…The Intrepid Cyclists Arrive In Sichon.
Yesterday was kind of strange. Usually I’m the one being the tourist; going out and looking for new adventures. But yesterday the adventurous tourists came to me.
Six intrepid cyclists from Malaysia, two of whom I’ve know for a long time, decided to cycle from Malaysia to Bangkok. I believe large quantities of alcohol were involved in making the initial decision. Reality set in next day, but they decided to go though with it anyways.
One of the cyclists, David Wu – he of “Just Wu It” fame – intends to continue on from Bangkok to Taishin in Guandong Province of China. His journey, possibly accompanied some of the way, or all of the way by one of the other Davids, will be some 4000kms. There’s almost as many Davids as there were Bruces in the famous Python Sketch. Plus there’s a Penny, a Patrick and a Mel.
Patrick Teoh is one of the old friends. He’s well known in Malaysia as a radio personality and actor. The cyclists range in age from 49 to 69, and Patrick’s at the top of that range. Unfortunately we’re both so senile we couldn’t recall where we’d first met. Alcohol didn’t help that process either.
Me Lee I’ve known for about the same time, somewhere in rally circles. But cycling was the focus of our meeting yesterday.
You see, on Facebook, you can’t really hide. I knew where these folks were and how quickly they were travelling. When I realized they might need accommodation in or near Sichon, I contacted Patrick and asked if I could help. And so, they all ended up at the Ekman Garden Resort, owned and operated by my friends … the Ekmans. Duh!
Somewhat surprisingly they all arrived before lunch, along with a Malaysian film crew making a TV documentary about the journey. So they were able to enjoy lunch, alcohol, swimming, alcohol, sleeping, alcohol, dinner, alcohol and more sleeping, before – somehow – setting out again at 6am today. Oh, I think there might have been alcohol before lunch too.
Now, why would David Wu go all the way to China? Because he’s raising money for his charity – Projek Wumah. “Rumah” is the Malaysian word for house, and Wu combined with Rumah sounds something like Wumah. Anyways, to quote from their Facebook Page…
Projek Wumah is a community effort driven by public contributions to help improve the living conditions of the hardcore poor affected by the floods in Kelantan.
It was borne out of a human desire to help the village folks out of the dire environment which many currently live in.
And following on from the initial successes, David hopes to be able to expand the project.
You can follow their exploits on Facebook using the hashtags #cycletochina and #projekwumah. I know I will be.
