Leaving Kuala Lumpur, the rest of Malaysia was more fairly boring riding through the tropics. Most of each day was riding through Palm farms. As I was making my way out of the city I ran into two german cyclists on their first day of 3 weeks around Malaysia. I handed them my map of the city and pointed them in the right direction.
I ran into a Chinese guy in Seremban who insisted on showing me around town, and even brought me back to KL to see the towers at night.
From there it was onto Malacca, which wasn't as interesting as I expected it to be. According to the museums it was a great place that was totally ruined by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. It does have some interesting mosque designs though:
The remains of the fort:
Also I finally managed to get a picture of one of the monitors I've seen once or twice a day while riding
From there it was onto Singapore. They have completely separate entrance and customs lanes for motorcycles, and they weren't bothering to search anyone. I was expecting to get hassled from what I've heard about Singapore being uptight, but I've had no problems. The drivers are still polite, with no honking, which is surprising since the city center is quite busy. There are tons of one-way roads though which is annoying.
About 60 seconds after getting my entry stamp, I got my welcoming gift of this through my tire:
Probably the best recognized building in Singapore is the marina bay sands hotel/casino
They also have the goofy looking merlion statue
Sentosa island to the south has been developed as a massive resort, featuring totally not disney world, and a bunch of fake beaches.
Chinatown has the standard temples, along with mosques, and hindu temples
Since most of the connecting flights back home go through Tokyo or Beijing, I figured why not spend a few days in and around Tokyo, rather than a few hours in the airport, so tomorrow I am headed there.
This is the last major bit of cycling for a while. While the bike still works fine, it could use some love. In 13ish months of riding, I went through 2 front tires, 4 rear tires, 5-6 chains, 2 bottom brackets, 2 front fenders, handlebar tape, a rear derailleur cog, and more tubes and patches than I can count. Somehow one of the adjuster knobs on my brakes disappeared, the plastic covering on both shifters is gone, my front rack has wear from the bags, my drive-train is very worn, my rear hub needs new bearings, and my seat is shaped like a banana. Also it could really use a wash.
But it got me here, so it did what I built it for.
(best glove tan line ever)
I ran into a Chinese guy in Seremban who insisted on showing me around town, and even brought me back to KL to see the towers at night.
From there it was onto Malacca, which wasn't as interesting as I expected it to be. According to the museums it was a great place that was totally ruined by the Portuguese, Dutch and British. It does have some interesting mosque designs though:
The remains of the fort:
Also I finally managed to get a picture of one of the monitors I've seen once or twice a day while riding
From there it was onto Singapore. They have completely separate entrance and customs lanes for motorcycles, and they weren't bothering to search anyone. I was expecting to get hassled from what I've heard about Singapore being uptight, but I've had no problems. The drivers are still polite, with no honking, which is surprising since the city center is quite busy. There are tons of one-way roads though which is annoying.
About 60 seconds after getting my entry stamp, I got my welcoming gift of this through my tire:
Probably the best recognized building in Singapore is the marina bay sands hotel/casino
They also have the goofy looking merlion statue
Sentosa island to the south has been developed as a massive resort, featuring totally not disney world, and a bunch of fake beaches.
Chinatown has the standard temples, along with mosques, and hindu temples
Since most of the connecting flights back home go through Tokyo or Beijing, I figured why not spend a few days in and around Tokyo, rather than a few hours in the airport, so tomorrow I am headed there.
This is the last major bit of cycling for a while. While the bike still works fine, it could use some love. In 13ish months of riding, I went through 2 front tires, 4 rear tires, 5-6 chains, 2 bottom brackets, 2 front fenders, handlebar tape, a rear derailleur cog, and more tubes and patches than I can count. Somehow one of the adjuster knobs on my brakes disappeared, the plastic covering on both shifters is gone, my front rack has wear from the bags, my drive-train is very worn, my rear hub needs new bearings, and my seat is shaped like a banana. Also it could really use a wash.
But it got me here, so it did what I built it for.
(best glove tan line ever)
Woo-hoo! Congratulations! I've been following this trip since western Asia when I first heard about it.
ReplyDeleteWell done James, I have been following this since Durham.
ReplyDeleteAn adventure you will always remember
Russell Egge
Congrats on finishing man! Seriously epic stuff.
ReplyDeleteI've been following your adventure since I met you at the Tajikistan border crossing (I'm one of the mongol rally guys from Australia).
You've inspired me to buy a touring bike and I'm doing my first solo tour in a month.
It would be great if you did a bit of a summary of your trip. Scariest moment, best hospitality from a local, etc.
I hope it's not too difficult getting back into the swing of normal life!
Ben
WTF, why is my name pigpoo.
I will probably do a summary after I get home from Japan in a few days, and I hope you enjoy your first tour!
DeleteI think you set your own name or it has you logged into another google account or service?
Amazing and inspiring trip. I hope to do a chunk of the same journey at some point. It confirms what I've always suspected: people are the same everywhere and will do whatever they can to help a traveler out. Thank you for sharing this.
ReplyDelete