Pit Stop Hat Yai and Onwards to Chumphon

Time started to move for me once I tendered my letter of resignation in May 2023. I was alive again, the clock was moving and however much busy I was during work, I was even more busier now ... dreaming. Plans always starts by dreaming.

By end May after serving work notice period I was out of Singapore ... totally done and sorted out all the nessesities. This time I have experience under the belt and decoupling of routine life was faster and more efficient. I could not set off immediately thou, I still had one key date to wait which was the China Visa application. I got back my passport with the China Visa on Friday 19 May 2023 and the inner kid in me was grining non stop. Pick up some last minute stuff and then it was Saturday a free and easy day shopping at Pavilion Bukit Jalid with mom, dad and my Thai Cuz that was down visiting for a holiday.

Sunday morning and everyone is headed out. Me all packed and starting the trip up north while mom and dad with cuz would head down to JB, pit stopping at my place before crossing the causeway on the following day to SG staying with brother for a week.

The trip up north this time was no nonsense. Direct up with no detours and barely any stops. First day warmup was an easy one clocking nearly 300km to Taiping for the night. Food was basic and bland and the next morning push off again stright for Hat Yai.

At Malaysia Border Town Changlun to buy Thailand Motorbike Insurance & Customs Form

I had a short break in Hat Yai for two nights just spending time with Uncle Seng and Ah Kim. Nothing fancy really .. lunch TV then dinner and repeat for the next day. One day pass at the time which was the feeling of retirement I got from uncle. I guess my parents generation is at that stage now ... passing time and not spending too much. 

Hat Yai - Dim Sum

Hat Yai - Dim Sum

Hat Yai - Left = Betong Noodles , Right = Thai Bak Kut Teh

Hat Yai - Dim Sum

Hat Yai - Old Town Back Road Family Restaurant

Hat Yai - Family Restaurant Meal

Hat Yai - Family Restaurant, Deep Fried Dish drowning in fried garlic 

I did manage quick shopping to buy a new set of rain gear for THB 1100 which was pretty good deal but Ah Kim was a bit exasperasted that she was not given the chance to bargain it down for I just said ok and paid within 2 minutes.

On the way back from the shopping I ripped my jeans at the knee in the car while pulling and trying to adjust, as it was sliding down. I ripped three things in three days I immediately thought. Push off day I ripped the battered old rain cover for the duffle bag. The next day I ripped the rain pants and today the jeans. I felt it was a bad omen ... just have to be extra careful riding and travelling the next few days I thought.

Along the Way from Hat Yat to Chumphon
Could not resist a Stop when I saw the cat .... - Its a bakery Cafe 

Hut for the Night - Chumphon 

Push off from Hat Yai and made the longest ride I have done in a single day. Stright to Chumphon nearly 600km. Early next morning 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.

Feeling helpless .... I could only wait for the update and hold off the urge to call least I become a nuisance.

Traveled on: May 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 ...

Kota Kinabalu – The end of the break ...

Last stop before home. Somewhere around Sabah near Sukau when I was somehow riding somewhere off trail for a daytrip I got a call from my last boss asking if I was available to come back to SG as he gotten a new job. With bad reception in the jungle I told him I’ll call back in a few days time. On thing led to another very fast but mostly it was me looking at my bank balance that told me it was time to make way home and go back to zombie mode.

The view of KK from Kokol Hills 

So here I am finishing the loop in Sabah back in Kota Kinabalu. To be frank, KK would be a totally hit and miss for me being just like another city which I would have never bother to really immerse myself into, since I was in the last leg, travel fatigue and also slightly in denial that the trip is coming to an end.

By fate, as I was posting Bluey photos in the Demak D7 facebook group while travelling, I got hit up by some guy in Sabah that was also riding a Demak D7. Quite rare for D7 to be around really so with that DM on the web it was quite hard not to meet up for a coffee.

A coffee and a long chat end up with a invitation to ride for the next day. I had never really ride in a group before, a tail or two while in Thailand with other random tourist that I met along the way sure, but not in a group like setting that one see on TV like bike gangs. They brought me from central KK waterfront to Kokol Hills. If I were to describe it, it would be like KL people bringing people up Genting Highlands only this was a little shorter and the view of KK going up was amazing.

