VIDEO DESCRIPTION:
Welcome back to Planet Doug!
In this video, I’m doing something a bit different—giving you a simple life update as I transition between two very different worlds. The time has come to check out of the Royale Chulan Hotel in Seremban, where a generous Planet Doug subscriber treated me to a stay in luxury. It was hard to leave, so I timed my checkout to the very last minute!
Join me as I pack up, say goodbye to the beautiful room, and head across town to check into my usual habitat: a low-budget OYO hotel. It’s a big contrast from the Royale Chulan, but as a traveler who started backpacking in Southeast Asia back in the Lonely Planet days, this budget spot actually feels like luxury with its private bathroom and A/C.
Along the way, I chat with the hotel staff about my cycling journey around Malaysia, pick up my trusty bike from storage, and share some thoughts on a book that has been on my mind lately: The Grapes of Wrath. I talk about how the character Al Joad became attuned to his vehicle—a mindset I try to apply to my bicycle to avoid mechanical issues on the road.
In this video:
Sad to leave the Royale Chulan
Checking out and chatting with the staff
Getting the bike and hitting the road
My thoughts on The Grapes of Wrath and staying attuned to your vehicle
Arriving at the budget hotel
A surprise connection to my previous hotel in Port Dickson
First look at the room and final thoughts
Now that I’m settled back into the low-budget life, I’m getting ready to continue the bicycle tour. Tomorrow’s plan is to ride to Kuala Pilah, a historic town about 35km away.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT:
I knew the day and the time would come, but still very sad. I have 5 minutes left in this room. 5 minutes until checkout, my lap of luxury at the Royale Chulan Hotel in Seremban. And what I decided to do at the last minute was avoid the second day of heavy Raya traffic by staying one more night in Seremban. But what I did, very tricky, I booked a room at a low-budget hotel in the city. I’m going to be riding my bike there in five minutes. And the idea is by staying one more night in Seremban, I could relax all day yesterday, all day last night in this hotel, and then enjoy this room right up until noon checkout time. Have really enjoyed my breakfast, which I did this morning. And then I can check out exactly at noon, ride across the city, check into my low-budget hotel for one night, get a nice contrast going there, and then continue cycling tomorrow. So I maximize time in this hotel and then time in the other one and continue my Planet Doug life. Anyway, minutes are ticking by and I have to get out of the room and check out. But yeah, one last look where my home has been for the last little while. Beautiful, beautiful room. View of Seremban out there. Another gorgeous day. And so let’s get out there. Timing it to the absolute last minute. Out the door.
Morning. Checking out. Yeah, check out the way. Oh. Oh, maybe room for one more.
So, Douglas. Yes. How are you today? I’m pretty good. Sad to leave, but I have no choice. My last night was last night. Can you check me out? Where? Over here. Okay. 414. 414.
Douglas. Mhm. Over here. Can you help me have a sign with you first? Okay. It will be 100. Okay. Thank you very much. And the cards there. And thank you. So now you’re heading to um I’m heading to Kuala Pilah. Oh. And then continue cycling to the north. Terengganu, just around Malaysia. All right. If my legs can do it, I’m not sure anymore. I’m getting too old. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks again.
Down in the lobby. Check out was very smooth. They just had to do a lot of tippy tapping on the computer. It’s more complicated checking in and checking out of a fancy hotel than a low-budget one. But yeah, 100 ringgit deposit to stay here. And I got the 100 ringgit back. And now I just have to get my bike out of their storage room. And I ride 2 kilometers across town to get to an OYO hotel. I’m a little bit nervous about that, the fact that it’s OYO branded, but in Malaysia, I’ve had some good luck with Oyo hotels. So, we’ll see how it goes.
There it is. That’s my bike. All right. I take this off first. No flat tires, so that’s good. Okay.
I’m from Canada. Canada. Yeah, Canada. Just doing a little bicycle tour around Malaysia. Oh, that’s good.
Thank you.
