Cameron Highlands . . . .

Our ride across the border from Thailand to Malaysia was to be uneventful, but was delayed due to the purchase of insurance for the motorcycles in Malaysia. The confusion at the border, and not having the paperwork filled out ahead of time, put a 3 hour delay on the whole affair. But, it was a beautiful day so with lunch in Malaysia we headed to Cameron Highlands, a wonderful resort in the northern mountains of Malaysia.

The sights changed greatly as we entered a highly populated Muslim country. Many of the women have their heads covered even though they may be wearing tight blue jeans and a tight blouse showing their figures. The sounds of worship 5 times a day were heard once again on the loudspeakers if you were in a town at worship time. It reminded me of the first visit to Turkey on the Silk Road last year.

It was a wet ride with rain periodically keeping the road wet and slowing down our progress on the curvy mountain roads. It was nice to have the cooler weather of the mountains. Upon our arrival at Cameron Highlands, we met 3 new friends riding motorcycles (BMWs) from Kuala Lumpur who would add greatly to our enjoyment the remaining part of the trip all the way to Kuala Lumpur.

The next day we visited a tea plantation in the mountains. I had no idea how tea was grown or even manufactured. The rolling highlands with the rain and the cool environment made an excellent location for the growth of tea. The view of the tea plants was one out of a picture book: my photos do not do it justice. The local workers did most of the work manually collecting the tea by trimming off the new growth of the plants every 3 weeks. Walking the mountain paths and carrying the basket of loaded tea leaves was a lot of exercise for the workers.

Unfortunately, Joe Hutt had a bad attack of appendicitis and was transported to the hospital: a couple of days later had his appendix removed. The Malaysia tour guide and driver did a great job of helping with the whole affair and supported the needs of Joe at the hospital. Our morning briefing before our departure was sad in that Joe was in the hospital, but the attendance of our new friends was appreciated; we now had more bikes to ride in our group.

Helge stayed with Joe while our new friends took over the reins of making sure the GlobeRiders had a wonderful trip. As we rode the mountains roads we stopped for a break at the top of the mountains. Our new friends did a check of Jack’s bike when he mentioned the loud noise coming from the transmission: problem solved when they discovered the loud noise was coming from the bottom engine guard bracket vibration due to loosing a couple of bolts. Jack was really happy that the “failing transmission” was fixed!! A stop at a local Indian restaurant introduced us to food service on a banana leaf. The food was interesting and tasteful, but not too spicy.

Mike Mathews

Looking at the young Muslim woman who is searching your face for a sign that she's helping you, you realize that you are in good hands . . . .

Trips like this sometimes devolve into, as Helge says, "This ain't no summer camp". When it all happened to me, I was lying in a hospital bed in Ipoh, Malaysia, in an unbelievable amount of pain, and I knew then that they were going to figure it out.

It was a state hospital - we didn't know any better, but it didn't matter. The young surgeons were great, the care even better, and I developed a deep respect for nurses wrapped in the garb of the Muslims.

I had been not feeling well for a number of weeks, and the at Strawberry Park in the Cameron Highlands, I developed an intense pain and a fever of 38.7C or 103F+. I went to a Doc in the tiny village and he looking at me sorrowfully said "It's Appendicitis".

Off I went to the nearest clinic, and they said I was ". . . too old for that, so we will give you antibiotic and you'll be OK". At 10PM that night I called Helge and said "I need help".

He was there in a flash and was with me from then on. That night was the worst. The next day we went to Ipoh and Appendectomy City. I'm in Kuala Lumpur now, looking at this famous tour on the internet from my room, when just a few day ago I thought I might die of a ruptured appendicitis, which is what I had.

So, if you're going to do a tour (nd this is a great one!) it's good to have one of the best people I've ever met be the leader. While this is only a short part of the tour, I will say that the rest has been really cool. I've attached a few pictures and my love goes out to everyone

Joe

Malaysia – Escape, Explore, Experience

Malaysia’s current tourist slogan is “Escape, Explore, Experience”.   It’s a spectacular country where you can do all that! Spending 8 days in this vibrant country was not enough for me. It was expectedly the most modernized country we visited, yet I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of remote and exotic undeveloped wild areas there are in its jungles, mountains, and along the coast.

