Monday 1st April

I was awake and having a nice brekky at the Jayawardna GH by 7am, the earliest they do it. This is in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and it was my last day on foreign soil at this time. I did not have great deal of time as I needed to catch the shuttle to the airport. As the bike was delivered to customs yesterday and would be on the same flight, I better make sure I did not miss it I was already packed and not long after brekky, Walter dropped me off at the train station, one of the services included in the room cost.

[gratuitous bit of religion bashing ahead, be warned! Did you know Easter has nothing to do with Christianity? I only found out recently, they stole the ceremony from a pagan ritual. I was always confused by the fact rabbits and eggs were high on the agenda and I used to be one of those supporters of the Bilby being used instead at this time, down here in Oz. But, now I find out that Ishtar(pronounced easter), the goddess of fertility had a rabbit escort(as Alan put it, rabbits f$%^ like rabbits), and also eggs are a symbol of fertility. So, now it all makes sense about the eggs and rabbits, but what the heck has it to do with some dude called Jesus? That is why I despise religion, they use and twist words and events to suit themselves. Don't forget, this has nothing to do with remembering the time of somebody's death, if that were true, then it would be on the SAME DAY EVERY YEAR!!!! But, we all know Easter holidays change and the pagan holiday is always set as the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox. Here are some links so you can read for yourself what it is all about, or do a google search, that is all I did:

Is Easter Based on the Goddess Ishtar

The Pagan Origin Of Easter ]

Ok, so I am at the train station and waiting in line for a ticket and I know I need this train, but they only had one slow person selling tickets. The two ticket machines were broken, so it was a bit of a farce. In the end, about 5 of us who were now in a hurry, jumped the gates and bolted for the platform and just managed to catch the train. Then at the other end, go to the counter and pay for the ticket

Once at the airport, I went and found the baggage check in line, which was huge!!! But, before that I saw the bag wrappers and paid my $3.50 to make sure my checked in baggage does not suddenly contain a boogie board or any other illegal substances before I retrieve it at the other end!!!

Once I had stood in line for ages I handed over the wrapped baggy and was now free for a while. I had an hour or so to wait before the flight left and used that time to have a look outside and basically relax.

After a while I headed through immigration and arrived at the boarding gate via a train service, just in time as they opened the plane for boarding. This was a wide bodied jet on a direct flight to Brisbane.

Take off was on time, the only issue that I was a bit miffed about was the plane flight plan details, that system was not working But, the rest of the entertainment system was Plus I had many books and my own music to keep me amused The views down on the islands were nice, and of course I had chosen a window seat on purpose as it was a mainly daylight flight

The flight was only 8 hours, but because we headed east, we lost 2 hours or so. And as the flight system was broken, I had no idea where we were in relation to the ground. But, when we crossed over some land about 5 hours into the flight I decided it must be Oz

We had the usual on board tucker that some planes give out before late afternoon I spotted what looked like a massive river system down below. I had seen many along the way and most of them were dry. When I asked the stewardess dude where we were(I had an idea), he confirmed the fact we were near Longreach, not far to go now

It was not long after this we hit the terminator and we were flying blind, all except the captain, or so I hoped

Once we landed at Brisbane IA, I was lucky as I could use my electronic passport to quickly pass through immigration. In no time at all I had found my still wrapped luggage, with no added boogi board, and headed out to the exit where I was going to be picked up by a fellow HU member, Shane.

It was not long before Shane found me and we were off to his place, and after buying some coke at a servo(and recovering from the heart attack of paying $5 for a bottle), we were back at his place where I met Karen his wife and I unboxed my duty free friends

It was a late night as we chatted about this that and the other. We had met a few times in the past, Shane had organised a few of the Horizons meetings down this way, although his work commitments have kept him from an extended journey like mine at this time.

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Tuesday 2nd April

Of course I slept in today, but that was no big deal, I had need of it During the morning I contacted Malaysian Airlines and asked them about my bike. They told me to go to Menzies Aviation, which happens to be right next door to Qantas Freight, where the bike left from around this time last year

Menzies Aviation GPS – S27 24.513 E153 06.089

I called them and they said to get down there as soon as possible as the paperwork trail may take some time. Once Shane was available we headed down and started the process.

The process was pretty simple, there is no need to use a broker or agent, you can do it yourself. In my case the procedure was as follows.(note: This process will be documented and posted on Horizons Unlimited under the Shipping section over the next week or so.)

First off, I went to Menzies Aviation and proved my ID, they then gave me the Air Way Bill and I had then to take that to Customs. Customs is in a different building of course and about 5km away, again, of course. Lucky for me Shane had the time to shuttle me around.

Australian Customs and Border Security GPS – S27 24.804 E153 04.755

The reason it says border security is because AQIS is in the same building, which is Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, I am sure I will be dealing with them soon! I punched the button for a ticket and waited until that number was called. There are no forms to fill out(but I am talking specifically about an Aussie returning home with an Aussie registered bike), when my number was called, I went up and I explained I was trying to release my motorbike and it was on a Carnet. Brisbane has a standard format for this type of paperwork, in my case, a Carnet will take 24 hours, the sign was on the window and it seems I have no choice. Although, Beemerbird mentioned on Facebook that in Sydney, there is a 10 minutes process time, but I am here, not there. So, sadly I have to return in the morning But, the people behind the counter were nice enough, when I asked they said sure, rock in around 9am and read a book until we get it sorted, so that is what I will do.

The next thing that was nearly as important was communication. I had put my Australian GPS map SD card in a safe place. I had also put my Aussie SIM in the same safe place, it just so happens, that safe place is in bonded storage at Menzies Aviation So, Shane took me to a Telstra shop where I asked for and received a free replacement SIM card and my old number is now back up and running again.

I had in fact been paying a holding fee on this number while I was away, so I would not lose it, but it was good to be back online in Oz After dinner that evening I had a few rumbos, but nothing like last night. I needed to be firing on all cylinders in the morning and sober with a zero BAC, as I fully hoped to be riding my bike. During the day, between us we managed to contact the local Harley dealer and although they did not have them in stock, they said they could have two front indicators(part numbers supplied) delivered Thursday around lunchtime. This meant only a short time riding without them. The indicators I use are from the Buell range of HD sports bikes, they are flexible and although I have proven they are not indestructible, they can take a lot of damage before they are no good any more. Mine have been ripped off in a serious of crashes. They are half the cost of the Suzuki OEM ones, which are so fragile it is a wonder they can get away with selling the bike with them on

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Wednesday 3rd April

Crunch time today as I expected to find out how severe the quarantine inspection is, and I really expect a hard time from them as I am on a bike. So, Shane dropped me back at the Customs place(then left to do his own errands) and after pressing selection ‘A’ I grabbed a ticket from the machine, A001 and was immediately called up to a counter where after a brief chat about the Carnet, he said take a seat and I waited a few minutes before I was called to a window by a Customs lady. She was a bit concerned by the Carnet not being signed off properly by the Malaysian Customs. I explained that the person doing it had no idea what to do and kept looking at other pages but did stamp the counterfoil, but apparently she forgot to sign it. It was not going to be a problem, but something else she showed me was real bad. Now, I have not used this carnet booklet except this once. It had 25 pages, to allow for 25 countries and only the top one had been used. On the THIRD page, some arsehole had written some very disgusting and suggestive remarks in plain English, I know who it was and they will get what is coming to them in due course, don’t you worry about that(be very very fucking scared wanker, I am coming for you)!!!!. This may have been why I got some strange looks in Malaysia from the Muslim lady dealing with my request as I had no idea at that time!!! That could have so easily gotten me a jail sentence in this country(or worse) and I will be dealing with that at a later stage, you can be sure of that!!

Needless to say, this lady from Aussie customs was not amused either and although we talked about tearing that page out, on reflection we left it in and blacked it out, this booklet still has to go to the RACQ for my deposit refund!

So, once we had sorted that horrible business out, I sat back down to wait again. It was not long before she returned, handed me my paperwork and said it is now OK to proceed to the next step, which means go back to the machine, select button ‘B’ and take a ticket and as had happened before, go direct to the next free counter. This in fact was the AQIS window, next to the one I had just left This lady took my info and said as it was a motorbike it would need to be inspected. There would be a fee for this and once we had established that the bike was at Menzies Aviation, it turns out there is a window of opportunity between 09.45 and 11.15am every day, it was now 10.20am!!!

I had made a mistake earlier when Shane dropped me off. He asked whether I had his phone number, I said yes, of course, remember I had sent a message to him at Brisbane airport. Now, when I checked,I found that NO, I did not have his number, all I had was email and Facebook details. This was a problem as I did not want to wait another day if I missed this inspection window! To cut a long story short, I managed via white pages to find their home phone number, called Karen who gave me Shane’s mobile number and within a short space of time, he rocked up and I was delivered to Menzies yet again, where the AQIS chap was waiting.

Once again it was a bit of a rigmarole as I was not prepared. I was wearing thongs(not anal floss, I mean flip flops or Chinese riding boots for my feet) and so I now had to borrow a pair of enclosed footwear to enter the Bonded Storage(I have sand shoes and bike boots with the bike, but need the above mentioned footwear to get to them). Once inside the bonded area the quarantine dude inspected my bike, which was very clean and shiny for the second time of its life.(The first time being when I bought it, but this time it has some battle damage) Because I had camping gear he wanted to inspect that also, but it was short and sweet, I had cleaned all that stuff in KL before I left

Once he had checked all the bike numbers, VIN and engine number, and checked my tent and other camping gear for dirt and mud, he signed the release.

