LIVIN MY DREAM - MY OVERLAND JOURNEY

Hv u ever dream of something big…something which u think its hard to achieve, but yet in yr heart theres that tiny voice telling u that even it may seem impossible, but u can do it if u work really hard and determine enough? Well, I hv. I dream of riding my motorbike around the world. SOLO. Not with a friend or a bunch of escorts. Not with a car, a 4WD or by public transportation. But on a motorbike. It wasn’t easy to make it happen, but I strived and I go all out to make my dreams come true. I started doing my research one year before I start the ride. I contacted many ppl and I tried to get as many help as possible. Some worked out but many not. However, among those who believe in me and my dream is GIVI. I got sponsorship from them (and their sister brand, HEVIK) which include riding gear and riding accessories. I was given 3 pair of gloves, a Givi Tourer Helmet, 2 pairs of 4 seasons riding jacket and pants, a pair of riding jeans, a pair of technical inner top & pants, a balaclava, buff, rain coat, rain gloves, 4L waterproof pouch, a waterproof 80L bag, waterproof backpack and a tank lock bag for myself; and top box, panniers, GPS holder, windshield, secure lock and bike cover for my motorbike. Givi has also being generous by giving me some cash money for this ride. Prepared with this items, I am now more confident to venture the world because I know that the stuff given to me are from good quality products.

Me and Mr Joseph Perruca during our first meeting regarding sponsorship

Besides Givi, Hong Leong Yamaha Motor also sponsored me a brand new Yamaha FZ150i motorbike and spare parts for this ride. I chose this bike because I had rode the same model during my Central Asia 'Stans' solo ride and I had confidence that it will stand the challenges. Besides, this bike is truly a fuel save motorbike which is very important for a long journey such as GDR. My many thanks to HLYM for all the trust in me.

Other sponsorship came from Koyoko who donated an amount of RM10k and motorbike batteries, Duro (Jojo and Wak) sponsoring me with my official Tshirt, buff, hand socks and inner. Thanks a lot.

I also received cash donations from supporting friends (overlanders and non overlanders) such as Pak Amzah Sulaiman, Dato Raja Firdaus and wife Datin Yan, Dato Zamri 1MWER, Md Khairuman Abu, Dr Ahmadol, Dr Ng and Kak Chik from IPGKI, Jahanifah Mat Zain, Yayasan Perak, Yongsuzi, Sue Rahman & hb, Azhari Karim, Tn Hj Azlan, Along Aimpro Samudera, Rosmawati, AngelLynn, Harris Andria, Mohd Shamree Hassan, Asmazi Omar, Sharida, Rosli Sulaiman, Fairuz Rahman, Joe & Evonne, and also donators (as of 30th Oct 2016) at https://www.gofundme.com/AnitaYusof, which was created by a stranger but now becoming a very important person for my ride, Deborah Chang (TQVM my dear sis for all the help) - Hoo Man Wong, Evonne Kang, Joy Nakamura, Puteri Juliana, Suriana Sulaiman, Mohamed Abdul Samad, Irwin Sim, Ilyah Abdul Aziz, Kang Predi, Ahmad Ghazali and Mark Baker....
Lady Bikers Malaysia members, thru the President, sis Mira Yaacob also gv me some donations.
I want you to know that yr contributions really mean a lot and I truly appreciate all the help. Thank you very much.

Some friends also helped me with items which I need for this ride, such as YemPaul Antonio & Sue sponsoring me a Quecha waterproof tent, Eijarm Al-Fayed sponsoring me with powerbank and air compressor, Rashimy gave me an intercom headset, Nadiah Wafa gv me 2 pcs of custom made headwear and Abikhalid supplied me with a dozen of DAMIA canned food which were really delicious. The list continued with my darling Zuzana Abdullah who helped in so many ways that will be too long for me to write one by one, but she's also another very important person for this ride, my sister Ayuni Yeop helped me finding my 'companion' (a toy tiger and cheetah) as I was too bz before the ride and she also helped purchasing Malaysia flags for me and troubled herself sending me ointment for my nerve pain all the way from Malaysia to San Diego. Last minute items such as a small hammer and plyer were given to me by Elissa Airin, and Rosezy Dyn gv me a good massage and spa at her Brightness Beauty & Spa Salon, Jelapang, Ipoh, before the ride.

Kapcai Magazine was my official magazine for this ride and with PEKETUM, they helped selling "support Tshirt" for me and part of the money go to my fund. Thanks guys, Uzaini and the team for all the help. If u wish to buy the Tshirt and support me, u can copy paste the link below and contact the admin:

https://www.facebook.com/peketum/photos/pcb.577924565694039/577923982360764/?type=3&theater

The Vocket is my official online media. Thanks to Ida Latiff and the team, for the interest to publish my story.

Hv I miss anyone? If I do, plz forgive me, but do bear in mind that I really appreciate all help and support that had been given to me.

As for other preparations, I will detailed it in my book, but of course a route, at least u must hv some idea where do u want to go., and below is my planned route for GDR.

To be completed in 1 year

I also purchased a new Garmin Zumo and paper maps. A friend, Khalid PCB introduced me to Ustaz Radzi Hassan who helped installing OSM maps for all the countries in my route for a very minimal fee.

I also purchased some outdoor stuff and necessary items such as external hard disc, rechargeable batteries, tapes and many more. I also had to renew my International Driving Permit, get vaccinations, purchased travel insurance for myself and for the bike, had my Carnet done, and the list goes on and on and on...

Visa is another very important aspect. I applied for US and Canada visas prior to my ride and the rest I shall apply when I'm on the road. My Canadian visa was rejected on the first attempt and I had to seek assistance from Wisma Putra. Thanks Encik Hafiz and the consular division for helping me and I managed to get both visas.

Bike prep was done by my mechanic, Faiesal. I wished to thank him too for sacrificing his time and family and worked day and night till the very last minute before my departure to settle what need to be done.

As for advises, I received lots from many friends who were generous to share their experiences during their rides @ travel while traversing the globe. Faizal Sukree, Madie Saad, Hadi Hussein, Dato Zamri, Pak Amzah, bro Alex Wong Ying Thoe, Hannah Hadhinah, Moji Nazri Arshad, Tiffany Coates the legend, Andrea Sarvetnick, Rashmi Tambe and some icons featured in Global Women Who Rides, to name a few...

Last but never ever least, I wished to thank Dato Rocky Bru, Zuhdi and Harris Andria for all the effort, time and money spent to help me getting patron and sponsorship. Even though nothing materialized, but I accepted this as my fate. I strongly believed that Allah has other ways to help me, and He has His reasons why he didnt let our effort through. Thanks once again to all of u.

Finally, on 11th Sept 2015, with Ayuni, Rosezy and Norehan Desa as my companions, I left my home sweet home to KL.

On 12th Sept, SBM organized 'The Biggest Bike Gathering' event at Putrajaya. In the morning, lead by Haryati Sorgeon Lopez and the team, they escorted me to Putrajaya. Thanks to all. During the event, there was also a special appreciation ceremony for overlanders and adv riders. I was one of the inductees and certificate was presented by the Deputy Prime Minister. It was such an honour to be here and received the certificate from Tan Sri Zahid Hamidi. Later I was flagged off by SBM's vice president and this marked the beginning of GDR.

After the flag off, I send my bike to MasKargo, Mohidin my agent had been waiting and he helped me with all the air freight stuff. Thanks Mohidin.

The day then arrived. On 13th Sept 2015, I left my sons hse in Cheras...Ohhh how I cried my heart out upon having to leave my darling Chichi whom I loved so much. We arrived KLIA on time and a a simple send off ceremony by close friends at KLIA was held for me. Zana, her hb, Jai and Shawal representing Lanun Bikerz, also the one reciting dua for my safe and smooth journey; Ayuni, Rosezy, Anne, Rosmawati, Zuhdi and wife, Abu Zahrim and wife, Mazlan and friends, and of course my kids, Rudy and Icha were there to see me go. Sue Rahman arrived at the very last minute when I had already cleared the immigration, but I still managed to meet and hugged her.

