The Wanderer's Ramblings

2011-04-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

The "Engaged Daydreamer" in Class

2009-11-24T06:18:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm going back to class. Its novel this time round because the roles have changed. I'm returning as an engaged daydreamer and a student teacher. Debbie and I are officially engaged. In my previous post, I also withheld the fact that I joined the teaching profession. But the riding fraternity is a close-knit community. Someone just pmed me on the forum and talked about my engagement to Debbie. I realized then that censorship of my profession on this blog is futile. Either I shut it down, or blog cautiously in future. I can never speak freely again, because what I now write may be used against me. There are unwritten rules about how an English teacher should behave.

As for now, the word is out that Pplater is heading back to his daydreaming ways in class at NIE come January 2010. In case you didn't notice, an "engaged daydreamer" is an oxymoron, and so is a student teacher. Go figure.

PS: I poached Debbie's pic of her solitaire proposal ring :p

Ramblings

2009-08-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

So the graduation trip was a blast; a ride through South East Asia with the girlfriend on 2 motorcycles is about as ridiculous as your 24 year old neighbours can dream up, i guess. Between unreplied applications and auto replies from phony companies the job search agencies dreamt up, yours truly successfully completed his job search with a grand tally of zero interviews. After a few weeks when no one called or replied, I started to wonder what that Bachelor of Arts was good for. Maybe I was applying for the wrong jobs. I would have considered being a taxi driver if not for the minimum age requirement of 30 years. After all, that Phd holder from A*Star said its the only industry thats still hring and he joined it right? So he can't be wrong. I read his blog and I think its funny.

So anyway, I did secure a job after all. It could have been better, but it wasn't too bad. At least I didn't have to deal with a bitch at work like Debbie. My poor girl is fighting a war in the office everyday. But hey, its still better than being jobless, and someday she'll move to a bigger and better company.

And by the way, don't ask what's my profession. Some things are best left unsaid. Someday when i retire and become part-time taxi driver, maybe I'll post about my funny passengers too.

Till the next rambling.

S4^dreamer & Pplater Laos-Cambodian Tour

2009-06-01T23:07:00.000-07:00

In writing about our latest adventure, I break with tradition and posted on Singapore Bikes Forum. In the link below you will find Debbie (S4^dreamer) and me (Pplater) writing about our 18 day bike tour to Laos and Cambodia, along with comments posted by fellow motorcyclists.

http://www.singaporebikes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=240308

Singapore Motorcycling Safety Video

2009-03-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

It was some 2 years ago when my shifu endlessloop, Mr Lau, Spectrum, TP Safety Branch CO Simon Ng and me (then riding a p-plate nsr beng bike at 21 years old) sat around a table at Ubi HQ discussing how we could raise safety awareness amongst bikers. I had popped the idea that we make a youtube video since there is no such production at the time, ads on tv potray bikers in poor light, and all the videos on youtube are made in europe with their nice bling bling bikes. Simon suggested we do it on our own. That idea was left at that. Dust.

It wasn't until 2 years later, about recently, that Debbie came along with the necessary eqquipment, video and audio editing skills that made this vid possible. If not for her, the idea of Singapore's very first motorcycling safety vid would still be left as it was-just an unfulfilled idea. So here we are, after much behind the scenes work and 3 months after the initial filming, we have the vid up. Thanks to endlessloop and THE BEAST for your time filming, and Miss Huppy for her excellent driving that made this vid possible.

Spread the word. Cheers.

HOV 2009

2009-03-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

13 participants turned up for the first HOV class of the year, a good mix of class 2, 2A and 2B bikes.

Endlessloop giving his talk.

Me and the guys sorting out the radio sets

Moving off for practical riding session.

Its still only my second time giving commentary riding; while I've got used to operating the radio sets, I thought that I could have picked a better route with more traffic to better apply the commentary riding. I hope the 4 bikes I led out got a glimpse of the HOV riding concept in application. In any case, today was a much better result than the last convoy I led out which "horlan" to Orchard Rd.

Till the next HOV ride. Cheers riders!

First Valentine's With Debbie

2009-02-15T00:18:00.000-08:00

Deb's at Mount Faber

Potter's Cafe at Safra Mt Faber. Probably my first and last time there. I wonder why people even consider holding banquet dinners there; they must be really very hard to save.

After ice-cream at Dempsey's.

Yours truly feeling rather blissful.

CNY!

2009-01-27T07:56:00.000-08:00

The 8th year of friendship. Celebrating CNY and Teck Sheng's birthday :)

2008 Has Been a Jolly Good Year

2008-12-31T23:00:00.000-08:00

Perhaps its the final moments of 2008 that made me want to look back on the year; more specifically, the last 2 hours, before I usher in the new year with new hopes. 2008 has been a jolly good year because in chronological order:

1. Feb-I mounted my first solo motorcycle tour to central thailand. That was a major psychological barrier for me, a test of independence, and a touring milestone.

2. May-I travelled Sydney and Canberra in Australia. That wasn't the best travelling experience, but the sights were memorable.

3. June-I got together with Debbie, and life's been jolly good ever since.

4. July-I passed the class 2, and was thus finally done with aquiring all 3 motorcycle and car licenses. Goodbye SSDC. You have taught me well. I will always rerember the instructors, including the fat one whom I snatched my booklet from when I lost my patience back in 2B days.

5. July-I bought the Fazer 6 and continued enjoying riding on the road everyday (almost).

6. October-My role changed from administrative to instructive during the HOV motorcycle safety course Endlessloop conducts. That was a major milestone for me. I look forward to working with my shifu in advocating motorcycling safety. Debbie and I also mounted out first tour together, and I'm looking forward to a more exciting tour calender in the year ahead.

7. Dec-I didn't fail my Forensics Science module, which I was pretty certain I would. That was a real breather. Debbie and I also mounted our first Thai tour, and that was a major milestone for us as a team.

With an hour left before 2008 expires, I shall lie back in bed and think about what I want to achieve in the year ahead. 2008 has been a jolly good year, and I expect an even more exciting 2009 ahead. Wishing all a Happy New Year, and may your resolutions all come true :)

Betong & Penang Tour

2008-12-18T08:02:00.000-08:00

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.

HOV, Melecca & Camerons

2008-11-12T02:28:00.001-08:00

Its seems I've been doing those mountain roads for fun. Its my 4th trip up in one a half years. What was supposed to be an overnight steamboat hit and run spontaneously became a pre-steamboat stopover at Melecca first. Instead of leaving on Sunday, Debbie and I left on Saturday after the HOV Motorcycling meetup I co-organised with my shifu, Endlessloop.

Endless presenting again

A huge turnout of 20 participants left us short handed.

This HOV meetup marked the first time my role switched from administrative assistance to instructing. The first 2 batches of convoys were led by Endless, while the last convoy was led by me. My convoy however, was split up and out of 6 participants I led out, only 1 returned with me. Later, I heard some of the lost sheeps went to town instead. I better plan something better next time.
Anyways, back to the tour, Debbie and I hastily packed out stuffs and set off from 2nd link at 7pm.

A 2 hour night ride placed us in Melecca. A little bit of asking around and we were in the main town area. Some pics from the morning before we headed up Camerons.

So we hit the roads in earnest. Deb's on the open highway.

Camerons on the way up.

This is my favourite pic of Deb's before we tucked in.

Calling Takumi, this what u were looking forward to? :p

It started raining and we decided to turn in early. The next morning the Boh tea plantation turned out to be closed. So folks, don't go there on a Monday. They're closed. We did go get some strawberries though, after the wanton mee breakfast. A must have at the peak.

Since we went up on the easy Simpang Pulai route, we took the Tapah route down.
Me kupping corner on Fizzy.

Tapah Waterfall

This tour marked a new milestone for Debbie, and we covered a good 1250km in 3 days. Not bad for someone new to touring. Not bad at all. Looking forward to more motov group rides

Halfway Up Postponed

2008-11-07T05:50:00.000-08:00

I've decided to shlelf the plans for the time being. When I planned this tour 10 months ago, it was meant to be a solo. How things have changed so dramatically in a short span of time, I'm still amazed. Like what bikers always say, 'the road's always there'. Someday I'll do that tour, and it might not have to be a solo. In the meantime, there's the HOV meetup tomorrow which generated an unprecedented sign up of of close to twenty participants. There's also a quick tour on Sunday. Will update again.

HOV Class

2008-10-27T19:20:00.001-07:00

My shifu Endlessloop will be conducting a HOV motorcycling safety class next Sat on 8 Nov. To sign up, please click on the thread below.

HOV Thread

Sunray Smile

2008-10-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Sunray Smile - Amber Van Vleet

One of my all time favourite youtube video, which i uploaded on imeem :)

What a difference a sunray can make
in a world that's tired of the rain.
What a difference a smile can make
in a heart that's filled with pain.

(She had a) Sunray smile
Fairer then the spring or a rainbow
Sunray smile
Come to melt away the snow

The darkness of a shadow always flees
where ever a sunray is found
The darkness in a heart always leaves
when the glow of that smile is around

(She had a)
Sunray smile
Fairer then the spring or a rainbow
Sunray smile
Come to melt away all the snow.
In my heart today.

Makan Session Gelang Petah

2008-10-20T06:48:00.001-07:00

Fancy some good food? Read s4dreamer's food review. Having a sumptous meal with the gf is a relaxing way to spend the afternoon :)

Prep for Halfway Up 2-The Thousand Kilometres Trunk Roads Run

2008-09-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

With a couple days to spare, Vincent aka da_vinchee cooked up a ride plan, and Gabriel's Strom 650 rolled out of the work shop 4 days prior to the tour. So off we went, turning out of the NSH only after 100km at Yong Peng into trunk roads. The plan was to ride a further 400+km to Taman Negara and recce the location for future group rides there. On day 2 we would ride into Betong, South Thailand via another 400+km of trunk roads on Gerik Highway, before heading to Genting on day 3. Alas, they say the adventure begins when things don't go according to plan. How we ended up at Camerons instead will be be revealed as the story unfolds.

Da_Vinchee, our ride planner serving us Listerine at Taman Negara.

You'll never run out of alcohol with the man in tow.

Before we calmed ourselves down over booze, these buggers came out of nowhere to welcome us to Taman Negara.

The 2 Stroms making it through unscathed.

Me and Vincent talking cows.

One of the main rivers leading into Taman Negara.

Fizzy and me

Now you see the food,

now you don't.

Kampong kitty getting cosy on me.

Gabriel giving us the ADV rider salute.

On day 2 we proceed towards Gerik Highway, the trunk roads mecca for bikers. Alas, it was not to be. Fizzy threw a spat and refused to run. She prefers a little shade under the unforgiving heat in Gua Musang, about a 100km from Gerik.

On closer inspection, we found the bearing, together with the front sprocket and chain slipping out of the axle shaft. The nut holding things in place flew out.

The local mech improvised a C-Ring clip to prevent the sprocket and chain from slipping off the axle. With Fizzy's spat we decided against riding north into Betong. The improvised clip could fly off at any time and I was riding at 120km/h max. We were turning south into Cameron Highlands instead when Da_vincee realized he left some vehicle documents and maps behind in Gua Musang.

Now the two of them had to consult Gabriel's map and debated against the stupid GPS suggesting the longer route.

