Seeking pleasure differently in Karimun

After peaceful Kundur, arriving in bustling Karimun was extremely unnerving. Read busy traffic, pushy touts, constant blaring from numerous Birds' Nest concrete farms and narrow roads. Prices generally were also 20% higher. As the main attraction here is cheap "love", Tanjong Balai attracts nearly 200,000 Singapore and Malaysian men annually. This explains the vibrancy of the economy exemplified by the presence of luxury cars and fancy hotels.
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Even on a weekday, Chris' usual haunt The Paragon Hotel was booked out and his Indon friend pointed us to the new glitzy 4 star Maximillian Hotel, supposedly the Grand Hyatt equivalent. It was a most impressive hotel but double the price of our previous night's stay and half the size. Their excellent bike friendly attitude clinced the deal. We were allowed to park at the lobby, attacting many curious stares. It helped that our folded bikes took very little space.

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It seemed that almost everyone had a cigarette in one hand, and a young *Amoy on the other. Pimps would hang out at the smoke-filled restaurant while waiting for their girls and certainly, it was brisk business. The activists were also hard at work as evidenced by a large sexy poster in our hotel room closet warning against HIV infection.

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If you can overlook the sleazy veneer, Karimun has plenty of historical buildings and character to explore. Some shophouses as early as the 1920s are still standing. Early developments were chiefly because of its strategic location, even arguably better than Singapore. Col William Farquhar once considered Karimun over Singapore as its main trading post. He wrote in early 1800s, "The Carimon Islands appeared to me, from their situation in the direct tract of all ships passing up and down the Straits, to be the most eligible situation."

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But Raffles thought otherwise and the Anglo Dutch Treaty of 1824 changed its destiny forever. History aside, Tanjong Balai offers plenty of restaurants from Nasi Padang to seafood, as well as hawker fare. We found a most praiseworthy Carrot Cake stall at the Pasar Malam. Shopping too isn't bad with the widest range of keropok for sale - cheap and good.

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As a cycling destination, Karimun has its plus points too. Gunung Jantan where there is a beautiful waterfall attracts many mountain bikers. The scenic coast littered with wrecks make for excellent photography. However unlike Kundur, there are plenty of short but steep hills which can really leave you winded. At least I was!

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The weekend romeos and us shared the same goal at Karimun - we both seeked pleasure. They with their short-time made up birds and we with our faithful adventure-scarred steeds. But the smoke, sleaze and money-grabbing immigration officials are major obstacles to a return trip anytime soon, and that is a shame.

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Chris Wee's excellent account on the trip in the famed Crazyguyonabike: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=68496&v=6I

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*Amoy - a place in Southern China whose language is associated to Hokkien. This word is used to mean working girls in the Riau today among the locals. Interesting to see the historical connections kept alive through linguistics.