No kompang, no bunga manggar, no reporters whatsoever as I made my way to the gate since I had no big name behind my ride. Its okey. By now, I already accept the fact that everything happens for a reason and that my past achievement in adv riding meant nothing when theres no ministry being my patron. This is Malaysia and I had to live and swallow this tradition and mindset....

I worked really hard to make this happen. I saved really hard to self fund myself for this ride. I sold my books, I send letters asking for donations and sponsors, I gv motivational talks at schools, colleges and private organizations, and the payment I got, I saved them for this ride...and god knows what I had done...

All for the sake of livin my dream....

SEATTLE (USA) – CANADA (ASHCROFT, PRINCE GEORGE & SMITHERS)

I landed at Seattle Tacoma International Airport on 14^th Sept at 5pm, and took a train (and later a cab) to Rashmi’s house, my host in Seattle. Rashmi is a biker herself and also the editor for Global Women Who Rides. She came to Malaysia last January and I took her for a ride on my bike.

The next day, Rashmi drove me to Delta Cargo to pick up GD, my bike. The process was very easy and smooth because I had applied for an EPA exemption letter from US Customs prior to flying my bike into this country. Within 1 hour, I had already hit the road. It was a nice feeling to be able to ride on US road for the first time of my life. I trailed behind Rashmi’s car and arrived safely at her place. We did some photography and it was fun.

Petrol or commonly said as gas here was sold at approx USD3 per gallon

Space Needle, Seattle most famous landmark can be seen in the pic

The next day, I woke up early as I’m very eager to start my ride. Another reason is because the northern most point for this ride is Hyder, Alaska. So, the longer I wait in Seattle, the colder it will get when I reached Hyder. After saying goodbye to Rashmi, on this day (16^th Sept, Malaysia Day), I made my way to I – 5 North Freeway to start my Global Dream Ride. Rashmi had shown me the exit way yesterday, and since her place was near to the freeway entrance, I didn’t face any difficulty. The weather was fine today and Givi apparels that I’m wearing gave me the comfort. The freeway was jammed packed with vehicles as it was peak hour. Only after I had passed Everett that the traffic lessened a bit. The road condition was good, but at some parts, there were scratched lines which could slide the tires, so I must grip the handle firmly. I reached USA – Canada border after riding for 3hrs. Border crossing was very easy and I was thru in less than 10 minutes as there were not many vehicles crossing the Sumas – Abbottsford border.

Yeayyy...bear country, here I comeeee

Riding in Canada was a bliss. In terms of road condition, the quality was better than in US (at least for the part that I rode). Traffic were much less and sign boards were everywhere. The view was beautiful too. I stopped a while at Hope Visitor Centre to get information about changing money. Later I went to a nearby bank and had my USD changed to Canadian Dollars. I continued riding, enjoying the beauty of Fraser River along the way. As I made my way into Ashcroft, the view changed into barren mountains and hills which were still not less beautiful. I felt like being in another planet.

I found a place at a park to camp for the night. The site was beautiful as it was near the river, however it turned out to be a wrong place as I couldn’t sleep due to train passing the area every 20 minutes. Seriously, every 20 minutes for the whole night!!! Urghhhhh!!!

It was very cold on the morning of 17^th Sept as I packed my tent and stuff into my waterproof 80L bag which Givi gave me. I really liked this bag as it was Velcro zipped typed on the top and very easy to use. It started to drizzle the moment I started my ride. It was very cold as I’m wearing the summer gloves which Givi gave me. I should hv changed to winter gloves, but it was in my pannier and I had tied my big waterproof bag on the pillion seat, therefore I will have to bring down the bag in order to open the pannier. My fingers froze as I made my way to Prince George. However, the view was again, very beautiful. Autumn had shown its colours so the pine trees which lined the hill was very colourful.

I sped at 85 – 100kmh on Highway 97. The speed limit in British Columbia, Canada varied from 40kmh (in town area) to 110kmh on double lanes highway. The fuel was sold at CAD1.60 - CAD2. The rain got heavier as I’m nearing Prince George, but I was not soaked since I’m wearing Givi Hevik waterproof riding jacket and pants. To end a freezing ride with a happy ending, I was blessed with a very beautiful rainbow.

I put up the night at a biker friend’s place. His name is Kelly, and he brought me to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner. How sweet.

TQ Kelly for hosting me :)

A mishap happened on the 3^rdday of my ride. About 30kms after I had left Prince George and as I was riding on a cross wind area, I felt a hard blow to the left side of my helmet. It was soooo hard that I almost loose control of GD. I had no idea what hit my helmet as I didnt see the object, but it broke the right side of my visor. Can u imagine how hard the blow was that it could break a good quality and brand new helmet visor? Thank god that I didn’t drop my bike. I had to continue riding with the broken visor and since again it was raining today, I was shivering all the way as the wind entered my helmet. I had to stop at a rest area and took out the balaclava that I got from Givi to cover my face. The balaclava was very efficient in giving me the warmth that I desperately needed.

After riding for 379km, I reached Smithers. I navigated my way to a biker friend’s bike shop. Sam was just about to close his shop when I arrived. I showed him my broken visor and he helped to fix it. At least it will work out temporarily. Sam brought me to his house and introduced me to her wife, Sarah. This wonderful couple were so nice and friendly. That night I slept in a bus, which was also a motor home belonged to the couple.

Sam fixing my visor at his bike repair shop, Eyecandy Customs Cyccle

SMITHERS (CANADA) – HYDER (ALASKA)

I said good bye to the lovely couple and Sam warned me to ride carefully as there were presence of wild animals on the way, especially bears. I stopped at the famous Meziadin Junction for some pics. I was soooo thrilled. Heyyy, I’m going to Alaska!!!

It was a freezing 330kms ride from Smithers to Hyder, Alaska. How my teeth rattled! For 150kms, I was totally alone on my lane. No vehicle behind or in front of me. As I was taking a sharp corner, suddenly THERE SHE IS! A bear by the road side about to cross the road! Less than 30m away from me! Goshhh! My knees felt like jello at the instance. Thank god I managed to avoid any collision and there’s no vehicle coming from the opposite direction. EUWWWW…that was really close.

Nevertheless, today’s ride must had been one of the most beautiful ride that I had taken. The view along the way was brightly coloured with orange, yellow, brown and green. I am soooo in love with autumn colours.

The deserted paved road deteriorated to rough paved for about 60kms. I stopped for a while at Salmon Glacier but it was very cold and no one was around. The glacier was beautiful but it felt eerie to be here all by myself, so I continued to Stewart. I crossed the border into Alaska. I was very happy. At last!!! I set my foot and GD rolled its wheels in Alaska J

This small ghost town was pretty quiet as it was Sunday. The sun was shining and it was reasonably warm. I found a camp ground and pitched my tent. Later, some RVs joined me and I had a nice conversation with the owners. Some of the RV ladies were bikers too and they gave me salmon with salad for dinner. Another lady lent me her blanket because she worried that its going to be cold that night. She’s right. Temperature dropped abruptly to minus 10’C after the sun went out. I was so thankful for the blankets.

Sambal keli DAMIA for dinner. Thanks to Abikhalid Abi

HYDER (ALASKA) – SMITHERS – PRINCE GEORGE – DAWSON CREEK (CANADA)

I didn’t sleep very well last night, not because of the cold as I had two layers of thick blankets on me, but because of worrying if bears might come to my camp site. I forgot to cook my meals at least 80m from my tent. Bears could smell it from far away and they might come in search for food. I also forgot the information that I read which said that even the T-shirt we wore during cooking must not be worn when going to sleep as this will attract bears too. It was already 10pm when I remembered and I was so reluctant to leave my tent to get a fresh T-shirt in my Givi box as it was very cold outside. This thus left me worrying and I only fall asleep after midnight. Fortunately nothing happened that night.