We made it to Camerons to spend the night there though. Started day 3 early riding up Genting. I was minimizing my gear changes and accelerating slowly, without exceeding 130km/h. The clip on was holding up fine, but I was risking a chain fling off with every mile and corner. There's isn't much in the way of pictures from here on as I have previously rode to both peaks before, and I was riding up under different circumstances this time. On day 4, I trotted along the NSH at 130km/h. The open highway was a relief for Fizzy as I applied a constant throttle feed for the most part, giving the chain less stress. With a bit of good luck I crossed into Singapore by 5pm on Sunday evening with the two men. The problem has since been rectified of course. Its a good thing i put Fizzy through her paces on this tour. A spare axle nut is now on my spares list for tours.

Knee Guards-Rider's Recommended Kit

2008-09-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

Recently I pillioned a fallen rider who was wearing the standard armoured jacket, full face and gloves to the hospital. Such gears, if u must insist, is the highly recommended but seldom seen set of gears for local riding or tours. The rider suffered deep tears on the knee which took more than a month to heal although no surgery or stiching was required. The rider painstaking cleaned her knees everyday with sodium chloride and applied dressings to bandage the wound as instructered by the doctors.

Today evening, i pillioned another rider to the police station to make a report. This rider was wearing the same set of safety gear, but plus knee guards.

In both accidents, the riders' gear absorbed full damages. In both accidents, the rider was not at fault and could not have prevented the accident through rider's action. However, the rider without knee guard faced more than a month's inconvenience on public transport, having fat people banging into her injured knee, spending several hours a day travelling both ways to work, and endured much pain and suffering. The second rider only has a sprained wrist.

I have been riding locally for a couple years with mesh armoured jacket, full face and gloves. I'm getting my knee guards asap. I've seen 2 broken knees with torn ligaments from rider friends and pillioned 2 riders, one with deep cuts and one without. I've seen first hand how knee ligament injuries can cost upwards of $10k to fix, on top of many months of physio and psychological trauma. Ask any athelete and you will understand the knees are the most important to mobility. You could hurt your ankles or thighs and still hobble. But hurt your knees, and chances are u hobble with much difficulty. I've seen how knee guards can reduce injuries. I'm convinced the knee guard is the most under-rated but most effective safety gear for the rider. A knee guard with external strap on is easy to wear (you don't have to slip your leg through it), is cheap (less than $50), and is effective in absorbing the first impact's damage even if it flies off in a violent accident. The first impact is what causes the deepest and most distressing injury to the rider.

Just think about the first time u had an accident. Did you hurt your knees? While we ride safe and hope for the best, in times when we have performed what is humanly possible to prevent accidents but failed, we depend on our gears to reduce the suffering and pain. Your knee guards is your best bet to helping you walk to the motortiam to fix your bike without having to bring crutches along or being hospitalized and having your friends ride it to fix it for you.

Glimpse of Fizzy

2008-09-08T08:56:00.000-07:00

Aite... the sem's in full swing; life's busy. Here's a naughty shot of Fizzy's rear with my nick plastered on it. There should more rides starting late Sept and more posts in Oct.

Prep for Halfway Up 1-Melecca Test Run

2008-08-19T07:53:00.001-07:00

In my mirrors I saw her machine gyrating violently from side to side, in what must have been eternity to her, but which in fact was a mere second or two, before she went down. It was the classic example of a tankslapper-caused by virtually nothing-in her case she was cruising on a dry straight road at 130km/h with no sand, debris or oil. I braked to a stop onto the emergency lane without regard for my own safety anymore. The only thing I wanted to do was to get to her to render assisntance. It was Debbie's first tour after all.

What was supposed to have been an easy first test run for Fizzy on the North South Highway in preparation for December's major tour turned out to be the most sombre 150km ride home with a bleeding Debbie on my back. It was a straight evac to NUH for medical attention while the rest of the lads fussed over the recovery of her bike. I did my thanks in the forum of course. It was a blessing to have them around. Read S4 Dreamer's account of Paintball in Melecca. Its a miracle she was fine. This woman has a very high threshold for pain too. She wasn't even limping when she alighted at the hospital!

So... apart from tweaking Fizzy a little here and there, this test run allowed me to understand her better-about what needs more tweaking. It seems my will and crown jewels need a little more tweaking now too, but I should be fine come December. The roads which are impassable now, will hopefully be passable as the next dry and cold season up north approaches. In the course of the story, it will be revealed why the tour's called Halfway Up.

Goodbye Super 4, Hello Fizzy

2008-07-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

With my right hand on the throttle, I stroked the fuel tank with my left. The realization that a part of myself was sold together with the good old steed sunk in gradually on my last few rides. I have obtained my class 2 license and with it, a new ride. Perhaps the pursuit of a dream means more than achieving it to me. The latter is only the icing on the cake. That I had to leave the super 4 in its wake is inevitable. I can only hope her new owner treats her well. The memories of taking my good old steed to central thailand alone will always remain in my distant memories, a place where man and machine welded together and weaved a journey. Goodbye Vtec 1.

I straddled the new ride into her home, nuzzling her fierce looking face and promised to undo the neglect her previous and only owner heaped onto her sinfully. This 4 year old ride is a beauty. Just today a litre sportbike rider pulled up alongside me, sized her up, leaned over and said "Nice pipe!" Fizzy is certainly the centre of attraction as she goes. Any takers guessing her make and model?
Will be uploading pics of my new ride soon *wink*

Hitler's Bike

2008-07-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

MotoV Pagoh Challenge 2 & Durian Run

2008-07-12T23:11:00.000-07:00

The plan was a durian run followed by Pagoh Challenge 2-a semi-treasure hunting bike topo competition in which some 6-12 teams of 3-5 bikes hunt down makan joints and waypoints. My team is of course one of the best in topo; I will explain why later.

We started the morning with Alan's briefing. We used the petrol station as the briefing point.

After about an hour's riding, we arrived at the street stalls. The durian season is on in Malaysia and we hit the first stall we saw.

As you can see, we are eating the Cat Mountain King liu lian. It appears my shifu Endlessloop is totally ecstatic with the taste

After the team had our fill, we began this year's Pagoh Challenge 2. Last year, my team hor lan and went into some single track jungle road, were late by 2 hours and single-handed caused Alan to start worrying if something happened to us. This year, I was determined our team would give a good account of ourselves. As you can see, we arrived at the first checkpoint-Pagoh's Armor Tank.

This year my team members are very smart in navigating. We decided to follow the other teams. Hence, we managed to get to this checkpoint without having to stop and consult maps. You see! I told you we were the best in topo.

After this point, we decided to continue following the other team. But they were mostly class 2 bikes, and quickly left my class 2A group behind. Our team then took a break at the petrol kiosk, asked for directions, and decided to head for checkpoint 3-Pagoh's Kway Teow Mee. This stall is located along route 23.

It starting pouring shortly after we resumed our hunt, and we had to pull over to wear our rain gear. Unfortunately, Seastorm lost her balance while she was about to dismount the bike. The stationary bike dropped broke her brake lever completely and we now had to look for a mechanic to fix the problem as she did not have spares. Riding without front brakes is very dangerous as motorcycles depend on them for almost all its stopping power. I took the lead and limited the speed to 40km/h for a short stretch and we found a mechanic. What luck!

It was fortunate that he modded a Kawasaki brake lever to fit Seastorm's Honda CBR400

The mech used to be a seasoned racer back in Signapore in the days when bike gangs used to hang their helmets in the front row of the cinemas. Most people in my generation do not know of such stories. I have only read on bike forums that when the TP arrived at the cinema, all the helmets with stickers would be pushed to the floor, and they would start arresting members who caused trouble.

The friendly shop owner even offered us some of his own home-grown durians. By now, Alan had came over to assess the situation. Since my team was held back by the incident for a rather long period, I cheekily suggested that Alan lead us to the Kway Teow mee stall.

This bowl of beef kway teow mee is the best I have eaten in Singapore and Malaysia. If you happen to pass by Tangkak along Route 23, remember to ask locals where is the stall.

As it was getting late, my team followed Alan to the last checkpoint-Yong Peng Yong Tau Fu. This is quite a famous stall in Yong Peng, a short ride from Tangkak. We concluded the year's Pagoh challenge with a proud record of finding zero checkpoints ourselves and 3 checkpoints out of 4 by following other. I told you our topo was good. If not for the unfortunate bike drop incident, I'm sure we would have found all 4 checkpoints by following others. :)

I was pleased that my team completed this trip safely and did not suffer any mishaps. A safe ride for my team without accidents is a successful and good trip to me. Riding along Pagoh's trunk roads was also a refreshing change from Singapore's daily city traffic. I enjoyed finding my cornering lines with my good old steed eveb though we were riding at moderate speeds. Till next year's Durian Run.

In Camp Training

2008-06-20T08:26:00.000-07:00

Heart beating, I hear my breathing.
Order's given, we strike our matches. Enough explosives to blow me to smithereens.
Blood thumping, increased breathing.
Bay 2's fuse is ignited. Shit. Match is sodding old. 3 of us run for cover.
Round 2. Bay 1 and me to go again.
Blood thumping, paced breathing.
Matches struck. My fuse's burning. Time's ticking. We're running.
Heart racing, laboured breathing. The bloody cover's loathing.
Mushroom cloud's rising, ear drums ringing, demolitions pinging. I heard his hand was shaking while striking.
Yeah.. That was quite an adrenaline rush.

Lets do it again.

One more time.

Before coming home for the weekend, I'm still wondering how i managed Silver for today's IPPT. Not bad, not bad at all :)

Kung Fu Panda

2008-06-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

I am not exactly a die hard kung fu fan, nor do i dig comedies. I tend to prefer action movies, like Iron Man and Spiderman. I also enjoy fantasy such as Stardust or love stories like Music and Lyrics. In fact, I don't usually like cartoons, certainly not one starring a kung fu kicking panda. However, judging by the amount of laughter in the cinema and from myself, I must say this is the first cartoon kung fu film i actually enjoyed thoroughly. Catch the panda while its on screens! 5 popcorns out of 5.

HOV Safety Ride

2008-06-07T07:39:00.000-07:00

I dragged myself out of bed this morning to meet at West Coast MacDonald's at 8ish. Endlessloop was conducting the Hazard Oriented Vision (HOV) Safety course. As the organiser, my role was to co-ordinate the logistics, a simple task compared to what the man himself had to do-go through theory in the morning, lead the discussions and prepare for a practical convoy ride. This session gathered only 3 riders, but I am pleased we are able to return something to the motorcycling community. Marvelstone and Su are new riders with just over a month's experience, while Juvena faces difficulties with aggressive drivers and tailgators after a year on her Vespar. I'm glad Endlessloop and I are able to make this course happen again. Also thanking Ausa for volunteering his help and his presence today; it was a pity heavy rain aborted the practical riding portion. Not forgeting DuDu n Tweety for your radio sets, and Kushinagar for your help in publicising the event in SBF.

To Juvena, Marvelstone and Su, I wish you a long and safe riding career ahead and hope that you found today's meetup beneficial. May today begin a new chapter in your riding, just as Endlessloop improved mine 2 years ago when he mentored me, and even till today.

Endlessloop himself sharing powerpoint notes and video clips.

As we departed, I mounted my steed and revved up the engine. I switched focus to my ride, knowing this ride might claim my life like every other ride riders face daily. My mental radar maps surrounding hazards and prioritises them as I classify and track those taking priority. With the clutch lever pulled in, I engage gear 1 with an audible tuck sound-the clutch plates bites-my steed surges forward smoothly from the traffic light junction and the sweet inline-4 cylinders purr seductively between my legs. There are few sounds as enticing as a roaring inline-4; well, few man-made sounds at least. Riding in the rain, the reassuring growl of my loyal steed accompanies me home. While riding, there is no other place I want to be other than on the road with my iron steed; this is one of the simplest pleasures of life I indulge in everyday. As the saying goes, 4 wheels move the body, 2 wheels move the soul.

