Betong & Penang Tour

Cruising along the NSH at a leisurely 130km/h in KL traffic, I was at ease riding with traffic. Keeping an eye out for Debbie leading somewhere in front of the trailer I was trailing and minding the cars on the slower lane, the miles was easy towards Betong when... KA BOOM! A cloud of dust erupts; shredded rubber disperses from the 18 wheeler's rear in a clanging of metal against wood. I am jolted awake and quickly overtake the punctured Goliath, thankful I was following at a safe distance. Apart from a fallen rider by the E-lane and the S'pore Lancer that dented the divider before we passed, day 1 was uneventful. Unware that the Betong Border closes at 6pm, we had to spend the night in a miserable "chalet" at Pengkalan Hulu, the last Malaysian town before the border. Later we would return to retrieve Debbie's spectacles, but first, here's the only pic on day 1.

By world tour standards, Thailand is a short leg because it is accessible in 1 day; yet it is also far enough that a majority of bikers have not rode there, nor is it what an amatuer tourer will attempt on a first tour. Henceforth, our Motov mates will have little doubt Debbie is a full fledged tourer. I'm proud of her, and look forward to more tours together beyond Thailand in the years ahead.



On day 2 we went about the town. Despite being here last year with Alan and Endlessloop, I stll managed to waste time getting lost with navigation for a short while. Bummer. Intermittent showers was frequent, but we didn't get caught out for long. It ended as soon as it started.


Hot Spring




Betong Musuem


Piyamit Tunnel


Maybe next time I should leave the topo to Debbie. At least she doesn't mix up the RnR with pit stops like me.


We started day 3 early, doing road 4017 before we left for Penang. Last year, the road was incomplete and impassable, unless
1. You had off road tyres
2. You have road tyres but feel gung ho and adventurous
3. You underestimate the risks

Recapturing last year at the point where we turned back.

This year we managed to finish the route, but it was more broken then the last, with half the road falling off the cliff from erossion or blocked by mudslide at many points. 4017 is by far the most treachourous route Fizzy ever plied. Debbie almost looked like she wanted to cry, but all turned out fine as we did it super slow in gears 1 to 2 for the most part.


And this is the part I didn't get to last year.


We left for Penang and returned onto E15, where there was a motorcycle lane. It was probably a good idea, shielding bikers from traffic with a barrier. But the lane was too narrow to overtake other bikes safely. I finally decided to ignore it after the east bound journey slowed us down too much. Towards Penang, I told Debbie, we'll give the toll the fly when we get there. I'm not sure if it was mandatory for bikes to use the bike lane; but I didn't intend to stop at the toll if there was a problem. In any case we slipped by a gap at the toll and never looked back. Next time I will probably avoid E15 altogether.


We arrived at Penang early and had a nice sea view from our room.


Sights at Penang







It was a pity the monorail leading up Penang Hill was under repair, and the locals gave us the wrong info that it was accessible only by rail. In any case, the drizzle encouraged us to return for the evening on day 4. With a sleepy start to day 5, we headed back to Singapore safely and concluded Debbie's first Thai tour.