Cycling Malaysia’s Northern States to Langkawi - Part 1: Butterworth to Alor Setar
Kedah state is known as the rice bowl of Malaysia, but the country’s northern region as a whole remains an agricultural stronghold. Vast paddy fields that stretch as far as the eye can see to the horizon coupled with quaint traditional villages, quiet roads and fantastic food make Kedah, Perlis, Penang and Kelantan a cycling tourer’s paradise.
When the end of 2022 rolled around, Eka and myself had yet another urge to travel again, despite having just come back from our second autumn tour of Shikoku, Japan and settled back into daily life in Malaysia. We often struggle with post tour depression, and this year it was particularly bad. Whether it was related to the end of the two-year plus pandemic I can’t say, but we definitely needed a December tour, even if it was a local one. Considering the east coast is always hit by severe thunderstorms and flooding at the end of the year, the northwest corner of Malaysia is always a better bet as the weather is more stable there. In 2020 we toured from Ipoh up to Alor Setar, while in 2021 we also started in Ipoh but rode to Penang Island instead.
This year, Langkawi Island came up as a destination yet again, despite us already flying into the island for a short celebration of state borders opening up in 2021.
OUR LANGKAWI TOUR ITINERARY
For many years we’d always returned to Langkawi in December, particularly since it is Eka’s birthday month. But we wanted to do more than just fly in like we did with our friends last year, opting to ride there instead. A short tour would do the job of scratching the itch to be on the road again, while some chill time in Langkawi at the end was a nice carrot to dangle for ourselves. Despite all the development and changes that we have seen in Langkawi over the years, the island still retains its rustic feel and rural charm, giving the whole island a bit of a kampung feel even today. In fact, a bike tour to Langkawi could very well be an annual trip from now on, as there are many possible variations of the journey.
Day 1: Penang arrival and Georgetown quickie
Day 2: Stage 1 Butterworth to Alor Setar - 102km, elevation 229m
Day 3: Relax in Alor Setar
Day 4: Stage 2 Alor Setar - 80km, elevation 114m
Day 5: Explore Kangar - 84km, elevation 451m
Day 6: Stage 3 - Kuala Perlis to Langkawi 73km (includes 40km ferry journey), elevation 99m
Day 7: Rest day
Day 8: Explore Langkawi - 63km, elevation 204m
Day 9: Rest day
Day 10: Return to KL
But as we were planning, we remembered we had already ridden up north via the west coast on different tours. We followed the Selangor to Lumut, Perak route once in our Pangkor 2020 tour, and a slightly different route in our Pangkor 2021 tour. We rode from Ipoh to Alor Setar in 2020, and from Ipoh to Penang Island in 2021. We had also ridden through central Perak on our Kuala Kangsar loop weekend bike trip. Because of this, we wanted our Langkawi tour to start and focus up north instead. The idea was to have more time to see Kedah, and also to incorporate Perlis into the trip this time around. While Kelantan is also in the northern region, we had to save a visit for another tour, considering the east coast would be affected by monsoon weather. We did also visit Kelantan recently during our Kelantan to Terengganu east coast tour in the middle of the year, so we felt it wasn’t a big loss to give it a miss this time around.
How to get to Penang with a bike
If you have been following Eka and myself on instagram, you will know that we have been huge fans of forwarding our bikes to our starting point whenever we can. This means we cut out junk miles and have a nice and relaxing train journey before the tour begins well outside Kuala Lumpur, where we live. We used the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Delivery or KTMD service to send our bikes ahead to Ipoh in both our Alor Setar and Penang Island tours in the last two years, but sadly the service has been discontinued.
Can you bring bikes on trains in malaysia?
Yes and no. Only urban rail services allow this and there are terms and conditions attached. I will post a write up dissecting bikes on trains once I gather the relevant information (this changes from time to time as well), but suffice to say that heading out of state is only possible on the KTM Komuter line. KTM Intercity and ETS trains do not allow bikes onboard even if packed in rinko bags, which meant we couldn’t take the train with our bikes in addition to forwarding our bikes ahead and taking the train anymore. So while we await news of KTMB’s (the parent company) ‘restructuring’, there is unfortunately no option to forward our bikes ahead up north via the train line.
Can you send bikes in malaysia with forwarding service?
Yes. The generic postal service called Pos Malaysia has a motorbike forwarding option, while there are many other shippers that can post your bikes for you to your end point. This is easier as it can be sent to an address rather than the train station like with KTMD. The only problem is we aren’t entirely sure whether bikes can be sent whole, it may have to be packed into a box or a bike case or at least shrink wrapped beyond recognition. Possibly. I can’t say for sure since we haven’t exactly used this option to ship our bikes ahead We could have posted our bikes up north in their suitcases using a courier or postal service in the Ritchey Break-away suitcases, but we’d then have to send the suitcases over to Langkawi from there too, which would be too much hassle throughout our journey.
I can however confirm at this point that Ritchey Break-Away cases will make it onto the ETS, which we have already tested coming back into KL from up north. The cases are barely bigger than a 700c wheel, and is visually a bike bag incognito, so no one ever questions what is inside. KTM train staff even assisted me when alighting from the train upon arrival in KL, wordlessly taking the handle and placing it gently on the platform after seeing me struggle with it. He gave an absentminded nod of acknowledgement when I thanked him for the help, indicating he held no suspicion over the contents of the case.
Your other option for non Ritchey Break-Away bikes could be the Post Carry case, which is similar in size to its Ritchey counterpart. We have not tested it properly on the train though, so do keep in mind that we’re not entirely sure if it can be taken onboard. As far as we know, there are no restrictions in terms of baggage size on KTMB trains.
Can you bring bikes into buses in malaysia?