When executed to perfection, HOV denies other road users chances at collision with your vehicle. It is my hope that more people will benefit from this method of riding/driving.
HOV Article

Road Trips Australia-Sydney & Canberra

2008-05-30T09:59:00.000-07:00

Surprise encounter

Pictures of Sydney & Canberra

Cancer

2008-05-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

No, not me; at least, not yet. Its my friend, Teck Sheng, one of my clique of 7 jc friends. Just 3 months ago we were having Chinese New Year dinner over a get-together. This wednesday I will visit him at NUH. What am i supposed to say when a 23 year old young man suffers from cancer? Gosh... I don't know what to say...

Sydney & Canberra

2008-05-19T10:38:00.000-07:00

The best pictures are uploaded here in choronoligical order, starting with pictures from first 2 days of walking Sydney's City Centre.

University of Sydney

View from Sydney Tower.

Cockle Bay Wharf

Opera House

Pics from day trip by car to Blue Mountains.

A 2 hour plus hike rewards me with beautiful pics of Wentworth Falls

Sydney harbour Bridge

Manly Beach by ferry and Bondhi Beach

Day trip to Canberra, Australia's capital.

150m spire of water jet

Parliament House

Just as I left on the spur of the moment, returning took 14 hours from intention to arrival, on the same day. Road trips by car lack an element of danger and adventure; I prefer motorcycle touring trips. This was a good sightseeing trip; i've had my run, had fun, and now look forward to my class 2 motorcycle course. Will I upgrade a big bike? We shall see. Cheers!

Road Trips Australia

2008-05-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

What are the chances you meet your secondary school classmate on the same flight, and she checks in her luggage right before you? Well, that just happened to me, and what i expected to be a dreary flight started on the best possible note.

Angelin is a psychologist, and will be interning in Sydney for 2 years. It was quite an emotional day for her.

The sand dunes of central Australia.

Quite a beautiful apartment with a quiet ambience. You'll looking at my bed. Temperature is 19 degress celcius outside right now.

Sydney in 5 days

2008-05-05T11:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, let’s back track a little. Quite a few of you were told I will be backpacking Britain so before questions are asked why my flight’s headed in the opposite direction, I better offer the story. The initial plan was to tour Britain, passing through London, Oxford and Manchester, living frugally given the goodwill of ex tutees and army mates based there. Tickets were bought way before my central Thailand run, but when the rental company revealed exorbitant insurance prices not listed on the website for foreigners and a (super-turnoff) 100km/day limit, the plan switched to backpacking; i lost interest. It isn’t the same if there isn’t a ride. Last week, a friend spontaneously contacted me from Australia; this led one thing to another and when it was mentioned a possible road trip might be worked out, it was a done deal. With 5 days to departure I switched London for Sydney today. I’m not sure whether it will be a car or bike trip, or both, given the winter in the southern hemisphere. We’ll see how this one pans out. I'll be off on the plan of no plan this Saturday.

To be continued…

Allures of distant lands

2008-04-30T09:37:00.000-07:00

Between procrastinating and revisions, the realization that Britain is just over a week away hasn't sunk in. I have always been the type who study more in the first half of the sem, submit term essays 1 month in advance and then burn out too early, too fast. Usually this equates to mugging in the first half of the sem and letting my hair down after sem break-quite the opposite of the regular varsity folks. 3 months of summer break beckons; it starts with the flight on May 10 Sat, right after the last paper next friday. Awesome. Wandering time ahead.

Thai Language Classmates

2008-04-22T23:42:00.001-07:00

Pics taken by my Hong Kong classmate Wai Shan (tallest lad), with my strict-not-so-favourite thai teacher, Ajahn (teacher) Panadi who taught us very well.

With my favourite thai teacher Ajahn Sirimat, a charming lady.

With that, the semester has officially come to a close. The exams start next Monday, but I am already counting down the days to the end of it :p

Rockstar-Nickelback

2008-04-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

Really wicked youtube vid for my new fav song.

With Yang Yang at a pub in Clarke Quay. Its really a small world.. We were both tutors to our ex-tutees who I will visit in London in 3 weeks' time. Yang Yang has a very high IQ, was invited to be a member of Mensa, but declined. Now thats my rockstar!

I like this place. But unfortunately I cannot remember the name; the booze is a convenient excuse.

Quotes i live by

2008-04-13T10:02:00.000-07:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So
throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, strawberries in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO - what a ride!"" - (ADV Rider)

“I realized I could die on the road, but then again I could die from cancer too. In the spirit of adventure travel, we’ll worry about crossing the bridges when we get there"-Striking Viking. (ADV rider)

Flushing Coolant

2008-04-09T09:37:00.000-07:00

Think of it as peeing. Clean water in, dirty water out, not good. Clean water in, clear water out, good. Like this.

Between a few bloopers like peeing before I unzip and forgetting to zip up after I pee, I get the job done. Bringing the temp down leaves my crown jewels thankful, and the steed roars again.

Damn! Its feels good doing it myself! And.. here's my new fav song

The House, Dempsey Hill

2008-04-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Situated between the hustle of town and bustle of Holland Village, the House sits on a tranquil enclave, still untouched by the crowds, and known to few. Carrying the history of a former British barracks, the House is now refurbished, and nestles between lush greenery, offering perfect ambience for special occasions.

2 main courses, an appetizer and a pot of tea will set you back by at least $70. The menu has few choices for diners, but ambience is their strongest suite. This place is good for the special birthdays and anniversaries, or once in a while if you feel like splurging on average gastronomic choices. My take? Try it once, just have tea, then eat at one of the other restaurants, or Ben and Jerries. Or, do it the other way around.

Good company from Clarice certainly makes up for anything short. She's the cheerful and "happening" one I've been trying to introduce to Kai Wen.

Surrounded by cool greenery around you and dim lights overhead, you will be accompanied by soft music and crisp, misty air. If dining on weekends, a reservation is reccomended.
House, enjoy.

Charming teachers and beautiful classmates

2008-04-07T13:06:00.000-07:00

"Sawatdii kha", Ajahn (teacher) Sirimaat would always say charmingly.
"Sawatdii khrap", I would always reply, hesistantly at first.

I would steal glances at Serene. The other girls were pretty, but they didn't hold my attention. Ah.. the simple pleasures of life in Arts faculty.

Ajahn is christmatic; her demeanour calm. Like a mother, she nurses us patiently. She is always encouraging and supportive, waiting for us to sputter the next complete sentence. Often times, to our sheer horror, what we said would be either grammatically incorrect, or semantically incoherent, if not completely childish-cow is bigger than pig-dad is at home-she bought coffee at Orchard Road-you get the picture.

"Very good!" Ajahn would always cheer us on in thai. Language classes has been the most engaging in school, benchmarked against the amount of day-dreaming I do in other classes. The occasional flushed-face terror at not knowing what I was supposed to say because I was not paying attention to the reading list is enough to jolt me up and rip me away from my wanders, promising not let myself drift again. Non-language classes are still better; i can day dream all I want.

As I am writing about Ajahn Sirimaat, she gives me a call asking how I am, because I have just skipped her class. Lying that I was not feeling well, the call ended abruptly. In reality, I did not feel like going to class, but I uphold my pledge to write positively, knowing I will be happy doing what I do. Between whirlwind romances and positive changes, all good things must come to an end, and I must now wander again.

ENFP

2008-04-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

23/10/09
Strength of the preferences %
Extraverted 67
Intuitive 25
Feeling 88
Perceiving 22

The Portrait of the Champion (ENFP)

The Champion Idealists are abstract in thought and speech, cooperative in accomplishing their aims, and informative and expressive when relating with others. For Champions, nothing occurs which does not have some deep ethical significance, and this, coupled with their uncanny sense of the motivations of others, gives them a talent for seeing life as an exciting drama, pregnant with possibilities for both good and evil. This type is found in only about 3 percent of the general population, but they have great influence because of their extraordinary impact on others. Champions are inclined to go everywhere and look into everything that has to do with the advance of good and the retreat of evil in the world. They can't bear to miss out on what is going on around them; they must experience, first hand, all the significant social events that affect our lives. And then they are eager to relate the stories they've uncovered, hoping to disclose the "truth" of people and issues, and to advocate causes. This strong drive to unveil current events can make them tireless in conversing with others, like fountains that bubble and splash, spilling over their own words to get it all out.

Champions consider intense emotional experiences as being vital to a full life, although they can never quite shake the feeling that a part of themselves is split off, uninvolved in the experience. Thus, while they strive for emotional congruency, they often see themselves in some danger of losing touch with their real feelings, which Champions possess in a wide range and variety. In the same vein, Champions strive toward a kind of spontaneous personal authenticity, and this intention always to "be themselves" is usually communicated nonverbally to others, who find it quite attractive. All too often, however, Champions fall short in their efforts to be authentic, and they tend to heap coals of fire on themselves, berating themselves for the slightest self-conscious role-playing.

ENFPs are friendly folks. Most are really enjoyable people. Some of the most soft-hearted people are ENFPs.

ENFPs have what some call a "silly switch." They can be intellectual, serious, all business for a while, but whenever they get the chance, they flip that switch and become CAPTAIN WILDCHILD, the scourge of the swimming pool, ticklers par excellence. Som etimes they may even appear intoxicated when the "switch" is flipped.

Friends are what life is about to ENFPs, moreso even than the other NFs. They hold up their end of the relationship, sometimes being victimized by less caring individuals. ENFPs are energized by being around people. Some have real difficulty being alone , especially on a regular basis.

23/10/09
Your Type is
ENFJ
Extraverted 56% Intuitive 50% Feeling 25% Judging 22%

Idealist Portrait of the Teacher (ENFJ)

Even more than the other Idealists, Teachers have a natural talent for leading students or trainees toward learning, or as Idealists like to think of it, they are capable of calling forth each learner's potentials. Teachers (around two percent of the population) are able - effortlessly, it seems, and almost endlessly-to dream up fascinating learning activities for their students to engage in. In some Teachers, this ability to fire the imagination can amount to a kind of genius which other types find hard to emulate. But perhaps their greatest strength lies in their belief in their students. Teachers look for the best in their students, and communicate clearly that each one has untold potential, and this confidence can inspire their students to grow and develop more than they ever thought possible.

In whatever field they choose, Teachers consider people their highest priority, and they instinctively communicate personal concern and a willingness to become involved. Warmly outgoing, and perhaps the most expressive of all the types, Teachers are remarkably good with language, especially when communicating in speech, face to face. And they do not hesitate to speak out and let their feelings be known. Bubbling with enthusiasm, Teachers will voice their passions with dramatic flourish, and can, with practice, become charismatic public speakers. This verbal ability gives Teachers a good deal of influence in groups, and they are often asked to take a leadership role.

Teachers like things settled and organized, and will schedule their work hours and social engagements well ahead of time-and they are absolutely trustworthy in honoring these commitments. Valuing as they do interpersonal cooperation and harmonious relations, Teachers are extraordinarily tolerant of others, are easy to get along with, and are usually popular wherever they are.

Teachers are highly sensitive to others, which is to say their intuition tends to be well developed. Certainly their insight into themselves and others is unparalleled. Without a doubt, they know what is going on inside themselves, and they can read other people with uncanny accuracy. Teachers also identify with others quite easily, and will actually find themselves picking up the characteristics, emotions, and beliefs of those around them. Because they slip almost unconsciously into other people's skin in this way, Teachers feel closely connected with those around them, and thus show a sincere interest in the joys and problems of their employees, colleagues, students, clients, and loved ones.