In Hua Hin, Thailand, we sadly said goodbye to Marlene and Karen; they flew back as scheduled via Bangkok while we proceeded to the Thailand-Malaysia border. (Marlene and Karen: after all that time you spent in THE Princess Bus and didn’t have any trouble . . . I chose 1 day to ride it and it has a tire blow out, and we’re delayed getting to the hotel. All I kept thinking to myself is, “good thing it didn’t happen with you both on board.”)

The Thailand-Malaysia border crossing was easy, we said goodbye to our Thai guides and hello to Jet and our 2 new drivers, David and Wizani. Little did they (or us) know what was in store for them during our very last week of the tour: Joe getting his appendix out and David’s motorcycle breaking down (see other stories below).

The other slogan appropriate for us in Malaysia was, “Welcome to the Rainy Season.” It rained every day, but it didn’t discourage us . . . it’s just what happens when the rainy season starts . . . and that’s part of the adventure!

We “Escaped, Explored and Experienced” primarily in 3 places:

- the green, gorgeous and wonderfully cool Cameron Highlands known for its tea plantations, rose valleys, strawberry fields, and moss forests (and did I mention, terrific curvy roads),

- the jungles of Taman Negara National Park where we took a canopy walk and a boat ride to visit a jungle tribe at the Orang Asli settlement, and

- Kuala Lumpur, only 130 years old it’s the largest city in Malaysia and where our trip officially ended.

I found Malaysia easy to travel in. Once upon a time Malaysia was an English colony, hence many residents are taught and speak English (very well, in fact). Also thanks to the English, we’re driving on the other side of the road (like in Thailand), but the guys have done well with that. Even though it’s raining a lot more, the roads are excellent.

The primary reason I found Malaysia to be pleasant and appealing was how people from many different ethnic cultures and religions seem to have figured out how to get along with each other. The country is 60% Malay, 30% Chinese, and 8% Indian. Muslims practice Islam (the dominant religion), Buddhists practice Buddhism and Christians practice Christianity, all in relative harmony. Perhaps their philosophy is "ignorance is bliss, separation, or avoidance". Or maybe, just maybe, it’s better education, understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and a live-and-let live philosophy. Whatever it is, it seems to work.

The “Teachings of Buddha” on hotel bed stands in Thailand are now replaced with the Koran and an arrow in the room to help Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca. The arrow could be anywhere, on the ceiling above the bed, in the closet or in the desk drawer. And even Ronald McDonald is culturally and politically astute.

Malaysia benefits from stable economic and political situations. The number one export is electronics, followed by rubber, palm oil and wood. There are 13 states, 9 have sultans which rotate being the king every 5 years, and the country’s ruled by a prime minister. The king is elected, but not really. The people vote, but not really. Preferential treatment is given to the majority people (Malaysians) in education, government, ownership of businesses, etc. It’s complicated, not everyone likes it, but for now this also seems to work for them.

The only way to truly “Escape, Explore and Experience” Malaysia is to do it yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

Love,

Linda

“Get Monkeys and You’ll Get Peanuts”

Allow me to introduce to you 3 wild and crazy Malaysian BMW riders from Kuala Lumpur: Kenneth, Kamarul and Baharom. Our last week of the trip was made even more special and enjoyable by spending time with these characters. Over many drinks and meals together, we got to know each other and laughed a lot. These are the kinds of friendships that last a lifetime, whether you ever see them again or not. But something tells me they’ll be there again next year when Helge’s group enters Malaysia.

Two years ago, Kenneth contacted Mike Paull in an attempt to hook up with Helge during the pre-run. Long story short, Kenneth and Helge made the connection happen this year. We met him and 2 of his friends in the Cameron Highlands, spent 2 days together in the Taman Negara National Park, and were easily led into Kuala Lumpur by them.   By the way, our new friends had never been to this national park before even though it’s very close to Kuala Lumpur.  It took GlobeRiders to get them there.

One afternoon, Kamarul, who works at a BMW motorcycle dealership, arranged for Helge to give a presentation on our IndoChina trip to a crowd of motorcycle enthusiasts.

After the rest of the group left for home, Mike and I spent a few more days in Kuala Lumpur. We met up with Kenneth, Jenny and Timothy who took us to a Hindu cave (with more monkeys), Chinatown, an Indian restaurant and a Japanese restaurant . . . ethnic diversity at its finest!

