Applying for a WISE Credit Card while traveling abroad.

These days travel, a Fintech Credit Card seams to be a mandatory thing. The amount of savings and safety control just makes it impossible to not get one. I had one Fintech card when I started the journey, and it was under YOUTRIP Singapore. Unfortunately due to me leaving work for travel and no longer having a residency status in Singapore, the YOUTRIP decided to cancel my account due to this reason.

The cancellation of the card also came at an unprecedented time, the day I entered China. I figured it was still ok since I had back up credit cards and atm cards so did not think on it much until a month later entering Kyrgyzstan. The four digit pin ATM machine made all my cards useless and the one card that had 4 digit pin was the canceled YOUTRIP card.

While traveling in Kyrgyzstan meeting up on and off with Bern & Ita bumping into each other throughout the common route, I found out that they were going to fly back to KL for a week to sort out some of their important things. They offered to bring me some love from home like Chicken-rendang canned food or Kicap Maggie.

It did not register in my mind at that time somewhere at 7 Bulls canyon, but a few days later I figured if there was a chance of carrying stuff, I might as well see if I could get another Fintech Card. 

Stamps are one of the few things I buy as momentos when traveling

Checking the web and WISE was the more popular and reliable one for Malaysian citizen so a quick download of the app, punched in all the details and uploaded a few photos of documents and viola, my account was active within minutes.

The digital card was also active within minutes and now all that was left is to somehow transport the physical card from Malaysia to Kyrgyzstan. From here it was a tracking game. Card was send to my home where Dad picked it up and later met up with Bern & Ita at the airport handing it over and a week later when they flew back to Almaty Kazakhstan, I was there the next morning at their hotel collecting the WISE Card.

Using the WISE card throughout the four central Asia countries, Kazakhstan – Kyrgyzstan – Tajikistan – Uzbekistan was seamless and made the travel much easier in my sense. A prepaid credit card which tells you immediately the exchange rate of the purchase instead of getting a surprise a month later was much better than a bank credit card.

The best feature I would say about WISE app is that you would know immediately if the transaction is approved. Sometimes the vendors keep swiping the card and informed me that it did not go through and without the ability to read Russian, there was no way for me to verify if I would get charged double. This immediate notification of transaction done on the app makes it much safer than a normal credit card.

The only draw back would be the monthly free ATM withdrawal limit of RM 1000. Long term traveler like me always exceed this amount.

Traveled on: June 2024

Route Info – From Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) to Laos (Boten)

This time round there was not much motivation for me to explore in Malaysia even though I had started the journey. I went straight for Cameron Highlands looking for cool weather retreat a few days and checked into a cosy hostel to run some routes and planning check again.

For some reason, I make plans and decision best on the road in unfamiliar hostel. I had always love Cameron Highlands for some reason. The mountains has a special call to me that just being there makes the soul smile. Beach are nice but mountains are nicer.

After a few days just lazing around going from one tea place to another it was time to move on. I packed up and went straight to the Thailand border. 

This time around I would cross into Betong a new part of Thailand which I had yet to explore which makes it a great starting and warm up breaking the monotonous ride up north through mostly places that I had visited before.

The route I took this time round was almost 70% a repeat of the previous journey in 2018 with Bluey but there were some new spots along the way.

Route Info - Malaysia to Thailand to Cambodia to Thailand to Laos to China 

Betong to Yala to Hatyai
- A New Route on the most southern part of Thailand

Hatyai to Krabi to Phuket
- A repeated route always to visit cuz in Phuket

Phuket to Laem Son National Park to Hua Hin
- A new National Park to explore but mostly a mad dash covering crazy distance all the way to Hua Hin

Hua Hin
- Usual pit stop to service bike on the way up

Hua Hin to Bangkok
- A repeated route along the coast and salt farms

Bangkok to Chantaburi (Chao Lao Beach)
- Going Through more simple uninteresting roads to skip Chon Buri & Rayong

Chao Lao Beach to Pailin (Cambodia)
- Another mindless dash to the Border so I can Gamble at the Border Casino for a few days

Pailin to Siam Reap to O’Smach
- A repeated route chilling and passing time in Cambodia

O’Smach to Roi Et to Phetchabun
- New Road but Repeated Destination

Phetchabun to Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park to Pa Daeng Sub District
- New Route through remote nature.

Pa Daeng Sub District to Lamphang to Chaing Mai
- New Route & New Destination and for the purpose of celebrating Thailand New Year (Songkran) in Chaing Mai

Chiang Mai to Mae Hong Son Loop (Salawin River Detour + Ban Rak Thai Detour )
- Another run at Mae Hong Son Loop but this time through the north burning season which was horrible

Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai to Chiang Khong
- A repeated route with familiar destination revisiting same tourist sights.

Chiang Khong to Huay Xai to Luang Namtha to Boten
- A regular route to China

Staying Still

Do you ever feel that moment sometimes when you sit down and do nothing, a glass of water on the table, mind empty and relax thinking of how to reorganize thoughts for things to be done next. 

That blank state for a brief moment where you dont know where to start and yet there is nothing in the thought process pipeline.

My mind was drifting everywhere after that brief moment, plans and route to budget and gadgets to banking apps to managing bills and any other infrastructure while on the road. 

I realized after awhile that all the required items that needed me to be physically here at home (Malaysia) was done and now it was just a matter of waiting for the right time to set off.

Push off too early and I would have to deal with timing the Visa carefully hopping through Thailand and Cambodia before entering Laos. Push off too late and it would be a rush to the border. 

Ideally I had to stay still for at least two more week before push off but staying still doing nothing is harder than one could imagine.

Most times people assume that during my travels, I am in a relax state doing nothing just enjoying the world. Reality is that while I am enjoying the world, doing nothing is rarely the case. 

Constant planning and revising the plan base on new information obtained from hostels, or locals or even passing travelers will constantly disturb and force me to re-evaluate the plans.

So staying still at home alone thinking of when would be the ideal time to set off took me a good long day. A whole day in fact while I go around cooking, packing and just plain scrolling Instagram. 

It hit me somewhere at 2am in the morning while I was watching some TV series. If there was nothing else to do, staying still at home and staying still on the road makes no difference.

