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Singapore-Malaysia-Thailand…
and back again
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Someone once
said you learn from experience and after our first trip to Thailand
we thought we had all the angles covered.
No mad rush this time we would break the journey down into manageable
chunks. Leave after work, time our arrival at the causeway after
all the Malaysians had gone home and ride to KL some 384k just a
4 hour ride no sweat. Next day we would try to cover the remaining
1000k again a relatively simple chore averaging 120-140kph.
We met as always
at the Handlebar but this time for a couple of cokes not half a dozen
beers. We completed our immigration forms and were on the road by
7pm, 25 minutes later and we arrive at the causeway. Oh F*ck, 200
small bikes ahead of us so engine off, helmet off. God it’s humid
I am sweating as inch my way towards immigration trying to keep my
place in the queue, 30 minutes later and we are crossing the causeway,
no hold up on the Malaysia side and we roar confidently off into the
night.
No need to check the maps Darren and I know this road so well even
I can’t get lost, bikes roll up to 140k and we sit there. After
1 gas stop we are pulling into KL at 11pm that was easy. We head to
the Concorde Hotel as we were told by Headhunters that it was biker
friendly. We pull in and follow the signs to “Big Bike Parking”
not many 4 star hotels have that, park up remove valuables, check
in and straight to the Hard Rock for a quick beer. Some average Malay
band is blasting out boy band cover versions so we head out to the
veranda. We agree to have an early night and head out at 6am the following
morning.
We nearly did
it too except there was a pretty sexy band playing in the hotel
lounge and 3 large black labels later it was 2am. So much for experience!
3 hours sleep and the same girl that checked us in is checking us
out and asks why we bothered to sleep at all, Good question.
A quick breakfast and we are on our way. For those of you who don’t
know KL it is a maze of 1 way streets and one wrong turn and you
are screwed. Yeah you guessed it one wrong turn later and we were
screwed. 30 minutes later and we are still in KL traffic is grid-locked
and we are sweating. God its humid. This is not a good start. We
eventually we see a sign to IPOH but its on the other side of dual
carriageway going the other way choices are to stick with the traffic
jam until we can turn legally or just execute an illegal U-turn
now.
Without any communication or hesitation Darren and I turn on the
hazard lights, swerve across the traffic and execute a perfect illegal
U-turn into heavy traffic……..Ah the old Filipino riding
techniques have not deserted us. We roar off and mix it with the
traffic Maddog style and 15 minutes later we are back on the expressway
with Thailand in our sights.
We stop for gas and as I had only 30 Malaysian Ringgit I give this
to Darren as he will pay for gas until we reach Thailand and I can
get some cash. Little did I know that this was going to become a
major mistake in just a few hours time.
2 hours later I check my fuel gauge and its on the red-line we are
in the mountains and so just have to look out for a gas station
15 minutes later and my engine fades. No problem, switch to reserve
pull up to Darren and signal that I need gas, Darren nods points
to the sign for next gas station and roars off. I drop down to 90kph
trying to conserve my fuel and continue on through, Ipoh toll booth
still no gas station can’t be too far now, carry on half way
up the next mountain engine splutters and dies, may just be the
incline shake the tank re-start coughs and then dies. Oh F*ck I
am out of gas in the middle of nowhere, on my own, on a motorway,
with no local currency. SCREWED.
OK don’t panic, text Darren let him know situation, no point
him trying to come back as next junction could be 100k away. You
got yourself into this mess so you better get yourself out of it.
Turning the bike around was tough as I said earlier I was halfway
up a mountain and the incline was great, finally get her pointed
in the right…..eh….wrong direction switch bike to accessories
to save battery swich on the hazard lights and coast down the hard
shoulder. Sign says Toll booth 2k fortunately all down hill. I coast
through the toll booth much to the amazement of the staff and park
the bike.
“How far to next gas station?” I inquire. 2 kilometres
she replies. OK I can do this can’t risk leaving the bike on
the side of the road so I am just gonna have to push it. Shit its
Hot and its only 8.45 I start pushing and 1 kilometre later I have
too stop. I can hardly breath and I have stopped sweating this is
not a good sign but just 1k more to go. 1 k later still no sign
of a gas station. I have just thrown up from exhaustion my vision
is blurred and I feel like shit.
Off we go again must just be round the next corner…….next
corner comes and goes still no gas station keep on moving…
f*ck its hot…..OK I see it just round the next corner…nope
that’s a factory still no gas station. I stop a bewildered
pedestrian and with much pointing at gas tank get the point across,
he smiles and points off into the distance how far? 2K he says.
You must be joking I comfort myself in thinking that he doesn’t
really know and that its just round the next bend off I go again.
200 metres later I am on my knees throwing up again this can’t
be a good sign. I sit down for 5 minutes to catch my breath check
my messages. OK Darren is waiting at next gas station but hes got
a problem too. He is losing transmission oil and primary oil quite
a lot from the sound of it.
Alright here we go again and this time I can see not 1 but 2 gas
stations next to each other well that’s just f*cking great
town planning. Could you not have put one at each end of this town?
Throw up one more time just to get me in the mood for the next push
and I arrive at the gas station.