Mikhail Gorbachev, Oprah Winfrey, Pope John Paul II, Ralph Nader, John Wooden, and Margaret Mead are examples of Teacher Idealists.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp

My 23rd Birthday!

2008-04-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

The ambience was relaxing, and the setup cool. The decors were finely calibrated, but all I saw was you. The music was uplifting, and all I heard was you. You are the girl-next-door; i am the teow chew man's kid. Dressed for the night, we spent the night at Dempsey Hills. But as long as you are there with me, it does not matter where we go.

From mundane family histories to hopes and expections-from the cultural heritage sites in Singapore under conservation to North Korean nuclear diplomacy-from philosphy to spirituality and the meaning of life-our conversations are intellectually stimulating and all-encompassing. You tickle and tease; I'm pleased to court and appease. Intimacy is paced, but all the more sugar-laced, in its finale. 5 hours can pass so quickly when our imagination is the limit, and our spontaneous whims and fancies the constancy. Thanks for celebrating my 23rd Birthday, my dear. There is never a dull moment with you, and I've thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Romance, realized

2008-03-29T12:37:00.000-07:00

Holding her hand, walking on sand, strangers's voices and passerbys's noises pepper the silence. Footsteps paced, spirits braced, her touch sends me through time and space. I have not felt a women's skin and feel this way, not since 17 anyway.

Mutually fortified with past hurt and lessons learnt, we thread with caution. But the concern, when she texts to say she sneezes; the anticipation, riding to her with her favourite hot chocolate; the elation, reading I made her day with a surprise. Excitment that she wants to take a walk with me at night is tinged with dissapointment when the date is cancelled. It is embarassing romance can take a man on an emotional roller coaster ride within 1 day.

But a man's hobby can do wonders too. As I wander astride the iron steed, objectivity re-surfaces. I look this romance in the eye with a rational, third person's perspective, mocking and taunting myself, asking the pointed questions of what I want and need. I find myself which I lost, albeit temporarily. Because as I see the humour in it all, and indulge in the pleasurable realization of a romance happening, I also realize I am powerless to arrest the fall.

Will she be mine in the end?

To be continued...

Flutterbies

2008-03-24T08:29:00.000-07:00

2 and a half years of singlehood is eternity; it leaves one lonely on some nights, but offers a chance to seek happines independently and with friends. While I have adopted a friend's perspectives about dating and staying commitment free, there comes a point when that question has to be asked.

Like Gretel, I drop the breadcrumbs and hope Hansel follows the signs. But when I glimpse movement, I wonder if it is the shadows and mirages; when I hear footsteps in my wake, I wonder if it is a longing for echoes from yesteryears. Will my wandering soul find refuge?

Flutterbies strike on magical rides through the sky under a canopy of celestial light. Romance is literally in the air on cable car rides. Endless conversations over hot chocolate entertained by symphonies of crashing surfs along the beach stir passions.

Weary of rejection, again, I believe the signs are misaligned. I make the surprising decision of backing off. But when we lay bare the cards of the game in a show hand, flutterbies strike once more-the question must be asked-but why will a bankrupt fear the banker? Damn you, flutterbies!

Super Star Virgo from overhead.

Ageless Beauty

2008-03-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

My goodness... I actually figured out how to do this auto play thing. I will leave it on the bottom of each post, giving the option of turning it off quickly if u wish silence. Songs will be changed frequently, as I hum along to each catchy one while riding.

Happy Birthday Eugene and Ah Kok

2008-03-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Chatterings and banterings permeate 3 Buddies' Cafe, while the evening traffic trudges on. One question stirs unbridled laughter, as the joke sets in slowly above the din.

"What day is good Friday huh?"

A birthday cake collects our attention; the candle-light radiates warmth where its rays reach. Ah Kok and Eugene takes the floor in surprise.

"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday Ah Kok."

I supress a mischievious snigger - remarking how kinky this sounds - drawing more acknowledging grins around me before I am finished.

This is another MotoV meetup. Rider to rider, there is always a sense of cammaraderie; a communal identity transcending differences. This is the good times.

New Soul by Yael Naim

2008-03-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

The first time I heard this song while riding I started humming along to it. It was that catchy. Unfortunately, all I could remember of the lyrics was "lalalalalalala". That couldn't quite do for a song search. Today I finally heard it over the radio again while riding home, so I quickly pulled over safely and smsed "987fm" to 72346 to find out the song title! When u got to know it, u just got to know it.

On the road again

2008-03-16T00:43:00.000-07:00

My new favourite song :)

Happiness is..

2008-03-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

1. Happiness is lying on my comfortable bed after my warm shower.
2. It is hearing the low whine of falling raindrops on the floor.
3. Its staying dry.
4. My favourite song playing in the background.
5. The low whirring of the fan, blowing the cool wind over.
6. It is doing something sweet for someone.
7. Its submitting most of my work well ahead of schedule.
I am so digustingly happy, I know, over the silly things that don't seem worthwhile being happy over. But live by the philosphy that each present moment is worth being happy over.

Its back to my comfy bed for a while more before i go get lunch :)

*5hours later

Damn.. I almost missed tuition because of a blissful slumber. grrr...

*2 hours later

Happiness is..
9. Nursing a cold beer.
10. The delicious idea of skipping tmr's lecture.
11. The excitment of planning the UK trip in May, starting the day after i end my exmas!

Make time for the good things in life!

2008-03-09T00:38:00.001-08:00

Saw this poster on my friend's blog. She lives a wonderful life. Lets all do it like her. Stop saying no time, say you'll make time. Cheers and enjoy the weekend!

EU Safety Video

2008-03-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

About the Stars-First solo to Central Thailand

2008-02-25T06:09:00.000-08:00

Prologue

Back in December the stars said I would do a lot of learning while traveling this year. I didn't buy it, for it was just a random browse. However, too many nights spent reading ADV riders' RRs during that sem break meant I re-defined what was crazy. It stirred wanderlust in me that nudged my spirit to go. For someone who has never toured alone, this meant I had a lot of catching up to do. Also, I had less than 2 years riding experience, so by most accounts this was a little crazy, a little beyond what I was supposed to be doing. But who was supposed to set the benchmark? The other thing was that I had a short term break, and I didn't wanted to spend too many days on this tour, but at the same time I wanted to make the most of the opportunity.

Day 1

I decided I was just going to take off and decide my ride plan on the road. After all, why did I need one? I wasn’t sure how much fatigue I could take. My main concern was dealing with an accident, so I decided against pushing it. Of course, I was wrong. I pushed it in the end, riding 3400km in 4 days. My previous NSH ride was done all the way with the raincoat on from SG to Sadao. This time, the heavens were kind. Purchased my thai insurance at Gurun Caltex for at RM15 for 9 days. I arrived at the thai border at 7pm SG time. As the last vestiges of daylight vanquished and the street lamps came on I rolled into Hatyai town. There was a minimal of that torchlight on the map stuff. I couldn't have hoped for a better start.

Night view in Hatyai.

Day 2

I woke early and had a hearty breakfast. Life is good in thailand! Onwards towards Hua Hin, I decided I would reach my minimum target for this ride, central thailand. There were a few minor horlan incidents, but this were limitted to within a couple kilometres. I wouldn't say I was lost. I just wasn't sure where I was :) South thailand is supposed to be easy to navigate. "Just a couple straights", the experienced riders would say. But you gotta cut me some slack since this is first time I am reading maps on rides. I depended on my touring mates for everything previously.

I turned off the road at a point with a signboard "Scenic Spot". The only problem was that scenic spot meant some off road riding. It got steeper and steeper, and i quickly turned back. Didn't fancy trying to be a fool with street tyres on gravel.

Scenic spot didn't look too scenic. Either that, or it was further in, and I didn't get to the good stuff.

By evening I was in Hua Hin. Ended the riding before nightfall, and good weather once more! There wasn't any of those map reading in the rain senarios.

Hua Hin is a very touristy town. According to Palmer who was in Chiang Rai at the same time, he paid 800baht for a night at Marina hotel. Having reached Hua Hin at 6pm without a map, I stuck to the stretch along route 4. First quote at Grand Hotel and Plaza was 1300Baht. I rode off. Second quote at Shailom hotel was 3500baht as they were were full. I decided against trying my luck at Marriot or Hyatt or the likes and went back to Grand Hotel. If Banyan tree resorts was building in the area, you can be sure Hua Hin is going to be like Phuket in no time. After all, there were already so many "ang moh" in the area. The toristy feel didn't interest me, but I was glad to be able to get around easily despite my half pass 6 thai.

The night view.

Perhaps being used to group tours, I didn't enjoy myself as much as i thought I would. The riding was carefree and enjoyable, but there was something lacking after the riding was done. The cammaraderie and cheerful banter with my motoV mates was what I missed most. Thanks goodness they had internet cafes there. Palmer said he was willing to wait for me in Chiang Rai for a beer but I guess I wasn't so sure about heading north futher anymore. 2 days of hard riding had satisfied my appetite somewhat. I had already achieved my minimum target. Sanity dictated that I should rest a day in Hua Hin and explore the town. The only thing was that I wasn't so sane the next day and felt like heading back the next morning. The train station at Hua Hin was to depart at 5 plus in the evening. I wasn't interested in waiting when the station staff couldn't confirm if there would be space for my bike. Since this was a BIKE trip, I rode back to Hatyai.

I was wondering why the weather was still so good. Not only was I blessed with good weather, the road was laid with flower petals, and it was a little surreal when the cars in front of me swept aside petals as I approached.

Thereafter, everything went down hill. It started pouring. The gods must have heard my thoughts and scoffed at my ingratitude. But since I didn't need the map anymore there still wasn't the "map in the rain" thing. Taking the slightly potholed roads with low visibilty was quite a challenge, plus the fact that I had a shit load of weight, carrying tools and spares that added to the weight on the rear, making the bike squat under throttle at times and wobbling on the front occasionally. With a bit of luck and a lot of concentration I made it back to Hatyai. I thought I would rest the next day at Hatyai to recover.

Day 4

Right... Recover. NSH was easy riding. Compared to route 4 it was a lot easier to melt the miles. The accumulated fatigue was geting to me. And then I overshot the turn and headed into JB to fight the evening peak traffic. Bummer. It was inevitable I was to struggle with consistency. If I was ever to ride alone again, I would follow FB666Y's example and take the train to skip the central thailand portion to get to the good stuff up north.

Epilogue
All in all it was a good learning experience. I was forced to learn and do eveything on my own. If I had a second chance in future I would make sure I visit more attractions and take more pics. This trip looked like a topo exercise in retrospect, or somewhat like a hardcore riding thing. I never intended it to be that way. Each morning I woke up not being sure where I wanted to go to until I mounted the bike. This was what I enjoyed most. There was always an air of spontaniety about it. Never mind I didn't had good pics to show on day 3 and 4, partly due to the heavy rain, and partly due to its barren landscape. I did what I felt like doing, that was what this trip was all about. I had my run and spent enyoyable moments doing something I enjoyed, learnt and overcame myself. Till the next travel... But perhaps, just perhaps, it was all about the stars.

The calm before the storm-D Day 22/2 Friday 10am

2008-02-16T08:04:00.000-08:00

Today I went to change currency at Junction 8. As I parked my motorcycle, an uncle came up to me to asking for help. It must have been a test from a higher power, or God if you are Christian or Catholic. I pushed uncle's bike and there was an almost hlarious situation when he was just short of ploughing into a car. All this while the long string of people queuing for 4D beside us were looking on, as we swopped and I gun his engine in one try. There I was, gloriously sitting on uncle's super4 low revving his throttle to keep the engine from seizing. It felt good helping a stranger. Lets just hope a higher power wasn't hinting to me I didn't know much about the rest of the bike, other than electricals. I don't deal well with mechanics.