We were fortunate to get monkeys, peanuts, and these wonderful new friends!

Love,

Linda

P. S. Always wear a life jacket!

Taman Negara National Park

The ride to Taman Negara National Park was one of the best rides in all of Malaysia.  The surface of the road was smooth and winding, the pavement was dry, and the air was cool, enabling more speed and fun plus we had new friends along with us.  The road to The Park was lined with palm oil trees.  There were lots of trucks transporting the palm oil nuts to the local plants.  Palm oil is a major export for Malaysia - it’s used for cooking oil.

We had to be careful as we approached the major processing plant due to oil on the road.  We learned later that only last week, 3 motorcycle went down due to oil on the road and the slippery surface.

We arrived at the river, where after leaving our motorcycles at the local police station, we boarded a boat to cross the river to our accommodations in The Park.  It was a very beautiful environment with our favorite, monkeys, running around and making lots of noise when unsatisfied with each other.  It was common for them to have fun just running on the roof of your cabin just to keep you awake.

The next day we did a canopy walk in the jungle, walking on platforms supported by cables and ropes high in the trees.  The platforms were more than 200 feet ,fixed in the trees.  It was not for the faint of heart or for anyone who did not like heights, but it was truly a wonderful experience.  The platforms would swing and bounce, but with the rhythm of the person walking.  Some of my friends have a very unusual walking tempo!!

Upon returning to our cabins a check for leeches was in order and we found some.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo of the one that had been sucking on me for a while.  He was really big and full of my blood!!  I was in too much of a hurry to remove him and send him back into the jungle.  Watch out for those ants on the forest floor as they would love to have you for lunch!!

The National Park was a wonderful place to rest and relax in a very peaceful environment, before we headed to Kuala Lumpur, our final destination.  The jungle is full of trees more than 150 years in growth.  A ride up river to a small waterfall was like moving back in time.

Mike Mathews

Five Countries in 56 Days

YEA! Everyone and all the motorcycles made it to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia safely!

One motorcycle lost its rider (who lost his appendix) and one rider lost his motorcycle. In the final week, Joe was hospitalized and had his appendix removed (he’s fine now), and David’s chain came off and well, the bike’s broken (but it can be fixed). Both their bikes are currently in a container with the other 4 motorcycles being shipped via a slow boat to Seattle from Kuala Lumpur.

We learned so much about each country’s unique landscapes, cultures, histories and peoples. Of course, there were many other minor, but important to learn differences. For each country, I tried to learn how to pronounce “hello”, “thank you”, “please”, and “good night” (facial expressions and hand signals work wonders).

The money changed from Dong, Kip, Riel, Baht, to Ringgit (now, how much was 100 Baht worth?). Food varied, as well as the beer: Tiger(!) in Vietnam, Beer Lao in Laos, Singha in Thailand, and Angkor Beer in Cambodia and Malaysia. What’s defined as a “cocktail” for happy hour even differed (critical to find out before ordering).

So, just when I thought I had the important things down and felt comfortable in one country, we’d motor on into another. Don’t get me wrong, I think we traveled at just the right speed to get everything in as planned. It’s just that at some points during the trip, I found myself in sensory overload or found that places, people and experiences blurred together.

That’s not unexpected on a 56 day journey through 5 countries!

We felt the extreme poverty and wealth in these countries, and the huge gap between the have’s and the have not’s. I hope these countries can work together peacefully to achieve things we also strive to improve in the U.S.A. – human rights, education, medical care, political and religious freedoms, sanitation, clean water and air, etc.

Along with all the “big” things, however, there are 2 other things I wish for them: eye protection and really good rain gear when they ride their motorbikes!

Coming home soon,

Linda

Kuala Lumpur

It was our last riding day of the IndoChina journey, with the destination Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

As has been the thought each morning when we leave for a short ride, what will happen today? Well, this too would be an eventful day. We all left as a group from our jungle setting but due to the great roads some of us were traveling a little faster. Those in the front stopped for a break, waiting for others to appear but after a long wait we knew something was wrong.