Anyway, after braving 2 cold nights in Alaska, I crossed the border back to Canada. There was no US immigration post at the border, only the Canadians. I need to stamp my passport prior to entering Stewart, Canada. Again, I stopped at Salmon Glacier and Bear River on route 37A to enjoy the beautiful view. This place got its name because bears love to fish for salmon at this river. While busying myself with the cam, I will press the throttle once in a while to make some noise so as to avoid any bear from coming near me while I’m busy taking pictures.

To be here and to actually riding here was a dream came true for me. All this while, I can only enjoy this view from a travel magazine. But now, I am actually riding right next to this pine forest. I am not looking from the bus or train window from a distance, but the dark forest with the wild animals in it were right next to me. I spotted another bear about to cross the road. However this time, the road was long and straight, so I managed to stop quite a distance away and let the bear passed first.

It rained again not long after that. It was very cold as I had to brave the wind chill. I didn’t have a heated grip on the bike so the chill froze me in and out. Due to this, I was shivering very badly, and without realizing, I had been putting more pressure than I should on my wrist while trying to hold the handle properly. The result later was I had a very painful shoulder and neck, with numb fingers which lost 50% sense to the touch. It was very difficult to ride in this condition. I was very relieved when I finally arrived Smithers and put the night at Sam’s place again.

The next day, I rode to Prince George, bearing all the pain which had gone from bad to worse. I stayed at Kelly’s place for two nights and took the opportunity to check the internet on what had happened to me. Through my research in the internet, I suspected that I must have had a pinched nerve and the numbness that I suffered was very similar to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

After resting for two nights at Prince George, with not much of improvement regarding the pain, I continued my ride. My movement tend to be very slow and difficult now due to this problem. Simple tasks such as zipping my jacket and boots were now a tough thing to do and taking so long to do it too. To make matters worse, it was a looonggg, wet and cold ride as I made my way to Dawson Creek via route 97. The colder it get, the more pain I felt. In all difficulties, I reached Dawson Creek after riding for 420kms and settled at Mile ‘0’ camp ground. It was very cold during the night that I had to sleep in the laundry room which had a sofa and was heated.

DAWSON CREEK – HINTON – JASPER – KAMLOOPS

Today is Eid Adha day or also known as Eid Qurban. Back in Malaysia this is a festive season celebrated by Muslims, but here I am, all alone at Mile ‘0’ camp ground. Theres no celebration or delicious food, but a wet and cold day ahead of me, with lots of pain on my neck and shoulder. Honestly, I shed some tears thinking of my kids whom I left back home. Anyway, after taking a deep breath and remind myself that this is my choice, I packed my camping gears. The pain made everything difficult and slow. To compress my sleeping bag into its cover and to tie my bag on the pillion seat took forever.

Before leaving Dawson Creek, I sought out the famous zero mile stone land mark to pose for some pics. This place is actually the beginning of Trans Alaskan Highway. Normally over lander will start from here heading to Alaska. But I’m doing it reverse way.

My destination for today is Hinton via route 43 and 40. Finally today the sun shone, but the wind was strong as I rode in the open field of Alberta. Wheat had been harvested, so theres not much to see in the prairies.

I had no idea that after Grand Prairie, there’s no service or rest area at all for 200kms and I had already used half tank of my fuel!!! Thank god that my FZ150 is a fuel save motorbike or else, I might ended up with a dry tank. And because of that too, I created a new personal record for riding without stopping at all for 5.30 hours before taking a short break at Grande Cache. I almost dropped the bike while trying to park it at the petrol station, due to the chill and exhaustion.

Even though the road was good in Canada, I can’t ride fast due to the load I’m carrying and because of the wind chill. The faster I rode, the colder I felt. It was a very exhausting ride today, plus the pain that I'm bearing. Finally, I reached Hinton and I pitched my tent next to a nice local’s house.

It rained again all night till the next morning. I waited until 10am, but since the rain didnt show any sign that it will stop, I had to get moving. It was no fun at all to pack my tent under the drizzle when its really cold and all the stuff were wet. The cold burnt my fingers but I had to stand the cold burn and keep packing everything slowly until everything was done. It took me 1.30 hrs to pack everything & tied them on the bike.

You might wonder, why did I opt to camp? Why didn’t I get a cheap motel room? Well, I had no choice but to camp because this country is very pricey. Depending on place @ town, the cheapest room cost CAD70 = approx RM230 per night (you cannot get this price at popular tourist attractions, it will be more). A tent space at a paid camp site is CAD15 – CAD25 = approx RM100. I’m not rich nor did I have big money in my account. But I do have a big dream. That is to see the world. So, for people like me, camping is the only option as I am not traveling for a week or two but for one whole year.

My ride continued to Jasper National Park. It was nothing but wet wet wet ride all the way. Nothing much of Rocky Mountains can be seen as it was covered in thick mist. However I do managed to see antelopes and moose while traversing Jasper National Park, but it was raining, so I didnt stop for pics. I put up the night at Blue River Camp Ground.

Rocky Mountains covered in thick mist

Its a bit warmer as I head south to Kamloops the next day, so it was not as freezing. However the wind was quite strong at certain places. For the past few days, I had put on another layer of Givi rain gloves on top of my Givi winter gloves to avoid wind. This helped a bit.

The view was soooo beautiful at Clearwater all the way along the river to Kamloops. It was hard for me to focus my attention on the road.

I stayed at Greg’s place in Kamloops. Greg was also a biker but he was out for moose hunting. He left his key in the mail box. How nice of him to help a biker friend whom he had never met.

KAMLOOPS – SEATTLE

Today will be my last day riding in Canada as I’m heading back to Seattle. As advised by Amber (Greg’s friend who dropped by to check on me last night), I postponed my ride to 10am as the road will be frosty in the morning. It seemed that the locals here had to check the weather forecast every day because the weather changed very fast. Amber was right, as I could still see traces of frost while riding on Trans Canadian Highway to the border. Border crossing to enter US took a little bit more time as it was Sunday and there were more vehicles on the road. However, I didn’t face any problem to arrive my friend, Rashmi’s place at Seattle.

I stayed 4 nights at Rashmi’s house in Seattle, hoping that the pain I’m suffering will lessened. I also went to see a doctor, and was charged USD150 for consultation and some pain killers, which didn’t gv any effect on my pain. Everything was pricey here and I’m worried if this pain will get worse. I prayed hard, asking God to hv pity on me. Yes, He pitied me, and after resting at Rashmi’s house for 4 days, I felt a lil better. Before leaving Seattle, Rashmi brought me out in her car for some sightseeing in her beautiful city, Seattle. Thank you Rashmi for yr hospitality.

The Space Needle

The very first Starbucks

Me and Rashmi at Lake Washington

SEATTLE – PORTLAND – REEDSPORT – EUREKA

On 1^stOctober, I said goodbye to Rashmi and head south to Portland via I-5-S freeway. The freeway was filled with huge, long trucks up to 26 tires and they were crazily racing the road. It was quite scary, especially when they passed me, which I’m sure their speed was 75mph the least, and the turbulence they caused swayed my small bike.

I had to stop at rest area at every 100kms to ease the pain on my back. My Givi helmet, even though its not heavy, gv pressure to my paining neck, so I had to take the helmet off to relief my tensed nerve. I continued riding and arrived Portland city after riding for 4.30hrs, covering a distance of 296km. I checked into Portland International Youth Hostel, which charged USD41 for a 8 beds dorm, and another USD2 for parking. This rate was ridiculously expensive, but since this is the one and only hostel in Portland, what choice do people like me have? I met another overlanders, from Cape Town and Atlanta.

In the evening, I joined the free tour given by the hostel for a sightseeing around Portland. We were taken to some exhibitions at art galleries. It was a nice evening.

