Taiping – Penang - 98 km
It was late morning before biking out of Taiping, as I didn’t fall asleep
until the early morning hours. Fortunately, the day was overcast,
making riding to Penang effortless. Not that I wasn’t sweating
buckets, but at least it wasn’t under the scorching sun.
Penang was meant to be a quick in-and-out to arrange a Thailand
visa. But being Friday meant waiting until Monday to hand in the
passport, and hopefully receiving it the following morning, making it
Wednesday before resuming my ride. In the meantime, a budget
room at the Love Lane Inn was as bare-bones as they came,
providing only a mattress on the floor. The price, however, reflected
the lack of amenities.
Soon, the famous street food got underway, and I rushed to my
favourite food stand and gulped down a good dose of exotic eats.
Then, after making a copy of the passport (needed for the visa
application), I returned to my mattress on the floor.
In the morning, I donned running shoes and set off to discover the
area on foot. First, I went to the water’s edge, then along the
promenade, past the old fort and heaps of old colonial buildings,
some renovated and others still waiting in line.