Changlun

Thursday 29th Sept. 2011
We left 'My Hotel' at 8.30 am with a light breakfast and after 6 km passed the town of Sungai Petani. The town has developed quite a bit over the years and a huge shopping complex sits right in the centre of town. The old familiar clock tower still stands majestically on its main street. The route to Alor Star is also quite pleasant except for the scorching heat from the sun.

While taking a break at a bus stop( shelter) after Gurun, I stopped a young cyclist (Ng See Chun,24) from KL also cycling to Alor Star.The young man has quit his job to go cycling around Malaysia. While his father is very much against it, his mother who is also an active Hasher and trekker is very supportive of his ideas. he also has an aunt in Melaka who has gone backpacking almost around the world. He has also met another cyclist who also quit his job to go cycling for several months. The guy ended up marrying a girl from a far away place from home. You can check these to at: Facebook: seejun@hotmail.com and www.zahariz.wordpress.com.We had lunch at Alor Star after which we parted ways.
After Alor Star we continued to Jitra and while the distance travelled was not that far the journey seemed endless. We pushed on until we reached Changlun. Given a choice I would rather cycle on a winding road than a straight one because on a straight road you can see for many kilometers without seeing your destination.
I stopped at the Jitra Police Station hoping to see some of the police personnels who rode with me to the border during my ride in 2008 but to my disappointment none of them are still serving in Jitra. Some have been promoted and posted to a new place.No more active cyclists in the police force in Jitra. What a shame.
We found a hotel 'T Hotel' right across the police station to stay the night.

Tomorrow we ride to Bukit Kayu Hitam and cross over to Thailand.