91 km

We got up at just past six and were out of the room just after seven. We ate a snack in the room so we could ride a ways before having breakfast. Nothing in Cherating looked open as we rode by anyway. It’s a sleepy town waiting for tourist season.

We had breakfast at a roadside cafe, Malaysian style. Dave had nasi lemak and I had a different kind of nasi (rice) that was yellow and had Indian-tasting spices. I also had and egg and a pinch of vegetables. It was so thickly humid that even in the cool morning air we were dripping with sweat. We went back to the table to look at the other treats the woman had out, more sweet goodies. In addition to one we’d had before (green gooey sweet thing), Dave also chose one that looked like a small pancake folded in half with yellow pudding inside. We couldn’t determine the exact flavor, but it was really tasty. The people here like their sweets.

Some of the day was through road construction again, but we had a bit more room. We went through areas of the jungle that were being cleared for what looked like preparation for big wide roads into the forest. They were cleaned to smooth sandy soil, with right angles and straight lines cut in the forest. I really don’t know what they were planning.

Other areas were beautiful and close enough to the ocean that we caught glimpses now and then and smelled salty air.

Late in the day we went through the Petronas gas refinery area (I think) with entire towns built around the largest power station I’ve ever seen. The land was cleared flat, you would never have guessed it was once forested, and tidy roads, houses, and other buildings were laid out for many kilometers. The traffic was fairly heavy, but we didn’t feel it too badly because the outside lane was designated just for motorcycles and scooters. An entire full-width lane! Besides that, there was a nice shoulder, so we really had plenty of room.

We landed in Dungun, another town waiting for the tourists. This time we finally got a good deal with a hotel (we’ve been trying to bargain, but no one seemed interested so far); we got a 120 RM room for 60 RM, but no breakfast included. “That’s fine, we’ll take it,” I say, because we have our own snacks and there are cafes everywhere along the road. The room is very nice, and we enjoy cooling off in the air conditioning.