Yes and no. Only some buses will allow bikes onboard. Without the KTMD bike forwarding service, the best option - for now anyway - is to hop into an express bus with our bikes stashed into the cargo space underneath. This isn’t my ideal choice because I generally hate taking the bus, but I suppose some sacrifices have to be made while KTMD sorts their internal stuff out (this is unlikely to happen since KTMD was not profitable, so we’re not holding our breath waiting). Call the bus company ahead and find out if bikes are allowed in the cargo, as some bus companies don’t allow it while some buses don’t actually have the space for it.
Chances are you’re allowed to bring it onboard for a fee, provided the bus is not a double decker bus with passenger seating in the lower level. Look for the buses with pure cargo space underneath, as these often can accommodate your bike in full without any disassembly. There have been cases where you can bring your bike onto a double decker bus if it is empty, but this would depend on the bus driver’s personal discretion. Rates are only standardised for bus companies that do motorcycle forwarding, while the others will leave it up to the driver and his/her co-pilot to set the fee.
HOw to get to penang island by bike?
To get to Penang Island by bike it is pretty easy once you’re on the Butterworth side, because all you need to do is head to the ferry terminal. The Penang roll on - roll off (roro) ferry is a service that has been running since the 1920s and is the oldest ferry services in Malaysia, but they do not allow cars onboard anymore considering there are two bridges that connect the island to the mainland side. The roro ferry is now reserved for motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians, which is great for commuters who cross over on a daily basis. This is particularly great for cyclists since we aren’t actually allowed to cycle on the two bridges.
Note: The Penang roro ferry service has just been reinstated (as of August 2023) after some upgrading, but we haven’t had the chance to try it out yet. From what we’ve seen, they’ve incorporated passenger seating into the roro ferry, making it a more efficient journey in general since different commuters take the same ferry together. The ferries appear to still be clean and shiny at the moment, and bear a resemblance to the ferries in Japan that we took to get around the islands.
Can you ride a bike on the penang bridge?
Unfortunately not. Both the first Penang Bridge and the Second Penang Bridge are tolled bridges that are part of highways run by PLUS Expressways Berhad, which generally does not allow bicycles to ride on any of its highways. Another option besides the roro ferry would be to take a grab/taxi to cross either bridge into the island. Standard issues with putting bikes in cars apply of course, unless you choose the Lalamove hack of piling into a big commercial van meant to transport big items or retail goods. You could even hop on a bus that goes to the island itself, but the problem of whether they will allow the bike onboard also applies unless you find an express bus with cargo space underneath the general passenger seating. Intercity buses are less likely to have this - I’ve never seen such a vehicle myself.
STAGE 1: Butterworth to Alor Setar
Start Butterworth
Finish Alor Setar
Distance 102km
Climbing 229m
Grade Medium
Our tour began early morning in Butterworth, where we stayed for one night at the very unassuming Aikka Hotel, a hotel listed under the Oyo Hotel chain. So named after the Aikka brand of car paint, the old hotel was restored by the paint distributor, having bought over the building to set up a ground floor showroom. We’ve stayed at two other hotels in Butterworth before heading up north on tour, and while it isn’t the fanciest, Aikka Hotel seems to be the most quiet one and allowed us to rest properly before setting off on our journey. It is also fairly near to the Butterworth KTM station, Penang Sentral station and the adjoining Butterworth ferry terminal.
Riding out of Butterworth is a straighforward affair, and we were soon out of the town areas and passing through villages with paddy fields on either side. Our route followed a rough path north that mirrored the coastline though stayed off it for the most part. We found breakfast in Kota Kuala Muda, where some crispy roti canai and roti bom was followed by ticking off some of the local sights from our checklist. We had been wanting to do a bit more exploration in the Kuala Muda area, since our last ride through there didn’t afford us much time to linger. First up was the old gates to the town, which used to be the seat of power for the Kedah Sultanate and an important trading post for tin and spices.
Afterwards we made a quick stop at the old British pillbox nearby, which has been somewhat left forgotten like the old gates. We then went to see the Tsunami Memorial again, an art installation made out of 26 boats in their original state of damage after the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004. 10 villages were wiped out by the disaster, and at least 45 villagers died in Kota Kuala Muda that day, and the memorial holds some pretty disturbing photos of the carnage. After that was a visit to the Pasar Bisik, a fish market where the catch of the day is auctioned off to the highest bid whispered to the fisherman. Once a single establishment that was also destroyed by the tsunami, there are now two of these markets on either side of the river.
After more riding through villages and paddy fields, we cooled down while sitting down to a lunch of seafood noodles at Pantai Merdeka. We were not merely passing by the beach; it was a calculated stop that was part of our route heading up to Alor Setar in 2020. We technically didn’t need to take the boat to ferry us and our bikes across to Tanjung Dawai, but this would effectively cut 30km out of an already long journey. This was followed by the rolling climbs around the base of Gunung Jerai, where some double digit gradients will knock the wind out of you. Once that was done it was pretty much flat roads all the way; we continued riding as the sun bathed the paddy fields in a warm glow as it disappeared over the horizon and darkness fell.
Our decision to cut the journey short with the boat ride turned out to be a wise choice, as eka picked up a sidewall puncture that delayed us a fair bit. Since the hotel allowed us the option of doing a self check in we were not rushing by any means, and had the option to eat dinner at a roadside stall which turned out to be pretty decent Thai style seafood and rice. After that we took the main roads heading into Alor Setar instead of the dark dirt trails we did the last time around, and while there was a fair bit of traffic we got into town without any issues and checked into 38pc Hotel in Pekan Cina for a night of well deserved rest.
Once in Alor Setar we took the opportunity to relax for a day, spending a second night there before continuing on our journey. Do continue to part 2 of our tour, where we ride from Alor Setar, Kedah to Mata Ayer, Perlis.
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
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
