Cycling Ipoh to Alor Setar, Malaysia
Kedah is one of the most beautiful states in Malaysia, with wide open vistas of lush paddy fields that stretch as far as the eye can see. With honorifics that translate to “Abode of Peace” the northern state that shares an interstate border with Thailand is one of the nicest places to cycle in the whole country.
Less than a year into the covid19 pandemic in 2020, Eka and myself took advantage of a brief break in the interstate travel ban to make a quick escape from the city for the year end. Malaysia had a number of lockdowns throughout the year, when interstate and inter-district travel were both banned then subsequently allowed, and we rejoiced along with the rest of the country when the Movement Control Order was lifted in December, paving the way for a year-end trip. But while a majority of the urban folk made their way to the famed resorts of Langkawi, we opted to disappear into quieter rural areas instead and avoid the risk of getting the virus.
We’ve made it a tradition of ours to do a long autumn tour for almost ten years now, but international borders weren’t open yet at the time as we all know. As an alternative, we needed to do a semi-long tour locally to scratch the travel itch. I’d had a momentary episode of hyperventilating, wide eyed panic one night during the 10km-from-home-essential-travel-only period. Recognising that this anxiety was linked to a fear of being stuck in Kuala Lumpur for years to come, we knew we had to get out.
Our chosen destination for 2020 was Alor Setar, capital of Kedah state that was first founded as Kota Setar in 1785. I’d been there many years ago when my sister was stationed at the archeological dig site at Bujang Valley, and I remember fondly the family road trip we made to visit her there. With the quiet roads going through lush paddy fields, quaint villages and coastal fishing areas, we figured that the interstate route would be great for a bike adventure (and we surely were not disappointed!).
How to get to Kedah
As one of the key pioneers of the Malayan transportation history, the city’s railway station commissioned in 1915 would have been a relaxed six hour train journey away from our home in Kuala Lumpur. But while we are huge proponents of taking our bikes on trains, there would be no fun in simply taking the intercity train there, despite the new carriages being extremely comfortable for long journeys. Already pining for the wide open road, we obviously opted to cycle there instead to see the countryside views and sample the splendid Malaysian food along the way.
The fastest option to get to Alor Setar is a flight if you’re pressed for time, as flying there requires only 3 hours to cover the 400km+ journey from point A to point B (obviously disregarding your travel time to and from the airport, and all the waiting in between). Next up is packing your bikes and driving there yourself, since your travel time will depend largely on your driving speed and whether or not you run into any speed traps or road blocks along the way. This doesn’t seem to happen as often as they used to, so the most you will get is a speeding ticket delivered to your door later on.
There are also many express buses you can take from KL to Alor Setar, which take approximately the same amount of time as the train. It goes without saying that if we did not have the time to cycle up north to Alor Setar, Eka and I would obviously opt for the train, sending our bikes ahead with the KTM Delivery bike forwarding service (full guide coming soon). I tend to get really antsy and claustrophobic on long bus rides and pee breaks can be quite a hassle even with an onboard toilet. The train is definitely more comfortable with a cafe carriage (book your food ahead if you can though) and multiple toilets, plus you can stretch your legs whenever you feel like it.
But wanting to cycle most of the way there, we chose Ipoh as our starting point, allowing us to cross two state lines from there on, cycling through Perak, Penang and finally Kedah itself. We always enjoy seeing how the landscape, people and food change the further out from the city we go during interstate travel. We mapped a route that would take us through Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar and Taiping in Perak, then Butterworth on the mainland side of Penang, and ending the tour in Alor Setar, Kedah.
Why not cycle all the way out from KL, you wonder? We have several reasons for doing this, the biggest one being to avoid junk miles cycling out of the Klang Valley. We’re not purely mileage oriented, and if there is a nicer route accessible via public transport with our bikes we will definitely take it. We’d also cycled through the west coast to Pulau Pangkor several months before the year end trip, and we didn’t want to repeat the same route so soon. After taking several local trips earlier in the year including to Pangkor and Cameron Highlands, we had about a week left for a bike trip, which meant it was perfect for a 4 day tour before a short break to explore Alor Setar, then boarding the KTM train back home to KL.
Our Cycling Tour
On the map
Our route went through central Perak, and continues to the western coastline along Penang, and finished in Kedah.
DAY 1 Ipoh to Kuala Kangsar
Distance 95km
Climbing 550m
Difficulty Easy/Intermediate
After picking up our bikes from the Ipoh KTM Railway Station, we bedded down for the night in the town centre so that we could start our journey bright and early the next day. The ride to Kuala Kangsar would be a long one and possibly the most challenging of the four day tour, so we wanted to be prepared for an early rollout. Joined by our friend Iqbal, we left town via a trunk road before rerouting to a riverside gravel route heading south all the way to Batu Gajah, riding through a range of surfaces including muddy dirt trails, single track, sand, and rough broken tarmac. The route was far from technical though, and coupled with the lack of motorised vehicles we had a good start to the ride. (Note: We retraced this stretch on our 2021 Ipoh - Penang tour and it is possible to enter the riverside gravel path right from the heart of Ipoh town itself).
From there we headed westward before going back up north from Parit, with some really good rolling terrain to give us a challenge the rest of the way. Besides some fairly quiet trunk roads, we also took advantage of the kampung connector inner roads to eventually pop out right behind the Kuala Kangsar old palace.
