How to Turn a work trip to Malaysia into a little fun!!!!

[VB1971]

Hey Guys

Thanks for all the advice on how to carry my bike helmet OS. It made it in one piece and one of my suppliers came good (well almost good) and convinced his KTM supplier to let me a sued bike for the day. Out of all manufacturers!!! Below is the giant I was given (minus a step ladder to get me onto it ). A KTM 1190. Mine was the one on the right. The one on the left of the picture belonged to Franc (French ex pat living in Johor). And as you can see he isn't a short arse like me.




I thought the large bike would create MANY challenges in the Johor traffic but after a bit of slow speed balancing, slow to very fast lane splitting and getting ahead of traffic as fast as possible it proved successful and soon I was out on the open road.

Challenge number two. THE HEAT and HUMIDITY!! 38 degrees and 70-90% humidity - WOW, felt just as hot on the bike at 150 km/hr as it did off the bike. Now, I have spent lots of time working in Darwin but this was at another level. Franc has lived in Malaysia for 15 years and was well acclimatised. I definitely wasnt as you can tell from the photos below when we stopped for a quick brekkie of Roti chanai after only 1.5 hrs of riding (That's right it weas ony 9 AM)

Me


Franc


Cheapest petrol I will get for a while - AUD 65cents/litre!!! (I was riding Franc's bike at the time)

Once we headed into the forests and coastal roads, I did cool down and enjoyed some great views and an awesome ride. Enjoy a few of the pics below.

 

[VB1971]

I Loved the heat and humidity so much that I convinced my company and to supplier to put some money towards a mangrove cleaning and planting day together with National Parks and 2 schools...... In only 2 hrs we collected 95 sacks of rubbish and planted 100 mangroves. Most of the rubbish is the result of illegal waste dumping of ships that use the Strait of Malacca. As we charter many vessels in this region, I thought it would be a good gesture.

 

[VB1971]

Forgot to mention I was in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

 

[glitch]

Thanks for the yarn and the pics, it sure is interesting to see impressions from not-so-common-places.
But shyte, it does look HOT....and you guys in all your bike-clobber!!

 

[ant]

Great stuff VB - riding in SE Asia is awesome. Friendly people and great food when you stop as well. As Pete says it's warm, but usually not more than 31-32. You don't need the thermals much.