Linda and I headed back riding more than 18 miles, concerned about the palm oil on the roads. I rounded a corner to find David and Vincent with the chase bus on the side of the road. At first I thought a major accident had happened. David’s bike was on the side of the road but upright on the side stand. David was still white in color. He had slid more than 50 feet, a large black stripe of rubber on the road was proof, when his chain came off the rear sprocket and locked up the rear wheel. He was really lucky but handled the bike well. His words to me were, “I was just about to bail off and then it stopped.” The chain was bent beyond repair and all the teeth from the rear sprocket were gone. After a few adjustments of luggage in the chase vehicle, David and his bike made the final 100 mile ride to Kuala Lumpur together.

There was a big celebration that night at the Hard Rock Café with David as our guest of honor for the superb handling of his bike. Joe and Helge arrived also so our group was once again complete.

Kuala Lumpur is a modern city, very clean with lots to see and do. Our hotel was located downtown just across from the 82 story Twin Towers which were famous in the movie “Entrapment” with Sean Connery. It was a beautiful setting for our last IndoChina city just looking at the hotel window. We were treated to a fabulous dinner by Baharam, one of our new BMW friends. We also enjoyed a great gathering at the BMW shop, arranged by Kamurul (another new BMW friend), where Helge gave a presentation on our IndoChina journey.

The traditional packing of the container was next on the agenda and with that, our journey was complete.

All of our companions left on schedule, but Linda and I stayed another day, due to airline flight changes. We were heartily greeted by Kenneth Ong, his wife Jenny and their son Timothy, for a tour of a local Buddhist temple.

Many thanks to all the guides that made the trip a success, the new friends we now have in Malaysia, and to Linda, my girlfriend, for coming along to share the experience of IndoChina.

Mike Mathews

Special Moments

The pictures and stories we placed in the Live!Journal will help us all remember this incredible trip.   I tried to capture the highlights, intense or moving experiences, and laughs we had together.

Like the times when:

- David would give a world globe to kids – their excitement was priceless.

- Helge would take pictures of people who were so grateful and happy to be photographed.

- Jack recapped exactly where and how he fell as he approached the hotel parking lot to avoid a collision with a motorbike.

- Joe took Than for a ride.

- Marlene, Karen and I would catch up with each other during stops.

- Mike took a swim with Kenneth.

- Vincent picked up his chair in a most unusual way.

But there are just some moments or images I just couldn’t capture on film, because I wasn’t quick enough with the camera (Vincent’s 3 Second Rule: if you don’t capture it within 3 seconds it’s gone), or because the lighting wasn’t right, or at that particular moment, picking up the camera would ruin or change the moment, or sometimes I just wanted to “feel” the experience.

Like the times when:

- Karen got a group of Cambodian children to put down the merchandise they were selling, make a circle, and play Hokey Pokey with her and me, while everyone around us laughed at and with us.

- I gave a family 6 dice I was carrying around and by their reactions you’d thought I had given them gold.

- Vincent had to repair something and stopped in front of a store and house. The men came out to help fix the problem, the women cleaned up chairs for us to sit in, and the children set up a hammock for me to relax in while things were getting fixed.

- Mike would stop for gas and kids who were pumping gas would be amazed at the bike, but then their eyes would go really wide when they realized how much gas the “big” bike held.

- Kids were having fun playing marbles, in a different style from what we learned, but with the same facial expressions when they had a good or bad shot.

- I saw 3 children under 6 hanging onto their mother on the back of a bicycle.

- We’re in an upscale restaurant and we notice that all the waiters are barefoot.

- Mike and I saw this man delivering ice blocks from a cart on his bicycle; carving off pieces for his customer with a primitive tool, covering up the blocks and then moving onto his next customer.

- A tree fell right in front of Mike and me, Jack, and Vincent, while motorcycling in heavy rains and winds.

- Jack would confuse the heck out of locals and waiters by what he said – he didn’t discriminate.

- You’d see a very young child walking alone on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with vehicles going by at top speeds.

- We’re all riding the motorcycles in a major downpour with our rain gear on and on the dirt shoulder of the road are soaked children in school uniforms riding home on their bikes.

It’s these and many other special moments that will stay with me long after I’m home.

Love,

Linda

Reflections and Many Thanks to Many Friends

There are many rewarding outcomes from taking an organized group trip. One gets out of it what one puts in, or in other words, you make it what it is.