Next morning I packed my bags at a leisurely pace, see the blue skies and decided it was a good day to start this journey.

Pushing off - Starting the Journey. 

Traveled on: Mar 2024

My General Info on Motorcycle Travel in Central Asia

If one read all my post on this blog, you will find most of the information but I guess most people would not read everything on this blog anyway. 

It is in a way a personal blog and not tailored for information mongering like other travel blog. Still sometimes I would be oblige to write some specific post such as this one for I feel the information should be shared just because .... just because

Malaysia Customs Country Code = 458

I as a traveler would have love to read something like this before going to Central Asia hence I feel obliged to write one.

OK so some general info. I traveled the following countries in Central Asia and this information is base on my own first hand experience

Country Traveled - Summer 2024
1. Kyrgyzstan
2. Tajikistan
3. Uzbekistan
4. Kazakhstan

Money Matters

1. Kyrgyzstan

- Most Banks ATM only accepts 4 digit pin
- Some Optima Bank ATM accepts 6 Digit pin (the newer ones) however they have a limit of 2000som per withdrawal. I tried and that small withdrawal of SGD 33 cost me a bank transaction fee of SGD 5 per withdrawal. A whooping 15% fee on top of bad exchange rate.
- Demir Bank ATM dispense USD currency but only at ATM that are attached to the bank itself and possibly only during office hours of the bank. Successful USD withdrawal at the following ATM location below
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/nG4dqnD6dKQEziLH7 – Naryn
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/ASSBbSap5uEmoUfT8 – Osh
- Credit Card works at larger establishment but its a 50% hit and miss

2. Tajikistan

- Most Bank ATM only accepts 4 digit pin
- For those going from East to West, entering from Kyzyl-Art Pass, there is no ATM from Murghab to Eskashem. We had to change USD to Tajik Som for the duration of the journey.
- Credit Card is almost useless unless in Dushanbe.

3. Uzbekistan

- Credit Card usage is widely accepted but they will add a surcharge to the bill.
- ATM withdrawal will incur ATM fee of 15,000 som for 1,000,000som. If withdrawing 2,000,000 will incur 20,000som etc.

4. Kazakhstan

- Credit Card is accepted everywhere almost to a point where cash is not required. There is also no surchage for using credit card so you pay what is shown on the bill.
- ATM accepts 4 digit & 6 digit pin

Tourist Visa
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

2. Tajikistan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)
- However if staying beyond 10 days in Tajikistan, one will need to further register at OVIR for a fee of USD 25

3. Uzbekistan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

4. Kazakhstan
- Malaysian Visa Free :)

Miscellaneous Permits
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Kyzyl-Art Border Exit / Entry Permit is required in advance for crossing this particular border. I obtained it through a travel agency called Destination Pamir which is based in Osh. Cost of Permit USD 20
- Border Zone Permit. Only required if one is visiting special area near border zone. I did not use.

2. Tajikistan
- GBAO Permit. Required for travelling the Pamir Region. I obtained it through a travel agency called Destination Pamir which is based in Osh.

3. Uzbekistan
- Hotel Registration Slip. Every day a registration slip is printed and given from the hotels in Uzbekistan. This may or may not be checked upon exit. Possibility of fine if not comply. I had everything in order and immigration never even asked for it.

4. Kazakhstan
-NIL

Temporary Vehicle Import Permit for Motorcycle
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Validity of Temporary Vehicle Import Permit is one year. Free
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Torugart Border (Entry)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not issued nor retrived at Bishkek Border . Only keyed into system (Entry & Exit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit was retrieved at Kyzyl-Art Border (Exit)

2. Tajikistan
- Validity of Temporary Vehicle Import Permit is 30 days (Need to request else they will issue a 15 days permit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Kyzyl-Art Border (Entry) – Cost USD 10
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not retrieved at Panjakant Border (Exit). Only key into system for exit.

3. Uzbekistan
- No papers for Temporary Vehicle Import Permit. Only keyed into system for entry and exit.

4. Kazakhstan
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit not issued nor retrieved at Korday Border. Only keyed into system (Entry & Exit)
- Temporary Vehicle Import Permit issued at Shymkent Border (Entry)

Vehicle Insurance
1. Kyrgyzstan
- Mandatory but not enforced.
- Purchase at Bishkek under Jubilee Insurance

2. Tajikistan
- Did not purchase.

3. Uzbekistan
- Did not purchase.

4. Kazakhstan
- Mandatory, partially enforced.
- Purchased at Almaty from Nomad Insurance

Petrol

1. Kyrgyzstan
- 95 Octane at bigger cities otherwise 92 Octane in small towns

2. Tajikistan
- Forget about 95 Octane petrol. 92 Octane is unavoidable.

3. Uzbekistan
- 95 Octane in main cities only and bigger stations. 92 Octane in small towns. Be wary of 91 Octane and 80 Octane.

4. Kazakhstan
- 95 Octane, 98 Octane ... No Fear in Kazakhstan for petrol other than long distance between points with desolated landscape.

Well that's the short summary. Check out the border crossing post if you want to know how it went. Or message me if you need some specific questions and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Traveled on: Summer 2024

My Motorcycle Packing List for A Long Journey

Packing list. There is never a right way to do it but its always interesting to see what people bring along for their overlanding journey. Even now on the road, when I see another overlander and we hang out we are always curious what the other vehicle is carrying and what kinda funky gadgets is in play.

This is my list in the beginning of the journey. The things I thought I would need and use the most but later during the travels, perspective would change and things would break so some added foot-notes to the list will be done for things that I would have changed if I would do it all over again with wisdom of being through the journey once.

