This was the view when I opened the curtains in my 28th floor hotel room. It was nice that we did not have to get up before sunrise on this last day of our bicycle tour. We planned to be on the road at 9.00am. Which gave us time for breakfast in the cafe behind us before we changed and packed our stuff into our Apidura bags.
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
The route from Hat Yai to Padang Besar is mostly straight southward for 46km / 29mi before a turn to the east at Sadao for the last 13km / 8mi.
Philip took the lead once we were on Route 4, and he proceeded to pull us along at an average of 36kph / 22mph for fifty minutes. I was more than happy to stop for a drink by the time we had covered 30km / 19mi.
It isn’t hard to find places serving drinks on the road side. There are the more upmarket chains like Amazon Coffee, which often have shops in petrol stations. Or just look for a hut displaying drinks, and perhaps a sign. Like the one we stopped at.
It had comfortable seating in the shade, icy cold drinks – one of my all time favourites is Thai iced tea, and as you can tell by the mobile phones in our hands, free wifi!
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
After giving us thirty minutes to catch our breath, Philip and Leslie stepped on the gas again to Sadao, where we made the turn onto Route 4054 to Padang Besar. If you stay on Route 4 you arrive at the larger border crossing at Bukit Kayu Hitam.
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
It was a hilly 11.5km / 7mi from Sadao to Padang Besar. That didn’t stop Philip and Leslie from maintaining a fairly torrid pace as we rolled over 130 meters / 426 feet of climbing. We were in Padang Besar in twenty three minutes.
Leslie wanted one last meal in Thailand. He saw a place that he liked the look of, and we all went in. Marco and I needed a fan and something cold to drink more than something to eat. The others ate an early lunch.
It is a couple of hundred meters from that restaurant to the border crossing. First we went through Thai immigration control.
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
Then through Malaysian immigration control.
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
And we were back on home soil, just minutes from where we had left our vehicles. Our cycling adventure was over. What a fabulous adventure it was. The riding was good, and the company was even better. These four days will live long in my memory.
Thank you guys for a wonderful time.
Photograph courtesy of Leslie Tong
Old Roots, New Routes 