I still was not allowed access to the bike though. I had to return to the office, hand back the borrowed boots, wait until the AQIS chap had returned to his office and signed off electronically which was linked to the Menzies system, then once that was done, swipe my credit card(which is feeling very light lately) and pay for the bonded storage company.

But, now I was free Once they released the bike I could push it out of bond, unlock the top box which had all my smelly gear in it, strip off(yes in public) and don my still soaking (sweaty smelly ) bike gear and ride away, down to the closest servo(to fuel up), then onwards to Redcliff where Shane’s place was

Cheers from Redcliff
TravellingStrom

This particular road was the one I came down the other night and it was pouring with rain and lightning and thunder were all around. It was a pleasure to re-ride it in more comfortable conditions I crossed the Perak River along the way and there was a massive rest area, and in this area were 3 caches but as I could not be sure of the security of my bike gear, I decided not to attempt these. It would have meant parking up and walking a km or so out of sight so I could not be bothered. Anyway, I arrived in the royal town around 0930 and I was soon parked across the road from the location of the first cache of the day.
Malaysia’s Oldest Rubber Tree
Rubber was introduced to the country in 1877 when H.N. Ridley planted nine trees in Kuala Kangsar. Just in front of the Kuala Kangsar District Office at the intersection of Jalan Tun Abdul Razak and Jalan Raja Chulan stands an imposing, old rubber tree. Believed to be the oldest rubber tree in Malaysia , it was an offshoot of the original nine. This century-old tree is still producing!

Cache is a small cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. BYOP to log your visit. Cache is located about 2 meters from ground level stashed in a hollow of a tree. It is readily visible if you know how to look for it. Please watch out for muggles.

It was a bit of the country’s history and of course I have seen many many rubber trees around the place. Sadly though I could not find this cache, I am not 100% positive it is missing, but I was stumped and as there were people around(called muggles) I could not make it too obvious. No worries, this happens often, so I headed off to the next one on the list called Ubudiah Mosque

Kuala Kangsar’s crowning glory the Ubudiah Mosque at Bukit Chandan is reputedly among the most beautiful mosques in the country. Construction began at the turn of the century under the commission of Sultan Idris Murshidul Adzam Shah I, the 28th Sultan of Perak. Its magnificent golden domes and minarets are hallmarks of classical Islamic architecture. An interesting fact is that elephants actually damaged the Italian marble flooring twice during the First World War.

Cache is a small cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. It is placed at base and in a Macarthur palm.

The GZ for this cache was right on top of the palm tree stump so it did not look too good. That is my GPS resting against the stump.

But, as I went down the hill to take a photo, I spotted the cache under the palm tree behind my GPS, so as usual in this game, the accuracy of the co-ords depends on the satellites available when the cache was placed and when I turned up. It was only 5m difference, but on slopes this can be a long physical distance apart. But, it was good, my first find for the day and yes the Mosque did look nice

Right, one out of two found, the next cache was at the Iskandariah Palace

Located at Bukit Chandan in Kuala Kangsar, the resplendent Iskandariah Palace is the official residence of the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah. Surrounded by lush greenery, this palace sprawls majestically across verdant gardens. Reflecting a strong Moorish influence in its architecture, the pristine cream coloured palace displays the characteristic golden domes of this fashion.

Cache is a small cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. BYOP to log your visit. Cache is located about 1 meter from ground level stashed in a hollow of a tree.

Well, I could not see too much of the palace and I also could not find the cache. I checked this tree inside out to no avail, it was missing, although I did find a bit of shredded plastic, which may have been used to protect it. There were only actually 3 hidey holes at 1.5m above ground, but I checked from the ground up to as high as I could reach. Bummer!

Oh well, scratch another, but just up the road a bit was another cache called Royal Museum

Just next to the Iskandriah Palace in Kuala Kangsar lies the Royal Museum. This architectural masterpiece was built entirely without any plans or nails. Solid wood was used to build to the palace with the exception of the roof that was built using the waterproof kayu berlian or diamond wood. In true patriotic fashion, the palace was painted in the three official colours of the Perak flag – white, yellow and black that represent the three branches of the royal family. Woven sliced bertam or bamboo with diamond shaped motifs line the inner palace walls. Also particularly unique are the doors at the top of its stairs, which are set horizontally rather than vertically.

Cache is a small cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. BYOP to log your visit. Cache is located about 1.5 meters above ground level stashed in a hollow of a tree.

The cache was easy to find and was muggle free, but sadly it was totally waterlogged. The chap who put these caches out has used the wrong container, they need to be waterproof and these plastic tubes are definitely not. But, that just means more work for him, maybe they will be replaced with something better. Never mind, I found it and then went for a look at the museum building, from the outside only as it was closed. Actually I would have liked to have checked this place out, for the technical reasons of how it was built, and it looked interesting too

I headed back now to Papan as I wanted to look for that FTF cache again, I had some ideas. On the way back while riding the highway, I stopped to take some photos of the bike friendly main roads department. This country is so hip with motorbikes that it is FREE for all tolls on any road and freeway, like it should be back home. But also, they provide regular safe places for bikes to stop and don the rain gear. This version on the main interstate was very elaborate, there is a small turn off to a small shelter where you put the wets on, or wait out the rain, then a small track back to the highway. This is a brilliant idea and I would like to see some of these back home, I may start to petition my local member, Kirstin.

As I mentioned, these are on the interstate, on the main highways and larger rural roads where the road passes under a bridge, they have a barrier system. In Oz, when we stop under bridges we are in a dangerous place due to the lack of visibility and protection from out of control cars. What they do here is put a barrier along the breakdown lane next to the road and this has a gap in either end to bring your bike behind the barrier and to get out again. A simple but efficient and safe system I will try and get photos next time I see one, another innovation to pass onto main roads back home, anything to make riding the road safer for everyone.

It was very hot and muggy when I got to the Papan Cascades cache that I had been to yesterday and unlucky for me there was a group of kids here swimming and having fun right on top of GZ!

While I was chatting to the kids I happened to spot a tree that looked remarkably like the one in the description of the cache. It was not until I got home about 20 minutes later that I could compare them, but on review, I reckon I have found the actual tree the cache is hidden behind. But, it is about 20m away from the co-ords supplied and up the hill on the other side of the creek, so it looks like if I want this one, I have to return yet again!!!
The first picture here is my photo of the tree I think is it and the second is the one from the Geocaching website, what do you reckon, a match or what?

So the rest of the day was spent relaxing and sorting some bike stuff out as I needed to work out when I was going to fly home. Well, as it turns out when I called MasCargo, they said I can fly direct to Brisbane and I must book a week in advance, so I right away booked an Air Way Bill number and booked the bike on a plane leaving next Monday out of Kuala Lumpar. I then searched and found a seat on the same plane and booked a ticked for myself. So, all going well, I needed to be packed and cleaned by Sunday to deliver the bike to customs, then arrive at the airport Monday at 7am for my check in.

Things are happening

Cheers from Batu Gajah
TravellingStrom

The first cache I wanted to attempt looked like it would take some effort. The map showed it to be a trail up to a waterfall area. I don’t usually go and hike these but it is a First To Find, so it was worthwhile I decided to see what the track was like and see if the bike could get up it, so off I went towards the small town of Papan and the cache of Papan Cascades

Papan Cascades

Cache is a cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. Initial content of cache: a green energy nugget (inedible) and a log scroll. Please bring your pen to log your visit. The cache is located at 104 meters a.s.l., on a slope, at the base of a tree, under a rock.

As you can see I managed to ride right in there and I was actually parked right next to ground zero. But, there was no tree I read the previous logs again, there was only one attempt at this cache since it was published back May 2009. The previous people came for a look in October of that year and could not find it. They were confused by the co-ords being nowhere near a tree also and there was a new gabion wall right on top of GZ. I spent a fair bit of time here looking around all the trees on both sides of the creek, there was a photo posted on the site of the tree it was behind, but I could not see it, this first one here is where the cache is supposed to be hidden(from Geocaching.com), the rest are my ramblings around the area

The problem I had at the time was not having access to that photo out in the field. But, I could not find it and decided to carry on look for another. The next in the series I had planned was up the mountain approach road towards the Cameron Highlands. It was another waterfall and was near the town of Ipoh. On this following map, I started at Amzah’s place, went north west to these cascades then east to Sinju Waterfall

Sinju Waterfall

Cache is a cylindrical screw-capped transparent plastic bottle wrapped in black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. Initial content of cache: a green energy nugget (inedible) and a log scroll. Please bring your pen to log your visit. The cache is located at 375 meters a.s.l. near the river, at the base of a tree, under a rock.