Before you pump gas in Malaysia you have to pay for it which was
going to be my next problem. I explain I don’t know how much
as I want a full tank and the attendant reluctantly turns the pump
on. She’s going to be real happy when she finds out I don’t
have any cash. Right, the bike is gassed up, I need to get some
fluids in me and wash this puke of my clothes. I delay the payment
issue by drinking 3 bottles of water and a Gatorade. If I am going
to prison I am not going thirsty.
Here goes, Visa card to the rescue she shakes her head, that can't
be a good sign. She's ranting in Malay. I must have looked a sight
drenched in sweat and covered in puke smiling stupidly as she berates
me. Look lady use the card or tell me where I can change Sing dollars,
if not I’m outta here. She picks up the phone OK this is either
credit card company or police so I head towards door and get ready
to do a runner.
ALRIGHT she’s reading out the numbers on my card. Right, now
to find Darren this little adventure has put 2 hours on our trip.
For fun I record how far to the gas station from the toll booth
5.5k I stop and tell the attendant who just smiles. BITCH. 2k later
I pass my breakdown point 7.5k in all what a nightmare. 170kph has
me meeting with Darren in around 15 minutes.
Oh Shit, his
bike is sitting in a pool of oil. Transmission easily fixed when
serviced the day before the Harley mechanics forgot to do up the
filler plug which had come undone. Fortunately it was still hanging
on by a thread so all we needed was some transmission fluid to replace
the lost fluids. The primary was leaking from lowest point so either
the gasket had failed or the O ring on inner primary had given in
(common fault on twin cams although HD deny it). Can’t do anything
about this except keep topping it up, I remembered using automatic
transmission oil in my Primary once to get me home so that was easy
but what can we use in the transmission.
Call John Joe explain situation ask him to reach Andy Marsh or Danny.
5 minutes later John Joe calls back (Brotherhood) OK to use automatic
transmission fluid in primary but we need SAE 50-90 for transmission.
That’s going to be harder to find.
We check transmission fluid level which is on the fill level and
decide to take a slight detour into Penang to find the necessary
oil. We head back onto the highway 3 hours behind schedule and cruise
at 120k.
They say that every cloud has a silver lining well ours had to be
the trip into Penang as it is joined to mainland by the most awesome
suspension bridge and the views were just spectacular. We slowed
to admire the view and next second I see Darrens bike twitch and
a moment later I am hit with a huge cross wind that literally takes
the bike out from under me I am going down.
Floorboard supports
hit tarmac and the bike snaps upright so hard I leave the saddle.
When in doubt accelerate so I gun it and the bike fishtails back
to upright. F*ck me that was close, Darren is shaking his head in
disbelief and I sheepishly cross the bridge with my heart thumping
and a renewed respect for mother nature.
The first shop we try has just about everything to make a car smell
good, shine brightly but nothing at all too make the damn thing
run. Next shop has it but only in 5 gallon container to hell with
it we buy it anyway. Next stop, food and Ronald McDonald never looked
so good. We top up the primary and head off, now a good 5 hours
behind schedule. So much for experience.
The rest of the journey to the Thai border was relatively uneventful
and we cross around 6pm gaining 1 hour.
Phuket is just 534k away but we are both exhausted I am still trying
to rehydrate myself downing seemingly gallons of water but its so
damned hot it’s a losing battle. From Hat Yai (Thai border-town)
you have two choices. You can take the shorter (in distance) route
through the mountains via Krabi or take the expressway which adds
another 80k to journey but is faster.
Darren calls Nicky who Runs the Handlebar in Phuket and the sole
organizer of Phuket bike week, an all round top man (more of him
later). Given that we are on the verge of collapse Nicky recommends
the cross country route as there are a lot of places to stay should
we want to call it a day.
One recommendation was that we stop at Trang as apparently there
is a hotel shaped like a boat that is biker friendly. We thank him
and check the map Trang is just 130k away we can make that even
in our sorry state. We head off and immediately the roads turn into
tight twisty mountain roads, the scenery is breath taking and it
lifts our spirits we slow down to enjoy the ride. No more counting
the miles or trying to make up for lost time we are just enjoying
the ride.
About 1 hour later we see the hotel mentioned by Nicky. The funny
thing is we can see from about 5K away that it looks like a boat…..the
understatement of the year it looks like the damn QEII in the middle
of nowhere. It must have 600 rooms, quite bizarre and so out of
place. We pause to try to comprehend why someone would build such
an edifice and then decide to push on as we are both feeling much,
much better.
Next stop Krabi
around 200k away and if we can make that we may just be able to
get to Phuket as its only another 173k from Krabi. Off we go, its
dark now and roads demand our full attention as they continue to
wind through the mountains. And then it happens, first one spot
of rain then… DOWNPOUR… we are drenched in seconds and
slow right down. We push on hoping it would stop, but knowing that
it would not (it never does). We are taking a beating and the roads
are getting treacherous with mud and leaves interfering with the
average (at best) road holding of our stock Dunlops. Swarms of Moths
commit suicide as they plough into my visor limiting vision even
more as they explode.