Camping in Issyk-Kul - Kyrgyzstan 

Kick Off Packing List

Motorcycle Gear
1. Bike – GPX Legend Tiwn II 250
2. Helmet – LS2 Advant FF906
3. Maxto – Bluetooth Com’s + Camera
4. USB Charger
5. Universal Motorcycle Windshield
6. Taichi Air Parka RSJ328 – Riding Jacket
7. Sulaite Thermal + Waterproof Riding Pants
8. Komine PK718 Riding Jeans
9. Aluminium Top Box 65 Liters
10. Mad Fox Cavalry 35 Liters Soft Pannier Side Bags X 2
11. Magnetic Tank Pouch
12. Bungee Cable x 2
13. Mini Rear Tyre Side Jack
14. Tyre Air Compressor Pump
15. Tool Kit (Spannar, Screwdrivers, Allen-keys, Tyre Repair Kit, Clutch Cable + Stopper)
16. Handle Cover Set
17. Handle Warmer Set
18. Gloves x 3
19. Leg Gaiters
20. Arm Sleeves
21. Latex Rain Shoe Condoms
22. Pole Rain Coat Set
23. Bycycle Number Lock X 2

Camping Gear
25. Naturehike – Cloud Up 1 Person Tent
26. Karrimor Travelight 2 – Sleeping Bag
27. Pacoone – Sleeping Air Mat
28. Flextail X Pump
29. Camping Chair
30. Lixada Multifuel Stove + Fuel Bottle
31. Mini Fuel Pump
32. Pot-Kettle Set
33. Mini Fan
34. Nex Multi-tool (Knife, Scissors, Pliers, Can Opener, etc)

Clothings + Personal Items
35. Laptop
36. Universal Adapter
37. Bluetooth Earphones
38. Bluetooth Portable Speaker
39. Wireless Mouse
40. Crumpler Spring Peeper S – 40 Liter Duffle Bag
41. Sling Bag – 1 Liter
42. Northface Medium Fleace Jacket (A Fake but works like real ....^^)
43. Spare Spectacles
44. Heat Tag Shirt X 2
45. Heat Tag Leggings X 2
46. Toiletry Bag
47. Long Sleeve Jumper X 1
48. T-Shirt X 7
49. Long Pants X 1
50. Short Pants X 2
51. Underwear X 10
52. Socks X 3 pair
53. Travel Towel X 1
54. Bandana X 1

MISC + Consumables
55. Bag Rain Cover X 2
56. Food Container 8.4 Liters X 1
57. Food Container 2.9 Liters X 2
58. Liquid Dishwashing Soap in Hand Sanitizer Bottle X 1
59. Hydroflask Water Bottle
60. Luggage Strap for Duffle Bag X 2
61. Mini Number Travel Lock X 1
62. Belt Strap X 2
63. Mini Funnel
64. Chain Lube X 1
65. Engin Oil X 3
66. Alchohol Base 70% Wet Wipes X 2 pkt
67. Chicken Rendang X 4 Cans
68. Rolling Tobacco X 10 Pkt
69. Tobacco Slim Filter X 7 Pkt
70. Tobacco Rolling Paper X 21 pcs
71. Tiger Balm X 1
72. General Body Powder X 1
73. Cable Tie X 1 Bundle
74. Sunblock X 1

Well the above is the comprehensive list of things I started off with. Now for the wisdom of what I would do differently if I knew what I knew now then.

Item 64 to 74 may seams weird for packing so much consumables that could be easily bought along the road such as tobacco or food or engine oil is actually one of my correct choices. 

It was meant to take up space during the initial stage so that if I needed to free up space, I just need to consume the items. In a way it is a space reserve tactic which also allows me to understand how much extra space I had left.

Item 7 Sulaite Thermal + Waterproof Riding Pants is one of those item that could be improved. I totally love it in Tibet and all the cold and wet region but after nearly three months now, it is no longer waterproof and there is a leak somewhere. 

Waterproof riding thermal pants are great but I would invest on a more better durability next time instead of the cheapest one I could find.

Item 9 Aluminum Top Box 65 Liters could be reduced to 45 liters. While I love the 65 liters, I have come to realized that the big box really is a burden to the racking frame of the bike. 

A smaller box would lessen that burden so much more preventing all the stress when the frame breaks and the box tumble off.

Item 21,38,39, is totally unused 99% of the time. I would leave it behind the next time

Item 56, 57, Food Container can use a smaller size. The large food box I have come to realized is not required and food can be bought for just one to two days capacity instead of storing 5 days capacity. Camping habit's also found me not doing continuous camping due to finding a shower every alternate day.

Things not on the initial list that I would carry from the start next time round.

1. Water Straw Filter
2. Two Part Metal Epoxy repair kit
3. A proper mini ratchet tool kit. Currently The one I have is a cheap and bulky set
4. Fix up spot lights ( Currently mine was added on midway through the journey )
5. Custom make some engine guard / crash bar
6. Don’t be stingy on camping gear. I opted alot for cheap gears in camping going to online shops buying mostly knockoff copycat version from China. There are cheap and dirt cheap variation and luckily the cheap was still fairly good but things weardown after awhile and camping gear replacement is hard to find on the road espescially specific types like multi-fuel burners

Traveled on: Summer 2024

My Partially Planned Journey with No Secure Route Home

This would be a first for me travelling with unfinnished planned route. I know route changed all the time but for me a rough route is usually done and then we fumble along the way enjoying the sponteneous travel but still within a guided mark post.

I have met some travellers along the years which boast the usual no plans just go with the flow vibe but talk a little longer the rough route plans are always there usually. 

It usually revolves around the passport Visa restriction such as duration and next country requirement. That's why when traveler tell me that they have no idea how long they will stay in a country, I usually call it bullshit.

Laem Son National Park - Thailand 

Apart from passport visa requirement, there was also the bike requirement this time round. I refused to get the expensive Carnet so more countries were crossed off the list. 

The tour to cross China from Laos to Kyrgyzstan was confirmed and that was the start of the journey. The issue was after Central Asia, what's next ?

It was too early to find a group going the opposite way from Central Asia to South East Asia, and then there was also the possibility of crossing into Europe and continuing on the journey but without knowing how to ship the bike back home as well.

The only sure thing I knew was that I had options this time round and a larger emergency budget to get home. My primary plan is to find a group later in the year to cross back from Central Asia through China to Laos. 

The secondary plan was to go over to Europe and later figure out how to ship the bike back to Malaysia. The third plan was to store the bike in Central Asia and backpack somewhere during winter and resume the ride the following year finding a way home.

One thing I knew for sure is that waiting for the whole plan to be full-proof before starting the journey was not going to happen. I hesitated last year and missed the season so this year the journey home would have to be figured out on the road.

