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Malaysia Motorcycle Tour
I have sent this write up into the Adventure Rider Mag to see if they will publish it.
MALAYSIA’S ROADS ARE WAITING FOR YOU. 3 Brothers and a mate headed to Malaysia to take on the highlands and discover there is far more to riding bikes than just twisting the throttle. Adventure Rider edition 4 featured these guys taking on the Gibb River Road in 2014 but this time they swapped their DR650’s for Versey 650’s, Western Australia for Malaysia and their ride buddy Wayne for Steve. Colin, Roley, Peter, Steve and Voya were about to have the ride of their lives over 5 days and 1750 kms. We were looking for a good ride, plenty to see, great food, a bit of culture and quality accommodation. We found Malaysian Motorcycle Getaway Tours searching the net and after reading the Trip Adviser reviews new these guys were going to tick all the boxes for us. With 6 months to go we had our deposits paid, hundreds of questions answered and started to plan our flights and the rest of the trip. They also threw tickets to the MOTOGP so a few extra nights accommodation was needed. We boarded an Air Asian flight to KL and it wasn’t until we boarded that I realised why I like to fly Qantas. If you have a fat arse it will be a tight fit. Don’t forget to fork out a couple of extra dollars and book a hot seat. Well worth the extra legroom and the flight assistants look after you a bit more. You will also need the $18.00 entertainment pod or you will spend 6 hours flicking through old Adventure Rider mags reading stories about people riding in strange parts of the world. Pre-order your food too because you at least get served first. The following morning we grabbed a taxi to the tour company headquarters and met Fezial and his crew. The bikes were all lined up outside the office in pristine condition and ready to roll. After a short briefing, a video we booting up we climbed aboard the bikes with personal belongings jammed into panniers or a top box. Although they do supply riding gear we took our own and found our well ventilated adventure jackets are a must in the warm and humid climate. I also has my hydro pack in the jacket and managed to drink 2 - 3 litres of water a day. Jumping straight on to a freeway at 9.00 am on a Monday morning is the best way to get accustomed to the roads and driving styles. Fezial’s rule “there are no rules” sure did come in handy and we stuck to the lead rider Zahed like a shit to blanket. We also had a sweep rider following and an Expat by the name of Voya riding his own bright red Duke who joined us to make it a group of 7. Voya had plenty of experience riding in the crazy traffic and gave us lots of tips on the best way to approach our new found freedom. We hit the freeway competing with trucks, buses, cars, scooters, crotch rockets and an amazing assortment of fast cars. Sitting on 100 kpm there were plenty of vehicles passing us like we were standing still. Not too long into the ride we were off the freeway and riding country back roads that could have only been built for bikes. Although the scenery is great it is difficult not to ride hard and enjoy the twist and turns. You can look at scenery anytime. A glance down at the speedo on a few occasions I noted that we may have been exceeding the 100 kph speed limit by 40 kph on a few occasions and once I felt more comfortable with the bike there may have been a time when I was 70 kph over!! You can only go so fast around the curves though. Coffee is around 10ish each morning and served at a very different and unique location each day. Choose a drink and grab a table ready to sit back and tell each other how much fun you are having. Yes, we all thought we were Rossi Valentino but this is a tour and we are riding bikes far more suited for touring than they are for the Sepang Circuit. More twist and turns which seem to go on forever before another break for lunch generally at a local only diner. Zahed the tour leader takes care of most of the ordering and makes sure you get to try specialties of the area. The food was simple basic local cuisine with flavours to die for and as much as you want. If you like sea food be prepared to be impressed. More miles turn into smiles with an afternoon break for refreshments after 300 odd kms a much needed rest and cool drink. We only struck rain one afternoon but it did come down heavy so don’t forget some wet weather gear. A 4 star hotel loomed into sight each afternoon around 4.00 with a friendly greeting and a welcome drink in hand. Each day followed the same concept with various stops thrown in to take in the view, check out a water fall, cave, temple (we told them one would be enough) and take the obligatory group photo. Zahed has a cam mounted on his helmet and gets plenty of action shots and the still camera doesn’t stop all ride which together provides a brilliant DVD to remind you of the awesome week you have had. Every mile of the ride was great but a few of the highlights were the 130 kms of twisties in the Cameron Highlands, the long ride across the causeway to Penang and the ride back on the ferry to mainland. The roads seem a bit crazy until you realise you just need to ride like everyone else. Yes, we did ride a little silly at times but we made sure we kept within our comfort zones and there were no incidents along the way. We all made it back to the start in one piece wishing the ride was not coming to an end. I actually sent this ride report in not so much to tell our story but to let others know how f&%cking great the riding is in Malaysia. I had no idea I could have so much fun on the road! The roads twist and turn and are in good condition and just begging you to see how quickly you can get around the next corner. We rode by monkeys, cows, dogs and other funny looking things, saw mountains, waterfalls and jungle that goes on forever. The whole ride is a sensory overload, from the scenery to the food and the friendliest people you will ever meet. If you stay a few days in KL before or after a ride book yourself into the Park Royal Hotel in Bukit Bintang. There are hundreds of places to eat, drink and a large number of girls of the night. Remember, what happens in KL stays in KL. The 2016 calendar is up. No matter what sort of bike you ride and no matter where you ride it you will not be disappointed with a ride in Malaysia. Salamat Datang (Safe travels)                 |
