Goin' For a Ride...sort of.

[Digger]

G'Day Slackers,
I'm leaving for another cycle tour of South East Asia...I'll start in Singapore, cross into Malaysia, travel up the West Coast, enter Thailand and get as far as Phuket. From there it is a little hazy...not sure after that.


I'll be on my own for this journey...Trev had knee surgery recently and is not up to it.

I leave for Singapore on Saturday 16 January and will hit the road from Monday 18th. SPOT link is here;
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa

Here is the link from a trip done in 2015 (with some happy snaps);
http://forum.bmwmccwa.asn.au/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2182

and a video of that same trip;
https://youtu.be/PvlXosCouGo

I wanna be back in Australia in time for the desert riding season...so much to do; so little time.

You know what to do...

[Cookie]

Hello Digger

You are a busy man, no wonder you don't have time for work :):)

Have a great trip and we look forward to seeing the footage when you return

[Digger]

G'Day Slackers,
So far, so good. I left Perth a day later than anticipated because of works being done to the runways which did not go according to plan. Finally arrived in Singapore a day later and assembled the bike and trailer at the airport and rode the 36 km to the Hostel...it should've only been 25 km but hey, what an I say, I took a couple of wrong turns along the way.
The following day a lay day with a little bit of sightseeing (I've been a tourist to Singapore a couple of years ago). I left on the Tuesday and successfully crossed the border into Malaysia. The first day was bigger than I had hoped...rode 100km to the town of Pontian on the west coast of Malaysia and it was difficult to get into a rhythm. City traffic, stop/start, thunderstorms, delays while trying to source a local SIM card in Malaysia and then to top it off I had a puncture just prior to pulling up for the day.

Still, I guess that's what I signed up for. A better day today only covering 80km and I have a couple of 'easy' days coming up with only 50km each.


It rained within minutes of landing at the airport and 'persisted down' for about 30minutes...just a typical tropical thunderstorm that will continue for a little while yet. I found a discreet corner of the airport to assemble the bike and trailer.

[Digger]

I did a bit of sightseeing the following day...that coloured stand in the background are the spectator stands fortheGrand Prix which uses local roads around the city and around the Marina.

[Digger]

I pulled over for a 'drinks break' on the first day after entering Malaysia and it suddenly started bucketing down. It happens with no notice and persisted for about half an hour. I think it is inevitable that I will get a wet arse but I am trying to delay it for as long as possible.


I have not had a lot of luck in the last 12 months but I'm getting good at repairing punctures on the fly.


Today's (Wednesday) effort from Pontian to Batu Pahat. I am travelling up the west coast cause the east coast has a different weather system which includes much heavier monsoonal rains at thistimeof year.

SPOT Llnk.
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa

Get back to work...

[BillB]

Great stuff Steve,sounds like another Digger adventure is about to unfold for us mere mortals to follow, back home locked into the dreaded work requirements.
Stay safe mate

[goodguy]

Living it to the full there Steve, I spent a fair amount of time at Butterworth years ago, do like Malaysia, though the jungle unfortunately is rapidly being replaced with palmoil...An evening Tiger beer in a campong...yea.

[Robbo]

How are you going Steve? It looks fantastic, has the rain is eased off yet?
Robbo.

[Digger]

How are you going Steve? It looks fantastic, has the rain is eased off yet?
Robbo.

I expected rain each day cause I am so close to the equator...by coincidence it hasn't rained the last four days other than a brief downpour late this afternoon (Sunday). I'm hoping it stays dry for most of the journey. Last year, I didn't see a drop of rain in the 2 months that I was on the road.

[Digger]

G'Day Slackers, Happy Australia Day from Malaysia.
Been on the road for one week now and other than the normal things you would expect on a journey like this, everything is going along swimmingly.




I spent a couple of days in Melacca/Melaka just bein' a tourist. It is a UNESCO Heritage listed city and gets a lot of day trippers from KL which is a couple of hours away by car. It has been controlled by the Porteguese, the Dutch and the Poms over hundreds of years until Independence. It was important as a trading port so it was fought for many times. This photo is of the church in the 'Dutch Centre' of town.




There is a lot of history here as you would expect...this is the original cathedral built by the Portuguese dating back to the 15th century.

[Digger]

Sometimes, my navigational choices pay dividends; sometimes not. I try and avoid the busier roads if I can. This track lead me nowhere and so I had to backtrack to highway 5. This track was just access to farmland and paddy fields.



Some of the road conditions are good (as in this case) but not always. Here there was a wide shoulder (motorcycle lane) with little or no traffic. Other times there is no shoulder and heavy vehicles buzzing past at 80kph. This view is mostly banana and palm oil plantations.

[Digger]

Riding into Klang (think 'Fremantle' only larger) I had to hug the shoulder cause of the volume of traffic. I hate the shoulder...debris, glass, rubble, stones and in this case a Phillips head screw. While changing the tube I noticed a broken spoke. Probably as a result of a crappy track earlier in the day. The tyres are new...road slicks. Probably not the best choice for this trip. I bought a spare tyre earlier in the trip 'just in case'.
One bonus...I didn't have to search for the hole.



My new best friend. The first bike shop I stopped at couldn't replace the spoke...he didn't have the tools for the job. The bike is not your standard 21 speed bike from Target of K Mart but this guy had the tools and the knowledge. He got me back on the road for $7AUD. The spokes are stainless steel and although one spoke may not have made a difference, the bike is carrying some weight so thought I'd get it done while I can.

[Digger]

Sometimes, there is not much choice of accomodation when I pull up at end of day. This was a new low for me....no A/C, shared bathroom, no WIFI, no hot water. I brought a mozzie net with me this trip and needed to use it this night. I am taking anti malarial medication but don't want to invite trouble.


I pulled up at some lights a few days ago and some bloke on a scooter pulled up alongside and started to chat. He asked why I didn't have any flashing lights. I told him I had one on under my saddle. He said I needed four. I questioned this and he said "the more lights you have, the more the truck drivers will respect you". I didn't question the rationale. I sourced a couple of extra lights from a toy shop a day later and now look like a roving Christmas tree during the day. It seems to have worked so far.


Tomorrow I catch a commuter train to KL to try and source a visa for Myanmar (formerly Burma). Myanmar has some of its restrictions relaxed a little for tourists so that might be on the cards after Phuket.

Distance covered to date (Australia Day) 624.33 km.

SPOT link is here;

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa

Back to work Slackers.

[Digger]

Stayed at Klang for two nights. Went to KL to organise a visa for Myanmar and although same day service, I had some time to kill so went to Batu Caves. This is a Hindu worshipping site and although it looks impressive on the outside it is a whole different ball game on the inside.



After climbing 300 steps you enter the cave...looks more like a side show but without the rides.



The extent of the rubbish strewn around was disgraceful...especially considering it is a place of worship.

[Digger]

Thanks to Google Maps and another App, Maps.Me, ive been able to avoid Highway 5 and replace it with local roads thru villages and small communities.



While going thru one village I noticed these guys wrangling this bull. Works out it was going to be slaughtered to help celebrate a wedding later that day and the following day (long ceremonies). I met the brother and father of the bride and they asked me to stay for a drink. I politely declined the offer cause I still had a long way to go. When I left, the bull was hog tied and resting (they don't like slaughtering a stressed animal).

I've worked hard the last couple of days and covered over 200 km in the last 48 hours so I'm going to reward myself and go to Pangkor Island just off the coast near Lumut. I may spend a couple of days there just to fatten up a little.

Distance covered to date, 882.49 km.

SPOT Link
http://share.findmespot.com/shared/face ... UCtYLNPufa