Traveled on: Apr 2024

A Little Break with a Little Errend

Flying back to KL, the mini adventure that started on November 2023 ended. It was a good run backpacking through China then continuing with a bikepacking through Vietnam. I had practially no choice but to go home by Feb 2024. There was a few crucial things that needed to be done.

Firstly it was to be back home for Chinese New Year. While I had skip this important family gathering previously, there was no reason to skip it since I had to be back during this time anyway. 

A picture of Me & My Niece Back in 2020 where COVID-19 was still restricting travels. 

Meeting family and friends catching up it was a good mini holiday from my holiday. A different type of feeling and one that had two types of stories everyone was trying to extract from me.

How as your trip and whats the next trip ? This was generally the questions asked.

After CNY I bassicly had to run a few errends.

1. Apply Visa for China

Slogging through the endless forms to fill for China Visa application then making an appointment at the Visa Center, this was the most important errend of all. Everything else I did in between but this was the key.

2. Tune up Bragge.

The top Cam shaft had a leaking oil seal so I had to get back to the dealership to fix it since it was still under waranty. Then it was a modification of the spokret ratio and chain. I change up the ratio to 15-41-428 instead of the original 13-38-520. 

Bike Jargon I know to most people, so the basic principle was that I made the bike faster by sacrificing power. I could now cruise at a higher top speed but climbing steep slopes would be slow with lesser torque.

3. Shopping & Packing up.

This time round I had new side pannier bags that I successfully shopped in Vietnam. My friend helped me carry it back since he had more carry on capacity that me and after meeting up during CNY I now had a new toy. 

I did much shopping as well buying sleeping mat, side jack, food container, canned food, and all sort of stuff to be packed for the long Central Asia road trip.

While I did No.2 and No.3 in between the process of obtaining No.1, I can say that effectively once I gotten the Visa for China, I had hit the road a few days later effectively starting the trip for a long long journey.

Traveled on: Feb 2024

How I Write My Blogs + A Broken Hardisk While Travelling

One of the many questions that friends and people who meet me on the road usually ask when they know about my blogging activities is how do I recall all the excitement and experience to put it in words.

It may sound like a dumb question but those that had tried blogging while doing a long travel stint or even video blogging will tell you that it is seriusly time consuming. It’s actually one of the main reason I avoid making youtube videos. The effort, time and energy spend editing the video would cut into the travelling time making one missing out the “moment”.

A Random Double Rainbow - Balkash Kazakhstan 

Hence I stick to blogging and it has serve me well for over the years since I started in 2012. Still those that follow this blog knows that I tend to have a lag time during travels and that lag time usually starts at one month and grows larger the longer I travel.

Recently in 2024 while in Bukhara my laptop hardisk decided to go Kaput. It was not a blue screen but rather a blank screen and there was nothing I could do despite all the online methods playing with the power button for 8 seconds, 60 seconds, flip the laptop upsidedown and turn it on, nothing worked to revive the laptop.

Why am I writing this?

Well just to give some insight on how I generate post for blogs and the agony I had to go through recently due to the Kaput laptop hardisk.

Normally during travels, I carry around my laptop and its not an everyday thing that you will see me playing with laptop while one the road. Nope. Usually it’s like 4 days to a week and I find a nice quiet spot where there is no major travel activity and I open my laptop just smashing away the keyboard on what happened the last few days.

There are times however when crisis happens during travels. A missing luggage, a fall from the bike, a hospital adventure, just those crazy things that one cant predict and it’s so emotionally heart wrenching that I would almost open the laptop the first chance I get to pen down my emotional trouma together with the experience.

These are the raw writing, which I do not care in the world what grammer is nor how the platiconic structure works but just smash that keyboard away to try and put all that emotion and memory into letters.

Next which is usually a few months away, I would start to reorganized the blog post. Many raw writing are usually boring. I almost always cut these all away. Throughout the years some of the more lazy post even get myself baffled when I look back.

Example 1

“Today I go to the supermarket and finally found a body shower that is just the right bottle size. I had been searching for this nearly three countries and everyone had only big bottle or super small bottles. You want the body shower to last approximately 2 weeks so that you dont need to keep finding new bottles but you also dont want a too big bottle coz it just takes up precious space”

Example 2

“No idea what I am doing in this stupid town. Moving on.”

So the second part is me reorganizing a raw entry or combining a few raw entry to make a topic for a blog post. i.e Title. This part is where I can become lazy usually and take a few weeks to a few months before it even goes online and since I tend to do the blog post chronologically, the time lag gets longer and longer.

The important thing is, regardless of how long the time lag is, with the initial raw entry that I constantly do during travel, I could recall my own emotions then and with photos taken usually the post would flow out somewhat.

Anyway this ranting is to give some background for that broken hardisk in Bukhara wiped out all my raw files from the beginning of 2024 up to Bukhara. Means that the initial kick off in March or April 2024, drifting through Malaysia – Thailand - Cambodia – Laos – then really starting the trip to China – Kyrgystan – Kazakhstan – Kyrgystan – Tajikistan is lost completly.

I lost a good four months of raw travel write up. While I try to recall as much as I could, it would not be the same. Arrgh ...

Traveled on: Summer 2024

Backpacking China Survivor Tips

Before I move on to the awesome storytelling of travelling through China, I feel that there is a need to talk about the rudimentary nessecity to actually navigate through China not just on a map but also through the systems of systems which is built entirely for Locals and not for International tourist. Its the nicer way to put it, for it can be said that China is living in the future already and that us tourist are the pre-bronze era.

Shanghai - China

Granted that some might dispute this statement above that China is totally international travel friendly and I dont doubt it for a moment espescially when you hit the popular places, but as a backpacker a little tricks opens up a whole new level of exploration.

Now I have a slight advantage of being able to speak the languege (Mandarin) on a rudimentary 12 year old kid level but I have no clue on how to read any of the words. In a sense, I am uneducated and illliterate in China’s perspective. Haha. However it does help being able to speak the languege making connections and immersing with the locals much easier as there is not much pause waiting for each google translate app to transfer the conversation.

