the seat, and gave it a brief spin around the parking lot before we were off.
While we rode on blacktop road a bit, most of the trip was on gravel roads or bike paths. We encountered a few cars and motor bikes, but not many. Eddie has been giving bike tours in the area for 10 years, so I also think folks are probably used to seeing groups of tourist biking around the area and give them a wide berth.
It was glorious to be out in the sunshine, surrounded by the lovely green of the area, with the cool morning breeze on my face before the heat of the day set in. Our first stop was at a palm plantation where we walked around just a bit and learned that palm is a very popular crop because it requires very little day-to-day care once established. Palm oil also produces more oil-per-hectare than almost any other vegetable oil crop
After exploring the palms we stopped at a small fishing village. Eddie pointed out that many of the boats were docked, as opposed to being out fishing. He explained that most individual fisherman don’t catch many fish or make much money. They can only be out on the boat in the blazing sun for about an hour before they have to come back in. He said that while they could sell their boats for some quick cash, most that are officially registered (the ones with the red painted on them in the photo) keep theirs as the government provides a small monthly stipend to the registered fisherman.
We stopped for a quick coffee in the fishing village. I learned that Mari, the gal from India, had just come from Kuala Lumpur and that she works in visual art curation, so she gave me a few recommendations of places to visit during our stay there. The Belgian fellow had just come from Thailand. At that point, Phil and I were still undecided as to our full Thailand itinerary, so he also gave a few destination suggestions. One of my favorite things about tours internationally is that you meet people from all over the world, who often have also traveled all over the world. It’s fun to give and receive recommendations of places to visit, be they in the country you are visiting at the time or countries and cities that are on your must see list, or places you have never even considered visiting before, but now might be.
On we rode, stopping at a small farm that had many goats, a couple of ostriches, and even a few porcupines. They also sold goat ice cream and gave us a free sample. Eddie said the vanilla was the best flavor, so I tried it and it was pretty darn tasty.
We rode past a few, large, mostly concrete buildings with very loud bird sounds emanating from them. Noticeably, the birds had been the soundtrack to our bike ride all morning. Eddie explained that the loud sounds were actually being played out of speakers to attract the birds that continually flew in and out of the small, window-like slits on the side of the building.
We learned that these birds, a particular type of swallow, will make their nests in these buildings. Once used, the nests will be collected because the spit is very valuable. Apparently it is a key ingredient in many Korean beauty products. I really had to hold my tongue to not make a joke about the spit from a swallow. Anyway, the things we’ll slather on our skin for beauty.
We wound down the trip, biking through a small village and over a little stream. The morning had been lovely but the heat was finally starting to get cooking, so the perfect time to end our trek.
I had a great time on the bike tour. It was fun to talk to the other riders but even more fun to ride along by myself (I liked being in the back during our riding portions) and feel the breeze, take in the scenery, and just enjoy being in the moment. The successful ride also boosted my bike riding confidence a bit. While I still have no desire to ride in a busy city or really anywhere that there is regular traffic, I would definitely take a chill ride in a scenic area again.
Next up: More Malaysia!