I did not take any photos of this area because I could not get in. I parked up near it along the track that is mentioned but there was a gate blocking access to the track and it looked very overgrown on the other side. The gate was only a bamboo one and I could have climbed it, but maybe there was a reason for it being blocked off, maybe it was dangerous in some way, so I decided against this one and in fact posted a note on the cache site requesting it be disabled until it can be accessed. So that was a long way out of my way for nothing and now I had a long way to go for the next one, this was on the other side of Amzah’s flat, so I took the opportunity to drop in for some smoko and a short break from the heat, which is why my map track looks like a figure 8 The next cache was called River Terrapin Wildlife Conservation Centre

River Terrapin (Batagur baska)

A breeding farm for ‘Tuntung’ (river terrapins or Bataqur baska) is located at Bota Kanan, about 40km from lpoh. Opened in 1967 by the State’s Dept of Wildlife and National Parks, the primary aim of this project is the conservation of this species. To date the hatchery at Bota Kanan has released more than 25,000 hatchings into the Perak River. Between November and March, visitors can witness migrating river terrapins laying eggs in the wild.
Cache is a small cylindrical screwed-cap transparent plastic bottle wrapped in a black polyethylene bag for protection against the elements. Initial content of cache: a blue energy nugget (inedible) and a log scroll. Please bring your pen to log your visit. It is hidden outside the centre at N04° 20.905’ E100° 52.798’, at the base of a thorny plant

I headed there and once again found myself very close to GZ, I parked up in the shade and looked around for a thorny plant.

Yep, that is it in front centre, it has been hacked by the groundsman I guess. I was a bit doubtful of finding anything, and I found out them thorns are very sharp. I ended up using my boot to move the dead wood off the stump, and came up trumps, the cache was still there although a bit tattered. In fact it needs replacing as the container was cracked and water had destroyed the log

The next and last cache on my list for the day was another 30km away, and along the way, as I crossed a bridge(but only when I came to it) I found it was decorated in blue flags. The design on them was a white set of balanced scales. I found out from Amzah that this is the colour scheme of the incumbent political party who have been in power for 60 years, the other parties cannot get a look in. Joh would have loved this place

I arrived at the next cache called Pasir Salak Historical Complex

Situated 70 km from Ipoh, Pasir Salak is of special importance in the historical development of Malaysia as an independent nation. It was here that the original flames of Malay nationalism were sparked. The assassination of the then British Resident of Perak, J.W.W. Birch, ignited a war between the British colonial administration and the Malays.

The Historical Complex pays tribute to warriors such as Dato’ Maharaja Lela, Dato’ Sagor and Si Puntum by erecting special memorials in their honour. Other interesting sights include Mr. Birch’s memorial monument, the burial site of Si Puntum, Dato’ Maharaja Lela’s fortress, the Lela Tentaka cannons used against the British army, a souvenir shop, as well as an information centre.

The only problem was the cache was INSIDE that building inside of a small pottery jar and I could not get in. This is annoying when that happens. I personally think caches should not be in places where you have to buy any type of entrance fee nor where they cannot be accessed 24/7, but that is just me So I was told by the security guards sitting under the building to go away or something But I had a quick decko of the place before heading off. As an aside I recommended this cache be ‘archived’ as it is cannot be accessed. The cache owner has a chance to relocate it to a more accessible position, so hopefully they do that

On the way back to the flat I spotted a KFC and decided to see what they do with it here. Well, it gets the thumbs up, non greasy and very tasty, our Rocky shops could learn a thing or two from this one

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and online in the aircon I planned some more caches for tomorrow and also started to plan for the return home, just some pre-study to see what I needed to do and when.

Cheers from Batu Gajah
TravellingStrom

We headed off just on 0730 with the sun above the horizon and just starting to warm up and break down the mist and fog for the first part of the ride.

If you look at this map, there is a big town at the top, we started out down the road E19 where the little house is. We rode north east and skirted Ipoh until we started to climb into the highlands We took a right turn at the top and followed the road all the way to the south and then turned west and north for a big loop of about 200km. Everything to the right hand side of that major road, the E1 is mountains and nice and cool, everything to the left is flatlands and stinking steamy hot

Once we started to climb the mountain I have to say I was a tad nervous. The road was damp and it was hard to see whether it was from the mist and fog or whether there was oil there and I am not fond of that stuff any more, not outside of where it should be anyway. But my nervousness slowly left me as I became confident once again in my tyres and when we rode in the sunshine it was a lot better. The first stop was for a Geocache called Journey To Heaven This is the first in a big series of caches up through the highlands and as it is a Premium cache, it is only available to Premium members, that is those who have paid for a yearly subscription, like myself. But, here is what the cache description says
“This is a typical guard rail micro located along the Simpang Pulai – Kpg Raja Road. The road links the North and Ipoh to Cameron Highlands. There is another access road to Cameron Highlands – the Tapah – Tanah Rata Road. The road links the South and Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands. However, this road is twisted and winding and it is not at all my favorite. If I were from the South or Kuala Lumpur I would rather take the extra mile to access Cameron Highlands by the Pos Slim – Kpg Raja Road. This access road is less winding and you would be rewarded with some spectacular view of mountains and montane forests. It is through this road the Journey to Heaven begins.

As you can see it was a good start for Amzah as he actually found it before me, so it is his first ever Geocache, well done m8 We were not so lucky on the next one as it was missing although we searched around a fair bit and it was only 500m from the last one. Never mind, we continued on riding for a few more kms and stopped at a great viewpoint

Of course the reaon we stopped was to look at the sights and find a cache called Celastra once again a premium cache:
Celastra means ‘Of the universe and stars’. At this point you can see scenic view of montane forests and mountain ranges in the distance. The cache is dedicated to our youngest daughter, Siearra Celastra Sarina who is currently residing in Australia following her sister Siearra Marina.

This was another good find although we had some issues. It was placed in the rocks of a gabion and it was wet. WHen I tried to replace it it fell down inside where I could not reach. So, we dismantled part of the gabion until I could extract the container, whew that was lucky!

We skipped a few of the caches as they were interfering in the ride So we had a blast riding over the pass and then turning right along the ridge towards the Cameron Highlands proper There is a lot of tea plantations up here as well as many many varieties of fruit and vegies, hence all the green houses. We stopped at a tea house which is attached to a tea farm(how curious is that eh!). Here we had some light refreshment in the shape of a strawberry smoothie for me with carrot cake

After our little snack we continued on. Up here there are many old farm jeeps, most of them need repairs and are very slow and belch out black diesel smoke The roads through the towns are very narrow and when someone stops, which they do continually to buy stuff from all the stalls lining the road, they usually block a lane, meaning everyone else has to squeeze around. It is not much fun this bit, but we soon get back out of town and onto the bendy bits

I noticed quite a few big buildings, most likely hotels that have a quite European look to them, with their steep pitched roofs, they would not look out of place in the Alps In fact some of the jeeps I mentioned earlier had a large CH sticker on the side which I guess could mean Switzerland, but I am not sure.

We stopped at a restaurant owned by one of Amzah’s friends, but he was not there. It was a bit early for lunch as we had just had smoko. I asked what was the plan, turn around and go back or take the skinny road down the back side of the mountains. Amzah had mentioned to me the road was narrow, about 8ft wide or so and although not too busy it can be hard to pass the local traffic. I was game to have a go, and he agreed so we then had an early lunch as we were not sure what was available down the other side, it has been years since he has tried it.

When we left we stopped just up the road as there was a cache at this location, and maybe there was but we could not get to it as there were a group of people having lunch right on it

The people were sitting right on top of the cache, it was under the seat LOL, oh well, maybe another day While we had stopped for lunch we had decided to only do a few more caches, even though they are quick, it takes time to stop, take off helmet, gloves jacket etc etc, find(or not find) cache, put on jacket, gloves helmet etc and it is a tad annoying to continually do this. Ideally, as there are 23 caches up here, I would stay here a month, ride the road every day and find one cache a day But, that won’t happen The next stop was a nice one, brilliant views over the crop land below. The actual cache was sort of found, in that we could feel it but the advertising sign has had a new advert and it trapped the cache behind it
Green Gold Green Gold is located near Cameronian Bharat Plantation Tea House, Tanah Rata. The Tea House is a popular resting point for visitors to Cameron Highlands. It offers variations of tea flavors to customers. Here you can see the view of a tea plantation at its best!

We logged it as a find anyway, because we could feel it. We were not so lucky on the next one we stopped at as it was missing. When we read the previous logs, it had been noted as missing for a while but the cache owner has not bothered to do a maintenance run for a while, nor disable it, very disappointing. But,it was still a nice ride there We continued on until a place called Tudor House and this is a very English looking Hotel. The cache is on private property, not sure of that is legal or not, but we did find the little sucker
Tudor Cache Tudor Cache is located at The Lakehouse, which is set in an area dubbed “The Valley of Eternal Spring”. It is a Tudor-style country house, backed by state reserve forests, sits atop a hill overlooking the Sultan Abu Bakar Lake.

The last one of this little batch was called The Big Fat Strawberry The Big Fat Strawberry is my 26th cache in the Cameron Highlands. 26 is my number. This will be my last contribution to geocachers to do geocaching in the Highlands. It is also my last cache in Malaysia.

The Strawberry was big and fat, but the cache was missing. From here on there was only one more cache and that was about 20km away downhill near a waterfall, so after a fruitless(lol) search near here, we chuffed off down the 8ft wide road!

Did you notice anything? The road is no longer 8ft wide but has been modified greatly and even Amzah was surprised The problem was, now that the road was better, more people were using it! When we came to the waterfall the congestion was so great we came to a standstill. Right next to the cache location, but there was a lady in her car parked right next to it, so this one would have to wait for another day as well.

