February 16, 2005

Singapore to Johor Bahru

Day 1 75 km

I landed at Changi Airport and had some hassles at customs.

Lady- What's this lah? (they speak Singlish and say La for emphasis)
Me- That would be my passport...
Man- What happened lah?
Lady- It's wet!
Me- It got wet when I was camping in Japan. It's dry now, it's okay.
Lady to Man- What will they say in Malaysia lah?

They turn to me.

Me- What's the question la? (holy shit, now I'm speaking Singlish!)
Lady- What if they won't accept this in Malaysia.
Me- Then I guess I will get a replacement from my embassy here.
Lady- Execuse me la?
Me- If I can't get into Malaysia I guess I will just fly home.
Lady- You have a ticket home?
Me- No, I'm on an overland trip.

Anyways, you get the idea, this went on for a while until they reluctently stamped my DRY passport. I don't really blame them though, some stamps are almost completely washed away and all that remains is runny red ink.

I landed late at night and made my way up to the departures lounge to try and get some sleep b4 assembling Kylie (my bike) and Angie (my trailer). I ended up meeting this guy who said he was the Trek bike supplier for all of S.E. Asia and that he was waiting for his sons coming in from Europe with some high end bikes. We had a pretty good talk and he said he'd give me a ride into the city and to his house where I could shower and then off to his bike shop where I could set up Kylie and Angie in the morning. Maybe I overslept or maybe he was full of shit, but anyways I woke up and he was nowhere to be found.
If you are wondering why he was waiting for his sons in the departures lounge (as you must be), it was because it was too cold in the arrivals lounge and he would be there for a few hours waiting.
With everything set up I set off into the city in search of Optimistique Inc. where I was to meet my sunglasses sponsor and pick up a sweet pair of Rudy Projects ECKYNOX shades. http://www.rudyproject.com
We took some pictures and I was off through the city, over the causeway connecting Singapore to Malaysia, through immigration and in Malaysia. Horrible riding all day, traffic, traffic, traffic.

Posted by tyler at 12:45 PM