By Larry and Joan Dolinski
From Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, we flew into Phuket, Thailand, then bicycled down through the Malay Peninsula through Thailand and Malaysia, along the coast of The South China Sea. These two countries are certainly not first world, but are a stretch above China and also somewhat more advanced than Vietnam.
Our flight from Ho Chi Minh City took us to Phuket, one of Thailand's most popular resort communities, which attracts many Western tourists. Prices are very appealing (cheap)...many people come from the far reaches of the world to combine vacationing with wardrobe shopping as there are 250 tailors in that town ready and waiting to make beautiful, inexpensive clothes. Also, the Thai women are particularly lovely and sweet tempered so single men often choose this as their destination.
In Phuket we went on a land Safari where, among other things, we rode elephants. Some of the elephants were trained to perform. Larry was invited into the act and persuaded to lie on his back while a medium sized elephant stood on three legs with his fourth leg resting lightly on Larry's stomach. We captured that scene in a photo.
Bicycling through Thailand and Malaysia was, for the most part, a hot and muggy experience. However on the positive side the shoulders were wide, the terrain relatively flat, and a welcome tailwind followed us most of the time. Even so, a number of people developed varying degrees of heat sickness and heat rashes.
A local bicycle club paid a visit to us at the hotel during our last night in Thailand. They were a very cordial group and brought with them a number of handsome antique bicycles which were exhibited at the hotel. A fun shirt trading ritual ensued whereby we traded our bike jerseys (Odyssey 2000 logo) for the Malaysian bicycle club logo bicycle jerseys. It was an event of considerable bonding. The club members returned the next morning at the crack of dawn to say goodbye and to give us a cheery sendoff.
We pedaled to the Thai river border station and then took a ferry from Thailand across the river to the Malaysian border station. Not unexpectedly, it took several hours to get our group processed through both border stations.
Moving from Thailand to Malaysia took us essentially from the Buddhist world to the Moslem world. Now the predominant edifices were mosques, some extremely large and handsome. Our first impression of Malaysia was a disappointment in the ecological sense. Trash and litter is strewn all along the roads and clutters the yards of most homes. It is as though Malaysia (at least the part we saw) is one gigantic dump.
Our arrival in Malaysia coincided with the onslaught of the monsoon season. It has rained at least part of most days, sometimes at torrential intensity. In between the deluges the sun comes out and it becomes unbearably hot. Most of us prefer bicycling in the rain (and overcast) to the baking sun.
Much of the landscape this season is comprised of flooded wetlands. Lots of houses are built on stilts and are completely surrounded by water; standing water covers much of the farm land.
The roads are not clogged with bicycles and motorcycles as was the case in China and Vietnam. However, there are more automobiles and, while they are not reckless, they are a bit more aggressive.
Much of our trip through Malaysia took us along the coast of the South China Sea and we stayed at some splendid seaside resorts. Local hosts at hotels in Malaysia were generally the most organized and cordial of our entire trip. We were greeted upon arrival with cold drinks and big banners welcoming "Odyssey 2000". Lots of good food and special entertainment was provided for us in nearly every hotel...along with speeches by local mayors and provincial governors.
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