Our group was great!

As riders, everyone shares their motorcycle knowledge and experiences and they help each other fix things.   As a group member, there’s bound to be uncomfortable times, but mostly there’s a lot of cooperation, fun and camaraderie.   As friends, we share private moments and help each other travel safely.   And as world citizens, we try our best to promote goodwill and exchange life experiences and perspectives with people from other cultures and countries.   As riders, a group member, friends, and world citizens we all learn from each other, but more importantly we learn about ourselves.

My very special thanks to Mike for another safe and unforgettable ride.   Thanks to Helge and Phan Than for making their dreams (2 years ago) a reality. As you can imagine, a tremendous amount of planning and preparation goes into these motorcycle adventures, particularly the inaugural run.

Phan Than, our Vietnamese guide, was terrific to have along the entire trip.  He’s very proud and passionate about not only his country, but also about the entire region.   We learned so much about IndoChina and its people through him, and he was genuinely eager to learn about Americans and our country.   His openness, enthusiasm, helpfulness, and willingness to share information played a critical role in making this trip a success.

It was fantastic to once again be on the road with my old friends from the Silk Road trip, Jack, Vincent, and Helge.   Come to think about it, in the last few years, I’ve spent 4 months with them . . . and I still like them!   And I’m pleased to call David, Karen, Joe and Marlene my new friends.   It was great to be with you all on this adventure – thanks for making it fun!

My thanks also to all our competent guides and drivers who helped us communicate and interact with the locals, were available to us 24-7, spent extra time and effort making sure we had everything we needed (cell phone card, ATM, internet, toothpaste, disco, etc.), but most importantly for ensuring our safety.   Special thanks to our Malaysian crew, Jet, Wizani, and David, who ended up with our most urgent needs the very last week - Joe’s hospitalization and David’s motorcycle breakdown.

Final thanks goes to Mike Paull from the entire group.   While we’re traveling, Mike Paull’s in Seattle troubleshooting for Helge and others.   For example, he helped obtain and send a critical part for Vincent’s motorcycle.   Without it, Vincent would have been sitting in the van with the driver, Than, Marlene, and Karen, talking a lot less about motorcycles, and letting his feminine side show (or not).   Mike Paull is also the webmaster, author and editor of our Live!Journal – what you’re reading right now.   We contribute, but he pulls it all together to generate a colorful and informative blog.   It’s our scrapbook of sorts . . . something we’ll look at when we’re in our rocking chairs, so we all appreciate your work, Mike!

As I arrive home to family and friends (with Thanksgiving just around the corner), I give many thanks to many friends for helping me experience another great GlobeRiders trip!

Love,

Linda

The Official Joe Laumer’s Motorcycle Statistics for the IndoChina Adventure 2008

Any motorcycle adventure takes its toll on people, animals and machines. Joe Laumer compiled and reported these essential statistics for the Silk Road Adventure in 2007. We all felt that this long standing tradition (since last year) needs to continue, so here we go!

Honorable Mentions (all happened during the last week in Malaysia):

- With 6 days to the end of the trip in the Cameron Highlands, Joe was hospitalized and had his appendix removed. He’s a lot happier now. A vehicle trucked his bike 330km to the final destination, Kuala Lumpur, and David rode it to the container.

- On the very last riding day, David (a self-proclaimed, proud member of Team Cheap) had worn out sprockets causing the teeth to break, in turn causing the chain to come off. The result was locking up the rear wheel, sliding the bike approximately 50 ft. on the asphalt before swerving off the road into the soft dirt.  Fortunately, he managed to somehow keep the bike upright. The chase vehicle brought David and the bike into Kuala Lumpur (130km), so we can honestly say that David arrived to the final destination with his motorcycle. It was then trucked to the container.

- Mike pulled a groin muscle while running (not riding, but running!) trying to catch a car stopped at a toll gate moments after same car almost forced him (and I) into a guard rail. Mike exchanged a few words (not kind), before the car fled off. Mike limped back – he’s healing fine.

Number of Falls or Collisions While on the Motorcycle:

David: Hit a construction cone.

Helge: Hit a car (no damage to car) - Helge apparently has a gender and IT issue (it was a female using a cell phone while driving).