DAY 2 Kuala Kangsar to Taiping
Distance 55km
Climbing 253m
Difficulty Easy/Intermediate
Following a night in Kuala Kangsar, the day began with a quick meet up with Iqbal’s uncle for a chat in the town square before making a detour to the old Victoria Railway Bridge station. We had a previous visit there during our supported ride weekend when we did the Bota-Parit-Kuala Kangsar loop with our friend Radzi, but wanted a slightly longer look around this time. After a good chicken chop lunch there we crossed the bridge to continue deeper into kampung territory, bidding goodbye to Iqbal who would be heading back solo to Seri Iskandar.
Heading westward along the trunk road we had a pretty big (and less than pleasant) climb at Padang Rengas, a good downhill (if you don’t get stuck behind any slow moving lorries like Eka did), then more kampung areas before turning north again at Changkat Jering. From there, the roads became more rough and the traffic much busier, all the way to Taiping itself. We’d made the smart decision of opting for a hotel overlooking the Taiping Lake Gardens, which was a lovely view to wind down to for the night as we waited for our laundry to dry.
DAY 3 Taiping to Butterworth
Distance 114km
Climbing 135m
Difficulty Easy
Taking a quick loop around the Taiping Lake Gardens was the start of our journey for the day, which would be a northwest route that brought us closer to the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The route featured trunk roads open to the elements, and while predominantly flat we had to endure the searing heat of the midday hours and headwinds once we hit the Kuala Kurau area en route to Tanjung Piandang. Once out of the kampung areas, the journey went through a particular stretch which is fairly remote with no fuel up stops for miles on end, but we had earmarked places to stop for lunch and were never in any danger of being stranded without food or drink. The roads were quiet and the scenery was good all the way crossing into Nibong Tebal in Penang, from which we had to contend with a lot more busy stretches due to the industrial areas surrounding Butterworth. Still, we reached the city safely and had a fantastic nasi kandar dinner before turning in for the night.
DAY 4 Butterworth to Alor Setar
Distance 105km
Climbing 216m
Difficulty Easy
After checking out of our hotel in Butterworth we rode past the Butterworth Air Force Base we made a pitstop at the Robina Beach promenade at Teluk Air Tawar to wave to Penang Island from the distance and enjoy a cold cup of Milo from the local Milo truck that just so happened to be there on the day. We then pressed on along the coast to Kampung Penaga for a roti canai breakfast, before crossing the state border into Kedah and making a quick stop at the Kota Kuala Muda Tsunami Memorial.
At Pantai Merdeka we took the ferry to Tanjung Dawai, having a cheap but satisfying lunch at a random stall by the roadside out of the small ferry terminal. From there we rolled through pretty flat terrain until we hit Yan and had to ride around the base of Gunung Jerai in a route similar to our previous gran fondo day ride around the Jerai area. After a couple of double digit rolling climbs that took the breath out of both of us, we peeled out to smaller kampung roads that were once again blissfully flat, riding through yet more kampungs and paddy fields all the way to Alor Setar.
Pekan Cina, Alor Setar
Pekan Cina and its neighbouring Pekan Melayu (‘pekan’ = ‘town’) were our main focus points for the end of the tour, both being historical areas with a rich past that intertwined wonderfully with each other. Quaint and embodying Old Malaya vibes, many parties have suggested that the two be combined into a larger, united area renamed Pekan Muhibbah instead, due to the close relationships between the Malay and Chinese on both sides. Say what you want about the race based policies of Malaysia, but at the core the people are still somewhat beautifully colour blind.
We found a lovely little boutique hotel on the Chinese side of things and opted to stay there for a brief spell before we had to head back down to the city. 38pc Boutique Hotel appears to be the first boutique hotel in the historical quarter of Alor Setar, a pre-war heritage shop house converted tastefully into what they call warehouse-chic accommodation. With easy access from the river, Pekan Cina was the main jetty for ships to dock for business in the 1920s. This is widely believed to be the spot that marks the early beginnings of the town, and 38pc Boutique Hotel is right in the middle of this area.
After a well deserved rest we met up with our friends Imran and Fiona who arrived the next day, enjoying a nice local lunch of nasi lemak royale, which is often confused with your generic nasi lemak available in other parts of Malaysia. The Kedah version is however closer to nasi minyak in taste and texture, while the accompanying curries and other condiments are closer to nasi kandar than anything else. You can get this back in KL if you know where to hunt for it, but being in Alor Setar we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to sample the food at the original shop.
After our friends settled into their accommodation, we set about prepping to explore the area surrounding the old town as well as heading further out. Being the capital of the “rice bowl of Malaysia”, many parts outside of the main city and residential areas are obviously still agricultural land, and in Kedah that means paddy fields, of course. We were keen to catch sunset from among the dirt trails of the paddy fields, before heading to Kuala Kedah for dinner. Aside from being a terminus for ferries to Langkawi Island, the location is also a fishing port and home to some really good seafood.
After some quiet R&R we were finally ready to head back home to the busy capital city of Kuala Lumpur, not knowing then that a week later travel bans would be announced yet again. As we settled back into the mundane routine of lockdown life and tackled what appeared to be covid19 infections, we were infinitely glad that we’d chosen to do our bike tour to and through remote and rural areas. We definitely haven’t seen the last of Kedah and the rest of the northern region. Especially now that the covid19 pandemic is over!
If you liked this tour write up, consider giving these other tours a read too:
Cycling Malaysia’s West Coast from Klang to Pangkor Island
Cycling Malaysia’s East Coast, Kelantan to Terengganu
Cycling Butterworth to Langkawi
We also have a number of international tours if you’re looking for ideas to travel abroad:
Cycling Spain’s Andalucia 2017
Cycling Taiwan’s East Rift Valley, Jiufen and Houtong 2019
Cycling Seoul to Busan, South Korea 2019
Cycling Shikoku, Japan 2.0 2022
Cycling Northeast Taiwan 2023