In a way this solo trip is about finishing what I set out to do 2 years ago, reconciling my original reason for riding, my dreams and a passion for riding, translated into reality. Throughout this period touring with my MotoV mates have taught me many valuable and funny lessons, like not putting your spare key in your locked box, riding, safety and basic repairs.

Somehow I think it will feel awesome once I start riding. Then the focus will shift to all the good things riding is about. Freedom.

The calm before the storm. Come quickly, D Day. Let the ride begin.

The way ahead

2008-02-13T23:56:00.000-08:00

Today something became clear to me. In one of those deep moments of internal reflection in class (read: daydreaming in class), something stirred in me. It was the guest lecturer from the World Bank that is giving me ideas and an agenda for travel. Damn! He ask us what could we do as students for the poor while we are at the heart of affluence and globalization in pretty Singapore-NUS. Rich. Powerful. Shielded from the ugly things in the world. So many chao elites (this i said).

I will dedicate this blog and my life to travelling the world. Next friday I will ride to thailand alone. Hopefully I pass my baptism of fire and return home with some things sorted out. If I achieve this personal desire and small dream, I can start on the next one. I hope to raise enough money to travel United Kingdom by May, so that I will not have to cancel the air tickets which I have already paid in full last week, to London on May 10, the day after my exams (Yipee!).

Why UK in May? Because it is too good a chance to miss leaving this May. It may be my best (read: cheapest) chance too travel the most expensive continent-Europe, because my ex tutees who are now studying there offered me lodging at their rented house.

In attempting to travel the world in parts instead of all at one go, I might as well start with UK. After that I have no clear long term plans of any specific country or agenda, only that I wish to see poverty and get uncomfortable grappling with the more philosophical questions in life, contrasting later travels with the affluence prevalent in Singapore and what I expect to see in UK (until proven otherwise).

But for now, I focus my energies on the immediate things. That team project due next week which accounts for 50% of my grades for that module, and to ride to thailand and return home safely. From now till then I will meet a few people and prepare a few things, for I am acutely aware of the risks of travel, especially by motorcycle.

Life is about to get interesting and messy. Cheers mates.

I'm the Devil

2008-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

You are The Devil

Materiality. Material Force. Material temptation; sometimes obsession

The Devil is often a great card for business success; hard work and ambition.

Perhaps the most misunderstood of all the major arcana, the Devil is not really "Satan" at all, but Pan the half-goat nature god and/or Dionysius. These are gods of pleasure and abandon, of wild behavior and unbridled desires. This is a card about ambitions; it is also synonymous with temptation and addiction. On the flip side, however, the card can be a warning to someone who is too restrained, someone who never allows themselves to get passionate or messy or wild - or ambitious. This, too, is a form of enslavement. As a person, the Devil can stand for a man of money or erotic power, aggressive, controlling, or just persuasive. This is not to say a bad man, but certainly a powerful man who is hard to resist. The important thing is to remember that any chain is freely worn. In most cases, you are enslaved only because you allow it.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

Archive links to Malaysia Rides

2008-02-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

I finally found time over the CNY holidays to do a proper archiving. Also found this quote on an ADV rider's ride report. Here it goes.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the
things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So
throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." - Mark Twain

Melecca & Camerons-Nov 08

Pagoh-The Great Pagoh Challenge-March 07 Prep for Halfway Up 2-The Thousand KM Trunk Roads Run-Sept 08

Prep for Halfway Up 1-Melecca Test Run-Aug 08

MotoV Pagoh Challenge 2-July 08

Twin Peaks-Fraser Hills and Genting-Oct 07

Cameron Highlands-August 07

Port Dickson-Storm Riders joins Motov at Eagle Ranch-Aug 07

Endau Beach-Penyanbong Ride-May 07

Archive links to Thailand rides.

2008-02-02T18:50:00.001-08:00

Hmm.. Just to tidy up the good stuff a little...

Betong & Penang Tour-Dec 08

About the Stars-First solo to Central Thailand-Feb 08

Krabi, Hatyai, Camerons-Dec 07

Gerik, Betong-July 07

What do have to do to get noticed otr?

2008-01-06T06:22:00.000-08:00

I had a good laugh over this one. Its plain silly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IakVBqeGUho

Krabi, Hatyai & Christmas Cameroons

2007-12-12T09:25:00.000-08:00

I realized my holidays cannot start without being on a road trip to somewhere. As it is, it also cannot be to somewhere nearby I have been to before. With each trip made I have to go somewhere further and challenge myself, to learn something new about myself and to explore.

We didn't know each other. There were only 2 ex collegues and 2 old classmates. We met on SBF and decided to ride together.

As with every trip, I am always the most inexperienced rider and riding the smallest bike. I guess I can get used to this. There were 2 FZ1s, 2 FZ6, 1 Varaderoo 1000 and a FJR1300. Its ok, I can live with my super4. This trip, 6 of us had never rode to Hatyai before. And only 2 of us had made border crossings into thailand. Yo was by far the most experienced, having made regular trips to Hatyai, Krabi and Betong and having toured nothern Thailand. We were going to need his experience. This tour had a little of everything-Highway, country roads and mountainous roads. We depart in 1 week on 20 Dec at noon.

Day 1 - 20 Dec - Chasing the shadows

We departed GP at 1220. This was a day to be remembered as the wettest I ever rode in. It was raining when I left home with the raincoat on, and I never took the rain pants off till we reach Sadao in Thailand. 300km into Malaysia there was some brief respite, some 50km of rain-free riding, but that was it, and we pushed on.

We stopped at Rawang RnR for dinner at 6pm. It was getting late. We were not sure if we could make it to the border in time. We ate in haste and moved on, refueling at Tapah RnR just before sunset. Here, William’s taillight blows. There was no more daylight and we were about to hit mountainous roads of Ipoh. His FZ6 certainly chose a perfect time to screw him up.I tried to alert him that his taillight was only working when he applied the brakes and otherwise it was not lighted. To make matters worse it started pouring really heavily. I couldn't see the lines on the road, and at times it was as if I was turning blindly into nothingness. There were few cars on the road and this made riding really difficult. At some point I slowed to 60 or 70 in a turn and still had my balls in my throat, not knowing if I was inching towards the barriers or some stray vehicle. I couldn't tell if there was any debris on the road more than 50 metres ahead and it would have been too late to spot them if there were any. William had his signal light blinking to warn rear vehicles.. The risk level was above my liking.

We refueled at Semanggul. We decided to make it to Gurun RnR in quick time, and then make a decision whether to wait there till dawn to make the border crossing. Before we rode off, William’s signal lights blows. Great. He is now a silhouette breaking the continuous flow of the reflectors along the dividers, a patch of darkness obscuring the ivory asphalt bathed in moonlight. I tailed him with hazard lights on. William started flashing his brake lights intermittently, and the frequency grew to a near panic whenever a fast car came up to overtake us. The poor sod was going to do this for another 200km. Thankfully, the rain eased here.

We make it to Gurun at 10pm and saw a van ferrying some thais across. We decided we could beat them to it and the border would probably still be open. We learn from them that since it's a public holiday, the border would remain open till almost 12 midnight. Without saying a word, Yo tooks turns with me to shadow William. It was easy to lose him if he drifted too far ahead, but somehow we make it to the border and crossed into Sadao at 11.35pm. We were too tired to ride to Hatyai and decided to rest at Sadao for the night. No pictures taken today as it was purely riding in the rain.

Day 2 - Hatyai

My earlier impression was that this was a sleazy town. I was certainly dissapointed because I didn't get to see the see the sleaze I wanted to see. I must have been in the wrong part of town. We spent more than an hour walking and found the seat customization shop for Rahmat's seat, as well as a repair shop, only to find a bike shop next to our hotel, Hatyai Rama hotel. He had a blown fuse and blown tailight. That was fixed for only 50 Baht, or about just over 2 Sing dollars. We also made some stickers and thai number plates, and hit the night markets and Big C shopping centre, which reminded me of a Singapore shopping centre.

When we squeezed into one of these tut-tuts, I was reminded of holidays I spent in thailand as a kid with my parents. Those days when i was still a kid...

Day 3 - To Krabi

We took Route 4 and turned into Route 411 leading into Krabi town. The convoy broke up when one of us made a wrong turn. I drew the short stick. Iw as stuck with the group that "horlan", but it was good fun. The weather was hot as hell at 34 degress celcius.

We needed to cool down badly. The locals were helpful in pointing us towards Krabi town.

The locals playing by the river.

While having dinner, we saw more than 10 of these vans driving by, blaring loud speakers. We realized the Thais were having elections the next day. As a result, we could not purchase any beer that night. The pubs served coke instead. Bugger.

We rode to Ao Nang Beach to explore. My impression was that there were too many foreigners in the area, giving the beach a very touristy feel. Things were significantly more expensive here, as it caters to tourists. Despite the developments, the beach was still a nice place to chill.

I took this while riding :P I should learn from Ah Seng how he does it so well. Many of my shots on the go were badly taken.

On the way back, we noticed crowds of town folk gathering in front of TVs to watch soccer or movies. Not every household had a TV and this was the kampong way of bonding. I like it.

Day 4 - Phi Phi Islands and the Coral Reefs

We had signed up for the Phi Phi Island tour a day before, and a van came to our hotel to fetch us for the tour. We visited Phi Phi Ley, Phi Phi Don, Chicken Island (it really does look like a chicken), Bamboo Island, Viking Cave and Maya Beach. A couple years ago, "The Beach" starring Leonardo Dicaprio was filmed at Maya Beach. We went snokelling at some of these islands and had a great time sightseeing and checking out the corals and fishes. I don't remember when was the last time I did something for the first time, until I went snorkelling, so this was something new to us.

A speedboat took us out for the tour.

With the roaring twin diesel behind me, the wind rushing on my face and the crashing surf spraying outwards, I closed my eyes to indulge in the moment. I must have done this for too long, because I now am a little sun-burned.

I once read a ride report that the nothingness of the desert is a sight to behold. How about the wide ocean for you?

Phi Phi Ley

Phi Phi Don

Commercial firms were harvesting bird's nest from the Viking Cave and travellers were not allowed to enter. We could only observe the cave from sea.

Chicken Island does resemble a chicken, doesn't it?

Phi Phi Bay

The rest are underwater pics of the corals and fishes taken by Zali. He stepped right beside a sea urchin. A sea urchin is a little black ball with long spikes, somewhat like a poccupine, except a sea urchin's sting is poisonous. Being an hour or two away from land and possible evacuation, he really did cheat death by a couple inches. I'm not sure if there was anything on board that could delay a sea urchin's poison from killing stray victims.

THE BEACH

Thats where he came close to the sea urchin.

The tour lasted till evening, after which we went back to the hotel to rest. We rode to Ao Nang beach again at night to stroll the night market there and have a round of beer.

Zali and wife, Sophiana.

Kadeh on the left and Azmi on the right.