Anyway I’ll break down the Survivor Tips into five sections namely, Languege, Internet, Money, Navigation, Accomodation and Transportation.

Languege
As mention, I could speak the languege, but at rudimentary level of a 12 year old kid I still had to have a backup sometimes. Google is blocked in China but supprise, Google Translate App is not. Even the Google Len’s Translation works in China and all one need to do is download the offline dictionary of simplified Chinese to English and it will work even without a connection to the web. It is however suvivor level skill only, and will not allow deep conversation to blossom.

Internet
As many knows, there is a Great Firewall of China when it comes to the web. Many things are blocked such as social media, google and who knows what. Most people mention things about VPN but the only sure way I know that works is by using a roaming sim card. Data Roaming to be exzact.

If this was maybe two years ago, the cost of Data Roaming a whole month in China would probabaly be more than the trip’s expenditure itself. I used a Singapore sim card which have a package of Asia Pacific roaming plan, paying SGD 20 per month for a 3GB of roaming data. 

Its not much and it works to get me out of a pinch. That said, I was definately tracking my data carefully. On the flip side, things that dont need circumvating the firewall can be brouwsed using wifi which is abundant in China.

Money
This one should be a hot topic with many people writing on the e-wallet payment in China. China has really almost successfully become a cashless country. Everyone has a phone even the poorest guy on the street that is asking you for some change will have a phone. 

With a phone comes e-wallet function like Alipay or Wechatpay which everyone uses to buy and receive money. Small time fruit vendors walking up to street tables selling pineapple will only accept e-wallet payment for a RMB5 purchase which is like SGD1 as they have literaly no cash in hand.

I have two forms of payment system setup when travelling in China. Alipay is one of them and the other is the Malaysia e-wallet TouchNGo. Both works the same way and both have the same limitation that I could only pay for things and not receive any money. I also could not pay directly to a person and that the QR code must be the business type and not personnal money transfer.

I wont go into the nitty grity of foreigner using Alipay or using TnG overseas for there are many write ups already on the web. I do have some comparison on both of them which will show how I use my money with the apps.

ALIPAY 

• Must install for all the miniapp fuctions. Allows for usage of public transport by obtaining a virtual bus card
• Allow for use of selective bycycle rental which is scattered all over the cities in China
• Allow for use of E-Hailing services such as Didi (Uber/Grab equivilent)
• Able to check the massive bullet train scheduel and also reserved the ticket (only if you obtained a Chinese Sim Card)
• Best for small transactions under RMB 100
• NOT good for large transaction ABOVE RMB 100, a 3% service fee is charge for these big transactions

Figuring out how to unlock an E-Bike using Alipay. 
Too many steps all in Mandarin which was hard for us that cant read. 
I partnered up with another traveller which also cant read and basicly using Google Lense Translate to go around the setting up procedure. 

TOUCH’N’GO

• Good for large transactions above RMB 100. NO service fee is charged.
• Only good for payment of goods.

COLD HARD CASH

• Good for deposits in hotels. Any transfer of money through the E-payment above means the hotel will have a hard time refunding you once you check out as they have no cash.
• When the above two fails and you have already consumed whatever it is you consumed, somehow they will accept the cash reluctantly.

Navigation
Ok so this is where doors open up a crack. Navigation for me is done using the chinese app called AMAP. Fully downloadable in google playstore, and totally in mandarin without a hint of english. Its function is a good or better than google maps and in a sense while in China, its 100% better than google maps coz it works.

I can’t read but zooming in and out of the map one can still find places when compared to google map or just ask locals to search the location in mandarin which I sometimes do. Once a location is found, mark a star or pin. With this Star the navigation become feasible. 

I navigate the app through icons mostly for its really like sign languge in written form. The bus icon means tranvel by bus and the walk icon means walking pretty simple.

This gives a great navigation via public transport of local city buses and train. I could now figure out how to navigate the local bus system going from one place to another just looking for the bus number. 

AMAP Navigation using local Bus
All I used was the bus number B9 and constant monitoring of my GPS position while the bus drives 

Bus information totally in Mandarin. 
In desperation, screenshot and Google Lens Translate may deceipher a little insight. 

With the Alipay app above, I do not need to know how much to pay but just scan the app to board the bus and check the fare later once deducted. While inside the bus, GPS show my location in regards to the bus journey navigation so I would know when to get off the bus.

AMAP also works with bullet train scheduels and tinkering with start and end point gives many combination for travel in China. Half the time I was tinkering to find the next long leg journey. Price, journey time and even train ID is listed which makes things a lot easier. Imagine queing up at the train station only to find out that the journey to the next city will be a crazy 24hours or that the next train departs 6 hours later.

Unfortunately, trying to learn the app before arriving in China wont do any good. The bus and train function is closed if accessing from outside China. One would need to learn on the road but once you figured out the few key icons, the maps navigation is totally worth it

When accessing AMAP outside China only the drive function is available.
Bus Route and Train Routes wont be shown until one is in China

Accomodation
I use Trip.com mostly in China. Other websites just dont have the large exposure of hotels that is in China. The goodside is that you can find really good hostels, hotels that are not listed anywhere else but the downside is that most of the time the establishment would only be able to speak and read mandarin.

Its local and legal and cheap. Finding the hostel location and trying to check in can be challanging when choosing the cheapest stay option espescially in the countryside but its definately a backpacker budget friendly. 

Once booking has been confirmed on Trip.com, one can access the full address of the Hotel
Its the Thrid Line with the location PIN mark
Good to screenshot to ask locals 

Screenshot + Google Len's Translate gives the Unit Number and Tower Block
This gives the final last mile search easier to Hunt the Hotel

The little trick I used is that Trip.com has a navigation button which directly link to AMAP. This gives me access to local busses when the hostels are far away from the train station.

That Map Icon is clickable and when AMAP is installed can be directly linked

Transportation
Backpacking in China means Trains. The country is just too big. The train system is definately the best and most comfortable and no doubt the most value for money be it Bullet Train or normal Train.

Using Alipay App, one could book the train tickets provided they have a chinese phone number. I made that mistake not getting a chinese sim card back at the airport which cause me to lose access to a few function such as online train bookings.

