21292 km Singapore!
Door: Erik
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Erik en Tjeerd
01 Mei 2008 | Singapore, Singapore
After leaving Penang the weather changed for the worse. Not a day went by without at least one decent shower and that takes some getting used to after all this nice weather the last months ;) Ah well, at least it was not cold and a bit of rain can actually be quite refreshing in this heat. I took it easy from Penang heading south knowing I still had plenty of time left to reach Singapore. Cycling about 100 km a day is as relaxed as I can go. I spend a couple of days in KL, of course I paid a visit to the Petronas towers and had a look over the city from there. The view is not that impressive, but at least I can claim I've seen it ;) I slept, as I do most of the times nowadays, in Chinatown. Lots of nice budgetoptions to choose from there. Every city in Malaysia seems to have a Chinatown
After two days I could not see another big building or shopping mall any longer and headed out to my next destination: Melakka. For those of you who don't know, Melakka is an old Dutch colony (as well as Portuguese and English) and there are some nice things to see. I've visited the maritime museum, been to the "Stadhuys" and enjoyed the old dutch architecture that can still be seen at some places. There are some really nice "herenhuizen" over here. I bumped into Tjeerd here again as well. It turned out we had even slept in the same guesthouse in KL, unbelievable if you consider how many of those there are. Tjeerd is doing fine as well and stepped on a bus the next day back to Penang. From there he will take a ferry to Indonesia to continue his trip.
For me it's almost over and I headed out from Melakka for the last time, the end goal of this trip will be Singapore. It's still a good 270 km from Melakka, but I had some days of rest and decided the daily record should, once more, be broken :) This time not by accident, but just because I feel the 200k mark needs to be crossed at least "once" this trip. And this is the last chance for that!
In the end I did not quite make it all the way and decided to sleep in Johor Bahru, just before the Singapore border. I was tempted to go on, but common sense got the better of me. It would not be smart to cycle on since it was getting dark and Johor Bahru was also a lot cheaper to spend the night. So the counter got stuck at 256 km. Needless to say, I was kinda tired the next day but it was not far anymore. Entering Singapore was very similar to KL, with lots of unavoidable highways that you seem to get stuck on no matter if you want to or not. I'm happy I did not attempt that the day earlier, because it would definitely not be a smart thing to do! To be honest the city itself is a bit disappointing. It's just another big city like I've seen so many already on this trip. There are some nice markets and a "China town" as well as a "little India" Other than that there does not seem to be to much to do or see. I've been told the zoo here is nice, so maybe I'll have a look at it. Then again, maybe I'm just getting spoiled because I've seen so much already.
So now after 21292 km of cycling in many countries, it's all over. This trip has come to an end and a whole new adventure awaits me when I get back on dutch soil. My plane should land in the morning of the 5th on Schiphol airport and I've been told my appartment is still in one piece, so it looks like I at least have a place to stay......
See you all again soon!
Erik
Update 02/03/2017: I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. I have opened a new blog for my trip starting in Rio de Janeiro 25/04/2017. You can follow my journey on http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/erik_devries/1/tpod.html
After two days I could not see another big building or shopping mall any longer and headed out to my next destination: Melakka. For those of you who don't know, Melakka is an old Dutch colony (as well as Portuguese and English) and there are some nice things to see. I've visited the maritime museum, been to the "Stadhuys" and enjoyed the old dutch architecture that can still be seen at some places. There are some really nice "herenhuizen" over here. I bumped into Tjeerd here again as well. It turned out we had even slept in the same guesthouse in KL, unbelievable if you consider how many of those there are. Tjeerd is doing fine as well and stepped on a bus the next day back to Penang. From there he will take a ferry to Indonesia to continue his trip.
For me it's almost over and I headed out from Melakka for the last time, the end goal of this trip will be Singapore. It's still a good 270 km from Melakka, but I had some days of rest and decided the daily record should, once more, be broken :) This time not by accident, but just because I feel the 200k mark needs to be crossed at least "once" this trip. And this is the last chance for that!
In the end I did not quite make it all the way and decided to sleep in Johor Bahru, just before the Singapore border. I was tempted to go on, but common sense got the better of me. It would not be smart to cycle on since it was getting dark and Johor Bahru was also a lot cheaper to spend the night. So the counter got stuck at 256 km. Needless to say, I was kinda tired the next day but it was not far anymore. Entering Singapore was very similar to KL, with lots of unavoidable highways that you seem to get stuck on no matter if you want to or not. I'm happy I did not attempt that the day earlier, because it would definitely not be a smart thing to do! To be honest the city itself is a bit disappointing. It's just another big city like I've seen so many already on this trip. There are some nice markets and a "China town" as well as a "little India" Other than that there does not seem to be to much to do or see. I've been told the zoo here is nice, so maybe I'll have a look at it. Then again, maybe I'm just getting spoiled because I've seen so much already.
So now after 21292 km of cycling in many countries, it's all over. This trip has come to an end and a whole new adventure awaits me when I get back on dutch soil. My plane should land in the morning of the 5th on Schiphol airport and I've been told my appartment is still in one piece, so it looks like I at least have a place to stay......
