The Quest for Margarita 2 (February 8 to 11, 2020), Day 3 : Penang Round Island

The Team waiting for Mindy by the alleyway of  Reunion Carnarvon as she returned to her hotel to change her shoe

Chowrasta Market

Riding out

Jalan Tanjung Bungah's climb

At Penang's Floating Mosque. Most of us were appropriately dressed except for Mindy who requires a scarf to cover her exposed hair. Sarongs and scarves are offered FOC to visitors. Meanwhile, a donation box is set up at the exit for all generous donors who wished to donate

Belimbing Cafe, Teluk Bahang

Riding through the paddy fields in Balik Pulau

Balik Pulau

Balik Pulau

VT checking the route just as Mike was about to leave us.

Batu Maung with view of Second Bridge

Batu Maung Bike Path

Dinner at Tek Sen Restaurant

Another night cap!

Remember to ask me, "How well did you sleep last night?" That was the second text from Claudine after her morning greetings in the chat room.

No, she had not had a good night's sleep. There were a lot of "noises" in her room the whole night. Almost like someone was playing with a light switch.

She had also felt the sheets moving. Imagining that a ghost was about to caress her thigh, she had quickly groped for VT, her bed partner! Instead of being molested, it was better to molest someone else instead!

There was also a moment when she heard a rustling in the room. Unable to keep her eyes shut, she had pried it open, only to see a figure looming in the shadows!!! ....................Thankfully, it was only VT taking a swig of water from the decanter!

Meeting up in the morning, we took a leisurely walk to Chowrasta Market or our breakfast fix. The place was crowded as how a market place should be but the food mediocre at best. VT though, took a step further by topping his breakfast menu with char koay kak from Lorong Macalister which was highly recommended by Mike Khor.

On Jalan Kelawei just before it merges with Route 6. Major intersection with Gurney Drive and Jalan Bagan Jermal 

Leaving Reunion Carnavon past 9.30 am, we rode along the famous roads of Penang. We headed to the Floating Mosque via Kimberly St, Burmah Rd, Kelawei Rd, Tanjung Tokong Rd and finally Tanjung Bungah Rd where the hill climbs began.

It was a wonderful experience visiting the mosque. The caretaker was friendly, inviting us into the house of prayers with a brief prepping. Most of us passed the dress code except for Mindy who was offered a scarf to cover her hair.

KC helping Mr Lim with the repairs

Duct tape is wound around the tube at the location of the tyre wall tear before the torn area is further reinforced with a piece of the old tube.

The finished product comes with a 100 km warranty!!!

Mike's timely arrival to our rendezvous was greeted with the sound of a gunshot. Mr Lim's sidewall had a tear and the tube, rubbed thin had inflated under the heat of the morning sun and burst !

While Mike racked his brains for bike shops that may open on Sundays, there were suggestions for Mr Lim to call a Grab service to return to the hotel. Thankfully, Uncle KC was around to save the day! Getting down and dirty, he replaced the tube and reinforced the tyre wall with a lining of rubber taken from the blown out tube. His finished work even came with a 100 km warranty!

When all was good, we proceeded to Batu Ferringhi, taking on Jalan Batu Ferringhi which hugs the hill slopes and ran along the coastlines. Unfortunately, the road was too narrow for photo stops and we were literally fighting for space with cars plying the same route.

Waiting to regroup at Shangrila's Rasa Sayang Hotel, Claudine received bad tidings from Uncle John. He had called and texted her about his health conditions. Sadly, he has been diagnosed with cancer!

The rest of the ride was shadowed by Uncle John's bad tidings. Teluk Bahang's peace and quietness allowed time for reflections.

At Teluk Bahang, Mike suggested we stopped for roti jala at Belimbing Cafe. It was an excellent decision for the next challenge was the climb to the Teluk Bahang Dam! Just past noon, we were literally baked from the sun above and the heat released from the tarmac below!

Once past the dam, we found ourselves riding through durian estates. The huge tree canopies offered a cooling respite.

Boulder Valley

Boulder Valley

Boulder Valley

Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area

Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area

Bao Sheng Durian Farm, lookout area

On the glide to Kampung Sungai Pinang

Boulder Valley marked the peak. After that, we were rewarded with a downhill glide all the way to Kampung Sungai Pinang with a view stop at Bao Sheng Durian Farm.

At Balik Pulau, we embraced our first container art installation in Kampung Terang. Located in the middle of the paddy field, this is part of The Penang International Container Art Festival featuring 12 international and local artists. Each piece presents the works of one international artist on one face and a local artist on the other face.

Full spread at 3 pm!

It was almost 3 pm when we stopped for lunch at Yeh Lai Xiang Food Court in Balik Pulau. Taking Mr Lim's lack of form into account, we decided not to follow Mike's return route, which is via the same punishing slopes of Teluk Bahang.

Jalan Teluk Kumbar

Bidding him farewell, we took the round island route, not realizing the route to Teluk Kumbar involves another climb; this time in the rain! Coming down Jalan Teluk Kumbar's 6 lane highway, Claudine was praying hard that no harm will come to Mr Lim with compromised tyres!

Riding at the fringes of the airport runway was spectacular. Getting onto Batu Maung's bicycle lane left us perplexed.

Dicing with Death!

Coming from Bayan Lepas, there were no connecting roads to the bike lane. It left us with no choice but to be stuntmen and stuntwomen for the day. Luckily, we survived the busy intersections and with a bit of bike lifting, found ourselves in the safety of Batu Maung's bike lane.

Batu Maung

Batu Maung

Spiral Bridge of Hope

Some of the bike lane from Batu Maung to Karpal Singh Drive

The Penang Bridge

Caught in heavy downpour

Crossing Sg Pinang near Macallum

Sungai Pinang

Karpal Singh Drive

Home bound!

As soon as we arrived at Batu Maung's bike lane, the rain had stopped. We enjoyed the ride from Penang's Second Bridge all the way to the Spiral Bridge of Hope. Every now and then, the bike lane ended with barriers across and continued on a few meters ahead.

We were being too playful. Besides, we couldn't travel very fast on narrow sections of the lane whilst other sections were merely connecting concrete slabs.

As we close in on Penang Bridge, fresh rain clouds could be seen, blowing in from the mainland. Claudine tried to usher everyone to move faster but we were too late! We were completely soaked through by the time we arrived at Reunion Carnavon.