While I could not book trains online, Alipay & AMAP app allows for search of train schedule and pricing. The rest was just rocking up to the train station an hour earlier to manually purchase the tickets from counter.

Traveled on: Nov 2023

Backpacking List to China Nov 2023

I thought it would be a good comparison to do another packing list since it was a long time since I backpacked (2015). This time around I also changed the bag and downsize it to a 35 liters instead of my previous 45 liters deuter backpack. I still have the backpack but these days I just dont want to pay for checked in luggage. 

Link to my old Backpacking List in 2014

I also did not refer to my previous packing list while deciding what to pack for this trip just to have a comparison.

The entirety of my stuff for a Backpacking Trip to China

1. Crumpler Competetive Eater 30 Liters x1

2. North Face Fleace Jacket (Medium) x1

3. Long Pants Jeans x1

4. Long Pants Tactical Cargo x1

5. Long Pants Thermal x1

6. Short Pants x2

7. Long Sleeve Shirt x1

8. Long Sleeve Thermal x1

9. Short Sleeve Shirt x5

10. Underwear x7

11. Socks x4

12. Bandana x1

13. Hat x1

14. Towel x1

15. Laptop x1

16. Water Bottle x1

17. Food Container x1

18. Spare Glasses x1

19. Belt x1

20. Mini Fan cum Power Bank x1

21. Wireless Earphone x1

22. Portable HDD x1

23. Shoes x1

24. Compression Bag x 4

25. Mini sling bag x1 (small enaugh for just wallet, phone and passport)

Interestingly, there was not much different from my initial packing list in 2015. (Link Here)

This time around I did have more electronic gadgets on me and the Food container has become a no brainer to the packing list.

My decision to Backpack China

Mom suffered a minor stroke back in late May 2023 when I was halfway riding up in Thailand on my way to China for a 10 day ride tour to Yading. Video call was hard but mom was strong and in good hands at the hospital. There was not much I could do and knowing the initial danger has passed and only the long recovery phase to come soon, I continue my scheduled tour to China in Jun 2023.

After that was a run back to Singapore, discharge Mom from the hospital and with that, Dad and me to take care of mom while she slowly recover back functions from stroke. The next four months would be a constant chore of cooking, laundry, excersize, physiothery, accupuncture and lazing around at home or at malls. Slowly but surely, mom got better with a steady sight every day having new functions unlocked. One day, somewhere four months later. I somehow lost the kitchen. Mom was cooking again without me.

Me testing out Mom's Wheelchair before discharge from Hospital and contemplating Life

It was this milestone that I felt it was a good time to start planning again. It was in October 2023 and too late to do a ride through China to central asia which has always been the main goal for this gap being unemployed. Hence with a hope to ride in 2024 spring, I had time to burn and also luckily, the second entry Visa into China was still valid till Nov 2023.

China is big, and there was no way I could ride the whole of China on tour as it would cost too much money. Some places like cities are even not worth riding. It was back to the roots then, backpacking solo, but this time way way older than when I first started. China also did not scare me as much anymore, I could speak the languege althou I could not read and with that in mind, I really wanted to venture off the English tourist trail in China.

One month visa for China was still way too little to backpack the entire country, but we live and enjoy what we have. So here I am backpacking China and having a blast.

Traveled on : Nov 2023

Morning Call, Mom Had a Stroke

Early morning in Chumphon, I got a wake up call from brother informing me that Mom got a stroke and he was on the way to the hospital with her.

I hung around till late morning, not starting any journey to get more info on Mom. Bro eventually gave me a video call and seeing that mom was able to walk albiet a bit weak gave some confidence that its not a major stroke. I started the journey to Cha-am. 300Km ride and every stop I made, I ping up Bro for another update. Mom seams to had a mile stroke so in a way it was very fortunate. I am more worried for the follow up after the stroke for knowing mom, not being well does not bore well with her mentally and no idea how this will affect her since its a hard for her being out of control.

Mom was admitted to the hospital and Docs were positive as the stroke was caught on early but warn us of ongoing degration before getting better. MRI is schedule for tomorrow morning and with that there is nothing much I can do being so far away. I dont even know what I could do if I was in SG to be honest.

I hope all goes well .... but multiple scenario running in my head is not something I would put anyone through it. Right now mom’s in the best place she could be and all we could do was hope for the better. I was midway now very close to Bangkok, there was a few options at this point really. Cancel the test run to China and head back .... push on and continue the trip leaving everything to Bro to handle, head in to Bangkok and chuck the bike and fly back to help stabalized if required ... or a second choice of flying from Chaing Mai back if I am needed slightly later. Scenario after scenario .... but the one thing that was obvious, there was nothing I could do at present.

The next few days, frequent calls to mom shows her getting better. By the time I reached Lopburi, mom had recovered enaugh to look me with all seriusness telling me to continue on with the journey no matter what. Bro told me that mom will be stuck in the hospital care anyway for a month that no help was needed and that was the best place to get the rehab done with full care.

Onwards it is to China, but the plans after China would definately be changed undoubtly. Throughout the journey I kept on calling mom, and by the time I was in China, the daily call became something to look forward to where stories and sights are shown through a video call, sharing my excitement and journey a little more directly to mom. Hopefully transfering the positive exceitement of adventure too for a little smile.

Fast forward a month later after finishing the ride in China and I’m back in SG. Its a long recovery journey for stroke patients and in a way it is lucky that I had all the time in the world with no commitments now. Travel plans will have to change and put on hold but then again I had no plans to begin with this year other than the test run to China. Initial plan was to just chill and burn time till the right season comes in 2024 so with this new situation with mom it worked out for the best.

Two weeks later after I arrived SG we finally discharged mom from the hospital and transfer her back to my place in JB. Chilling at my place while I imagine myself doing full masterchef cooking everyday while shuttling mom to rehab every other day is not too bad a way to burn time after all.

Traveled on Jun 2023

If I were to Choose Between Luck & Money

The title is totally random so there wont be any phylosophy really in this post. Still I wonder how many people is intrigue by the title to give this a read.