The next day, I opt for a coastal ride along Oregon Coast. So after checking out, I took I-5-S again, before turning right to 99W – 18, riding along the vineyards, and finally, the must do highway for bikers, Highway 101. It was a cloudy and cold ride today, even though it didn’t rain. I didn’t manage to see the blue Pacific Ocean due to this. The road was good, but when riding in and out of the national or state parks one after another along the coast, the speed limit was reduced to only 25mph as the road was narrow and winding. This slowed me down as I dared not go more than the speed limit.

It took me 6.30hrs to ride 333km to Reedsport. I found a camp ground and pitched my tent for the night. It was raining in the middle of the night and I’m freezing. My pain worsened when I had to bear the cold like this.

I left the camp ground at early morning and continued heading south via Pacific Coast Scenic Byway . It was a lovely day today and the sun shone its light on earth, making the Pacific Coast looks so very blue. I had to stop my bike many times for pics. It was sooooo beautiful.

I entered California, and from God knows where, suddenly the wind was very strong. It pushed my bike to the right or to the left of the road. I was very scared because I am no longer in control of the bike when this happened. Due to this I had to slow down. Some drivers were mad at me for going slow. It was a double lined road and vehicles were not allowed to pass. I had to stop by the road side and let them passed me first, before continue riding. The strong wind also caused the pain on my neck worsened terribly. I had to tell myself time and again to keep riding….eventually I will be there. It was a relief when after riding 400kms in 8hrs (lots of stopping for pics), I finally took a left turning to Eureka, where my host were waiting for me. It was not difficulty to find the house. I was given a very warm welcome by the French family – Marceau, Nicole and their daughter, Alaya. Marceau was a biker, and I get to know him from the HUBB page in Facebook. They had a very nice house, a bit hidden in the woods and according to them, wild animals including black bears do pay them a visit sometimes.

The sweet and kind French family

The next day, Nicole brought me to a few beaches about 30 mins drive from her house as I told her that I really wanna touch the Pacific Ocean. It was a great feeling when I finally managed to touch the waters. After that, Nicole brought me to a supermarket. Knowing that I’m a Muslim and could only eat halal food, she bought fish and scallops. We went back to her house and I told them about my previous rides while they take a look on my blog. Marceau gv me some tips on my upcoming ride on the best route to take.

Yoohoooo....I hv touched the Pacific Ocean

Later, I helped Marceau in the kitchen to prepare for dinner. Marceau made steamed salmon and a French cuisine using tomatoes and I cooked turmeric scallop. Dinner was fabulous and I’m glad that the couple liked the scallop which I cooked.

EUREKA – MENDOCINO – LAKE TAHOE – BISHOP

After two days, I continued riding south and this time my destination was Mendocino, which were 300kms away from Eureka. I took the route which Marceau suggested, ‘Avenue of The Giants’. Yes, the redwood trees were like giants covering the area making it looked dark and a bit scary. I stopped many times here too, admiring the big trees. The redwood trees were said as the biggest in the world, but I think I had seen bigger trees in tropical forest in the National Park back in my country.

I spotted a sign, saying “Ride In A Tree”, so I checked out the place. It was actually an opportunity to ride in a tree, as the tree was so big, it enabled a road to be built inside it.

After that, it was a winding ride all the way to Leggett and after that along the coast to Mendocino. It was getting dark and I was worried if I couldn’t reach my host place, which was located at Little River, 3km south of Mendocino before the sun went out. It was another 8kms to reach the house which was in the middle of the redwood forest. Dave, my host was down with bad flu, so he suggested that I sleep in a trailer behind his house. It was kinda fun for me to experience two nights in the trailer, even though it did felt eerie as the place was too quiet at night.

Before I left, Dave, who was also a biker, suggested me to forgo the freeway, but took Highway 12 instead to my next destination. He was very right. Even though this route was longer, winding, narrow at certain parts and I had to stop many times due to road construction, the scenic view made this choice of route unregretful. I felt as if I’m in another world. The view of the surrounding mountains was very beautiful. I had to stop many times for pics.

As I’m nearing a town named Williams, I could see lots of peach garden alongside of the road. There were stalls selling peach too but I didn’t stop as I was in a hurry. I reached Lake Tahoe around sunset, but the camp ground listed in my GPS was of non-existence. I had to ride another 50kms to south of Lake Tahoe for another camp ground. I was actually very tired already, but I cant afford to opt for a cheap motel here, as its not cheap for my money. While riding to the southern part of Lake Tahoe, I saw a sign saying ‘Emerald Bay’. It was late but I must check out this place. It was beautiful, but could be even more beautiful if there was sunshine.

I hurried back to my bike after taking some pics at Emerald Bay. It was almost dark by then and I didn’t even know where to stay for the night. I had to waste another 15mins waiting at a construction site as only 1 road opened for traffic. Finally, after riding 527kms, I reached the camp ground and had to pitch my tent in the first pit which I found. God knows how exhausted I was.

I woke up late this morning as I didn’t get a good sleep last night. I wonder why…but every time I camped, it will definitely rain in the middle of the night. I found a note on my bike from the rangers, asking me to register at the office. After packing up my stuff, I went to the office, and was charged USD35 for camping at a RV site. I told the ranger that it was very dark, the camp ground was not lit, and I was very exhausted when I reached the camp ground last night. I didn’t even use the full hook-up service (water and electric city) at the site. The ranger refused to listen to me and demanded that I paid the full amount. I was very pissed off but I had no choice. This must had been the most expensive camp site in my whole life. Imagine, had to pay USD35 (RM157) only for pitching my tent at the site.

Nevertheless, the ride today was a very spectacular one along Highway 395. I’m supposed to visit Yosemite National Park today, unfortunately the road to the park at Tioga Pass was closed due to snow.

It get even more beautiful when I took Highway 120 (on the opposite side) to reach Bishop. I stopped every 10 minutes for pics. It was sooooo lovely. At times, I felt as if I’m in Tajikistan. I saw red grass fields and snow capped mountain. I also saw orange, brown and yellow coloured bushes. There were also awesome rock formations along the way. I was so glad that I took this route, which was not only beautiful, but very deserted, that I could count how many times I met other vehicles.

BISHOP – DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK

I said goodbye to my lovely host, Matthew and Bethany for hosting me at their nice home at Bishop. The view of White Mountain and Sierra Nevada dominated my view as I exit the town. Matthew had suggested that I took Highway 395 to Big Pine, and later Highway 168 as the view was more beautiful. It seemed that I will never follow my earlier planned route (as suggested by Google Map), whenever I stayed with the local, as they knew which route is the most scenic. Matthew had warned me that the temperature will rise along my way to Death Valley (hence the name, as nothing can grow there), so I opted for Givi summer gloves and I kept my inner Hevik jacket inside my box. Yes, it sure get warmer and warmer, and there was no rest area at all along the way!!! However, the view was really amazing as I made my way along the winding road with lots of dips that I felt as if I’m riding a roller coaster. At other times, the road was looong and straight for many many kilometres.

Ikut suka mak bapak aku la kan nak buat apa pun :)

The moment I entered Death Valley National Park via Scottys Junction, again, I felt as if I am in a different world. The mountain look so barren and weird. Am I in Mars, I wondered? As I’m getting dehydrated and exhausted, I didnt take many pics. I rode fast to the camp ground. Unbelievably, there were too many people at the camp ground, and there was no more shaded site for non RVs. A very nice lady, Cheryl, offered me to pitch my tent next to hers and she refused any money from me. She was very kind. I hurriedly pitched my tent, and only took a rest once everything was done. I felt like fainting due to the 40’C heat and the exhaustion after only manage to take a rest 6 hours since I left Bishop this morning, and covering a distance of 334km.

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK – ZION NATIONAL PARK

I started early this morning to avoid the heat. The road, as yesterday, was long and straight. It was amazing when I checked my odometer that the straight road went for 20kms, before making a slight bend and then another looonggg straight road again. I met another over lander, Andrew, who was traversing US from west to east with his retro Triumph bike. Since we both heading to the same destination, we rode together for a while. I lost him when I bypassed Las Vegas at I-15.

