97km

We had a nice room in Pekan at the Chief’s Guest House, which was recommended by a local. We’d looked at a couple of other “hotels” but they were really disgusting and probably just brothels. I was grossed out after looking at them, so we were so pleased when we saw the Chief’s Guest House. It’s spacious and clean with shiny hardwood floors and nice bathroom for 55 RM ($17 US). This place would probably cost at least a hundred in the US, probably more.

We had a hot pot and coffee in the room, so we decided to eat our own little snack in the room before heading out early. Then we stopped after about an hour of riding for breakfast: Nasi Lemak, or rice, fried egg and chili paste with a few mini fish. We also shared five small fried yummy goodies set out on platters. They looked like donuts, but were more dense and chewy inside, I’m guessing made with rice flour. They had different fillings or coatings, most had some coconut in or on them. These were so good! Then we rode on.

After about 48 km we got to Kuantan, even though our guide book said it would be 35. The distance is not marked between all cities on our big Malaysia map, so often we are guessing. Kuantan was our biggest Malaysian city so far. We got more money from an ATM and finally exchanged our remaining Singapore dollars. We had lunch at a Thai restaurant.

Here’s the thing about the restaurants and food in Malaysia. Chicken is vegetarian. I am not kidding. They put chicken in everything, sneak it in there like they think you need it or they’re trying to clean out the kitchen. They call a dish vegetarian but it will come with chicken. You can even ask for no chicken, no meat (in English and in Malay) and they will nod their heads, repeat it back to you and still the dish will come with chicken. I’m OK with this, but Dave is really a vegetarian, has been for at least 15 years, and he does not want to eat chicken.

The riding was hectic today. Most of the way there was road construction with narrow shoulders, lots of traffic and many semi trucks. It was noisy and busy and that really wears me out. Not to mention the ever-present headwind. I was tired and sore by the time we got to Cherating, but it was OK because we planned for a rest day here tomorrow. This is a quiet little beach town with very few tourists and we expect a good rest.