Day 5 - Christmas Eve - To Cameron Highlands

We departed Krabi and rode towards Sadao border, getting held up there for about an hour plus due to the custom jam as Malaysians were returning home from Thailand to spend Christmas Eve with their families, or so I guess. When we hit the base of Camerons it was dark, and that meant accending the mountainous roads in the dark again. Zali was the lead bike, and it took close to 2 hours to reach the top of Camerons because he couldn't see where he was turning into. He couldn't see the lines on the road, where the next curve was and when it did, how sharp was it. In his words "I was turning into nothingness." Me? I was at the rear of the convoy, so their lines helped a lot. No problems for me at the rear watching them take the road and following in their trail. We checked in at 10pm or so and had a rather costly steam dinner. By now I was rather sick of 5 days of Muslim food, but out of sensitivity and group harmony I withheld that craving for the Chinese steamboat all around us.

Day 6 - Deja Vu

I was here a couple months ago and here we are again. Well rested from the ride up, we visited the Boh tea plantation (again) and had tea. Quite a way to spend the morning. Although the tea wasn't fantastic, the cool crisp air was refreshing. I like it.

We elected the old Tapah route back home, instead of the newer Simpang Pulai route which we accended up, since the old route was newer to home and we wanted to check it out. At least, its something new for me. We came across a scenic waterfall and many stalls resembling a market beside the waterfall. Nice.

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Somewhere down the mountainous route of Tapah, I almost crashed. I was negotiating a long sweeper when an oncoming pick-up or something like that couldn't make it back into his lane in time. I braked into the outside of the turn. It was just too bad there was debris there, and i lost the front. Somehow, by luck, I released the front brake in time and kicked the ground to regain balance throught the turn. The kick was instinctive and honestly, I don't think I could repeat the same thing. I should have went down. I was lucky. Santa was watching over me on this trip.

We reached home at nightfall.

MotoV Rides Compilation

2007-12-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Having completed the exams, I fiddled around with Windows Movie Maker to make my first youtube video. The sem is finally over and I can look forward to more rides in December :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_0mcALp5kg

Motorcycle Safety Video

2007-11-07T08:56:00.001-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DD99mtI3Po

An interesting vid to share with drivers and riders alike.

HOV Safety Ride

2007-10-13T01:32:00.000-07:00

9 riders gathered on Sat Oct 13 in the morning at Kallang KFC for this HOV ride conducted by Endlessloop. The Street Smart thread in SBF was the main source of publicity for this safety event. Thanks to Andrew (Kushinagar) for his help in publicity in SBF, as well as MotoV riders Lawrence and Michael who came down to help out in convoy riding.

Endless in yellow giving a talk on the key points in his HOV riding technique.

The participants took turns to share their experiences. The helmet talk-Discussing the pros and cons.
Turk emphasizing the different braking distance with different methods.
Well.. It started raining. The one hour theory stretched on for another 40min. We finally decided to convoy out in the rain and continue with the practical portion of the HOV ride when it seemed that the rain was not going stop any time soon.
Ah Seng was the lead bike. Using radio sets with ear pieces, he applied his HOV technique through a running commentary while riding. 3 participants convoyed behind him and heard his scanning of hazards as well as saw his riding. I was the last bike.

As we approached a traffic light along a straight road at around 40 km/h or so, the lights went amber when Turk and I were both approaching the last arrow. Turk braked to a stop. I started braking while aligning my bike slightly right. The next thing I knew was that I lost the front wheel's traction and flew forward face first. The kerb loomed nearer as I flew, and to make matters worse, my bike was now behind me pushing me forward. I did stop just after the stop line, with my right leg pinned down by the right pillion footpeg, and the bike was now lying on its right side almost parrallel to the stop line. Darn! That sucked!

In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have expected Turk to beat the amber, so I would put this down to my inexperience being the sweeper in a convoy, and bad judgement on my part that I was following too close. I may have lost traction due to incorrect braking (too hard), or due to the last white arrow (slippery when wet), or both. This self skid was totally avoidable and it was wholely my own error that caused it.

Thankfully, my armoured glvoes protected my hands as I pressed them down real hard. I was also wearing a full face helmet, but thankfully this did not come into use. Apart from a bruised ego and and knee, I'm otherwise fine and live to learn from my mistake.

Crashbar saved the day for the engine.
Street Smart Tip of the day, which I learnt the hard way. Ride safe :)

Twin Peaks-Fraser Hills and Genting Highlands

2007-10-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

This trip started with Endlessloop's itchy backside as usual. Within days of his posting on our MotoV forum, I gladly signed up. The night before I couldn't sleep again. I don't know why all these trips haven't got me desensitized a little.
18 bikes departed on Saturday morning.
We hit the road early and arrived at Fraser Hills' base early afternoon. There was a slight hor lan (getting lost) incident, but otherwise we were doing ok.

Pic taken at the base of Fraser Hills. Nice scenery at the base.
This dam at the base of Fraser's looks like one of those bottomless ones you see movies.
Many of Fraser's bends could only be taken safely at around 50 or less. It wasn't the most pleasant route amongst the peaks, but it was a good challenge.

Alan, William, Lawrence and Barry left Singapore in the afternoon and reached Fraser Hills at night. Just in time to join us for dinner.

Penuts and chips washed down with vodka and Chivas. We spent the first night chatting away since it was rather late by the time we reached Fraser Hills.Dawn at Fraser's.

We woke up early for a morning stroll on Sunday morning.We encoutered this thousand year old, thousand legged millepede. Look at its size relative to a regular handphone! Imagine one the thickness of your thumb and longer than twice the length of your handphone!

It was Alan's bright idea to ascend a half kilometre jungle trail. The group was game enough to get out of our comfort zones after some deliberation! Game on! Just as we started climbing up the trail, a family came down frantically with a kid having a leech stucked to his foot. Lawrence used his cigarette to burn the leech off. Never mind that we were decked in berms and slippers, not exactly trekking gear, and certainly easy targets for the leeches. We pushed on. As we were taking a candid shot mid trail, most of us in this pic were jumping up and down, shuffling around or looking intently on the ground. Barry brushed off a leech fast enough before it started sucking his blood. Lawrence's cigarettes had just appreciated in value on this trail.We survived the trail with zero casualty.

Some of us had a race at Alan's Water.

We departed Fraser Hills early afternoon and left for Genting Highlands. At the base of Genting highlands, 7 bikes departed for Singapore. The remaining 15 headed up.Amongst the few peaks I have rode up, I have to vote for Genting Highlands as the best peak.

Ascending up Genting was the fun part. Coming down was more dangerous though. The team made it up Genting safely...

and made a grand entrance at First World hotel
After dinner, we strolled outside the outdoor theme park, and came across this new roller coaster ride.

Me: Hey guys! Come on! Lets get up this ride. We came all the way up here, we gotta ride this man!

William: Ok lets go.

(James and wife shuffles for their discount coupon for the ride)

Endless: Eh... Never mind, you all go ahead, I help you all jia ga your stuffs.

Alan: Never mind Endless, I help you all look after, you can go ahead

Endless: Eh... Never mind... This one I sit before already.

Me: (dirty look to Ah Seng)

4 of us went up the thrill ride. Notice the prone position of the ride.

Halfway climbing up.....

Me: Oh shit... Whose idea was it to sit this thing ah?

(James and wife bursts out laughing)

Me: NoooOOOooo!!!

(felt as if I was gonna scrape my footpegs as it was twisting... )

came to the 360 turns...

Me: &$%@#&%$*

(i felt like I crashed........) Lucky my dinner was still intact.

We had coffee at Coffee Bean. Lawrence was on a mission to find coffee. We enjoy the drinks while it rained heavily.

Inside Genting. Mini pig out session in Lawrence's room again on Sunday night.

Endless and me spent an hour at the casino after breakfast, where I made 25RM. Well... at least it was 25% returns yeah? We departed Genting early afternoon. Meanwhile, these brave souls went for the coaster ride.We departed Genting at noon on Monday.We took Karak Highway E6, followed by route 2 and route 9, trunk roads which led us to Melecca instead of the usual NSH.

Lunch was at Karak town before we hit route 9.Alan with the towkay.For a while, I was alone on route 9, and the road was simply amazing. It was a biker's dream come true. There was no one else, just me and the road. Taking those sweet constant radius corners helped me find my lines and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Half the team agreed this was a great route and both Endless and me vote it as the best trunk route we ever took. From here things went down hill. There was a near incident where one of the riders almost low sided. His pillion kicked the ground so hard her shoes tore and her foot bled a little and she was almost thrown off as well. After that, it started raining heavily. One of us highsided and went down. His gear took most of the damage, but thankfully he was ok. No one was hurt too badly and both could still continue to ride back. These were some tense moments for the team. Alan displayed great leadership, riding back to assess the condition of the riders while directing the rest ahead to wait at a rest point. In a similar situation, I would have been rather stressed. But Alan was very calm.
My rain coat was leaking from Day 1 and I was soaked on both day 1 and 3. The rain was relentless on the second half of route 9. Visibility was very low and we pulled over for a short break. Notice the puddles of water that dripped off us and our bikes. We eventually made it home at about 9pm or so.

Looking back, I certainly do not enjoy episodes of getting lost, getting soaked on many occasions, tracherous roads, possiblities of crashes in a foreign land etc. Yet these are part of the adventure in touring. All of us would want as smooth a ride as possible. However, things happens. And when nothing serious crops up on a trip like this, we can afford to laugh about it. Touring certainly took me out of my comfort zone. As Simon Soh, one of the more well-known tourers in our circles quotes, "Its not the distance conquered but ourselves". Till our next trip, MotoV.

September Snap Shots

2007-09-22T10:14:00.000-07:00

Been really pissed at the boring and heavy traffic that is the CTE. The air probably smells fresher on the NSH.MotoV celebrates the 3rd year anniversay this month. For me, its only 1 year that I've been with them. But its one solid year of touring. Melecca, Port Dickson, Cameroon, Betong in Thailand, Gerik, Ipoh, Endau Beach etc... Its a lot of beautiful memories really. In 2 weekends it shall be KL twin peaks in Fraser Hill and Genting Highlands! Yeah! More rides!

We also celebrated Alan's birthday. And Raymond's wife's as well. Gossiped the night away and rounded up at Kallang stadium carpark. The pocket bike racers weren't there as the fasting month had begun, and we ended up chatting away.Finally, half the term ended for me after a long long 6 hours of lecture followed by a history test. Damn! Was pooped by the time I rode with NUS Riders to Kulai for supper. I was the sweeper for the first time, and it wasn't the most comfortable feeling initially with a trailer following me closely. But riding on the NSH at night at a leisurely pace is pretty therapeutic after all.

MotoV also celebrated Moon Cake Festival at LC food court last Friday night. Look at all the beautiful lanterns we lighted up! I remember the best part of playing lanterns whe i was still in primary school was swinging the lanterns playfully at the end of it hoping let the lantern catch fire.. haha.. Didn't you?

Finally, Sep 30 saw MotoV members convoyed to a mosque near town for charity. The event attracted some 500 to a thousand bikes, and was pretty large. All in the cause of charity :)

NUS Riders and MotoV Participates in Ride Safe 07

2007-09-01T07:41:00.000-07:00

Finally met up with NUS riders for the first time. I've been wanting to join them, but just got to making time for it.

Apparently Wildcat (bottom right) is a MotoV member as well. No wonder i find her familiar. Cause i met her at some of our MotoV meetups what!

The incumbent NUS riders club president treated us to ice cream at Holland Village on friday night. By the time i reached home and went to bed, it was like 2am. Slept a couple hours, and headed out to Ride Safe 07, a public bike safety event at BBDC.

