Changi bumboat and bike to Ramunia Beach Malaysia

We woke early for a delicious breakfast at the hotel before heading across the road to the ferry terminal with kids and gear in tow.  We had to wait for a few hours at the terminal for the ferry to show up- the wait would have been trying were it not for a chance meeting with a lovely Malaysian family who were travelling in the same direction.  We all got along splendidly and committed to meeting up once across the border.

The bumboat ride was interesting, though our ears were ringing from the unmuffled diesel after the hour long trip.  Thankfully, nobody got wet and Marks fears about losing the bikes overboard were unfounded.

Arriving in Malaysia mid afternoon we were surprised to find no one at immigration, indeed there was almost nobody around with the exception of some ladies who formed a curious circle around us while we got ourselves organized.  We saddled up and rode into Malaysia proper... Until it occurred to us fifty meters down the road that awkward questions might be asked in five weeks when we attempted to leave the country without entry stamps in our passports.  So back we went to have a more thorough search for the elusive officials, who it soon turned out had been holed up in a back room we had unknowingly walked right past.

Passports stamped we headed out again, and 15 minutes into the ride with both kids napping soundly in the chariot we both had a great sense of "this is what we came here for". The pedals felt light underfoot as we cruised along a very well maintained road bordered by palm trees a scant few meters from the sea.

25km and many interesting sights later, with the sun just dropping below the horizon, we breathed a collective sigh of relief as we arrived at the Ramunia cabins kindly recommended by our friends at the ferry terminal.  It took us only minutes to stash our gear in the little cabin on stilts before we all jumped into the calm warm waters of the south China sea with a full moon above us.  Welcome to Malaysia!