Good Riddance India, Helloooooo South East Asia, phew!?!?!

After riding 1200km south from Kathmandu to Kolkata we have seen about enough of India to last a lifetime. India is really in a sad state of affairs. There is no education about pollution, food handling and hygiene. The World Health Organization reports that it is a hot spot for Malaria amongst a list of other health warnings. So you might think that there would be some education and thought about combating this problem. Nope almost every Hotel we stayed in had open windows, no screens, windows that couldn't close and even if they could there were many spots where the mosquitoes could get in. The solution for 90% of the mosquito problem, "Here's a coil to burn, Sir". Yeah, I really want to be breathing in pesticides all night, along with all the other black air pollution my poor pink lungs are taking a beating from. Let me get to the air pollution, Kevin's mask had a black outline within a few hours of riding and you could only imagine what it looked like after three days. Everyday our bodies had a layer of black film and I won't go into anything coming out of our nostrils. We spent Christmas day repairing my bike box hours before we had to take our flight to Singapore. The Hotel we stayed at had water all over and they let my box sit in this for days... let's just say we are extremely happy to be leaving India behind.

We arrived in Singapore after spending most of Christmas day in the airport. They say Singapore is a fine city, meaning you get fined for so many outrageous things. Failing to flush the toilet, spitting and even chewing gum is outlawed and punishable. I just read an article that after the 12 year ban they are allowing therapeutic gums, teeth whitening and Nicorette but you have to show ID. If the buyer does not show ID, the pharmacist is jailed for 2 years and fined $2940 dollars. Talk about strict government whoa!!

Ok other than the obscene police state Singapore is in, (Singaporeans are really worried about breaking laws) Singapore is an amazing place. It is a city/country no bigger than Toronto and there is literally mall after consumerfest mall. The place is bustling with commerce and the city is so clean. Leaving Kolkata and entering Singapore was like night and day, total polar opposites. There is sooo much to see and do here we could have spent at least two weeks exploring the beaches, theme parks and limitless amount of malls. We had to do some bike part shopping and finally after hitting every store we were able to locate the specialty rims we required. Singapore is quite the place and if anyone is thinking of traveling to an exotic tropical location, check out Singapore. It is as culturally diverse as Toronto, Indian, Arab, Chinese and even us white cake are spread throughout the streets. There is no religious majority either, a true city of the world. The buildings and architecture is stunning, we could have spent a month here just taking pictures of the scenery here. The food is excellent as well, every meal was fully digested and ready for us to burn on the bikes, did I mention we were ecstatic about being out of India?

We arrived in Malaysia two days before new years, it was a 45k ride out of Singapore. Malaysia so far has been great, the tropical climate is fantastic and we are working on some wicked cycling tan lines. The roads are fantastic, huge motorcycle lanes that we also have free reign in. No more horns that were constantly blarring from the Indian trucks, nice and peaceful with smooth tarmac and no pollution. We are headed towards Kuala Lumpur in a few days, another big hub city in South Asia. We will be interviewing an organization for Organic Farming in Kuala Lumpur. The largest towers in the world are here (CN tower is still the tallest free standing). New years was spent near the coast, not to many people were celebrating. The population is largely Muslim and Chinese so there were no rowdy drunks and the Chinese New Year us not until the end of January.

Looking forward to 2006! Today we had an amazing ride up the western Malaysian coastline. There are so many weird looking tropical fruits on the trees. Ahh fresh fruit mmmmmm!!! We pumped out some good KM's today and I was enjoying a huge high from the endorphine rush, it was unlike any New Years day I have ever had. A good start to the New Year instead of my usual nursing of a killer hang over. A great start to begin 2006.

Happy New Year everyone!!! Happy Birthday to my sister Julie and my Grandma!!

Steve