We polished off the last of the twisting winding mountain roads around half past two and were now down on the flat amongst the steamy monsoonal heat After stopping at a servo for a cold drink we took the rural roads back to the flat with just the one more cache to visit today. This one was right next to Amzahs farm and is called the Tin Dredging – What That Is Left Of It
The tin dredge Tanjung Tualang (T.T.) No 5 built in 1938 by W.F. Payne & Sons for Pernas Chartered Management Sdn Bhd. is the last great reminder of the time when Kinta Valley was the world’s richest tin producing area.

In 1997, Pernas Chartered Management Sdn Bhd donated the three-storey high dredge to the state, which spent over half a million ringgit to develop it into an attraction. A company, Osborne & Chappel, add another RM100,000 to facelift the dredge.

We had no luck at this place. The cache was in a tree hollow behind the bikes, supposedly, but we searched in vain, bummer. Oh well, we had done OK for the day, we found a few caches, rode some great roads and saw some real nice scenery, so all in all a beautiful day We went back to the flat for a shower and some air conditioned comfort, and I showed Amzah how to log caches and otherwise pass on the good oil, before he headed back to Lumut, the town on the coast where he lives.

Myself, well I cooked a good noodle dinner and had some beer again But, not many as I wanted to go and find some more caches tomorrow morning, but down on the flat lands this time. That meant being very hot, so I wanted to be back around lunch time and get relaxed in the aircon before the afternoon thunderstorm arrived. As it was Amzah had to stay here longer today because of a big thunder bumper just after we got in.
Thanks for a great day m8, appreciate it

Cheers from Batu Gajah
TravellingStrom

Today was a relax day after 2 days riding. I had no internet yet but I did some basics, like washing, I have not seen a washing machine for ages! Amzah rocked in about 11 as promised and he took me for a drive around town and to a shopping centre. As I was now in a flat, rather than a hotel, I could sort out my own food for a change, so here I bought same basic stuff and we had some lunch at a chook and rice joint. Although, as I had bought a roast chook for later, I had the stewed beef

Amzah is also a world traveller. But, when he retired from the navy he could not just up and leave his wife and farms for a few years, so he had to split his RTW trip into segments. His next leg is in north America in July, his blogsite is rideabiketravel where you can see he is at the dreaming/planning stage This can be fun but I usually find all my planning goes out the window when I hit the road

I ended up finding a phone store here that checked my SIM card and they found that although it was active for internet, it was not activated?? Anyway, a quick push of a few buttons and Bob’s your uncle(well, he’s my cousin actually, but that’s beside the point ). But, I have 3G and internet connection Once we got back to the flat I soon had the iPhone connected to the laptop and started to do some blog updates and check mail etc.

Late afternoon I found myself inside while an extremely noisy storm raged outside. This was serious tropic weather and I found out that because of all the tin mines that are in the area, the number of lightning strikes were tremendous!!! I was expecting a bolt to come through the roof at any time, they were right overhead with absolutely no delay between flash and bang!!! But, I survived

The storm raged for about an hour before settling into just torrential rain for another few hours. I was fine, I had beer and food, I had internet and an aircon room, happy as

I had a very late night. I had no plans for going anywhere tomorrow either. There was a Canadian rider in KL who was maybe going to turn up, and Amzah was busy that day also, and so as he wanted to come for a ride with me, we planned on the following day, a Saturday excursion to the Cameron Highlands.

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Friday 22nd March

Today was a relaxing day, getting some more blog posts done, I was so far behind again With that and doing some study on the route we would use tomorrow took some time anyway. I was also amazed by the number of Geocaches in the area! There were about 15 just in the local area, but after careful study I realised they were all in caves or near caves and from the log attempts, quite a few have gone missing and they all involve hiking. This is not the weather for hiking as once again today another storm unleashed its fury. But, it was a short and quick one, which gave me a chance to wade across the paddock to the local shop to buy some ice. Can you guess what this bus is used for? This is today’s language quiz

And the reason for the ice was?

Yep, a few beers and a rum or two as well, but not many as tomorrow was ride day and Amzah was coming here at 07.30!!!! Now, do you remember this picture I posted the other day?

It was a whole plantation of tall sticks and I wondered what they were and why they were like that. Well, lucky for me Amzah knows the answer. They are palm trees obviously, but they have been poisoned, on purpose. It seems these particular trees used for the production of palm oil, have a productive lifespan of 25 years, after that they start to get less fruit and are too tall by then anyway. So they inject the trunk with a poison that actually rots the tree from the top down. Over a period of time it will slowly dissolve and not fall over causing problems. The down side of this is it is a wasted resource. It can be time consuming to chop them all down, but if they are chopped down, then the remains can be shredded for mulch and fertiliser., so there you go

Cheers from Batu Gajah
TravellingStrom

Anyway, I was packed and on the bike at 8am, a miracle and proceeded south I had planned to take in a few Geocaches on the way, time permitting, but wanted to be at the border before lunch. The only reason I stopped at the first cache was because it had never been found, I just liked the thought of my final Thailand cache to be a First To Find (FTF) The cache was pretty easy to find and even had parking off road, although I missed the exit and parked up on the shoulder. So I was successful and collected a FTF for the day

Cache is Welcome to Mae Khri

After another hour or so of riding I entered some hilly country and then not long after the border area. This is where the fun started

I had been told that this border is quiet and so it seemed, compared to a number of other borders I had been through anyway. The Thai side was easy, it took no time for them to stamp me out of the country and reclaim the TVIP for the bike. Then it was on the the Malaysian side. There is no excuse to be had in this country, if you want to play with drugs, pay the penalty, it is on a huge sign as you enter!

The initial part of the process here was fine, I was stamped in on my passport and then for the first time of the whole trip I got to use the Carnet!! I have carried this set of documents for nearly a year now and no country wanted or needed them. Even the ones that the AAA said needed them, didn’t, so it was a pleasant surprise to sit in the office while the customs chap followed a precise step by step procedure on how to use and fill one out

This process did not take long and I was ready to go, except for one thing. I asked about bike insurance(3rd Party) and was it needed in Malaysia? After a few chats with the local cops, one of the cops told me I needed to get some insurance back on the Thai side, I also needed copies of my rego, international drivers licence(which was expired) and passport, then bring all those documents to him and he would issue a CPI certificate, or something along those lines. Well, I was confused, why do I now have to leave my bike here in Malaysia, walk across the border to Thailand to buy Malaysian insurance. In the end I tried, but the insurance office sent me back across to Malaysia and said get it there. Well, there was only one office and it was locked!!! Lucky for me a lady saw what I needed and pointed to another lady in a car, she said she had left her keys behind and they would arrive in about 20 minutes, well, OK then, time for lunch

Not very inspiring lunch, chook rice and apple juice, but it filled the hole. By the time I had finished that the office was open and then I found out that their company could not supply foreign bikes with insurance, only Thai or Malay registered bikes!!! Now what??? When I explained that the cops would not let me pass without it, she got on the phone and talked to them and said to me, it is OK, just ride on through? What else could I do, so I did and nobody stopped me. But, I still have no 3rd party insurance, so I better not hit anybody as I don’t want to go to jail here!

Selamat Datang(Welcome) to Malaysia at the Wang Kelian border point The final country of my journey home for this leg. And, I had some caches to find, there are 3 right here at the border point. I knew one of them was a FTF, but it was a trek up in the forest/jungle and I probably did not have time for this one now as I lost time at the border. But, the first one was at the duty free area market. According to the online log it had been found by a German a while back, it is called Gateway to Thailand: Wang Kelian – Wang Prachan There is not much to read about as the cache is a premium member only cache. But, I did find it and I annoyed a small mother bird in the process. While searching(the ground zero was 15m away for the supposed location) I disturbed an egg sitting mum in a fire extinguisher housing

If you look at the last photo above you will see a clean log sheet, totally empty, yet the German chap had claimed FTF? I took these photos so I could document that I had found it and wanted to claim FTF. If a new cache is found, it is practically unheard of for someone NOT to sign the log, but as I could not read the log entry as it was in German, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, in case they had no pen or pencil handy I later sent an email to the cache owner asking his/her opinion and they said the German chap had said the cache had been lost but he was claiming FTF, his log entry has now been deleted as he never found it and I have been awarded this one. )You ripper, a FTF as my last in Thailand and my first cache in Malaysia is also a FTF, a good result, things are looking up

Onwards I go but not far as the next cache is quite close, only a km away. This one was a bit of a struggle to get to because my GPS took me to a carpark and once I left the bike I had a nearly impenetrable wall of jungle with no machete!

I was only 60m from it, which might as well be a mile! I stopped and re-read the cache description
The Danish Trail and the top line said Cache is placed in a wooded area, little undergrowth and beside a paved walking trail So, I was looking in the wrong spot as I had not seen any paved trails. I went back to basics and looked at the massive big photo map board next to my bike and on that I could see a few red lined walking trails and building outlines. I soon oriented myself and found the trail out the back, and yes it was overgrown and hard to see. Lucky there was a sign. I soon found the cache but it was damaged, it had been holed and there was no log to sign, so I just put it back where I found it.