Anyway this is the story of how things happens and somehow just falls into place allowing me to commence the fouth break or travel .... I dun know how to call it anymore, sabbatical does not cut it anymore and a long holiday seams wrong now that this is obviously going to be a recuring thing. A Break it is ....

Setting Off - Test Run China 

Usually there are many things to prepare and get ready for a big trip which usually starts with a plan, A Graaaand Plan ! or a target which is like the main course of the long disaperarence. The first trip main back in 2011 focused was backpacking europe and USA while the second trip in 2015 was backpacking South America and the third in 2018 was motorbiking South East Asia, thou I only manage to really explore 4 countries in SEA.

This time around the trip is way more ambiguous than usual. I had not planned it out throughly, but my bank account was fat enaugh due to working throughout COVID-19. I was sick of working .... the soul was really tearing inside from the confinement of not exploring and then suddenly China was open to the world.

I was considering travelling with Bluey through China to Europe then after a few research hit a snag trying to get into arjerbaijan. Then there is the issue of how to get back home. So biking long distance seams very challanging so at one point I was really considering backpacking again throughout China but then by some luck while dropping email bombs everywhere I got a DM back.

The Facebook Overlanding Asia has always been a precious source of information and this time due to the Myanmar Junta closing off its border for overland travellers, there appear more people trying to go through China even with the high guided tour cost. I email a few of the tour agency and everyone seams to have trips going from west to east. Non-from east-to west.

This I presume was due to the recent reopenning of China after Covid-19 so most of them that are stucked in europe or Kyrgystan now have the opportunity to really transverse China to South East Asia, while those in South East Asia is almost non existance. Regardless the case .... no luck on finding a group going west, Yet one tour group after asking around connected me to a Malaysian group that was going to do China 10 days loop. Meaning they would enter and exit back into Laos which solve one main issue for me ... getting back home. The downside to this trip was, it was only 10 days.

I had to decide fast as the Malaysian group was planning this trip back in 2020 when Covid-19 hit. For them this was a long awaited postponed adventure. For me finding out last minute with barely any information of their trip, I decided it will have to do as a test run. Made fast contact, so fast that I presume the captain did not really think I was serius in joining until I laid down the deposit for the guided tour.

Things moved very fast then, resigning from my job, handing over duties, shuffling all my stuff again and gearing up the bike and all the traveling hacks that I had shelved over the years. Bluey was no where near the travel worthy state as well since he was being heavily used everyday for work. Luckily I just bought a new bike, GPX Legend 250 Twin which I named “Bragge”. Bragge was suppose to be for work so I could leave Bluey in the workshop for upgrading but the China trip came so fast I now had to use Bragge to do the trip. A month later I realized even if I fixed up Bluey, he probably wont make the trip as well due to the high altitude which would screw up the old school carb engin.

While it looks like China is the theme for this trip, it really izzin. For the guided tour is only 10 Days in China covering just one small part of one province, Yunnan. In two months it would be done and over once started and I would be without a plan again. No subsequent trip line up, no follow up to connecting adventure. Back to Malaysia and back to the drawing board.

For now, iI’m calling it Test Run CHINA .... aclimatize to the altitude, weather and the great firewall of China.

After that, I have a few option listed so far which is still not set in stone really but in leaning order :

Genral Plan 1 

Pay the heavy price and find a group ... Ride again Through China to Krygstan ... explore Kyrgyzstan, Ubekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan through summer ... this would have to be in early 2024. then somehow, figure out how to get back home ....

Options to get back home :

Option 1

Get a Russia Visa – Ride to Mongolia then Vladistock – RORO boat to South Korea then RORO boat to Japan and RORO back to South Korea, shipping bike back to Malaysia. This path still require a lot of Red Tape nagivation and a high risk of being stranded.

Option 2

Get a Russia Visa – Ride to Mongolia – Joint another guided tour through China going different route back to Laos ... Luck to find a group will play a huge part in this plan.

Option 3

To infinity and Beyond, Get a Russia Visa – ride to Geogia, ride through Turkey and hello Europe ... somehow take a boat to Morroco maybe and figure out Africa and my bank balance which is not prepared for this kind of extended trip ... and I have no idea how to get back from that point.

General Plan 2 

Fly to Vietnam, rent a bike, explore the whole of vietnam, drop the rental and cross into china backpacking all the way up to Beijing then boat over the Taiwan or Korea. Explore the whole country of Taiwan or Korea via backpacking and train then fly back home. Optional bonus for Korea would be to extend trip by boating to Japan and exploring Japan on a Backpack.

General Plan 3 

Get a friend help, buy a bike in India ... and ride India and Nepal for a year, ditch the bike, cross by land into Pakistan and backpack through Iran to turkey and somehow swim over to middle east to explore all backpacking style.

General Plan 4

Fly to Indonesia, rent a bike and explore

When my brother ask me of my general plan, I started rambling up the above ... quite a detail rough plan I would say actually but once done he basicly commented ...., “so you dont have an actual plan yet” . Yikes ... I guess in a way it’s right as hell ... while most people tend to cover up the Grand Idea with I dunnu and lets see where the wind takes me ... secretly there is always a Grand Plan to a long trip.

One thing for sure, once I picked a route, it will be a while before I can reset and pick another. For now its Test Run China.

P.S .... I’ll choose luck ...

The Part Time Gig While on a Break from my Holiday ....

Ended the long loop of nearly 5 months from Thailand -> Cambodia -> Thailand -> Laos -> Thailand -> Cambodia -> Thailand and I was back to KL.

I had some new planning to do but basically had time to burn for a month while waiting for the next adventure to kick start in Borneo. Bluey was en-route shipping to Kuching and I could only wait.

After sitting at home for a week I was bored to death and decided to try driving GRAB for fun to burn time and earn some pocket money. Better than just burning away money everyday on food and entertainment, might as well drive a little and explore my own hometown Kuala Lumpur while getting paid to do it.

Registration with GRAB was quit easy online and once done I had to go to the main HQ in PJ to get the documents verified. First time I went there it was not accepted since the car was under mom’s name and they needed another letter self written and sign by mom like a consent letter to allow me to drive the car since the insurance cover already specified all drivers.

Two days later I got the letter after some messages with Bro in SG since mom was in SG and back to the GRAB HQ I went. The whole procedure was quite fast other than waiting in line for half an hour to get a queue number.