A few miles later Darrens’ bike drops suddenly from view oh
hell here we go, the road stops and there’s a 2 foot drop onto
a dirt track I am too close to do anything but grit my teeth and
follow. Darren stops and shakes my hand glad that we both made it
we bounce along the dirt track hitting just about every pot hole
along the way as full of water they are impossible to see. We are
crawling along. Once we rejoin the tarmac we keep the speed down
just in case the road vanishes again. Next town Krabi just another
5K we pull into the first hotel but this is a 6 star resort and
at US$200 a night not really an option we cross the road and check
into a ratty little dive, much more like it.
Although neither of us said it we felt defeated. Just another 173k
and we would have made it but sanity prevailed. We showered and
went across the road for a great Thai supper and of course it had
now stopped raining, but a text message from Hugo advises torrential
rain in Phuket so we had made the right decision.
Back to the hotel bar that had some weird fashion show/karaoke night
I order a black Label they bring the bottle I ask for a glass and
they tell me they don’t have any!!!! Too tired to argue…
Ok Vodka Orange juice then off to bed. Massage was ordered and you
know you are really tired when you fall asleep during a traditional
Thai Massage.
Next morning we realized that the decision to stop was sound, our
bikes were covered in an inch of mud/clay and the remnants of around
2 million moths. We strap on the luggage and ride to Phuket stopping
for one last Photo of our Philippine colors at the welcome to Phuket
sign. 10 am we roll into Nickys’ Handlebar and onto a much
deserved drinking session. Hugo arrives looking suitably refreshed
on his Fireblade and we stop by a renowned massage parlor to get
the road grime off, suitably clean we return to Nickys’ where
the drinking continues.
Tom and O arrive at 4pm having ridden up from Bangkok and we compare
notes. Nicky, who by the way is a really cool guy sells me a set
of Thunderheaders, has them installed and our bikes washed whilst
we just sit around eating and drinking. We finally check in to the
Hotel next to the Handlebar at 11pm dump the bags and go out on
the town.
Anyone that
visits Phuket must drop by the Handlebar it is just a great place
to hang-out great food, music and cold beer. The staff are fantastic
and Nicky is the consummate host get him drunk enough and he will
amuse you with magic tricks. Anyone who wants to by a Harley in
Thailand check with him as he always has 13 bikes for sale (yep
he is superstitious).
On Monday we take Darrens bike to the repair shop and sure enough
inner primary O ring bust, fortunately Nicky has full gasket set
and they set about repairing it returning it next day. We stop by
a leather shop and order chaps and have Singapore rockers sewn on
then back to Handlebar to christen them Maddog Style. The rest of
the week passed in a flash and all too soon it was Friday and we
set to return home…
The Return Home
Now both Darren and I felt defeated by not making Phuket from KL
on the way up and so there was only one thing for it… Ride
non-stop from Phuket to Singapore, 1,457k door to door.
We meet at the Hotel Lobby at 5.15am and are on the road by 5.45am
we decide to take the longer route as it will allow us to cruise
at 140k and should deliver us to the border quicker than the scenic
route (having now done both I seriously doubt this). We ride to
Hat Yai in around 6 hours without incident although we notice that
Darrens primary is leaking again. We pull into town, grab a bite
to eat and top up Darrens’ primary. Crossing the border we
immediately lose 1 hour (time difference). We are both tired but
determined to cover the next 900k as quickly as possible.
There is a small delay at Malaysian border, as they insist on screening
our luggage but we soon cross into Malaysia and stop for a drink.
The good thing about riding with someone is that fatigue and recovery
hit you at different times which allows you to draw on the other
persons strength and we reach Ipoh in good time but we know the
next leg will be hard. We call drew as its 7pm to see how the Tats
going we learn its not as Jun has wimped out LOSER. Speak to Tom
and then hit the road again. It will put us just past KL with about
300k still to cover it will be dark and the traffic will be bad
after all it’s a Friday night.
We were not disappointed, arriving 30k south of KL we are both exhausted
each kilometer marker seems to taunt us even at 140k they pass so
slowly we alternate lead bike trying to stay awake but 16 hours
in the saddle has taken its toll. Darren gets mixed up in traffic
and I lose him. The Malaysian drivers are just too crazy when you
are tired so I let him go, it’s safer for both of us that way.
I stop for gas, text Darren not too wait and that I’ll meet
him back in Singapore.
I push on and
traffic is lighter now and I stop a couple of times to get some
blood back into my arse and have a cigarette I am just 80k out and
its midnight I’ve been on the road for 16 hours and with immigration
I should reach home by 1am I climb back on and sit at 120k reaching
immigration I get a message from immigration lady that Darren is
just 30 minutes ahead of me so I push on.
The sense of
relief hitting Singapore was tremendous and I didn’t know whether
to laugh or cry we had done it 18hours door to door 1,457k covered,
just another 25k to go can’t relax just yet must stick to speed
limit and try to make my Thunderheaders sound legal.
Darren has gone to the Handlebar for a beer but I just want to get
home I text him and arrive home around 1.30am. I am asleep before
my head hits the pillow and I am content in the knowledge that we
gained a bit more experience.
Until the next time we ride together... Carl Huckstep.
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