See you all again soon!
Erik
Update 02/03/2017: I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog. I have opened a new blog for my trip starting in Rio de Janeiro 25/04/2017. You can follow my journey on http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog/erik_devries/1/tpod.html
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01 Mei 2008 - 07:38
Christian:
Hi Erik, sounds all good!! Enjoy your last days and looking forward to see you back home! -
01 Mei 2008 - 07:41
Tjeerd:
Hi mate,
So you beat me to it. After I did the 214k you had to prove something right? ;) Ah well I am not gonna make it here in Sumatra, the last couple of days were just a measly 90k a day on average and at 16 km/h you know its quite tough here.
Good luck on your journey back, see you in a bit.
greets Tj -
01 Mei 2008 - 07:50
Erik:
Hehe, was not really going for a record, just wanted to pass the 200 km at least once. Happened to be a bit more since there was no accomodation before Johor Bahru. Actually circumstances were quite good for a long day.
Good luck climbing those hills in Sumatra. Have no doubt you'll be doing fine! -
01 Mei 2008 - 10:25
Mat McD:
Hi Erik, well done getting to Singapore, and congratulations on a fantastic trip. 250km! I would die.
Tjeerd, I am amazingly impressed that you are cycling Sumatra. I passed through recently but took buses all the way - the roads there did not look easy at all! I am in Bali, shortly heading to Lombok, keep in touch in case you catch me up...
Mat -
01 Mei 2008 - 20:16
Gerard And Gloria:
Hope to see you soon back in Holland. Have a good journey. Remember to honnour the minute of silence at 8 o'clock (20.00 pm) when you are in Holland on 4 May. -
03 Mei 2008 - 00:20
Truus:
Erik, dank voor je mooie reisverslag en een goede vlucht terug naar Holland, zal wel even wennen worden voor je. En Tjeerd hou de moed erin en stuur je af en toe nog eens wat foto"s? -
03 Mei 2008 - 09:11
Maarten:
Ha Erik,
Veilige vlucht terug. tot snel :) -
03 Mei 2008 - 20:57
Sandra&Paul:
Hoi Erik,
Goede reis naar huis. Helaas kunnen we je niet ophalen vanaf Schiphol. Maar jou kennende fiets je toch gewoon dat laatste stukje naar Rotterdam.
Tot over een paar weken!
Groeten uit Mexico.
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04 Mei 2008 - 11:02
Geertjan Kok:
we hebben genoten en voor ons gevoel ook een beetje de reis met je mee beleeft als we je reisverslagen telkens weer lazen en welkom thuis.
groetjes
geert en mary -
04 Mei 2008 - 12:41
Hans B:
Erik, Eerstens dank voor de vele humoristische en duidelijk geschreven leesverslagen. Een genot om te lezen. Wat jij in deze periode allemaal hebt gezien en meegemaakt zal een ander normaal nooit zien of meemaken. Ik denk en weet dat het voor jou de moeite waard is geweest. Een hele goede terugvlucht en natuurlijk zien Jeroen, Peter en ik jou graag tegemoet. ......... we moeten maar weer eens een potje voetbal kijken op het stadhuisplein van Rotterdam!
Goeie reis en tot ziens.
Hans B. -
04 Mei 2008 - 20:41
Mary :
Hai Erik, ik wens je een goeie vlucht terug naar Nederland!
Tjeerdmans...ik hoop dat je ons op de hoogte houdt via berichten en foto's van het vervolg van je reis. Nog twee maanden toch? Of verleng je je reis..?
Ik heb zitten genieten van jullie foto's. En Tjeerd, ik ben zo blij voor je dat je deze stap genomen hebt vorig jaar, als ik zie waar je allemaal geweest bent!! En hoe mooi! plekken waar je niet zo gauw komt zonder de fiets. Echt heel indrukwekkend.
Hou je je thai Tjeerdje?!
We denken aan je.
Gr, Mary (ook namens de baas, Geert) -
02 Juni 2008 - 17:27
ENVER KEÇEC:
SELAM ERK haber alamadm senden msnm deiti yenisini veriyom ENHATU28@hotmail.com
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18 Juni 2008 - 06:35
Maartje:
man o man....houdt het dan nooit op met jullie? -
29 Juli 2008 - 05:32
Maartje:
Hoe is het om weer thuis te zijn? Krijgen we daar nog een verslag van? Ben heeel benieuwd hoe dat is bevallen -
01 Juni 2009 - 11:16
Glenn Kaas:
heel goed ik dagcht dat het was brilliant! -
06 Mei 2018 - 04:04
Kate:
Hi Erik,
Do you have an email address for Tjeerd?
I am in Australia and I believe he is my 2nd cousin.
My grandfather was Free VonHombracht.
Tjeerd's grandfather was Ompas grandfather
Emile VonHombracht.
He also had a great Aunty called Desiree.
Very sad History
She was married with a son. Her son was a Dr on a Red Cross ship that was bombed by the Japanese. Her husband was beheaded by the Japanese in a prisoner of war camp.
My email is periwinkleshore11@gmail.com
If he would like to get in touch.
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