Today we slept in until 8:30 then went out in search of breakfast. We had pancakes topped with fruit, and coffee for Dave, tea for me, at the restaurant attached to our guest house. But the portions were small, and we decided to hunt out a cheaper, locals’ restaurant. We found a place hopping with people just down the road, a typical Malaysian outdoor restaurant (all but just a couple of the places we’ve eaten at have been outside in the breeze). We had breakfast number two: nasi lemak (rice, egg, chilli sauce, mini fish). Finally we felt fairly full. We went back to the room to relax and read.

Later in the afternoon we walked down to the beach to swim. This was a very different experience from Pulau Tioman because it was all sand with no reef, and had more waves. We swam out in the warm water and played in the waves. The swimming is good for my shoulder, stretching and exercising it differently than how I use it on the bike all day.

Which reminds me. A few people have emailed and asked about my shoulder. I should give an update. It’s working well most of the time, but starts to ache a little after about 60 km. I stretch it out and it will feel better for a while. The day we biked (and pushed) up that insanely steep path on Pulau Tioman it really hurt, but it was just fine after a couple of days. The only way to cause bones, ligaments, and muscles to get denser and stronger is to push them just a bit harder than they’re used to. They’ll respond by beefing up. I feel like the stretched and torn ligaments in my shoulder are getting stronger, and even though my shoulder looks whacked, it’s working well. I can even sometimes sleep for a short bit on that side, which is my favorite side to sleep on.