Malaysia Part 2 and Singapore: The last moments with Babe

During my last ride on the bike the public in the Olympic Stadium stand on their banks for a last time, and witnessed a significant fall, a ride through a city center with a big history and a snorkel adventure before they clapped their hands when Babe drove out of the stadium towards a garage where a sober future was waiting.

Kuala Lumpur: 06.06.15 to 08.06.15

In Kuala Lumpur I had the opportunity to visit a Malaysian wedding. Dressed in a shirt, jeans and dress shoes, which I had not worn for 3 months, I looked like the ideal son. The bride and groom wore traditional dress which looked very colorful and detailed. I chatted with the couple and they liked to see a westerner at their wedding and to do something else than to shake hands and smile for the camera.

In the evening I visited a bar where I met a Kenyan barmaid. She told me that she could study in Kuala Lumpur through a scholarship and that she was working illegally in the bar to finance their livelihood. In the middle of the conversation the owner ordered her to wash glasses, change the music while he was sitting next to music installation or tapping beer while he leaned against the tap. Seven days a week she worked in the bar for only € 400, -, and she was treated by the owner as a piece of dirt. Get a scholarship does not mean that you can save financially and you can fully focus on your studies.

Melaka: 09.06.15                                                             

Before the Europeans explored the world with their ships, there was a Chinese guy, Deng Ho, who sailed seven times with fleets of nearly a hundred ships from China, through Asia, to Africa. During his trips, he stopped in Melaka, where he drove many trade. This attracted many traders to Melaka and the city developed rapidly as a commercial area. After the Chinese, also the Portuguese, Dutch and British fleets stopped in Melaka to store products, which made the city from the 13th to the 16th century an important city for these fleets.

Contemporary, there is much of this history that can be seen in the old town of Melaka, and this area has been given a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Many buildings now serve as a museum and give visitors a wealth of information about the rich history of Melaka.

In the hostel in Melaka worked Alynda, a nice, social girl who set the travelers at ease very naturally. A tale of her really stucked with me; Alynda had an uncle who was very ill, and quickly died. He had thirteen children; none of them visited their father during his illness. During the funeral, most children were present, but seemed rather pleased with their legacy than to mourn the death of their father.

It sometimes seems like the Asians follow their parents, because that's how it should be. Their faith tells them to accept the rules of the parents and to respect them. The parents have much influence on the kids, and you expect that family ties are therefore very close. The opposite may be the case; family members who feel only love for each other and are not there for each other when needed.

Johor Bahru: 10.06.15 to 12.06.15

I am playing with my health during my trip by motorbike. The motorbike is old and weak, the roads are often bad and I do not wear protective clothing. On the way to Johor Bahru, a town 20km west of Singapore, I had to pay for this irresponsible way of traveling.

My rear tire got leak a few times in the last days, so I changed the tube. I should have known better, but I thought the problem was solved. When I drove on the highway with maximum speed, about 80 km / h, suddenly my rear tire broke down and, without hearing a bang, the band emptied in a few seconds. My back wheel became uncontrollable and began to sway from side to side. Because of the swinging I could not manage to slow me down quickly, and I could not control the meandering bike after a few heavy swings. The only thing I could do was to make sure I fell off my bike at the side of the highway. With a blow I fell on my head and slid across the asphalt, 10 meters from my bike my body came to rest against the guardrail.

I was still conscious, knew what had happened, but I was bleeding all over my body. I was dizzy and I think I sustained a concussion. But I was lucky, I could move every part of my body without pain and had no deep wounds.

Meanwhile, a van stopped to help me. He could load my battered motorbike in his car and took me to a hotel in the next town. I had little pain and could clean my wounds himself well, so I did not need to visit a hospital.

I was very lucky, because I only had abrasions and a headache, and my motorbike was still working. But it could have ended catastrophically when I landed in my fall on the highway.

The next day I was back on my motorbike and I continued my journey to Johor Bahru. I stayed at Nik’s house, a 26-year-old boy who worked in Singapore. He had taken a few days off to go with me to Tioman Island. Nik was like almost all Malaysians Muslim, but found himself not a good Muslim. He does not always pray five times a day and do not read enough in the Koran. He talked openly about faith and was honest as he did not know something. He wanted to talk with someone who converted to Islam, to ask them why they are converted. The insight in what they believe is mostly deeper than that of the people who are Muslims from birth. He wanted to learn and know more about Islam in order to become more convinced of his faith, and to become more disciplined in following the rules.

There swam many colorful fish close to the beach, which we could see well with our snorkel. I did not expect it before, but I felt really comfortable when I was snorkeling. Only I had a lot of dead flesh on my body, because of the accident, which made me an interesting lunch for the fishes. Instead of swimming away, the fishes came to me and started to suck on my body.

My plan was to drive to Singapore with my motorbike, and to take the motor bike by boat to the mainland of Indonesia. Unfortunately, this plan was not easily accepted by the border customs. At the Singaporean border I had to pay many taxes and I needed to insure my motorbike before the bike could enter Singapore, This would cost me a few day, which was too long.

To take my bike to Indonesia I had to apply for a carnet. With a carnet I could not leave my motorbike in Indonesia, which was my plan. Additionally I had to leave my motorbike and ship it to Indonesia. This was too time consuming and costly.

It was clear to me that the adventure with ‘’Babe’’ ended in Malaysia, 10 km from the border with Singapore, after 10,000 km. The bike was so old, poorly maintained and did not provide the proper documents, that no one would give a penny for my bike. Even the metal factory did not want to pay money for my motorbike. Eventually I gave my bike away to Nik, hoping that he can still make someone happy with it.

Too bad I could not finish my journey by bike to Bali, but I was especially thankful for what the motorbike had brought me. And it made space for the next challenge: hitchhiking through Indonesia.

Singapore: 13.06.15 to 14.06.15

For the first time in three months I had to use the public transport, when I went to Singapore. A piece of Asia, but it has little in common with the rest of Asia. In Singapore, everyone speaks English, are the highest, most beautiful and luxurious buildings, everything your heart desires is available around the corner, a pack of cigarettes costs 13 euros and it is bursting with people from 1st world countries.

My hostel was the cheapest in Singapore and that was evident. The owner seemed to make a sport to let her guests leave as soon as possible from the hostel. Upon entering she wanted your money directly, she did not explain anything, she even did not show you your bed, and if you had a question you were snubbed and a speech of 15 minutes followed with all the house rules and penalties by violating them.

Each building in Singapore seems to be a work of art. A building that would stab out above the others in Kuala Lumpur in height and design, you would pass by without noticing in Singapore. The whole country has been built in 40 years, a rich history and a piece of nature which is not influenced by people, is not to be found. I visited a park in Singapore which was established under the command of the former president. The park consisted of metal trees, colorful, wooden bridges, a large fountain and there were models around who used the location for a photo shoot. There was little pure nature to see, but I guess that is the result of a land high populated, rich and fast growing.

Singapore organized the SEA Games, the Southeast Asian version of the Olympics. I was there at the right time to take a look and I pretended that I was not the only one who wanted to do this. The enthusiasm at the Singaporeans I talked about this, however, was not so great. They felt no need to support their country and were not interested in sport. By chance I caught a glimpse of a regatta, where only a dozen boats participated. On paper the SEA Games were a great initiative, but in reality it was not, for both athletes and spectators, a very successful event yet.