Like any other inter-state freeways in US, the cars and trucks were moving way too fast, much more than what the speed limit allowed. I was glad when I had left Las Vegas behind me and the traffic started to lessen. The view when the highway cut into the high mountain was very spectacular but there was no opportunity for pics as there was no suitable place for me to stop my bike.

Finally, after riding for 500kms, I reached Zion National Park, By this time, I had re joined with Andrew. There were so many people at this small town and the camp grounds were fully booked. We went to a private camp ground, and was told that it was full too. Gosh, where am I going to sleep tonight? I told Andrew to try asking from the people if they would let us pitch our tents on their sites, and we could share the fees. On the first attempt, Andrew failed to get their sympathy. I tried my luck, and thankfully, a nice young couple from Germany let us pitched our tents beside their RV.

I hurriedly go for a sightseeing tour at Zion National Park. To enter this park, I must take a sightseeing bus which will bring tourist along the spectacular sights inside the park. The rock formations were indeed a spectacular sight. I was very glad that I listened to my friend, Andrea, who had advised me to visit this place.

ZION NATIONAL PARK – GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

After saying good bye to Andrew and the Germany couple, I made my way to Grand Canyon National Park via Highway 9 – 89A – 64. I had to enter few tunnels which was cut into the mountains which offered really awesome view.

There were two ways to get to the South Rim of Grand Canyon. I wanted to take route 89, but my GPS kept directing me to route 89A, which cuts along Kaibab National Forest. The road was quite narrow and winding. I met some motorcyclists along the way. The view was nice and I saw lots of deers. However, by taking this route, I missed Page (which was along route 89). By the time I entered Highway 64, Page was about 40kms behind, and I don’t want to return. I do regret this because I really want to visit Antelope Canyon and the tour starts at Page. Well, perhaps a good reason to return some other time, huh?

After riding for 434kms, I arrived Grand Canyon National Park. Again, there were lots of people here. I was told that it was a long weekend for the locals as Colombus Day fall on Monday. No wonder la.

I checked in at a camp ground, and was disappointed to see the camp site. It was not well kept and the ground was uneven. I pitched my tent and just rest after a long tiring ride. It was very cold in the night when temperature fall to 2’C. I couldn’t sleep at all, and had to seek shelter at the toilet which was heated. I slept on the bench inside the toilet.

The next day, I took the opportunity to explore the national park. Indeed, even though there were lots of canyons in US, Grand Canyon was the grandest among them all. Let the pics do the talking lah...

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK – LAS VEGAS

In the morning, I said good bye to Martha, my ‘neighbour’ at the camp site who lend me her down sleeping bag last night. To my surprise, Martha gave me the sleeping bag, and wished that I will have warmer camping nights through out my journey. I was so touched with her kindness.

I made my way via Highway 64, and later I-S-40. Unlike the other inter-state freeways, I-S-40 was not as chaotic. I felt at ease riding on this highway. Then, I turned right to Highway 93, heading to Las Vegas. I arrived my hosts house after riding 500kms from Grand Canyon National Park. My host, sis Joyah Vegas, was a Malaysian. She was a well known Malaysian here and this kind hearted lady always host Malaysian people who came to Vegas. She had a nice big house with swimming pool. That night, she cooked curry chicken for dinner, and I couldn’t help tears because it was soooo delicious, and especially that I had not taste chicken curry for 1 month since I left Malaysia.

Sis Joyah and her beautiful daughter

I stayed 3 nights at her house and while I’m there, another 2 Malaysian guys came to stay here too. We took the opportunity to visit Vegas most famous casinos at “The Strip”.

LAS VEGAS – TEMECULA – OCEANSIDE – SAN DIEGO

It was hard to say goodbye to my nice host, sis Joyah Vegas who had look after me well and cooked delicious food everyday during my stay at her place. But its time to continue my journey. My destination today is Temecula, 600kms away, which will be the longest in distance since I started my ride. It was getting warmer and warmer during daytime, so my ride was comfortable with Givi outfit. I didn’t hv to use the winter or rain gloves anymore.

I rode on Highway 95, and later turned to Highway 62. I had been depending too much on my GPS that I was careless not to check on my paper map. I was not aware that my route today will be crossing Mojave Desert. The result was my bike nearly went out of fuel and the only gas station was located at Desert Centre. I had to slow down to save on fuel consumption, and was shocked to see the fuel price at Desert Center rocketed to double than normal price.

A unique sign post in the middle of the desert

The road along the desert was in good condition, only a bit narrow. Sometimes, its winding and sometimes it was long and straight with lots of dips. The cross wind was strong here as there was no hill or building to slow the wind down. When the wind came from my right, I was hoping that the upcoming road will turned to the left (and vice versa), so that instead of getting a cross wind, I will get a tail wind. The wind worsened when I entered I-S-10 freeway. I had to hold my bike’s handle firmly to avoid getting being swept away. It was a relief when I exit I-S-10 to Highway 371 and later 74 which offered scenic mountain views.

I arrived my host's house, feeling exhausted after the long ride. My host, Deborah Chang was a Malaysian. She lived in Temecula with her kids and her fiancée, Mark Baker, an American. They were very nice to me. That night, again I felt like crying when Deborah served halal lamb satay with kuah kacang for dinner. This must had been the most delicious lamb satay that I had tasted.

I stayed 3 nights at Deborah’s place. During my stay, she took me for the long awaited and needed massage for my pain. She also stocked me up with food and all the things that I need for my ride, including a chain spray, skin creams and she also bought for me engine oil for my bike’s second service. She refused any money from me. Her son, Patrick, helped me with the oil change and checked on my bike.

While my stay at Deborah’s house, we received a visit from Malaysian friends living in San Francisco - Joe, Evonne and their son Axel. It was a lovely Malaysian gathering and we talked about lots of things from economy to politics and other things. I received an angpow from them too. Thank you very much 

My long time rock n roll internet friend, Spence also paid me a visit. I knew him thru Scorpions Fans Club and we chatted regularly way back in 2003. Its unbelievable that I managed to meet him here.

Before I left Temecula, again I received the hard-to-forget hospitality from Deborah and Mark. They escorted me to a gas station nearby and paid for my gas. I was speechless. Not only they lend me their roof, they feed me with good food everyday, care for my necessities, and now this. Thank you very much Deb & Mark. I will never forget your kindness till the day I die. The occasion left me with tears rolling all the way to Oceanside. I was sooo touched by their care and love.

At Oceanside, I received hospitality from another Malaysian, Faizal Ali. He lived in a nice big house in a private area. I felt so proud to see Malaysians doing so well in the US. Faizal ran his own Vololight business and had been living in US since he’s a teenager. The ointment for my neck pain from Ayuni and my replacement visor which Givi send to his address had arrived. He helped me to fix the new visor.

The next day, Faizal and me rode to the beach front at Oceanside and later to San Diego via I-5-S freeway, which was 80kms away. I found Andrea’s house (a lady biker friend) without difficulty. It was very nice to finally meet her in person. Andrea had been helping me with route planning and what to see in the US, Central and South America. She was very generous in giving tips and advises. That night we had dinner with some other friends at a Moroccan Restaurant.

MEXICO (21 OCT – 12 NOV 2015)

BAJA CALIFORNIA:

After riding in 6 states of the United States, today I bid goodbye and head to the US – Mexico border, Tijuana. Frankly speaking, I'm scared. My biker friends, Andrea and Ashlee, together with Liviu, accompanied me. We rode on I-5-S. As I-5-N, the freeway was filled with lots of huge and fast moving trucks. I got my tourist card at the Mexican immigration (USD23) and then for the first time, GD rolled its wheels on Mexican land – Baja California. I was very excited.