MotoV gathered at Chai Chee to join 10 United Premas riders. The 35 of us were grouped into fives plus one BBDC instructor. The organisation was very bad. Instead of convoying separately, we ended forming one long convoy, and the leader was stupid enough to occupy the middle lane of PIE. This made it difficult for vehicles filtering into PIE to get to lane 1 or 2. Vehicles in lane 1 also had trouble exiting left. Some guest of honour giving a grim speech.

It was back to the basics with pylon shalom

Neo's ZZR didn't take too much trouble in the S course, or was it the rider's skill?

Its not the typical day at BBDC with all these big bikes plying the circuits.

Den's looking good there with the SV. I tell you whats hilarious. He took his bloody loud pipe and put the stock, legal one in. Cause he's afraid TP summon him today. No wonder the convoy riding to BBDC was so peaceful leh.

Although the VFR has a large turning radius, it didn't stop Wei Jie from overcoming the obstacles. The organisation begged much improvement, but I guess i had my fill of trying out my bike in the circuit, which I would otherwise not have been able to. Did the event raise my safety consciousness? Maybe not much. What it did do, was to affirm my safety consciouness. By gathering with like minded riders, the day helped us forcus on riding safely and understanding out bikes characteristics better with the circuit obstacles. All in all, it was good fun. I also met the NUS riders at BBDC, but i didn't manage to get any pictures of them doing the obstacles as we weren't in the same group. Well.. perhaps, next time, riders. Till then.

Michael's Birthday

2007-08-26T07:55:00.000-07:00

It was supposed to be a regular bikers' nite out. But this time it was at Marina South Pier though. Alan suddenly brought out a cake. Ha! It was Michael's birthday. And we found out Grace's as well. Marina South Pier has a roof top with special bluish lightings mounted on the floor, creating a very romantic ambience. Surprisingly, not many people know of this place. I wonder how Alan got to know of it. The team chatted the night away, till the car park attendants came to disturb us. Haha...The sea view at night coupled with the lighting from the roof top is really nice for couples. Too bad I won't be heading there with anyone. Haha..

To get there, you need to enter ECP heading towards Fullerton Hotel, and head out at EXIT 17A, Marina Bay, which is the one right when you can see Fullerton Hotel and the city scape. I always can't help but take a couple glances at the bay. Thereafter, the road signs is pretty idiot proof, instead of turning into Marina South you'll just head straight down towards the pier. PS: Go there after sunset.

Lastly, a rather nice vid that Den sent me. I think i saw it before, as you probably will, but if you've not, its pretty good advice :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58J2dppampg

Cameroon Highlands 10/8-12-8

2007-08-13T00:29:00.000-07:00

The last of my planned 3 trips before the semester began was this Cameroon Highlands ride.

We reached early, of course. Pfff!! Had my first speeding ticket on the NSH. They must be clocking quota for year end bonus. Half of our team got speeding tickets for various speeds. The conversation after the roadblock went like this.
Officer "You speeding ah."

Me "Huh. Really ah?"
Officer "You speeding... 139km/h.

Me "No lah Sir, why got so fast" (Me thinking: No way! Where got so slow?).

Officer "Before that..." (I dun remember which point along the highway he said.)
Me " Eh Sir, this one pay where ah?" (I was thinking... Eh bro, pay here can not? :) )
Officer "You go back that time, at the immigration checkpoint then pay."

Me "Eh Sir pay at checkpoint ah?" (I was thinking... 50 Ringgit now can not huh?)

Officer "No no... Checkpoint then pay"

Me "Oh.. ok.. Thanks" (Tang Gu Gu)(wait long long)

Officer "Going where? KL ah?"

Me "Ya, going Cameroon." (Thinking about faking my home address on the ticket)

I'm not sure why, but somehow the team dropped by the Pomelo stalls in Ipoh. I met Ah Ying and Xian
Xian again, and she actually remembered me although it was a month ago that I went there with Endless and Spectrum. Haha..

By 6pm we reached Cameroon Highlands. We just had to stop to take a couple pics on the way up. Beautiful mountainous scenery. The temperature dropped to about 18 degrees celsius at night. Even in the day it was pretty cold. Rain coats make good heat insulators. PS: I did not bring any thermal wear. Sobs...Thumbs up.

Having steamboat with cold beer justs warms one up.We stayed in one of these.

Ah.. We call this the Alan pose. Team pic outside the Boh tea planatation.

The tea factory.

I think I'm starting to appreciate the aroma of this tea. Michael and Carin joined us on day two coming up from Ipoh. We also met a couple of Storm Riders at the apartments we stayed in.
Nice little strawberries.
Cactus plant farm at Cameroons.
Rode back on Sunday morning and the team reached Singapore safely at 6 plus. Yet another safely completed trip with MotoV... Hmm... Now I can begin the semseter.

Requiem for Biker

2007-08-08T10:44:00.001-07:00

Every 2 or 3 days, a motorcyclist loses his life in an accident. It has always been a statistic, until someone I knew passed away in an accident a few days ago. How could it happen? He was a very experienced rider, a very safe one as well, and a driving instructor at Ubi Driving Centre. He was the last few I would expect to pass away in such a serious accident. It did not made sense. He would know more than any one else that the right turn at the junction is the biggest bike killer. And colliding with another bike? SO hard that the other rider passed away on the spot? How could AU be involved in so senseless an accident? I always knew deep down, that this day would come. When someone I knew would pass away in an accident, since the number of rider friends I knew have increased exponentially since joining MotoV riding group. But i never expected it too be this hard to accept. At AU's wake, I saw the faces of his family and friends, ashen and pale, huddled in tight circles in his house. I saw the body of the man, so fragile I could not recognise it to be one I spoke to only days earlier. I will always remember these sights for the rest of my life, just as we will always remember you to be the smiley man you always were, AU. Ride safe on your last journey, and rest in peace.

Dictionary.com---Requiem
noun
1.
a song or hymn of mourning composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person [syn: dirge]
2.
a musical setting for a Mass celebrating the dead
3.
a Mass celebrated for the dead

Click below for a meaningful safety video clip very apt for this moment of grief.
http://www.livevideo.com/video/Maxxi/E737D6A3377A4C66A864957B8E39BE3E/Requiem-for-a-biker.aspx

I never know when it may be my turn, but I've decided that riding and touring is my passion, and with that, i accept the risks inherent in riding, with the hope that safer riding will push back the eventuality of my passing away from an accident so far back, that I pass away of old age first. :)

Cherish your loved ones, live each day as your last, and to the fullest, so that its a life worthwhile, for we only have one chance, and we won't get another if we screw up the first time.

MotoV joins Storm Riders At Eagle Ranch

2007-08-06T07:52:00.000-07:00

4th Aug Saturday MotoV members gather at Petronas at 7.30am to join Storm Riders. The customary team pics. Cheers!
Arrived at the bike fest at Port Dickson Eagle Ranch to see sooo... many bikes.

Parked ours at the Ranch, beside these huts called Tee Pees.

This is the cutest bike I have ever seen, with sub-woofers so loud its a mobile disco.Some of these kids are barely 7 or 8, and here they are, practicing in a controlled environment. A good way to nurture young talent. Nice sunset at Port Dickson beach. Hmm... Chilled out at the bar with a quick cold beer with Raymond and wife at night.

Storm Riders played MotoV members in a water polo competition on Sunday morning... My arm still aches now ah... We lost 9-8 after extra time. It was very fun, at times like water wrestling. Haha...

After lunch we headed for Go Kart racing somewhere near Eagle Ranch. Reached back the Ranch by 4 plus. Packed and go. Somewhere along the way back, I fell out of the convoy. Apparently Alan and Den Den overshot a right turn first, as there was no marker placed yet, and they were distracted by a rear STX who was following closely. I made the right turn but overshot an immediate left turn after that. There was no marker, and hence i went straight. After riding for half an hour alone along the trunk roads, i suspected i had went off the trail after seeing there was no marker at a roundabout, surely, a sign that i was lost. Circled the roundabout once to confirm my heading towards Melecca, at least its south-bound right? Was glad to see a Suzuki 400, Salbum from Storm Riders heading towards me at that point. I thought I was on the right trail since the rear caught up with me right? He was also glad to see me too, and assumed he caught up with the convoy. So we rode another half hour before i pulled over to check with him. Turned out to be the blind following the blind. Haha... But the trunk roads we rode in were very nice, so i enjoyed myself, even though i was lost. Stopped to ask for directions and some uncle pointed us in the direction of the old highway, which meant trunk roads. With only half an hour's daylight left, we set off in ernest. We still had enough petrol, but negotiating the old highway at night for the first time was not appealing to me. It turned out we hit the NSH instead. We eventually chanced upon the convoy at Pagoh R&R and joined up with the group, hence aborting our plan to ride back straight to Singapore ourselves via the "old highway". Alan and Den Den joined up with the convoy 5 minutes after me, and then i realized they fell out of the convoy too. I was surprised at myself for not panicking despite horlaning big time for the first time away from the convoy. The Betong trip must have been a shot of confidence in my arm, and Alan and Endless' experience must have rubbed off a little on me. Salbum's company also meant we could watch each other's back while searching for the way back home. It was a worthwhile adventure, and sharpened my nerves for more trips.

Think before you act.

2007-07-23T11:04:00.000-07:00

http://www.livevideo.com/video/Maxxi/292936E0F2D44ABB929507131D72B897/think-you-don-t-get-warnings-like-these-in-the-real-world.aspx

A cool safety vid, probably UK.

Gerik-Betong Ride, Thailand July 07

2007-07-23T06:29:00.000-07:00

I was a little excited the day before the ride and couldn't sleep well. Being one of the youngest member in Team Hornets at 22, I was very inexperienced and had done little highway riding, and Melecca was the furthest I have ventured. Having taken out my p-plate only 3 months ago, I felt that there was quite a bit of risk for me to tag along with Endless and Spectrum on such a long ride. If any accident was going to happen, it was going to be to me. But riding to thailand was something I wanted to do since my p-plate days. I was not going to miss out on this opportunity to ride before the new semester began. Endless had 2 weeks leave and was itching to bring his STX out, hence the the sudden trip.

The usual team pic before the trip.

Clocking the milege. We set off just after noon on Friday 20th July.It started raining a short while after we left Petronas. What a spoiler... We ended up having an extended lunch break at Ayer Hitam. The wanton mee stall we went to during Pagoh challenge was as good as before. The boss gave us a treat as he knew Alan well.

At the next petrol stop, sh*t happened. I broke the key to my side pannier. Half of it was stuck inside the lock and I could not access my luggage, which contained my spare key. That was so stupid, one of those things amatuer tourers like me would commit. This had me worried until we reached Ipoh for the night. I decided on the way there that I was going to pass my Basic Burgalary Course at night, breaking open my box if neededWe reached these pomelo stalls in Ipoh at 6pm.Hmm... The pomelos were sweet... and so were the pomelo girls, Ah Ying and Xian Xian.Xian Xian was very game and posed with us for pics. Upon reaching our hotel, we sought help from the mantainance crew to open the box. It wasn't too much effort and now my bike had a bungee cord securing it, making it look like an injured bike. Sobs...

Ipoh kway teow with chicken made a sumptous dinner for the night, after which we visited the night market.Woke up at 5am thailand time for a hearty breakfast in Excelsior hotel.

What a spread!
Beautiful view of Ipoh's mountains from Alan's hotel room.
Easy riding.

The secnery was captivating along this strectch.

Gerik mountains.
A river along Gerik highway.
Me and Endlessloop posing along the bridge.
Gerik had nicely curving roads. The weather was great for riding and we really enjoyed ourselves along this stretch of the road.

Almost reaching the thai border.