Jack: 2 falls in mud; 1 fall approaching the hotel parking lot to avoid collision with motorbike; 1 buried upright motorcycle (not a fall) in the mud; and he backed into a parked motorbike which fell over.

Mike: 3 falls in mud with Linda on the back; hit rear bumper of a van and tore off right pannier also with Linda on the back (no damage to van).

Vincent:1 “semi-fall” in sand - although his feet were off the bike, he managed to keep the bike from falling by landing against a car door (minor dents and scratches on the door).

Number of Falls Not on the Motorcycle:

Joe: Falling into the Mekong River while walking off a boat; falling again, only this time in the mud when he pulled Jack’s headlight guard off while he was helping Jack get out of the mud.

Chase Vehicle:

THE Princess Bus had one tire blow out and a van got stuck in the mud.

The Following Items Have Been Broken, Damaged in Falls or Collisions, or Have Fallen Off a Motorcycle:

3 flat tires

1 rear shock (and accompanying tow for 120km)

1 steering head bearing failure

2 ring antennas (to the same person)

2 covers for a backpack caught and chewed up in rear wheel (to the same person)

1 pair of high beam bulbs

1 side stand switch

2 dead batteries (1 was dead in the container and charged up, 1 needed replacing)

1 voltage regulator

1 GPS

1 driving lights out

1 rear tail light

1 rear top case frame broke

1 throttle lock

2 rear turn signals (dead on arrival)

1 leaky rear brake line

1 remote for iPod

1 shifter

1 clutch

2 scratched panniers (the luggage boxes)

1 exploded, crushed and mangled pannier

2 bolts for engine guard and 1 broken bushing on skid plate

1 rear fender

1 chain came off and both sprockets were destroyed

New Items That Needed to Be Procured During the Trip:

1 computer, 1 camera, 1 cell phone, 2 new tires (all purchased by the same rider!),

Animals:

Sadly and very regretfully, 2 dogs, 2 chickens and 1 bird were accidentally killed.

The Following Items Were Lost, Damaged or Destroyed Doing Something Else:

Linda and Mike lost a day getting to Vietnam due to an oversight and airline mistake (long story).

Mike got boots repaired and his panniers now have BMW stickers on them.

Vincent lost his hair, camera, phone, and digital pictures from the computer.

Joe lost $40 and got one pair of gloves repaired.

Karen lost a HD video camera and lost blood from 6 sucking leeches.

Than lost a pair of pants, sunglasses, and a necklace he bought for his wife (that just doesn’t sound right).

Stolen items:

A stuffed toy bear hanging from Jack’s motorcycle . . . a criminal act, “in my personal opinion”.

Respectfully Submitted,

Linda “Tiger Lily”
Secretary/Treasurer

Hi Family & Friends

Spent a day and a half sightseeing here. Rode the subways to a museum, Little India, Chinatown and the Ducati dealership (no SGP t-shirts).

Had a great time and delicious meals. Leave on the 20th at 1:30 pm and will be home around 2:00 pm on the same day and spending 14+ hours in flight.

I do have some good and bad news. On the last day of riding to Kuala Lumpur my motorcycle threw a chain and locked up the rear wheel. I skidded for about 40 feet and smoke was coming off my tire. The last 15 feet I was fish tailing and was about to jump off before I lost control.

The good news is that I was able to stay up and the chase van was able to carry the F650 and myself into Kuala Lumpur. I should have replaced the chain and sprockets before the trip but being a member of Team Cheap I thought they would last.

I only needed to go another 130 miles.

More happy news was that Joe had a successful appendix removal and was able to join us in Kuala Lumpur. He was recovering well and felt very fortunate to have survived. He praised Helge for all the help and arrangements at the two hospitals.

I was also able to have dinner in Kuala Lumpur with Shah, an old friend of my daughter Karen. It was a delightful evening and he said we were the reason he likes to snow ski. We had brought him to Lake Tahoe for his first time, and he didn't want to quit even though it was storming.

Helge did a fabulous job at the BMW dealership with his slide and video show. There were food and drink and many local motorcyclists. Most of the BMW riders have the GS model.

The loading of the bikes into the container took a long tine due to the late container delivery, nail gun and 2x4 wood pieces.

Looking forward to seeing all of you and some Mexican food at El Chino!

David