The scenic road from Tijuana followed along the coast to Ensenada. The road was good but I had to pass three tolls (USD1 each). It was quite difficult to find my host's house in Ensenada as the location he gave to me was wrong. While trying to find the house, I climbed up a steep concrete road which ended up abruptly to a mini construction site. I braked instantly and my tires slid. Due to the load its carrying, GD started to reverse even though I had pulled the hand brake. I almost dropped the bike. Slowly, I make a U-turn and head down.

After some difficulties and asking the locals, I found the host's house. Again I had to undergo a challenge to ride my bike into his back yard as the edge of the road was uplifted. Thank god I managed to do it. My hosts, Reuben and Clara spoke reasonably good English. In late afternoon, I followed Clara to her mothers house. We went there by a local bus. It was a nice experience for me to ride on a Mexican bus for the first time of my life.

The next day I rode along PanAm 1 Highway to El Rosario. It was not difficult to find my way as the PanAm 1 Highway was the one and only main highway in Baja California. There were two times that I almost collided with another vehicle, as I was not familiar with the driving rules here. It was funny that everytime when I reached a junction, even though I was on the main road, I am the one who must stop and let the vehicle on the other side pass first. The second time I almost collided was due to a very blurred traffic light which I didnt notice. It was a big difference to compare the road and driving attitude between Unites States and Baja California people. The road here was not only narrow but at some parts with pot holes. At times, I had to climb up some hills which offered nice view. After riding for 250kms, I reached El Rosario, also known as Baja Cactus. This very small town didnt hv any budget hostel, so I ended up staying at Baja Cactus Motel (USD23).

As I made my way out of the town to head south, my view was dominated with giant cactus trees. No wonder El Rosario was called Baja Cactus, because I learned later that starting from here, one could see the giant cactuses all the way to La Paz. It was very amazing to see how huge the cactus were along the narrow and winding road. Not many vehicles could be seen along the way but I had to pass few military checkpoints. Fortunately, after asking few questions, they let me go without searching my bike. I have heard horror stories of how some overlanders were searched and were asked for money. Honestly, the sight of the militaries did make me feel scared, especially when those on pickup truck passed me. I imagined if they asked me to pull over and demanded money from me. Thank god my wild imagination never happen.

As I made my way, the road I'm riding crossed a vast desert. Wind started to blow fiercely, sometimes from my right side and sometimes from my left side. My neck felt so painful due to having to fight the wind. I saw carcass of cows by the road side. Herrings were having a feast by eating the carcass. I bet the poor animals might had deviated from its group accidentally and couldnt find his/her way home. It died due to failure in finding water in this desert. I reached Guerrero Negro after riding for 374kms, feeling so exhausted. I found a place to pitch my tent. It was hard to pitch my tent due to the wind but after some strugglings, I managed to put it to stand. That night, the wind get even more fierce and I must admit that I was scared. My tent was almost blown by the wind. I bet the fierce wind was the edge of the tornado which was heading to Mexico main land at this moment. It was only at 2am the wind lessened and I managed to sleep.

I woke up late the next day. It was only at 11.30am that I started my ride, heading south. My targeted destination was Mulege, a nice beach town. The wind was still strong at certain places. Some times I get a side wind and sometimes, I got a tail wind, which was good. I got a very strong side wind when nearing Santa Rosalia. My poor GD was blown from side to the middle of the road. Luckily the road was deserted. However, the view of gorges, canyon and Pacific Coast was so stunning.

Arriving Mulege, I decided to find a place to stay else where. I continued riding to Concepcion Bay. I found Playa Santispac which my friend, Andrea told me that I could camp, but there was no fresh water here and I really need to shower. I left the beautiful beach and tried to find another accommodation. I found Posada Concepcion, which another overlander friend, Alex Wong told me. This place was situated at a very beautiful bay and I fall in love with this place at the first sight that I decided to stay here for 2 nights. The green turqoise water was shallow and crystal clear. It was soooo beautiful.

After resting for 2 days at Concepcion Bay, I made my way to the last town in Baja for my ride – La Paz. I started early as the distance was far, 516km. It was an easy ride even though the road was winding, because there was no wind in the morning. I rode fast to La Paz and managed to arrive at 3.30pm. I headed straight to the address of the customs office to get my Temporary Vehicle Import Permit (TVIP). I didnt get this permit at Tijuana border because it was not compulsory to get it when riding in Baja, but its a must if you want to ride your own vehicle in Mexico main land. The address which was given to me was wrong. I found the place, but there was no customs office there. To make matters worse, I had to ride on thick soft sands for 3kms to get to the address, and another 3kms to exit. It was a very hot day and having to ride on soft sands was no fun at all. Communication failure really make me frustrated. A local told me in spanish, asking me to go to a nearby pharmacy as someone might speak English there. I found the pharmacy but the staff didnt speak English. However, using translator from his phone, we managed to converse. The guy helped me to call the customs office. Then only I knew that Pichilingue (the customs office location) was not at Pichilingue Street as was told to me, but at the pier itself. It was already after office hours by then, so nothing that I could do anymore. I asked locals for a cheap hotel, and they told me to go to Bahia Dorada Hotel, which charged 400 pesos (USD26). It was already dark by then and I had no more energy to find a cheaper place else where.

The anxiety of whats awaiting me in main land Mexico, and the concern of havent got my permit and ferry ticket yet made me didnt sleep very well last night. I guessed I think too much. At 10am, I went to a bank to withdraw money. Unlike Baja which accepted USD at hotels, gas stations or shops, main land Mexico did not. I withdrew 5500 Pesos, but the machine only gave me 5300 Pesos. Later when I checked my account, I lost RM100 for this withdrawal. I didnt understand why, whether it was the bank fee or whatever, but RM100 fee for one withdrawal was too much. By 12pm, I made my way to Pichilingue, which was about 25kms from La Paz. Nearing the pier, I noticed that my gps was wobbling. Suddenly, the holder broke. Thank god I managed to catch it before it dropped. Phewwww. I arrived the pier and located the Banjercito (customs office). The officer could speak English. I had my permit done for USD60 and I had to pay USD400 refundable deposit for my bike. Then I go to the ferry building to purchase my ferry ticket. It cost 2200 Pesos (USD147) for myself and the bike, without cabin. Then I had my bike inspection done and had to pay again 77 Pesos (USD5.50) for port tax. It was money, money, money today. While waiting to board the Baja Ferry, I had a conversation with a very nice Mexican guy. His name is Mario. He spoke very fluent English. He offered me his cabin for free, as the cabin had 4 bunk beds and only him and his 18 year old assistant occupying the cabin. I accepted his offer and was very glad to as the sea was quite rough.

MEXICO (MAIN LAND):

After sailing for approx 18 hours, the ferry arrived Mazatlan, main land Mexico. By 11.30am, I already exited the ferry and trailed behind Mario's small truck. Mario bought me an awesome seafood lunch. I tasted the famous cerviche (raw seafood in lemon and tomatoes), fried fish and tortilla with shrimp. It was delicious. Then we continued our way. I had to pay for toll 5 times. It was funny that the system in Mexico is you paid toll and after few kms, you had to pay toll again. It was not like in Malaysia and many other countries that u get your toll card upon entering the highway, and paid the toll when exiting. It was almost dark when I reached Tepic and said good bye to Mario, with promise to meet again some day. I found my hosts house without any problem. My host, Pablo was down with denggue fever but he offered his place for me to stay. How kind. Pablo shared his Central and South America riding stories and tips with me. His lovely beautiful wife, Gabriela brought me to her kindergarten. The kids were excited to see me. The staff were busy preparing for Celebration for the Dead. This celebration was popular in Mexico and quite similar to Halloween.

After staying for 3 nights, I left Tepic and rode to La Piedad via Guadalajara. Pablo had guided me the easiest way to cross this 2nd largest city in Mexico so I didnt face any problem. The Celebration for the Dead mood can also be seen in La Piedad. The next day, I rode to San Miguel de Allende. Mario, the guy whom I met on Baja Ferry had a ranch here and he seriously asked me to drop by. I accepted his offer without knowing that he was actually out of town for a week.

