Category Archives: Motorcycle Travel

05/01/2014 – 301 days/26446 miles

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Riding from Kuala Lumpur to the Cameron Highlands was incredible. First the road was nice, fast, and curvy. Highway C156 was the best portion of it by far…if you find yourself in Malaysia, get a bike and make a few passes up and down that road…you won’t be disappointed. Almost as important as the amazing riding was the dropping temperatures. This is the first place I’ve been in SE Asia where having a room with AC isn’t important and a blanket is necessary. I think it’s the first time I’ve quit sweating since the middle of January, and I can’t say enough how nice it felt.
All of those wonderful feelings left immediately the next morning when I tried to start my bike and all I heard was the single click of the starter switch and nothing else.
Did I forget to turn the key? Is the kickstand down and the bike in gear? Am I overlooking some other incredibly basic thing?
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04/29/2014 – 299 days/26285 miles

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Who would’ve thought that filling my bike up with gas in Malaysia could be so wonderful…
First off, it’s SUPER cheap…2.10 Ringit (about 70 cents) per liter. Thailand (and everywhere else I’ve ridden through) has been about double that. Pair the wonderful riding with cheap gas and you’ve got the recipe for happiness.
Next, you can pump it yourself (take note here Oregon!). I’ve never understood the idea of not doing it yourself…I’ve never had any issues with it due to lack of expertise. And moreso than just for this reason, I like to fill up my bike myself as everyone else seems to make a mess of the process. Every time someone fills it for me, I urge them (with simple speaking and hand signals) to go slowly, or fuel will splash out, and nearly every time, I end up with a bit of gas sprayed across my seat. My riding gear already smells like BO…I don’t need it to smell like BO and gasoline.
Third, there is no gasohol, ethanol, E10, E20, or Eanyothernumber. It’s all 95 octane gasoline/petrol/benzene.
Last, and most definitely least, is that you can pay at the pump with a credit card. I think this is the first time I’ve seen this since leaving North America, and though it’s not that amazing, it is a bit convenient.
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04/25/2014 – 295 days/26085 miles

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Melaka is a nice quiet town (but has terrible mosquitos…if you come here, bring extra bug spray!), so I decided to stay a couple days longer than I originally expected.
As you walk around the city, it feels incredibly diverse, and very unique. It was founded by Hindus from Sumatra, shortly after that was protected by the Chinese, then taken over by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British. Add to that the fact that it was such a major sea port and was constantly visited by traders from around the world and you’ve got a very interesting place. Depending where you are in the city, it can feel SE Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese, or European. This can be seen both in the people and the architecture, and a perfect example of the architectural variety can bee seen in the Kampung Kling Mosque.
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04/22/2014 – 292 days/26002 miles

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Well, I am really unemployed now…
When I started my trip, I had a year off from my job, and planned to travel for 10-11 months. But now that I’m well into the trip and pretty much addicted to it, I’ve given up on the idea of making it back home in time. So it looks like whenever I make it back, I’ll have to figure out what to do then.

I guess my future holds more parking in guesthouses than parking in garages, and more having a sore ass from sitting on the bike than from sitting in a desk chair…fine by me!
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04/12/2014 – 282 days/25125 miles

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With 25125 miles on the clock since leaving Denver, I’ve gone further than the 24860 mile circumference of the earth. I thought that was kinda cool…

I’ve left Thailand and entered Malaysia.  I’m already missing eating pad thai on a regular basis, but at least the wonderful roads make up for that loss.  So far, I’d say the roads here are just about on par with what I found in Northern Thailand.  The only difference I see so far is that the quality of the road surface in Thailand seemed a little bit better, but with that being said, it’s still been really good so far in Malaysia.
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04/06/2014 – 276 days/24291 miles

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At this point, I had now real plans moving forward…All I wanted to do was head south towards Malaysia. It just so happens that there are a few islands that are popular destinations in the south of Thailand…so, Koh Tao it is!

In Thai, Koh (sometimes written Ko, in order to save ink by eliminating the useless H) is island, so if you hear someone talking about a destination in Thailand that starts with Koh (Koh Lanta, Koh Samui, Koh Tao, etc), its bound to be an island. And Tao means turtle, so I’m off to Turtle Island, where Splinter is the mayor, and I’m hoping to not have a run in with Bebop and Rocksteady.

From Bangkok, I headed south towards Chumphon, to catch the ferry to Koh Tao. On the way, I had an incident with a beer cooler…
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03/31/2014 – 270 days/23938 miles

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Getting out of Cambodia was a breeze. I’d heard plenty of stories that there would be extensive waiting and bribery required both while entering and exiting, but I had the exact opposite experience. It’s probably been my easiest country to enter and exit, and no bribes were required on either end.
When I entered back into Thailand, I was immediately greeted with the amazing Thai roads that I’d been missing. Curvy, hilly, smooth, and relatively empty…perfect
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03/25/2014 – 264 days/23587 miles

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From Phnom Penh, I rode south in the rain to Sihanoukville. The rain wasn’t terrible, but it caught me off guard, as I’ve only seen it rain for about 10 minutes in over two months, and haven’t had to ride in it in that time. And luckily I arrived in Sihanoukville just in time to get my bike unloaded before the rain started coming down monsoon-style.
The town of Sihanoukville is pretty wild, but I stayed about 5km outside of town on Otres beach, which was a bit more quiet, with just about everything you want in a beach.
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