The Guys bringing Bluey & me for a ride 

Pit Stop Mamak Stall at Kokol Hills 

The Gang

Seams to be a local only know how as well since I did not see much information about Kokol Hill so I guess its a Riding Spot. Ride with a fellow D7 ... the rest was of other cafe racer bikes but I guess we D7 are a rare sort.

The only other Demak D7 that I have met throughout the whole Journey. 

Traveled On: Sep 2019

Tawau & Meliau Basin

I rode to Tawau from Semporna which was an easy and short ride, went around riding around town and I guess the long time of travelly is finally eating into the lazy time soul.

I cant say much about Tawau really, it looks like there are things to be discovered but its one of those town that dont really attracts tourist at all, not even those transit type. Anyway one night was all I spend before heading the next day to camp at the Meliau Basin reserch center.

Tawau Watefront Monument

Tawau - Keningau Road 

I took the Tawau-Keningau road which was really nothing in between and a road that cuts through the dense rainforest silently quiet I barely even see another vehicle. Half way mark was Meliau Basin conservation Area and I stopped there for the night.

The Meliau Basin also known as the Borneo’s Lost World is not really a tourist stop per say but more or a research camp area that has some facilities for people for whatever reason they have to hang around. Camp grounds was the most expensive I ever had at RM 50 pernight just to pitch my own tent. More expensive than even a Hotel in Tawau actually.

Maliau Basin Entrance 

3D Model of the Maliau Basin

Main Registration Area of Maliau Basin

Entry into the actual conservation Basin itself is not possible without a pre-arrange guide. But there was a small trail one could do on their own which has an amazing canopy walk devoid of any humans. I walked that small trek of course and realized that even with guide, this was no simple jungle walk but one that would need to bush-whack a path into the rainforest.

Talking to some of the research staff at the main research station told me that this area mostly only for high level research facilities due to its untouch and rich biodiversity. While the base camp which is just outside the basin (its where I pitch my tent to camp) is actually built as a gateway stop and with its basic facilities other would book the area as host to team building activities by companies or schools.

Camp Grounds at Meliau Basin

Mini Trek at Maliau Basin base camp

The Main River flowing out from Meliau Basin

Sky Canopy Walk - Meliau Basin

Leftover Notes of some Corperate Team Building event at Meliau Basin Base Camp. 

One night was all I could afford to camp in Maliau Basin and off again through the Tawau-Kenningau road towards Kota Kinabalu. One thing I realized was that there was almost no petrol stataion between Tawau and Kenningau. Its a long way too and for the first time in a long time I started to worry on fuel rationing. Base on calculation I should reach the first Petrol Station somewhere close to Nabawan. I missed the petrol station and made a back turn cocking my head a few times to make sure I was seeing correctly. Old retro Petrol HUT was more like it.

Petrol Station / Hut at Nabawan

Fill up by the Liters - Nabawan 

Traveled on: Sep 2019

Lahad Datu and Semporna

I stopped at Lahad Datu for a few days to replenish on WIFI access to do some onwards research. Initially I wanted to try visiting a few conservation area such as the Danum Valley Conservation Area or even just take a ride going off the main road and maybe visit the tip of the nose of Sabah but in the end I just ended up riding around downtown Lahad Datu before heading to Semporna.

Lahad Datu

You need a Permit to go to Danum Valley Conservation Area ... Could not get one last minute ..

Lahad Datu area felt different than the rest of Malaysia. While sleepy town and retirement area in Malaysia has some sense of serene in it, this place felt different, not sleepy yet isolated but not in a bad way nor in a good way either. I could not really place a mark on Lahad Datu and I probabaly spend too short a time there to make any conclusion, however I can safely say it is really for the true nature lover with all the surrounding wildlife reserve area that are 100 times larger than Lahad Datu itself.

Main Market at Lahad Datu

Lahad Datu Seaside Township 

Lahad Datu Kwan Im Temple

Onwards to Semporna the gateway town to the sipadan island where most tourist go stright from KK airport to hop onto the island for diving. I, basicly stayed at Semporna a few days talking to travellers in the hostel that passing by to get on a boat onwards to their diving trip. Expensive hobby and not one I would like to pick up anytime soon. Still with many tourist in this remote part of Malaysia means cheap hostels and more ammenities.

Semporna 

Traveled on : Sep 2019