{"id":1632,"date":"2010-02-28T04:46:38","date_gmt":"2010-02-28T09:46:38","guid":{"rendered":"\/?p=1632"},"modified":"2010-02-28T12:07:18","modified_gmt":"2010-02-28T17:07:18","slug":"the-temple-of-intoxicated-pit-vipers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiawheeling.com\/?p=1632","title":{"rendered":"The Temple of Intoxicated Pit Vipers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

Our third morning at the Hutton Lodge began with us packing up our belongings and stashing them in the staff room at the hotel. Our mission for the day was to wheel south toward a much discussed snake temple.<\/p>\n

It was, rumor told, filled with pit vipers that had come to the temple of their own accord (tired of the monotony of life in the jungle perhaps), where they were promptly sedated by a Chinese monk by the name of Chor Soo Kong, using a special blend of incense rumored to turn the deadly poisonous vipers into docile wall ornaments. \u00a0We pictured a darkened room billowing with clouds of\u00a0fragrant\u00a0and intoxicating smoke. \u00a0On the cold, clay ground, we envisioned gigantic pit vipers, their bodies arching and slowly writhing as if entranced by the burning herbs. \u00a0Get too close, we thought, and they may spit\u00a0poison\u00a0into our eyes and strike with\u00a0vicious\u00a0fury. \u00a0Sounded like the kind of place that might make a good waypoint, so off we went, wheeling hard southward.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We made our way down the coast, where we were soon able to leave the highway, and ride on a delightful wooded side-path, which snaked in between the highway and the straits of Malacca.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Our ride took us past a number of strange settlements and construction projects. When the hunger hit, we found ourselves outside a rather posh looking mall in a suburban district, and made our way inside to find sustenance.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We wandered the mall, looking for food, and spending quite a bit of time in a dried snacks shop, where I had the great misfortune of sampling a salted prune that rang throughout my mouth with a most vile flavor that refused dilution no matter how much water I drank.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

An overpriced, but thankfully large meal of chicken and rice, and a cup of Joe at the local Old Town White Coffee<\/a> shop later, we were back on the cycles with renewed energy on our mission for the snake temple.<\/p>\n

We stopped at a large Chinese temple, which proved not to contain any snakes. Rather, we found an old man inside who directed us in half-words of English toward the water. He assured us that our destination was “na fa.” And though we were almost certain that we had completely failed in communicating anything to him about the snake temple, we decided it would not hurt to follow his vehement gesticulations in the direction of the sea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were glad we did, since, though there was no snake temple to be found, there was a large fishing dock, where men unloaded piles of glistening fish and a fellow was operating a strange garbage transport vehicle, which emitted plumes of blue smoke as it grunted up 45 degree inclines.<\/p>\n