So, I had found three for the day and I decided that was enough for now. The other one around here was also about 1km away but it was going to need a trek to find it, no time now I need to press on As I mentioned yesterday, I had a place to stay waiting for me and I still needed to cover 350km. The roads were quite good as soon as I moved off with some nice curves and hills to keep me busy. I reached a junction and saw on my GPS yet another cache, just right there, so I went for a look, it was at the entrance to a cave system, but this one was missing, a bit of a shame
Gua Kelam, Perlis This one was made for premium members also. From what I understand, there is a lesser chance of muggles finding it if not every man and his dog is approaching the cache all the time. But, this one was a small container stuck to the back of the large M in the sign. The building behind has many many windows and this particular location is not a good one for a muggle free cache

Back heading south and I decided I would not stop, except for fuel of course. The roads were good, but I seemed to be in all the traffic, I was hoping for a freeway or something, that was when I checked my GPS settings and I had told it to ‘avoid’ toll roads, bugger, but in Thailand it is illegal for bikes to use them! Not that I like paying tolls, but I had been told bikes are toll free here so when I changed the settings, it seems I had missed the earlier opportunity to find an on ramp and would have to wait another 40km or so. I noticed while riding through the smaller towns and secondary roads that the scoots and other bikes would ride to the left in their own special lane, that looks good and it worked too. As the traffic bunched up at lights, it was easy to filter to the front

I did find the next on ramp and I was now on the toll road, as I entered I went up to the window but it seems I have missed some basic information. The girl waved me through and I set off alarms as I went over the sensor? Oh well, not my problem is it On the freeway I noticed for the first time in over 25,000km actual proper traffic control signs, lane closures and even mechanical waving men to slow people down, I must be in a civilised and more western safety concious country!

I mentioned the alarms at the last toll booth, well, I found out at the next toll booth, it seems that there are special lanes for bikes, just what we need back home All I had to do was stay left and squeeze on through

I think I like this country already, they make the bikers a part of the road use and don’t ignore them like back at home(except in the pocket of course). It was getting close to 5pm when I stopped to fuel up, I was not far away from my destination, but the clouds ahead looked ominous, so I pulled up at the first drop and for the first time in many many months put my goretex waterproof liner in, the jacket only. I could not be bothered taking my pants off on the side of the road this time.

Of course I then rode in full sunshine!!!

After about 20 minutes I nearly decided to stop and take the liner out as I was boiling, but lucky for me I didn’t as I then crossed a mountain range and got absolutely bucketed on, this was a major torrential thunderstorm with thunder and lightning crashing all around. I must be in the tropics

The sensible thing to do would have been to stop, but there was nowhere on the mountain range I considered safe to pull over. I figured a moving target would be harder to hit by lightning and just sloshed onwards I finally reached the town of Batu Gajah and headed for the address I had been given. I did stop and call Amzah, the owner and he said he would meet me there. Well, funny thing, I arrived at the correct street but could not find number 44, it only went up to 28. I asked quite a few locals and showed them the address and was directed in a few different directions? I circled the block a few times but eventually I stopped and called Amzah again, I had no choice! At least it had stopped raining now, but my pants and boots were soaked but I was not cold.

Amzah drove around and found me and I followed him to his place. Well, in the photo above of the street address it is basically OK, but substitute the 3 for a 2 and I would have found it myself, just a communications typo error So I met Amzahs wife Sue and they showed me the flat and I was soon in dry clothes, which was a relief. It was now 7.30pm and they had a dinner engagement, so I thanked them and would see them tomorrow. In the meantime I did some shopping. There was a small restaurant about 200m away one way and a street market the other way. Over the next few hours I managed to buy some dinner, basic chook and fried rice and I bought a SIM card from a phone shop. I had to return a few times as the 3G I was promised was not happening I would have to go back tomorrow and get a replacement card from a different company. There was no internet at the flat, there was local people WiFi, but they were all locked and my hacking skills suck

So, it has been a long but successful day, two FTF caches, a bike that runs perfectly and a place to stay to base myself for some fun riding in the hills Tomorrow Amzah said he would call around 11am or so, in the meantime although I had no beer, I did have me old mate Bundy to keep me company

It was a late night, gone midnight before I crashed out

Cheers from Batu Gajah
TravellingStrom

I headed north off the island and once on the mainland I stopped for a rest. Well, actually I stopped for a Geocache which is on one of the bridges here. This is an interesting place and if you follow the following link you will get a good background to the bridges connecting Phuket Is with the mainland.

Sarasin II . I looked high and low here and sadly I could not find it, a bit of a shame, especially as I was the only person here at one stage and could search without worrying about muggles. There were a lot of bait fish in the water and it was fun to see the barracuda carving into the shoals

This was one of Wolfgangs caches and that is why I wanted to find it, but either I am totally stupid or it has been muggled, which would be my guess I hopped back aboard Flopsy and continued north and slowly east around the gulf. I have a real crappy GPS map but you can see the general direction I took here. My first destination was Krabi, it is about due east from Phuket and only 60km away, as the bird flies, but for me it is 180km You can see a small blue flag amongst all the geocaches on the mainland and that is the Krabi way point I selected. I actually was going to spend the night there, but it was so early by the time I reached it, I grabbed some lunch and continued on The little yellow lines on that picture, between Phuket and Krabi, are roads on the two islands there, the blue of the sea should actually go right up into the arch of the road track I took. I am not sure if that makes sense, hopefully it does.

Lunch was pretty basic, I fuelled up and then found a 7/11 and ate a not too bad sanger and a mars bar

Once I was back on the road I grabbed the following photo while on the move, it seemed strange but there was a whole forest of topless palm trees, real weird?

The ride was smooth, the roads were good and although I had some snarled traffic on occasion it was a pretty good day for a ride. It was hot, but as long as I kept moving I was fine The bike was running good and so it should after all the bloody pampering it has been getting lately So, I arrived in the town of Trang with not a clue about where to stay, around 4.30pm. I parked up in the shade and checked RideAsia.net, but nope, nobody has logged any accommodation recommendations for this town, so I was on my own. No worries, I started off by using the GPS and picked a name off the list of lodgings. This was a futile effort because all the hotels I chose were so daggy looking from outside, I could not be bothered getting off the bike to have a look. Did I say it was hot, well it was humid as well, so I was pouring sweat under all the gear. After an hour frigging around like this I was becoming frustrated, so I then started to upgrade myself and picked a few ‘resorts’ to look at, well, the reason ‘resorts’ is written that way is because they charged by the hour

Hahaha, these places were the same as the Auto Hotels Vincent and myself stayed at in Mexico, in separate rooms of course!!! These were probably a good choice but they had no WiFi and I wanted to do some research tonight. So, I kept on looking and in the end went to the centre of town and found the Trang Hotel, it was being renovated, and needed it, but the room was not too shabby. I scored a room above reception and WiFi was included with secure guarded parking out back, this will do me for the night (these first few photos are from the rear)

Trang Hotel GPS – N7.55638 E99.60988

Once I had checked in and had a cold shower etc I started to think about food. They had a restaurant downstairs, and I checked the menu but tonight I was not that interested in what they had to offer, so I decided to head down the road to the local street market, that is always an eye opener

Out of many many choices once again, I decided on a cob of corn, a piece of chook and a snag. And although I forgot to take a photo, I did finish it off with a small tray of mango, my fav On the return to the hotel I noticed this statue next to an impressive building, it looked like a sea cow, or walrus, without the big teeth, I wonder what that is? ( I saw quite a few more along this theme on my way out of town the next day, I am not sure what they are)

So, I clocked up 325km for the day, not bad for someone who has been nearly stationary for the past 20 days. Tomorrow though I would get away early if I could, brekky was from 6.30 on and I had to cover about 200km before I attempted the border crossing into Malaysia I had seen a post on Horizons Unlimited, a chap in Malaysia was offering a free flat for travellers. It was situated about 350km south of the border and was near the town of Ipoh. I only noticed the offer because another rider from Canada asked if it was available, he was in Port Kelang getting his bike out of customs at the time. I contacted the owner Amzah, and he said sure thing, the flat has two rooms, stay as long as you like and as he is going to Canada soon, he would like to grab mine and Kevin’s knowledge and experience. So, that is a good thing to happen. This way, I can leave all my heavy camping gear once again, then go and blast the Camaroon Highlands which happens to be right next door, wow, what a result

Cheers from Trang, Thailand
TravellingStrom

When I turned up Thursday morning, armed with some check procedures, they said it was fixed The problem lay in them not following the exact procedure as laid out in the service manual. One of the procedures in rebuilding the engine is to line up the front cylinder to TDC or Top Dead Centre, then the cam and cam chain are installed and timing marks lined up. Next, the whole crank shaft has to be turned counter clockwise 360 degrees, or one full turn, then the rear cylinder is set to TDC and the cams etc installed. They did not turn the crankshaft between doing these two alignments!!! So, they had redone the timing this morning and now the bike was running perfectly

Well, that was all good news, the thing is now to get the bike back together, polish the windscreen so I can see though it(it is all cracked and crazed), clean the bike and then give me the bill. This is when it all fell down, because the manager is never around and I could not get anyone to give me a price!! It was a painful procedure, but I told them to bill me, NOW please!! I have been here long enough and I want to ride south. They said they would get back to me later

Oh well, there are a few more Geocaches to go and find, so I spent the rest of the day doing that, I had quite a few lined up, about 7 or 8 in all and I had set out a circuit to find them. I had also been contacted by one of the cache owners who would like to meet up, but not until after 2pm.