And here it is. It feels like I’ve been missing the bike for a long time cuz I didn’t go out at all yesterday on the bike. So Oh, go here. Anyway, thank you very much. And then I go to Kuala Pilah. Kuala Pilah. Oh, be careful because the jam there, you know. Yeah. That’s why today I don’t think I will go today. Too many cars. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just riding around Malaysia. Yeah. Bicycle tour. So that’s the plan. You set the route. Oh yeah. It’s easy to do. Yeah. These days Google Maps and so it’s so easy to do. Yeah. Not like the old days. So yeah. So during a journey uh everything okay smooth? Yeah. I mean sometimes well yeah it’s pretty difficult in Malaysia actually. The traffic is difficult. It’s hot. Rain. Mainly the traffic is the biggest problem. There’s so many cars here. Yeah, it’s probably the biggest problem. And the heat. Yeah, Canada is nice and cold. You’re from Canada? Yeah, I’m from Canada. So, the heat of Malaysia is a real struggle for me. Yeah. Yeah. And I had some trouble with my bicycle. It was breaking. That’s why I came to Seremban. It’s a new tire. Yeah. Yeah, it’s brand new tire, but I went to a bicycle shop in Seremban and they fixed everything. So hopefully today is good. Open is open today. Not today. No, I think they’re closed, but yeah, it’s all done. So, all right. Thank you. I’ll come back in and get my other bags.
I filled up all three of my water bottles.
Are you all set to go. Thank you. I’ll try.
Leaving from the Royale Chulan. And the last time I did this on my bike, I couldn’t ride it because the chain had I thought it had broken, but really the master link had just come loose and fallen off. And then I lost half the master link. But I wasn’t sure if the chain had been damaged or not. So yesterday or the day before yesterday, I went back to the bicycle shop and I got the shop mechanics to look at my chain, make sure it’s okay, and then I happen to have extra master links. And so we put on a new master link and it’s been a long time since I’d done anything with a master link. I may never have actually removed one myself. I knew how they worked in a theoretical way, but I don’t think I’d ever dismantled the master link before myself. Anyway, I made sure to watch him carefully and ask questions so then I’m confident if it happens again because he told me something I didn’t realize. He said that yeah, with an N-speed chain, the master links are always quite loose. At least that’s what he told me. Other drivetrains, the master links are tighter, but he said no. With an N-speed, it actually feels quite loose. You don’t even need tools. So maybe because it’s so loose, it ended up just coming loose and falling off. I’m not sure.
Anyway, I’m keeping a close eye on my whole bike right now, listening for any pinging sounds meaning the spokes are breaking or rattling sounds from the derailleur or from the chain or anything at all squeaking from the brakes.
I’ve mentioned the book Zen in the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance a few times lately in my videos and that’s because there are just a few books in my life that made a big impression on me. Like a big enough impression that I’m always thinking about them and remembering certain passages and characters and moments and Zen and the Art of is one of those books. But just this morning, I was thinking of another one. If I had to add to that list, might be John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath because I remember I mean it’s a story of a family in the United States during the Dust Bowl, the Joad family, I think during the Great Depression, and they had to leave their farm just to survive. And they all piled into the old car and had to travel across the United States to find a new place to live, a new way to earn money. And I remember that one member of the family, I think it was Al, he became essential to their survival because he was the one who knew how to keep the car running and he really came into his own as a mechanic. And there were passages about how as he was driving the car, he would be attuned to the car, he would listen like every sound coming out of the car, listening for any kind of a mechanical problem developing. He could feel vibrations just sitting in this seat holding on to this steering wheel. And if he feels a rattle or a vibration or smelling, all of his senses were attuned to the car, listening, feeling, smelling just so that he could be aware of any mechanical problems before they become serious. And I often think about that like when you’re riding a bicycle or a scooter and you’re just constantly monitoring what’s going on, you know, listening for any sounds that are out of the ordinary.
Just have to double check the name of the hotel. I think there are a couple of OYO hotels around here. Oh yeah, that’s it right there. I’m already here. Royals Star Hotel and I’m here way too early for a check-in. It’s one of these low-budget hotels. When you look at the reviews, you can see two different types of reviews. There are people who know it’s a low-budget hotel and then when the room is kind of dirty and things are kind of broken and this and that and they all go, “Yeah, it’s fine. It’s a low-budget hotel.” But there are other people who don’t really know about low-budget hotels and they book this place thinking it’ll be like a four-star a cheap place but you know really good value and then they complain and complain and complain in their reviews and they talk about how awful a hotel it is. So, I think it really comes down to your expectations and probably which room you get.