This was one of the candid poses... hands clasp together in thai fashion.We entered the town of Betong. It was relatively peaceful, unlike the rest of Yala province where terrorist attacks were worrying.
This was the only tunnel in the thai kingdom.

The Betong post office was listed as a tourist attraction but this was incomplete. What a dissapointment.

Visiting a temple in Betong town.

The architecture was beautiful and the temple compound was very well maintained.

Alan offered his blackbird later on the return leg but i declined the rocket as it was too much for me. For your info, the Ringgit is accepted in Betong and customers are always quoted bills in both currencies.Mr Xu, the owener of a tea house we rested at was a former communist soldier
We headed up the Piyajit tunnel. This was very tiring stuff...
The tunnel was dug by communist soldiers when they were fighting the Malayan army. It provided cover against air raids.

50 soldiers spent 3 months digging this 1km long tunnel.

One of the work rooms. Mr Lin explained that they used Morse code in the work room and intercepted radio signals form there.

Mr Lin explained to us how each section was bobby trapped and section leaders guided troops through the area by memory.

Land mines were used to make Malayan advances to the communist difficult. Apparently, Mr Lin spent 20 years fighting the Japs, the British and then the Malayan army. He and his wife were former communist soldiers but are now citizens of thailand. At the end of the tour it started raining heavily and we were stuck at the exit for a while. Mr Lin entertained us with recounts of how he fought the Malayan army during his heydays. He confessed to shooting enemy troops but could not be sure of any kills. Jungle warfare was a messy stuff. And here he was, 20 years after the communists gave up the fight on 28 February 1976 when the thai government granted amnesty, guiding tourists around the cave. If we didn't ask, we wouldn't know the modest man's past. He was very enthusiatic recounting the war history and we learnt a lot about the communists' fight. The thais gave them refuge in Betong provided they refrained from disturbing the locals. In return for they obedience, they were allowed to used the mountainous area as a base and training camp from which they attacked Malayan troops, all the way to Pahang.

Endless volunteering for the cause? Hmm...

This kind of scenery is rare. Accending the mountain roads was tricky.

Alan, aka Spectrum with the bird

Route 4017 is a must ride for bikers when the weather is good.

Beautiful scenery.. and treacherous roads. Notice that there is no road barriers...

Skidding in any of the corners will bring fatal consequences.The rain didn't make our ride any easier. We had to take the corners very slowly as there were mudslides after some of those blind corners.

Its not one those days to "buah katah"At this point Alan decided against going further. The road was incomplete and we had zero traction. It was getting dangerous to push on.

The down hill ride on the way back was even more tricky. It was one of those times where first gear engine break was insufficient.

To make matters worse our tyres were covered in mud and the roads that were free of mud had stones, twigs and debris as it was under-used.

At least we saw Betong Garden before we U-turned and headed back towards the hotel. Alan told us that the architect of this road was the guy who designed Mae Salom. Well.. Hope its completed soon.

Last stop for the day was Betong hot spring.

One of the locals was cooking eggs in this hot spring

Me and Endless fooling around the spring. It was so hot he could not place his hand in there for too long. I wondered how some of the tourists could dip they feet in them since you could cook eggs with the spring water. That ended the day and we headed back to the hotel to rest for the night.

We hit the roads early the next morning at 5am and crossed the thai border at first light.
We tried a new route, the Baling highway, which features impressive mountain views. Endless gave me some tips to improve my trunk road overtaking and that really helped a lot.

What a beautiful sight. The air was chilling too.We headed back home on the NSH after this and the most part was in heavy rain. I lost count of the number of times I had to change to rain gear and back.

Our bikes was in need of a good wash by the time we reached Gelang Petah, still carrying some thai mud on it. A dinner was in order before we returned back through Tuas checkpoint. This trip helped me understand the higher end rpm range of my bike. The s4 proved to be a lot more powerful and reliable than I thought. I'm glad I chose the s4.

We reached Signapore by about 7pm on Sunday. Total milege for the 3 days was 1700km. Not bad for a pplater, and a new milestone in my touring career. Up next will be Hornet's Track Day, Port Dickson ride, Cameroon Ride and a series of road safety talks in various army camps which our safety team comprising of Mr Lau, Alan, Endless and me are working with the Traffic Police. Hornet's forum is at http://www.moto-v.sg/forums/

Penyanbong Ride

2007-05-16T08:18:00.000-07:00

The exams were finally over last month, and here i was on what could be the last touring trip on my beloved NSRR150. Yes, i've gotten my class 2A license and am looking at either the SV400 or at worst, CB400. But thats another story.

We went kayaking around this island.

Tweety, Wei Jie and me in our terrorist face masks. Lol! The occasional vehicles that drove by had wide eyed drivers staring at us, as if we were going to steal our own bikes. Nice open country roads to ride by, feeling the breeze on your face, the lush greenery in your sights, and no Singaporean drivers! Wahahaha. The last part is the best.
At night we went chiiling by the jetty that stretched some 50 metres into sea. Thats uncle Johnny distributing "Guah Zhi" or kway zi, whichever way you pronounce it. Staring into the vast blackness at sea, without the container ships that dotted the typical Singapore coastline, I had an empty feeling of liberation, of nothingness. We could have chatted all night, but for the most part we were kinda quiet, the occasional chatter breaking the silence and stillness of the night. The stars were beautiful, covering our whole view. And no, we couldn't see it until we were walking back the jetty. Don't ask me how.

Thats my bike. This is a tribute to it, having spent my most important lessons of riding during my p-plate days on it. So long, my dear friend, small red.

The beach we were doodling around.

Was a little worried this little dinghy would drift out into the sea if a strong current came by. Lol... Considering we went behind the island on the left further out to sea. And 3 champions were brave enought to swim to it!!! Gosh... Bikers...

Wouldn't mind suntanning around here eh?

Full steam ahead! Eh... where's the engine?

All in all, a short overnight trip that was good fun. And plenty of riding in the rain. Only the incident where the truck that exited the corner spilling out a lane full of mud and clay, some as large as my fist gave me a bad scare as i was about to enter the corner. I swear time seemed to slow down, as it was a make or break situation. I kept my nerve and leaned through, and it was a good thing i completed braking before entry. If i had entered the the corner hot, the stuff and the rain could have ended my ride there and then. Sheesh...

Beautiful sunset to end the day. And no, I wasn't lucky enough to see the. Dudu took the picture. Darn! Should have been there.

60km/h Clip

2007-04-13T10:36:00.000-07:00

Never thought that 5km/h difference could make so much difference. These days... I have a little hesitation going at 65 in the neighbourhood. Kinda sticking to 50 for safety's sake. Enjoy the video, all round impressively shot angles :) Share it with a friend. Cheers!

http://sg.video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=298814&fr=

The Great Pagoh Challenge

2007-03-26T20:11:00.000-07:00

5 to 6 hundred kilometres. Approximately 10 teams of 3 to 4. 5 objectives

The day started with the usual team pic at GP Petronas.

Great Roads as advertised :)

Breakfast in Kulai and briefing by Alan, the organiser. Cheers!

Point 2: Hot Spring in Labis

Point 3: Armour vehicle of Kepong

Point 4: Nanyang Kaya Roti, a local delight in Pagoh.

Chendol stall was one of the objectives, but my team was in some jungle road that reminded me of In-Camp-Training. So... We only completed 3 out of 5. The country roads were great, not the kind you can ever find in Singapore. Pity I haven't buy my digicam yet. Or i could have uploaded the happenings along my team's route. And thats Alan's nice bike, Hornet 900.

Love those twisties along the country roads.

Beautiful sunset in Kulai to end the day.

In the end my team was late by an hour. But we were so shack i didn't realize it! All in all, great fun. If only i took the pic of that cow along the country road which gave me a bad scare. It was possibly twice the size of Alan's bike, hiding amongst the bushes and I saw it very late. Luckily it not dash across the road. Or there would be a flying NSR amongst the teams.

Beginings of the Adventures

2007-03-19T20:56:00.000-07:00

Last December, I went for a HOV (Hazard Oriented Vision) advanced riding class conducted by Lip Seng aka Endlessloop. I learnt a life saving skill, a method of riding that significantly reduces chances of accidents. Impressed by the magnitude of this discovery, I floated the idea that night to Lip Seng that we could get a civic society organisation going, to go to polys, camps, ITEs and perhaps road shows to spread this method of riding/driving and the safety msg. Too many riders were dying out there, one in three days at current statistics and rising fast. I, by the way, am Zhehong, a 21 year old P plater who has a higher chance statistically of dying on the road. But my P plate can be taken out in about 2 weeks and I'm also turning 22 in 2 weeks ok? Not that it makes much of a differences anyway.

I went for a Melecca countdown trip 06 with Team Hornets at the end of the month, and was surprised to meet the gang of big bikers from the HOV trip. Hornets must be a very safety conscious group who takes care of small bikers like me, and indeed it turned out they were! That began my affiliation with this fun group of big boys and lady bikers. We had plenty of fun riding around and holidaying, discussing all things bikes and life. Soon, I would hang out pretty often with them, talking about safety, bikes, accidents and riding skills. Of course, we also talked about a lot of other things, but we could connect on a same plane where i couldn't connect with my other non biker friends.

In January this year, Lip Seng called me to a kopi session with Traffic Police Safety Branch Commanding Officer, Simon. Alan (Mr Lau) and Alan (Spectrum) were also there. We were going to be seriously considering setting up an association to spread the safety msg to bikers, from the bikers angle. TP education campaign can tell you "dun speed", "dun this and dun that". Our angle of approach is different. We tell them what happened to us, how we lost loved ones and got hurt seriously by failing to this and that. The impact is vastly different. A biker who lossed a loved one or got seriously hurt is never really the same biker again. A deep sense of safety consciousness dawns from such moments, although not to same extent in different people.

In March this year (2007), it turned out the second meeting gathered people from all walks of life. They all wanted to do different things with the association. Some wanted it to organise annual big events like "Singapore Bike Week", a local version of the 3 nations Charity Ride that Singapore is a part of but never got to host. Some wanted it to fight for riders' rights, to represent bikers politically, in other words. They wanted this organisation to do for bikers what the Automobile Association does for car owners, perhaps complete with the free towing services for accidents. They wanted this body to be a force to be reckoned with, as the collective voices taking on the bureaucracy together can be quite loud, rather than sporadic, un-coordinated shouting. Simon wanted this body to be the ears he could disseminate info to bikers, on top of what we could do in education campaigns together with his safety branch. Soon, power hungry people were going to join this association. Through some coffee sessions on our own, we got the riding community's attention. 2 years ago people talked about it, and then the talk died down. Endless, the two Alans and me got straight to the "doing" stage. We are on the brink of registration under the Registration of Societies Act. A minister is to unveil this association to the public next month.

But the 4 of us are really not interested in the politicking and power grabbing. Elections, administrative stuffs, AGMs, commitee meetings, vote canvassing, all these are messy and boring. Sure, bikers can be more represented in Parliament in future, but the 4 of us are really just bikers who wanted to do our safety thing with young riders and hope to save lives. That may be all that we can make time for anyway. Every 3 days, one rider never gets to see his loved ones forever. We are just a bunch of riders who seen or heard too many riders dying on the road. We want to help. And so, as it stands, we may pull out of this commitee, but we will probably push it through for others to run it. It is a visonary idea, one that we took concrete actions to organise, but one that may slow us down in spreading the safety msg rather than help us. With or without Singapore Motocycling Association (name not finalised by the way) we were going to do our safety thing on our own, without the power plays, in a light hearted easy way. We are The Safety Team, as Spectrum calls it.