The highway to Mexico City was quite crowded with fast trucks. It was a relief when I finally entered Arco Norte Highway (the ring road to bypass Mexico City to reach San Miguel), which was in a very good condition. However, it was a nightmare for me to ride on the pebble stone street in the old city of San Miguel as the road was steep and very narrow. It was really scary when I had to stop on a steep junction as my GD's tires always tend to slid when I braked. I couldnt manage to reach Starbucks, the place where I'm supposed to meet Mario, as the old city was filled with one way street and my GPS didnt recognize which one was one way and which one wasnt. Since I didnt dare to leave my bike unattended, I had to park GD behind the famous church. After waiting for quite a while, Mario's wife, Holly, arrived. Then only I knew that Mario was out of town. I followed Holly's car to Rancho Del Sol Dorado which was about 10kms away. There was a 4kms offroad with one stretch of thick gravels that I had to ride to reach the huge ranch. I cant believe my luck when Holly stopped her car in front of a house and said that I will have the house all to myself during my stay. The ranch, apart from being a place to breed horses, goats and sheeps, was also an eco-tourism place which Mario made for tourist. He had several houses there for tourist to rent for an experience living in a ranch. The two bedroom house that I got was very nice and comfy. The sunset view from the ranch was heaven. I stayed for 4 nights and managed to take a tour around the ranch.

I also witnessed Celebration for the Dead which was very happening at the old city of San Miguel. Everyone dressed fancily and put on horror makeup. At night, the locals visited the cemetery. They put flowers, candles and had some performers playing the dead's favourite songs. I felt a bit funny when visiting the cemetery when at one side, there were songs by Elvis Presley, and at another side, I can hear a soprano type of song being played.

My next destination was Puebla, a historical site. I stayed two nights here and visited the famous cathedral. the pyramid and the old city.

Then I continued to Orizaba. A friend of Pablo's hosted me. I met James Bombond, my host and he brought me to meet some of his biker friends. Later we visited some attractions in Orizaba.

James linked me with his friend, Javier, who hosted me in Minatitlan. I stayed for 2 nights, just relaxing and get to know the family. Later I head further east to Palenque, a heritage site town which housed some very ancient Inca pyramids and ruins.

The last town in Mexico for me was Comitan. It was a very tiring ride to reach this town as the non toll road I'm riding was in a bad condition. Not only it was narrow, winding, with lots of broken parts and pot holes, but also with unmarked sharp speed bumps. I really hate it as there were few times that my GD went flying when I couldnt manage to slow down as I didnt notice the bumps. However, the view at La Margarita was pretty. I also managed to find Agua Azule waterfall which was beautiful.

GUATEMALA (12 – 16 NOV 2015)

Since I am going to enter a new country today, and since I still had lots of Mexican Pesos left, I decided to change my money at the bank before heading to the border. I arrived the bank at 7.30am, waited for half hour, only to be informed that the bank didnt do any currency exchange. I was asked to go to another bank. Same story there, and again I was asked to go to the HQ bank which the officer said definitely can change Pesos to Quetzal (Guatemalan currency). I had to wait 45 minutes for the HQ bank to open and frustratingly, they can only change Pesos to USD, and for a much cheaper rate. As I had wasted lots of time, I changed my remaining Pesos to USD, get back to the hotel and head straight to the border. Surprisingly the road was reasonably good, unlike my experience yesterday. The view was beautiful too. However, 15kms to the border, there was construction going on and I had to ride on gravels.

Exiting Mexico at Ciudad Cuauhtemoc border took a while. I went to the aduana (customs) to cancel my temporary permit. The officer demanded to see the VIN number, so I had to take down my GIVI waterproof bag. Then, I get my USD400 deposit back and later I get my passport exit stamp. The officer asked to see the receipt of my tourist card which I got upon entering Mexico via Tijuana border. Luckily I still keep the receipt or else I will have to pay USD23 again. Once done, I rode 50m ahead and entered Guatemala. Unlike in Mexico, it was chaotic in Guatemala border town, La Mesilla. However, no tout came to me as what I have read in the internet. There was quite a line at the immigration and I had to wait a while before the officer stamped my passport. Then I went to the customs at the next building and get my temporary vehicle permit done. Luckily the officer didnt ask to see the VIN number. I had to pay Q160 (RM80) to bring GD into Guatemala.

As I had a long way to go, I hurriedly left the border. The road in Guatemala was very narrow and winding along the mountain. There were certain parts which the road was really bad. Speed bumps here were worse than in Mexico, and a lot too. Military presence were everywhere. I never get the chance to speed at all. To maker matters worse, the locals driving attitude was terrible. It started to rain soon after. Theres one time that I almost collided with a van from the opposite direction which was trying to overtake another vehicle and couldnt care less that he had taken my lane fully. I had to slam the brake and missed the van just by few inches only. Damn!! The road was so bad that the glue which I put on my broken GPS holder broke again. Duhhh!!! However, the view was very nice and green.

It was very cold as I climbed higher to Lake Atitlan. I was getting worried as it was getting late and I havent reached Panajacel, my targeted destination for today. Fortunately the road improved after San Cristobal. I turned right to Panajacel and the road narrowed and started to climb up and down with very steep hair pin bends. I arrived just before the sun went out, feeling so exhausted. I took the opportunity to rest for few days here and viewed the famous volcanic lake.

After resting few days at Panajacel, I continued my journey to a small border town, Los Esclavos. However, it was not an easy ride today as not long after I left Panajacel, it started to rain. I stopped by the road side to put on my Givi rain coat which I hadn't use since in Canada. Thick fog surrounded me and the wind was so strong. I could only rode at 25kph as I couldnt see the road. It was only after I had descended the mountains that the fog cleared. Reaching Guatemala City, I accidentally took the wrong road 4 times and had to turn back. My GPS didnt have a junction view feature, so it was very confusing whenever I reached a flyover as I'm not sure whether to go up the flyover or to take the ground road. There were lots of cars here and the drivers drove like maniacs. It was a great relief after I managed to find the correct PanAm Highway again and successfully crossed this capital city of Guatemala. At 3pm, I finally reached Los Esclavos, a very small town 50kms fr the border which was surrounded by beautiful mountains. Perhaps I'm the first Malaysian ever spent a night here.

EL SALVADOR (16 – 18 NOV 2015)

I started early on the morning of 16 Nov. The ride to the border was a mixture of good and bad road. It took me 30mins to cancel my permisso (local term for Temporary Vehicle Import Permit) at Guatemalan side and 1.30hrs to get a new one at the El Salvador side. A nice customs officer, Rafael, helped me or else I would had taken a longer time. No fees charged to take in my bike to El Salvador.

Surprisingly, the road in El Salvador was much better than in Guatemala. Of course there were some broken parts, but still tolerable. I bypassed Santa Ana, San Salvador and took the coastal road, CA2 to El Cuco. It was 353kms paved + 3kms on dirt and gravels to reach Tortuga Verde, my hostel at El Cuco.

This place was incredible. Very beautiful blue and huge waves of Pacific Ocean could be seen here. I stayed here for 2 nights just to laze and enjoyed the amazing sunset and fresh and cheap fried fish sold here. I also managed to see baby turtles being released into the ocean.

HONDURAS (18 NOV 2015)

I made an early start today. By 6.30am I already hit the road. It rained last night, making the 4kms off road ride to the main road wet and slippery. The last part of the offroad was the hardest, with big slippery rocks and some poodles that I had to ride on. My tires slid and off I went inside the poodles. Damn. Luckily there was a car trailing behind me and the driver helped me to put GD to stand.

