Waking up refreshed from our day on the beach, we decided it was about time we discovered the rest of the island. Whilst most people rent motorbikes to get around the mountainous island roads, we decided that it was best to cycle, as our mums would be very upset if they found out we’d been silly enough to drive a motorbike whilst travelling! So, we rented these cool Malaysian bicycles, on which you can’t even see the pedals… Boy, was it hard work up those steep roads in such a hot climate. (Honest, mum!!)

We set off clockwise round the island and it took us about an hour to get all the way round, without stopping for much. Once we’d gone around once and we got the hang of it, we got a bit more adventurous, stopping more often to investigate down dirt tracks and up other roads.

One of the highlights for me was a tiny fishing village called Teluk Nibong (Lot 1051), as a painted tyre at its entrance told us. It was right on a small secluded beach and the houses were either concrete block or just corrugated metal. There didn’t seem to be anyone there so we wondered down and took some photos.

There is also a Dutch fort, as the Dutch occupied the island for a period in the 17th century before it was recaptured by the Malays. 40 years ago, the Malays reconstructed the fort as a heritage site. The fort is now a tourist attraction with the obligatory gift shop.

Also, we queued up for 4 hours and paid an obscene amount of money for a picture with the Historical Rock, but it was worth it for such an iconic cultural feature.

Tomorrow, I head back to KL to see Miriam, then to Borneo, where it hopefully will have stopped raining, for snorkelling, orang-utans and mountains. Either way, I’ve now seen the Historical Rock so it doesn’t really matter anymore.

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