So apparently the rules are changing ... soon all drivers will need a PSV license which is like a taxi license and a medical check up and cars above 3 years of age must undergo Puspakom inspection every year but for now I could drive till July 2019 ... which was just nice since I only plan to drive till July exactly one month.

My hands itch to start right away but I decided to go home first and do some reading up. Tidy the car and remove any unwanted junk and by 2pm I decided to give it a go.

The GRAB driver experience was kinda fun. To be a tourist in my own city and get paid to do it. Most jobs on the first day was just ferrying people from the housing estate to the MRT station then back to the housing estate. I ended up getting jobs to and fro from home and kept going home to chill while waiting for the next job. Small jobs ... RM 5 minimum to around RM 8 for two hours in the afternoon it clocked RM45 which was quite decent.

Then in the evening 5pm I tried again to see how peak hour goes. Got a job to the MRT again and immediately another job came in to another housing estate and another and another and suddenly I was near leisure Mall in Cheras.

Whoa ... It was non stop driving picking up passengers and dropping them off one after another with no breaks in between. I decided to stop the app and it was already 8pm ... 3 hours of driving ...

So first day was a total of 5 hours of driving with RM 100 earning ... minus commissions of RM 20 and minus petrol which was about RM 30 ... left with RM50 .... err .... so that's like a RM10 an hour job to equate.

2nd day was a Saturday and i drove today for 6 hours with more or less the same results but clocking 100km. I could start to see the pattern ... it is very much a crazy driving job non stop really with no breaks unless one turn off the app stopping incoming job.

The fun part was just driving all around KL city seeing all my childhood growing up places passing by so many old buildings that brings back memories which I wont event make the journey if not for GRAB since driving all the way downtown just to see old buildings and finding parking was a pain in the ass.

Some rides were weird as well ... one lady took a grab for less than 500m away. From Sunway Velocity Shopping Mall to MyTown Shopping mall .. both shopping mall is actually connected via a walking linkway and I was driving alongside the linkway ...*facepalm* ... the lady said the ride was free for her since she had a promo code ... I got the minimum sum of RM 5 and when it was time for her to go she still gave me a tip of RM6 .... err ....

One guy I picked up at Balakong MRT wanted to go to a restaurant that was 50m from the MRT ... new kid in the block did not know where it was so he ordered a GRAB ... so I brought him 50m to the restaurant via a 300m road ...(It was a one way street so I had to do a U-turn) .... I was laughing and he was facepalming all the way and at the drop point I told him how to walk back to the MRT to go home later with both of us having a good laugh.

One tourist couple in downtown KL ordered a ride to the famous Tian Hou Gong Temple in brickfields and it has been years since I visited this temple so after dropping them off, I also parked the car and paid my respects to the temple taking a break from driving and just relaxing .... half an hour later when I launch the App again, they were the first order on Job. Oh Hello again !!

Tian Hou Gong Temple - Kuala Lumpur

I have to say, to make a living with GRAB in Malaysia is definitely not an easy task despite what the advert says nor base on the long queue of many drivers signing up hoping to make a killing. Base on some complaints of people trying to make a killing driving GRAB and failing to do so, i would say its really more suitable for a side income booster or a part time hobby than a permanent job however one thing is for certain, its an honest work. Put in the hours on the road for the money.

Traveled on : Jun 2019

MBIKE Registration for Malaysian Motorcyclist going in and out Singapore Frequently.

MBIKE started quite a while ago and it seams to be a need to know kind of thing so I am gonna make this post worthwhile. I was quite surprise after getting buying Bluey back in 2017 and taking him into Singapore for the first time in 2018 that I saw this special lane for Malaysian bikers called MBIKE. 

MBIKE Registration Requirement

1. Malaysian 

2. Age 18 and above 

3. Not Black listed by Immigration 

4. Passport expiry date more than 6 months from date of application 

MBIKE Registration Requirement 

It like express lane to clear Immigration for Malaysian bikers but for the next few months or years I would struggle to find out how to actually apply for this special pass. In hindsight I was rarely using Bluey for work and more of like a weekend past time riding for the heck of it, hence did not really bother to figure it out.

Now that I am back in 2020 and have been using the bike regularly going into SG for work, I had to get this MBIKE thing registered. Immigration Jams sometimes really can be a pain in the ass and looking left seeing the always empty MBIKE lane just fuels the passion more.

Step 1 .... MBIKE can only be registered when you re-enter Malaysia

So apparently there is no way to register the MBIKE on the way into Singapore. It has to be done when one is returning from Singapore to Malaysia minus some odd working hours which sorry guys , I did not manage to find out. All I can say is that, I did the registration on a Saturday afternoon.

Step 2 ..... Locating the MBIKE Registration Office.

Step by Step photo guide ... (Woodlands Checkpoint -> JB CIQ Sultan Iskandar Checkpoint )

Since those that never had MBIKE before will clear through the right most lane of manual immigration, you will never see a parking bay.

Park Illegally here !! 

Just Park .... Malaysia Boleh :) 

Walk ahead till you see a staircase and a bridge like this

See the tiny bridge above the road ?? Go up 

Go up the stairs and at the bridge you will finally notice the MBIKE Registration office ... it was on the 2nd floor all along hence for those months and years I was keeping my eyes peeled looking for that damm office everytime I go through immigration, I never looked up hence I could not find it. Who the hell look up for stuff anyway when riding .... bah ... 

The MBIKE Registration Office .... its no wonder I never saw it ... 

Step 3 ..... Registering MBIKE

Enter office pass the officer my passport for the Registration and verified thumb print and viola all good to go in 5 minutes. Everything was so easy, so fast, so efficient and totally free of charge. 

Into the Office to register ... only took 5 minutes 

Thats it guys ,,, for first timers with no kaki rider friends to show me the way it was not easy to find out how this MBIKE registration works. Hope this post help the new bros out there struggling on their new bike journey making their livelihood across the border. 

MBIKE Registration Sticker with bio-metric stuck to the last page of passport 

Traveled on : Feb 2020
#mbike #ridingjbsingapore #bordercrossing