Biking Epic

Ramadan started this week. The frequency of the calls to prayer have increased a lot. There are a couple of mosques within hearing range of us. They all have PA systems on them so that the faithful know when it is time to head to prayer and now when the fasting starts and stops. Right now they have a wake up call around 4:00 so that folks can get a meal in before dawn. They are quite loud and can go on for some time. We've already learned to tune them out although both of us do get woken by the call. There are quite a few more street markets around ready to start up at dusk, the time when eating can begin again. We thought we'd go out for dinner last night. Mistake. We didn't get around to leaving till around 7:30 and with it being a Saturday and Ramadan things were even more crowded. We went to a place called The Curve. It really is quite an upscale mall. They have one whole section that has hundreds of restaurants, many with outside or patio seating. Lots of choices , all of them were packed.
Today we went with the gang for a bike ride. Maureen decided to join up this time. It was probably a bad choice for the first time out. We started out at the bottom of a mountain, Genting Highlands, and rode 22 kms uphill. It was long and steep but beautiful. We were in the rain forest the whole way. There were times when the monkeys were howling and the other noises of the jungle made it sound like an old Tarzan movie soundtrack. We were on an old highway so it quite quiet. It was very windy(curvy) and around many curves we ran into packs of monkeys. We ended up in a small village at the top of the hill. We ate lunch here. All of the guys we ride with are Chinese and since the village was Chinese they ordered breakfast for us. Very good. Both of us had a noodle dish with chicken and vegetables, coffee, and juice for a total of RM13.80, about $4.50 Canadian. The ride down was definitely easier and faster.