Month in Pictures: June 2014

Tropical fruit breakfasts… one of the best reasons to visit Thailand!

Guard roosters… don't mess with them!

We've made it to Georgetown, Malaysia – what a wonderful city! In just two weeks we fly out of Singapore and land in the north of Australia. How are we so close to the homeland?!

Here's six reasons to visit the ever creative city of Penang, Malaysia! #penangstreetart #streetart

Reasons to love Malaysia: Freddie found us on the side of the road at the end of the day, and invited us into his home for the night! He showed us around town after a shower, and we even squeezed in some badminton action. Thanks Freddie!

Should our next adventure be on fat bikes (that match our helmets, of course)!?

Gary and Kamal from Cyclon Cycle Industries replaced our bottom bracket cups (we squeezed 20000km out of them!) and taught us a lot about the Malaysian cycling scene. You guys rock!

New Rohloff shifter rubber! This one actually has some grip!

Camping on the waterfront last night! Not a bad way to save some pennies for Australia.

Have you ever seen incense sticks as big and colourful as these?!

We knew that Malaysia had an Indian influence, but we didn't quite expect it to be this strong! Everyday we can find amazing Indian food… it's pretty much the best thing ever.

To be honest, the roads in Western Malaysia have been some of the worst we've experienced in 31,000km from Europe to Australia. The majority of our time is spent with fast moving traffic with no shoulder, the scenery is flat and uninspiring and the palm plantations go forever. There's not even any back roads to take. If you're cycling Malaysia, avoid the west coast, k?

Alee finally found a bike that's too big for him – he is nearly 2m tall, so this is a rare moment!

This may not look appetising, but flavoured “snow ice” with fruit, pudding, beans or jelly is one of our top foods to try in Malaysia! The ice is so thin that it tastes creamy!

This is a warning to all travellers to be VIGILANT. We were cycling along, when this guy offered to buy us a cold drink. He seemed a bit drunk, but this kind of experience happens pretty regularly for us, so we said yes. He said he knew a place down a minor road to the left, and that we should follow him. About 200m down this quiet road he pulled over quite erratically and gestured for us to stop. In the process he dropped his 100cm long machete on the ground (which we had failed to see prior to this event – can you see it in the pic?), making alarm bells ring. We quickly did a u-turn and rode off – we were fairly sure we were about to be robbed!The guy quickly chased after us and followed for the next 5km. The best thing we could think of was to film him, which would give us a record of his face in case anything happened. He tried to tell us that his machete was for his work and that we should not be scared, but we didn't buy it. Alee eventually told him politely to leave, and after a short while he was gone.The take home message is to not trust everybody completely. Give everyone a chance, but look for the signs. Putting up your guard will make you miss lots of amazing opportunities, so just be a little suspicious! These people are only one in a million.

TOUCHDOWN! Alleykat is in The Motherland! After 2 years, 30 countries, 31000 kilometres and a helluva lot of life, we've almost made it to Cairns: the starting point for our Australian Leg. How will it measure up?!

So far we are LOVING Australia! Everyone is so relaxed, the supermarkets have everything we need, it's safe and there's lots of lush parks. Oh, and the coffee… it's better here than anywhere else in the WORLD!

What do you do when you've finished using your bicycle box? Build a house for some cute puppies!