I was on the road by 8am. Yes, that’s a little late, but I only had 60kms today, and the issue with arriving early is that you can’t check in to the hotel.
I started with a 7-11 breakfast. Most supermarkets here sell filled buns and croissants which last for a week or so. I simply didn’t feel like spicy (and usually very nice) Malaysian food for breakfast. The buns and croissants seem much kinder to my stomach.
The road was quite busy into Teluk Intan but there was a decent shoulder nearly all of the way. I stopped for an iced coffee in TI and headed out of town on some smaller roads. This became a little lane beside a canal, and for the next 20kms, I wended my way through small villages and canals, most of the time near trees that shaded me. There were lots of surprised looks from locals, as the lanes barely fitted a car, and I doubt that too many tourists had passed through on bicycles.
The serenity came to an end about 15kms from Tapah, but the run into town was quite easy. Tapah isn’t an inviting town. Although the hotel is very nice, the rest of the place looks quite run down.
I have a big day tomorrow with the climb up to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. It’s less than 60kms but it’s steadily uphill after the first 10kms and numerous pinches of 10-15%. I’ll leave early and hope that the traffic ís courteous as usual.