A few hours of solid sleep was what I needed to recover from the previous day's ride from Ipoh to Sg Siput Utara.
After a morning shower and making sure that everything was packed into my panniers, I began to roll the bike out to the motel lobby.
Khairul was tending to his own stuff while I took a walk at the main road.
The sky was dark and even in the early hours of the day, cars were seen speeding down the main road.
It was a Saturday morning and we were about to link up with a group of other cyclists who drove all the way from Kuala Lumpur.
Some got out as early as 2am and re-grouped at the Sungai Perak R&R halt after Ipoh.Barely minutes into our ride, the sky opened up on us.
We pulled over at a shoplot and waited for the rain to stop. As far as timing was concerned, we were way ahead of schedule.
The first order of the day was to locate the rendezvous point and we did just that.
En Suzali, the expedition leader had told us to meet up at a housing estate near the Kuala Kangsar resthouse.
We arrived there early and none of the group members were there.
So, the next thing in mind, was to fill up our stomachs.
There's a row of shops just a few hundred meters away and we settled at a Malay restaurant that serves nasi lemak.
While chowing down my meal, an elderly man asked if he could sit with us.
He struck a conversation with Khairul, who is quite a chatterbox and an inquisitive guy.
Later, I learned that he used to teach at my old primary school in Kuala Lumpur. When I entered standard one in 1976, he got transferred to another school.
The man has retired ever since and is living the remnants of his day in Perak's Royal town.
He shared with us some of his experiences as a teacher before Malaya achieved its independence.
To sum it up, the man is a living treasure.
We rode towards the RV point and came across the rest of the cyclists.
Everyone found a place to park their vehicles and began to assemble their bikes.
I noticed a few people in the group who became acquaintances on the social media. Some, I met for the first time.
We rode towards the RV point and came across the rest of the cyclists.
Everyone found a place to park their vehicles and began to assemble their bikes.
I noticed a few people in the group who became acquaintances on the social media. Some, I met for the first time.
HISTORICAL: An old railway station in Tanjung Rambutan at the outskirts of Ipoh, Perak.