The first cache was called Use Low Gear and it was in a new section of construction on one of the many steep hills that cover Phuket. To get there I had to go through congested streets because of a bingle, I saw many of these while I was here. The cache was quite easy to find and as I had done the research beforehand, I knew that the caches were still there just recently, so I had hopes of finding them all today, if I could get to them, more on that later!

Now, the next one was going to be a challenge and I thought about not even going for it. It was a physical challenge mainly as it involved a waterfall. Now, for some reason waterfalls are put up on mountains, and to go and see them, this involves trekking or climbing. In this case it was 440 steps!!!! I decided I needed the exercise and went for it in the late morning and it was a struggle, I am so unfit at this moment
The cache is called Namtok Kathu

The stairs were brutal to my legs, but I got there after a few breathers, but even so, it was steamy hot and I am glad I brought the water bottles with me! Once there , I read the cache description, it says check the hollow tree across the water. This is what my GPS said anyway, although the actual way point said over the other way, on this side of the water and the tree there looked interesting?? So, I checked in and around and under and everywhere near the hollow tree to no avail I re-read the past cache logs that got downloaded but the last comment was by the cache owner late last year saying it was raining and he could not replace the missing cache!!! Then I recalled reading that the new replacement cache was near another tree and wonders of wonders, when I checked the tree near to where I thought it should be, it was That made the effort worth while at least

The hike down was a lot easier on my legs and I was soon back in the carpark and on the scoot. The next two caches were near each other up in the mountains. The road up here was great, brand new and fun The first cache to look for was called Guardian Trees It was a simple cache to find with some nice views from up on high

The next one was called Phuket Divider . This one involved a bit more care and attention on the track in as it was steep and stuffed with washouts. It was a bit tougher finding this one as the satellite accuracy was down a bit and the overgrowth had changed, there was no longer the 3 bits of bamboo to aim for, just a short stick section left, but it was enough for me

So this is a good day so far, 4 from 4 The next one took me east towards the sea and I found myself riding though the rubber tree plantations along a narrow concrete road, a very nice ride The cache was located next to a sign in Thai, and I have absolutely no idea what it says, maybe someone out there can help with translation? This cache is called Tha La It took some finding, but I eventually found its hiding spot Strangely enough it almost looks like there is an English word in that script, can you find it?

The answer is the word CHARM, 4th line down just to right of centre. OK, I am now on the home stretch, it is just past 3pm and I only have 3 more to chase. The next one was called the Sea Tree I was a bit dubious about this one as it involved tidal access. As it turned out I could go for a swim or come back another day at low tide. In the end I never went back, so I never actually attempted this one as there was no access at the time. The cache is located in the small tree just to the right of the white foam thing, this side of the headland.

I next headed to the other side of the island to chase up the last one of the day, and also after making a phone call, to meet up with Wolfgang, a German expat who has placed many of the caches here in Phuket. We met at the cache called Millionaires Mile, not one of his. Once again this was a relatively simple cache to locate and as with most of the ones I did today, muggle free, just the way I like them.

After introducing ourselves we repaired to not the nearest pub, but one with a bloody good view over Patong Bay. We had a good chat about this that and the other, a fun time with a cold beer

After that I high tailed it back to the Aussie Bar to watch the Broncos play live, but sadly, after buying a beer, I found that the telecast would be delayed by 1.5hrs. So, that gave me time to go back to the hotel, freshen up and head to Michaels Bar where I had a great dinner, yet again the stir fried chicken and noodles and watch the game It was a good result, Broncos beat them Dragons 22-6 Later that evening I went and chatted with Teddy and then met up with Jeffrey at the Rocking Angels for beer and music, same same but this time with a drummer, very good sounds

Late in the afternoon I had received a call from the bike shop, they gave me a price(which staggered me a bit) but the bike is ready for pick up tomorrow That was good news, and I could now plan my departure for Monday morning

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The next day I fronted up with a few questions to be asked about the billing method. There were a few hidden costs, VAT, charge for using credit card, but one that I was unimpressed by was the $99 for the oil WTF, I have never paid more than $50 for the extreme best oil back home, so how can they charge $33/lt. It was Penzoil, but who cares, if they had of asked me, I would have bought another brand, that was insane!! Anyway, after some argy bargy with the boss man on the phone, I wrangled a discount, but I still had to go away without the bike. They could not use the credit card machine and the girls who know how to use it are away until 3pm!! So, I got a taxi and returned and paid and rode the bike back to the hotel. It was strange riding a big bike with a clutch, I must say. I stopped at the scooter rental lady to pay my bill and left the bike in neutral and running(it was on the street and I wanted the hazard lights to be seen) That was when I noticed the large amount of fluid leaking onto the road, this is not good

I called Park right away, It was boiling over and the coolant was escaping, the fan was not working hence it had over heated in the slow traffic on a hot day. I ended up riding it back to the hotel while they brought a ute. They in fact rode it back to the shop where they would look at it on Monday, another trip plan hits the bin

But, I had a good dinner, the usual and some footy and later on some music, with a stand in singer this time

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Sunday was a rest day as I had partied late again last night and put a fair dent in a bottle of local brew called Sang Som, I also planned this to be an alcohol free day, which it was Monday morning early I hit the bike shop and before I even opened my mouth to explain the check procedures I had gleaned off the internet, they told me it was fixed They said it was a dirty temp sensor, but I personally believe the fan connection harness was not connected properly. Never mind, it was fixed and I got them to take the bike back to the hotel for me, saved me another taxi fare and gave them a chance to see what happens in hot traffic The bike was delivered safely, after filling the tank on the way and I was now free for the rest of the day to start packing, ready for a new departure date of tomorrow morning

I sorted gear during the day and dumped some stuff, I had to be tough now as I was going to be carrying all my camping gear once again until probably Kuala Lumpa and I had gained things on the way. I also went shopping, I had finally found a good pair of cheap polaroid sunnies and as they had lasted 2 weeks, I reckon they may be up to the challenge, so I bought two more At $10 each and they fit inside my helmet, they are worth it Most of the others I have bought have been good lenses, but the arms snap off, which hurts and cuts my face when I still use them. I saw a Yamazaki shop at the big Tesco Lotus, but it turned out not to be a Chinese bike shop like I thought, but a bakery I also saw Jeffreys beemer down at the Rider Cafe, so I dropped in for a quick chat and to say hooroo. Jeffrey was flying to Vancouver tonight where he will do the Pan American highway from Prudhoe Bay to Ushuaia, once the weather warms up a bit that is Farewell Jeff, safe travels and rubber side down. Nice to have met you Teddy and Patrick, keep on rocking them blues Stay in touch all of you

And there you have the end result of an oil spill, a crash, a repair job which involved a mercy dash to a different country for parts and the consumption of many many ales whilst waiting.

Tomorrow I am riding to southern Thailand, probably a town called Trang, which is still north of Malaysia by 2 hours, but it will give me a good days ride and get used to the bike again. I had planned on going directly east using a ferry across to an island, staying overnight then another ferry to Krabi. This was a suggestion from Frank Butler and I liked the sound of it. But, when I looked into it further, the only boats that cross there are the long tail boats. Now, I know they can take scooters and they probably could take my bike, but!! I was having some bad luck recently( or adventures to be more positive) and I really did not want my bike getting dropped in the ocean and causing more delays. I decided I want to be in control of the bike, so I shelved that plan and decided to stick to the road.

I do not have a lot of time left anyway, as I had lost an extra 4 days in Phuket because they would not give me a bill, then the overheating problem happened on a weekend. I really just want to get to Malaysia now. I have no idea what to do when I get there except ride the mountains, I want some fun before I get back to the flat straight roads of home.

Cheers from Phuket
TravellingStrom

I grabbed a cab to the airport early after brekky and after checking in I sat around reading, watching the chicas and some not so chicas!

There were a group of them, they must be a footy team or on a losing bet or something, how embarrassing!! The flight was uneventful, which is always a good thing and I had some great views of the shipping around the port of Singapore and the Malacca Straights as we came into land. I had no baggage claim and was on the train to town in no time. I had stopped to get info at the airport and now knew which train I needed for the hotel I had chosen, and also the Suzuki shop. I phoned the shop and he told me he closes at 5pm, so as I had lost an hour during the change of time zones, I better get cracking!

I had found the hotel OK, but the price was different now, if I had booked online(42$) but normal $126, so I went next door to the 81 and grabbed a cheaper room. Then I high tailed it back to the train station a few blocks away and went for a ride to get my spare parts. Although I was looking for a Suzuki shop, at first all I could find was a Fookhin Pawn Shop.

The train system here in Singapore is extremely easy and efficient. Of course it makes it easy in a country that speaks mainly English, as it used to be a British Territory during the Colonial era. For those who have been following my travels, you may recall the Hellfire Pass and The Bridge Over the River Kwai post I did? Well, the allied soldiers that were stationed here in the war were all transported north to do that work. Anyway, I was able to get to the shop with 20 minutes to spare and bought my parts that had been set aside. Lucky for me I had called earlier as they do not take credit card and that allowed me to visit an ATM to grab some cash. In the following photo of the train occupants, the quiz question is, why is the lady on the right looking so bored?