Good morning. How are you? Oh.
Oh yeah, I know I’m early, but I booked a room for tonight. Tonight? What name? Douglas. Nice.
But extra charge, huh? Extra charge. What kind of charge? 12:00. Just want to check in. You now check in. You want to pay money? Um, I don’t know. Um, how much is it? Uh, 30 ringgit. 30 ringgit. I might just wait, you know. I can just hang out. Wait. Yeah, I know it’s early. Um, yeah, it’s an hour and a half. I can get coffee or something if I can leave my bags here. Okay. Okay. Yeah. After 12:00, 2:00 you Oh, then check in at that time. Okay, that’s great. No problem. Yeah. Canada. From Canada. Yeah. From Canada. Yeah. Yeah. Just a cycling holiday. I have my bicycle here.
Bicycle. Okay. I’ll just put it over here. Yeah. From come back. Yeah. From Port Dickson. Yeah. You stay in Gemilang Star. I did. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s also your hotel. Oh, it’s also your hotel. Oh, okay. Yeah, I had a really good experience there. Yeah, I stayed there a long time. Oh, yeah. I was getting Come, come. Hm. Go inside. Oh, okay. Yeah.
What a surprise. I don’t know how much of that was caught on video, but they knew of me by reputation because they also own the Gemilang Star Hotel in Port Dickson. So, the hotel where I was staying in Port Dickson, this hotel is connected to that one. The same family ownership, I guess. So, when I first came in and they said, “Well, it’s a bit early. If you want to check in now before 2, it’s an extra 30 ringgit.” And I said, “Well, I’ll just wait.” cuz it was an hour and a half and no point like doubling nearly doubling the price of your room if you’re trying to go low budget. Um but then they kind of looked at me and oh bicycle oh you’re the guy that was staying at the g and then they waved the fee and said oh yeah you can you can go into your room now you’re a very good customer for us. So anyway, here we are. And um I’m down on the first floor, so that makes it easier to roll my trailer in and out, which is nice. Air conditioning up there, bed down there, and yeah, little bathroom here. Perfectly fine. Perfectly fine on a first glance. Even have a full-size mirror. Anyway, I’ve got to go get my trailer. All settled in. Well, that was very, very quick. Checked out at like 11:59. I checked out at the Royale Chulan. And then here I’m already unpacked and settled in my new Planet Doug Studios and it’s 5 after 1 and I’ve already taken a shower. I’ve already boiled a pot of water for a cup of coffee and I have basically unpacked and spread my gear out around the room. So yeah, quite an experience going from luxury to basic. Um I mean I wouldn’t call this hardship at all. I’ve talked about this in the past. I mean, when you go all the way back to original backpacking days when, you know, the original backpackers were wandering around Southeast Asia using their Lonely Planet guide books. I mean, they were looking for hotels, hostels, dorm rooms for a dollar a night, $2, $5. And back in those days, a room like this would have been considered luxury because I have my own bathroom. Like back in those days, it was all shared bathroom down the hall and fan only. But I mean, this room has a big double queen-sized bed, air conditioning up there. I’ve got a TV on the wall, hot water shower, private bathroom. I mean, this is actually luxury compared to the old days. So, yeah, nothing to complain about. But of course, going from someplace like where I just was to here, that is a very big change, you know, especially in space, you just don’t have nearly as much room. And of course, the facilities and on and on and on. There’s really no comparison in terms of what you get, but of course, that hotel is a lot more expensive than this one. Anyway, so I’m all settled in. I’m going to enjoy my first cup of coffee. And mentally and physically, what I’m doing is getting ready for tomorrow. It’s not a big cycling day. I mentioned that other YouTuber cyclist Spencer, he would laugh at my plans because he would set off to do 150 km and think nothing of it. My plan is to go to Kuala Pilah, which I think is about 35 kilometers away, but there’s like a very beautiful winding road. I’m hoping it’s not too mountainous, but yeah, I’m going to relax and leave early in the morning if I can manage it and set off to go to Kuala Pilah. I may even spend two nights there cuz I think it’s quite an interesting historic town. We’ll see how things go. But yeah, I’m just going to relax and focus on the cycling for tomorrow. Getting ready for that.