Answer, she left her smart phone at home

At the Suzuki shop the only issue I had was with the piston rings, but they were an optional purchase and would not be needed to get me back on the road. I had specified a part number from an 07 model(the only parts manual I had), mine is an 08 and for some reason it is different, even though the piston is the same? He did not have any to match what I needed anyway, and so I had to make a decision, I bought them just in case they could be used. But, I would of course need to find out the difference at some stage. Later!

Next on the agenda was playtime, and for that enter stage left, Glenn

Glenn is a chap I met up in Chiang Mai when I stayed at Riders Corner last year. We went for a ride together with Phil the owner. We got on fine and now we were going to have a few beers on his own territory. When I told him where my hotel was he just laughed, apparently I was smack bang in the middle of the red light district!!!! Ahh, so that was what those girls were asking me First off though, I have to say, Singapore is EXPENSIVE!!!! Everything costs heaps, but maybe that is because I have just spent the past 5 months in SEA which is dirt cheap If that is the case, I am not looking forward to the life back in Oz!!! As we drove to a bar of Glens choice, I remarked on the fact there are not many scooters or bikes on the road, this was very noticeable to me after SEA traffic. Glenn informed me that the government has taxed the buggery out of it all. To hopefully save traffic chaos, before you buy a bike(any size from scooter to Rocket III), you need a letter of permission(or something like that), this costs $2,000 if it is granted. Then you buy the bike at whatever the import cost is. Then you register it(costs a lot), then you pay road tax(costs a lot), so all up, a $1,500 scooter may cost you $8,000. For cars, it is even worse, the new rules that just came into effect means if you want to buy a car, the ‘letter of permission’ will cost you $92,000, yep that is not a typo, $92,000 and this is only to give the ability to buy a car, then rego, road tax you name it!!! This LOP lasts 10 years, you then need to pay another 92k or whatever sum it has risen to.

So, anyway, back to the beer. We found a place next to the river where we had a few beers and I had some ribs, then we went to party and according to the sign, we had found the right place(if you are wondering about my gear, I brought with me nothing to change into, I would shower with this stuff before bed and wear it tomorrow after it is dry, or even if not)

What happens in Singapore stays in Singapore

The next day I returned to the Suzuki shop, and on the way saw the working girls just arriving for another day of hard. I cannot remember getting home last night, this morning, so maybe these are different girls? Anyway, back to normality with a hangover, I had been thinking that the piston rings would not be a good idea, because I could not be sure of what they will do to the cylinder bore, there must be a good reason for the change in sizes(I found out later a different depth and thickness of the grooves meant a different ring size). But, the shop would not refund me the money, so I tried to swap the credit for a new clutch switch(mine is buggered) but he had none, a new side stand switch(mine was ripped off in Kyrgyzstan), also none in stock, bugger. My main reason for returning was to get a new air filter, so in the end I swapped the ring kit for two of them, the price was ‘same same’

So, once that was achieved I headed into town to do some shopping. Now, shopping and me are not a common sight and as I have no fashion flair, it would be a waste of time anyway. But, my mum had asked me to see if I could find something and as I had been given the shop name and the area to look, it was but a trifle of time and effort I did find the correct shop, and did purchase something, but it is now considered an official ‘surprise’, so all you get is the following hint

So, now I had done all that was needed and I went back to the hotel where I had stashed my bags and grabbed them, then went to the airport. It mattered not that it was early, I figured I needed to buy some food for the plane flight and I could use the free WiFi and maybe relax in the aircon The planes here are frill free, if you want to eat, you buy it on board at extra cost or bring it with you. This goal was also achieved, we took off, I saw a great sunset from whatever height above wherever and arrived safely. My taxi driver had turned up as promised(the same person who took me here, was it only just yesterday) and the trip to town was easily done. It was a relief to be back and having the bike bits I needed to continue my journey. Dinner was a simple cob of corn from the street market while I caught up with emails etc.

***********************************

Before I went to Singapore I had taken my seat down to an upholsterer and asked for a new cover. The old one was ripped to shreds from age and wear and tear, not from the crashes. The result was good, I like it, he did an excellent job getting the new cover to fit with my Airhawk bladder and cheap too at $20.

Upholster Phuket GPS – N7.90710 E98.37630

I picked this up and took it along with the spare parts to the bike shop and left them to it. It was Saturday, and Park, the mechanic, said my crankshaft would arrive tomorrow, so that is good news They would not start the work until Monday, but it was still a week or more earlier than it would otherwise have been if I had waited for parts, so I feel the time and effort used in going to pick up the parts was well worth the expense, a good outcome all around I was now free for a few days and I basically spent that time on my rental scooter chasing Geocaches of which there are heaps on Phuket Island. That evening Frank came around and took me on another tour down to the south of the Island. Before we left I spotted some young school kids all kitted up in nice uniforms, it turns out to be their school celebration, held once a year.

The area we went to was a seafood area, you buy the seafood direct off the market stalls, then take it to the nearest place to have it cooked and served. Here you can also be tempted with the sales pitch of the local touts, Frank managed to buy something, although the hat he was fond of was a tad smaller than he wished and he bought something else, a wooden cane toad in fact! {check out the size of some of them prawns, they are huge, who says the fishery is over fished, ours back home just needs to be less managed and better utilised. If the people here can still catch the size and quality of what I saw here, every bloody day, then there is something wrong with GBRMPA[Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
]}

After the scrumptious prawns and fish we headed back to town and saw a group of big bikes and music and noise. We both looked at each other, and went to investigate

We had a few of the beers but we were sort of left out of everything. It was a private birthday party we had sort of gate crashed, they let us in, but except for the beer girls, it was a bit quiet where we were sitting, which was not a bad thing

The next day was a full on Geocache day, I had planned a string of them to attempt, and left early on the scoot with plenty of water, sunscreen and my GPS. I won’t go into the whole lot but give you a general feel of the things I saw. The first is a cache right down at the bottom tip of this headland, right above the tide line!!

Here is the view back the other way

I did a number of caches before looking for something light to eat. I was on a beach called Kamala and found a grocery store , by jingo, I think I hit the jackpot

Just to give you an idea of the tourism factor here, check out this sign, recognise the language?

Yep, this is a Russian area, but not as bad as Patong Beach down the coast a bit, that is supposed to be real full of mainly Russians. I liked Russia One of the caches was at the place called the Big Buddha, and yes it was huge, it dominated the hill it sat on.

An early morning photo would be real good. The road down was fast and scary on the scoot, but at least I had disk brakes

The next day I went and did some more caches as I did not want to disturb the bike shop to early. There were a few more down near Kamala and Kata beaches. One of them was a surprise, it was a memorial to the people who lost their lives here during the Tsunami in 2006(it was a surprise because I did not know this area got hit, although I knew Burma got hit, and it had the same western coast line). An artist had designed a stylised metal sculpture to portray the earth’s magnetic field and the interaction with the ground.

As I was cruising back towards town I spotted a couple of real nice signs

Of course I sat down and had a beer and watched the game, this is the first footy game I have seen since the State of Origin whitewash of NSW last year [I have heard a rumour that there are people out there trying to use their digital TV recorder to record The Biggest Loser, but all they get is the last 7 years replays of the State of Origin, but I am not sure if that is true or not ]

The next day I did a few more geocaches before finally dropping in to the workshop, good news, the engine was together and it may be ready to start up that afternoon, maybe

I left them to it and on my way around the place I saw this BMW wannabee, it is actually a Honda under all that

I once again lazed around, I had no real interest in doing blog updates, I was becoming very lizard like with all this downtime When I was riding and doing a daily update, the effort involved seemed to be a lot less than trying to encompass weeks and weeks of travel in one post. At this moment, writing this, I am trying to write a post that makes sense, but as I go through all my photos I think, I want to write about that, and that and that. But, I can’t, because then I would be back to trying to catch up on 3 weeks of day to day events, which I could make interesting, but not if I rush it. So, I have to skip a lot, and maybe one day come back and ‘insert’ posts where they are missing. The only real thing that kept me amused was Geocaching, and reading books, I always love that. I also don’t mind a bit of music now and then either. During my stay here, although I met up with Frank a number of times, he has his own life and business to run, the same with Jeffery. I had as usual gravitated to bars as my source of amusement and socialising. One of them was called Michaels Bar. This was a pommy bar and it took me a while before I saw or met the owner. The owner was a bit crook, apparently sitting in the corner knocking back booze every night with customers for 14 years will affect you!!! Really, I must remember that and try not to own a bar, I hate being crook !!!! I wonder if it counts if your girlfriend owns one Something to ponder on anyway

Michaels Bar Phuket Town GPS – N7.88281 E98.38838

I met some nice people there and the cook made one of the best stir fried chook and noodle dishes ever, worth a visit and although they do not have Bundy Rum, they have nearly everything else around. I have had some relaxing times there, usually late night ones While drinking here I was told about another place. They said he owns a Harley and is a nice chap, well why not, I am always game for a bit of fun. So, one arvo I went and found a place called the

Rider Cafe GPS – N7.88412 E98.38748

I never actually got a photo of the place outside itself, but plenty from inside. I found two people there with a guitar, one was the owner Teddy and his mate Jamie. As it turns out we hit it off together right away, bikers beer and music, how many language barriers can that cross This is myself, Jamie in the middle and Teddy the owner.

{And before you bastards say anything I have not gained weight, I am just rearranging my muscle mass, my weight is the same as when I left } Teddy is a surgeon at the local private hospital, his wife runs this cafe and he also plays every night in a blues band down the road about 30m called the

Rocking Angels GPS – N7.88458 E98.38737

The chap on the left is called Patrick, he owns this place and it opens just before they start jammin’ around 9.30pm. This place rocks(or should that be blues???) I spent many a night here listening to some good music. This is where they get their shit sorted out, it draws a good crowd. They are still chasing a full time dedicated drummer and over the next few weeks I saw a few. The thing is, these two have been playing music together for about 10 months, this means when a drummer turns up, he has to learn how THEY play the music. Anyway, they were both very nice blokes, I have a lot of time for them. Here is a couple of action shots.(I had some sounds too but as I am forced to link my laptop with my mobile phone to access the internet, I will leave the sounds until later.)

Every Thursday night they have a gig down in Patong Beach. Of course they hope to get others, but you can’t go too far wrong when your only paid for gig is at the Hard Rock Cafe I met up with Jeffrey and his girl down there and we had some (expensive) beers while taking in some sounds

There was even a chick band, they did some good stuff as well

So, around 11pm we headed off, as we had parked in different locations, we missed each other for the ride back. In this situation, as you do, you think, is he ahead, or am I ahead, so you keep on going and as it so happened, I stopped because I saw an oldish lady burning herself with hot coals and burning brands, and along with the loud music, I had the urge to stop and see what was going on? It was near midnight about now and Jeffrey saw me and also stopped. We were both engrossed in the happenings and goings on. It seemed to be something like Voodoo(or what I think may be), but there was Buddhism and Hindu and other religions involved? We think it may have been a gathering after a funeral, but it was blocking half the street so I gathered it was quite public? One young girl was in a trance, the old lady was driving a sharp knife into her own tongue, and then did the same for the young girl, who screamed(like who wouldn’t). The smell of incense, burning wood, hair and flesh was quite different!! But the families were all there, then they brought out some young traditional Siamese(Thai) dancers, this whole episode lasted about an hour before I left and it was ongoing!!!

So, once I got back to town, I did the trawl of the local joints that I am used to hanging out at but they were all closed(it was gone 01.30, so why was I surprised ) But, then I happened on a bad thing, a two scooter accident. At the speed these things zip through traffic, it is not unusual, and as they all disobey the road rules and don’t wear helmets I guess this will continue to happen. The girl was carted away, I saw no blood, but as she was not moving I think it was more internal. I had no need to use any of my 1st aid skills, nor breathe toxic waste into her lungs as the medics were already arriving as I pulled up!!

I left the scene and went to my bed.

to be continued

Cheers from Phuket
TravellingStrom

I am thinking number 3 myself The first thing I did on Saturday morning was to go and arrange a scooter rental. I had been directed to this shop by Frank as they would accept a passport copy and a deposit rather than the passport itself. I actually needed my passport to go to the post office and pick up a parcel that has been waiting a while. It looked like the only scoots they had were automatic which as Frank pointed out could be a tad dangerous for me. Mainly because they do not have a clutch but have a lever there that controls the rear brake. In a ‘situation’ it is normal for me to grab the clutch, so by grabbing a handful of back brake it could end in disaster. Fortunately there was a manual Honda there which they decided to rent me, it was in a sorry state but as I needed one I took it.

Soon after sorting the rental out I went to the bike shop but the mechanic had not yet arrived, they said they would call me later. I met up with Frank and we went to the post office where I waited in line and finally received my replacement TravelSim phone SIM card. The last one with $40 credit on it went missing when I lost the phone in Kyrgyzstan. Trying to plan ahead and getting something sent to you on the road is a hard job to work out, but I knew I was heading here, because I had sent my camping gear to Franks place when I arrived last October. I was called by the bike shop just as I was signing for the card. He said something like, they cannot do the bike, please pick it up and take it elsewhere After meeting with Frank again for lunch we both went back to find out what was going on, as they had seemed so willing the other day! It seemed to be a communication problem, the reason they did not want to look at it was because of not being able to supply parts and it could take a while to sort out. After explaining to them that I had all the service manuals, parts list and torque settings and that I would arrange for the spare parts, they were a lot happier to proceed. But, as it was a Saturday and with a bike meeting being held up north, it seemed that my bike would not be looked at until Monday. This is a Harley Davidson shop and they had a number of services to get through today. No worries, no stress, as I have plenty of time, so with that sorted I now had a few days off

After this I went cruising around with him through some places he thought I would like to know about. So, I saved these other places as way points on my GPS. That evening we headed down to a beach bar where we had some sundowners, later on we came back and went up a mountain for some night downers, then ended up at a nightclub As we headed to another nightclub later, I lost him in the traffic and so I ended up following the GPS back to the hotel

Sunday was a lazy day as it had been a big night, but that evening we went to the night market for a look around(Frank wanted to buy a Buddah for his new garden). It was a very active and hot place to be, with many varieties of food to be had, including coiled potato deep fried into a single curled chip, corn on the cob and roast duck, a tasty dinner

Of course the place was full of the normal tourist stuff, stalls upon stalls upon stalls of them. And mostly selling the same thing at outrageous prices. When they give you the ‘special’ price which is $30 off the marked price, you know you are being ripped, but they have to make a living eh

Monday I purposely stayed away from the bike shop until late in the day. I had been back to the bike rental place with Frank and after some chat, they agreed to get me a better quality scoot, one with disc brakes and a speedo and fuel gauge that worked. When I did return for the swap over we ended up in an argument. We had shaken hands yesterday on a certain rental price which they now reneged on, plus I had fuelled up the bike. I ended up getting my deposit back but they refused to cough up for the fuel, mongrels. It seems that as they did not have a bike to rent me, they had to rent it off someone else and pass the extra costs on to me, well that won’t happen. It was not a big difference in price, it was the principle of the thing.

I ended up finding a better place not far from the hotel in the other direction where they rented me a near new manual scoot for only $5/day and no need to hand over a deposit nor passport, I just gave them one of my expired drivers licences, always handy for overseas travel So, late that afternoon I went and checked out the bike and by crikey I did not recognise it, they had stripped the engine right out and stripped it down to nothing!!!

It was good news and bad news. The middle picture shows the crankshaft and conrods, well, one of the conrod big end bearings was buggered, it had heated up while it was running without oil and worn away, causing the knocking noise. The good news was that the pistons and bores were fine, they would be very expensive to repair. The bad news was the spare parts manual had FOUR different part numbers for the big end bearings and I did not know which one to buy

In the above diagram it is part #6, Bearing, Crank Pin. As you can see, they each have a different colour code and all I need to know is what is my colour? I checked that evening on the forums and found the answer, depending on the marking on the crank plus whether it had been measured and checked as per service manual, would decide the bearing size. I returned the following day and we discussed the way to proceed. In the end the crankshaft has to be machined then measured, also the conrod big ends have to be machined to match the bearings, so we decided the place to do this was a machine shop in Bangkok. They would send the cranks and conrods in one piece and the shop up there would make new bearings to fit the newly machined surfaces. For my part I now needed to source some spare parts. I would need a full gasket kit and a new Tip Over Sensor at the least. Frank suggested I replace the piston rings while it is stripped down, which made sense. Of course trying to source all these parts from the one place took some doing.

One place I knew I could get parts was from the Bike Doctor in Western Australia. I had bought stuff from Dave in the past, when I was stuck in Laos. While waiting for price and availability from Dave, I also checked a number of shops in the SEA region. I ended up hitting the jackpot in Suzuki Singapore. They had all the parts I needed when I called them on Skype. Now for the fun part, shipping time.

In the end, Dave could supply the parts from Oz, with approximately a 10 day delivery time. Or, I could fly to Singapore and pick these up and be back in 2 days! After considering the costs of staying here for 10+ days(lodging, food and booze) as compared to the flight down and back with food and lodging for one night, it was a no brainer. And that is the option I took.

So, I booked my flight, worked out a place to stay in Singapore, contacted Glen who lives there(I had met him in Chiang Mai last year), and then I could relax What better way to pass some idle time than to go for a ride and mix in some Geocaching. There were quite a few on this island, so I checked online at Geocaching.com to see what was near me and decided to go for a ride to Radar Hill to look for the Phuket Radar Geocache. This was a fun ride up some very steep roads and switchbacks, the scoot certainly got a work out But, I made it to the cache location and found my first cache in Phuket The views were a bit hazy but I could certainly see a long way, in the bay on the west side is a small dot in the middle of picture, that is a massive cruise liner anchored up in the middle of nowhere.

Later that afternoon I met up with Frank and Jeffrey Polanja, he is Indonesian and has also been on a round the world trip. We actually nearly met up in Moscow last year, but circumstances(he was in a rush getting a visa, I was getting bike repaired) prevented us meeting at the time. We had met the other night for the first time, when he arrived back in town and dropped into my hotel for a chat, on his way home from an island ride. This evening he and Frank met. So after a few beers at the pub next to the hotel, we went up to a restaurant at the top of one of the hills here, with a good view over Phuket Town. We had a few beers and some nice food and chewed the fat for a while It was not a late night as I had an early flight the next day, I needed to be on the road at around 8am for the hours trip to the airport. It was a great evening with 3 differently experienced travellers

To Be continued

Cheers from Phuket
TravellingStrom