It took me about 1.15hrs to reach El Salvador - Honduras border under the on and off rain. A long 5km cue of trucks lined the road but I made my way thru. It was easy to exit El Salvador, but not so to enter Honduras. I was advised by an overlander friend to get the local's service at this border, as theres a lot of paperworks to be done. I always did everything on my own but this time, I took the service offered. I had to pay USD3 for tourist card, USD40 to bring my bike in, and USD2 for tipping. Both borders were done in less than 1.30hrs and then, I entered Honduras. Drug wars between the drug cartels, mafias, smugglings, kidnappings, assaults, murders and robberies made this country as the most dangerous on planet Earth. The people too were said to be so fond of guns. Because of that, I had no intention to stay long in this country.

Along my way, I passed countless military check points, but not once was I stopped and searched. The militaries were more interested in big trucks and buses. Looking at the young military boys holding rifles, I wondered how high their egos could be, and how high they could hold their patience before pulling the trigger when the locals upset them.

I took PanAm Highway CA1 all the way. The road condition to Choluteca was acceptable (not as bad as in Guatemala), and surprisingly getting even better after Choluteca to San Marcos de Colon which were on highlands. There were some wonderful twisties here. It was a pleasant ride as the road was not too narrow and with very few traffic. The road quality was even better than our Simpang Pulai – Cameron Highlands road, with beautiful greens to enjoy. The houses which I saw along the way were not bad too, even better than houses in Guatemala.

NICARAGUA (18 – 30 NOV 2015)

I exited Honduras without too much prblm (just a slight confusion as I didnt understand their instructions in espanyol). I had to pay USD3 upon exit and I made my way to Nicaragua. Again I had to pay fumigation fee for USD3 and USD12 for tourist card at the immigration. Mandatory insurance for Nicaragua was USD25. Everything was money, money, and money here. The customs officer was slow in filling up the forms but I had to keep my cool. Finally, after about 1 hour, I'm done and hit the road again.

The road in Nicaragua was not bad. I made my way to Somoto and stayed for one night. The next day, I rode to Granada which was 250kms away on whats supposed to be the best road after US and Mexican highway. For the first time, my GPS hanged and I had to use the old skul navigation (asking locals for direction in broken espanyol). The view was beautiful along the winding mountain road. Very green and I was entertained with lots of interesting sights such as locals stretching out their hands while holding big lizards by the road side. I felt joy when passing the beautiful yellow and green paddy fields here. I felt like riding on secondary road in Kedah. It felt like home...

Nicaragua as I see was more developed than its neighbours. Clean, modern and big supermarkets, good road (on the national highways), well marked speed bumps and better driving attitudes among the locals. Upon arriving Granada, I rode straight to Vista Mombacho Apartments. I met my host, Bob, and the apartments owner, Glenn Koons. They let me stay here for free for 7 days. Bob was a biker himself and had rode well in US on his BMW bikes and both Bob and Glenn were expats who chose to retire here in Granada. That night, Bob cooked delicious rice, fish and salad for me and we talked about his plans to take me for sightseeing in and outside Granada within my stay here. How nice of him.

The next morning, Bob took me for an almost 4 hour stroll in Granada, the oldest colonial city which had the finest architecture pastel shaded colonial buildings in Nicaragua. This city had the biggest number of expats, especially from US and Canada. We walked along the nice charming streets, visited the big market, the park, viewed some churches and we went to the edge of Lake Nicaragua. It was indeed a fun walk.

Bob also owned a dinghy boat and he took me for a very nice 2.30hrs ride at Lake Nicaragua. The boat had an electric motor which was very quiet, hence we managed to see lots of eagles and other birds without disturbing them. We also saw locals who lived by the lake side doing their daily activities. It was fun.

After one whole week in Granada, its time to say good bye to Bob, Glenn, Louise and Martin (who helped me with my laptop), and continued with my ride. I rode to San Jorge pier to board a ferry to a volcanic island, Isla de Ometepe, which was a must see attraction in Nicaragua. The rough ferry ride was 1.30hrs. Luckily I didnt get seasick. This island was located in the middle of Lago Nicaragua, and it had two active volcanos; the Concepcion, on the north of the island (1610m, last erupted in 1986), and Maderas, on the south (1394m, last erupted 3000 years ago). One could trek up to the peak but its going to be a tough climb and ended up seeing nothing as the peak was always covered by clouds. I didnt do any trekking when I was here as I didnt have any suitable trekking gears with me. I only ride a little bit, watched the locals life and ended my day watching amazing sunset by the lake.

After two nights on the island, I continue my ride to the west coast of Nicaragua, to a small nice beach town, San Juan Del Sur, to enjoy the blue Pacific Ocean again.

COSTA RICA (30 NOV – 7 DEC 2015)

After riding in 7 countries in Global Dream Ride, today I am entering my 8th country, Costa Rica. So far, my trusted Givi attire and accessories had been performing very well and I am very happy with what had been given to me.

Anyway, its a looongg and hard day today. I left San Juan Del Sur and headed for the border. It was a very windy day. The wind turbines which I could see along the way proved my words.

To exit Nicaragua, I had to pay USD3. To enter Costa Rica, USD2 and mandatory insurance USD25. The procedure to enter Costa Rice was quite complicated. It took me almost 2.30hrs to clear both borders. Once done, I rolled GD's wheels on CR's road. The wind got stronger and stronger. My bike was swayed left and right helplessly. It was scary. Luckily theres not many traffic on the road.

Since CR is a very pricey country (it was said that a burger cost USD10 here), and since I was overbudgeted due to the unexpected high border crossing fees, I planned to camp to save some money. I found a good place to pitch my tent near Lake Arenal. It was already sun down by the time I finished setting up my tent. When its time to cook, I tried to open my top box. Unfortunately, my box couldnt open. Something must have stucked in the lock housing inside the box. May be my wet towel was accidentally pulled inside the lock, I'm not sure. All my important stuff were in there including my laptop, money, rations, pot, stove and cooking wares. I tried to open the lid, sprayed WD40 in the key slot, pressed the lid hard and anything that I can think of, but nothing worked out. Theres no shop whatsoever here. The nearest town was 20kms away and its already dark. I will not ride at night especially when the road is winding, its not lighted and there were jungles at both sides of the road. I was so hungry as my last meal was breakfast this morning. I started to regret my idea of wild camping here. Since theres nothing much that I could do tonight, I tried to go to sleep but it was hard as I was very hungry. I send an email to Givi boss, Mr Joseph Perucca and informed him about my problem.

The next day, I got a reply from Mr Perucca asking me to go to a Givi dealer shop in San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica which was about 200kms away. I was so worried about this matter but I told myself not to panic. I am very sure there will be a solution. I hv all my trust in Givi. I do feel frustrated when this problem happened because Givi products had never failed me before, and I truly loved the Givi Maxia top box as it was very easy to use and practical for my adventure.

On my way to San Jose, I stopped by beautiful Lake Arenal for some pics. I spotted some coatis here too.

Once I arrived the suburb of San Jose, a biker friend, Julio Salazar met me by the road side. He then took me to Moto Repuestos Indianapolis, a Givi dealer in CR. Gustavo and his workers tried to break the box, but it was not easy. The difficulty to open the box showed how secure Givi boxes were. Finally, they managed to break the lock and installed a new lock for the box. I was soooo relieved. Gustavo also offered to do my bike maintenance - oil change, spark plug change, tightened and lubricate the chain, screws, and everything. He even offered to gv me a new set of tires and a new top box (if I want) & asked me to choose which one I like. ALL FOR FREE!!! I said thank you, but its enough that my top box issue was settled and my tires were still good. I accepted the bike maintenence offer though. Alhamdulillah, so good people everywhere.

During my stay in San Jose, Julio Salazar acted not only as my guardian angel, but also my 'manager' here. LOL...He arranged exciting programs for me such as visiting Yamaha HQ of Costa Rica, and an interview with Costa Rica TV station at University of Costa Rica. The interview can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sX-ZlYByLM

Julio also brought me to a charity ride 'Toy Run' event organized by ACRMC (with help from several clubs such as Soldiers for Jesus, Piratas Riders etc). In the morning, we waited at a meeting point for all the bikers around Costa Rica to arrive. Then we rode to the Olympic Village where the orphanage and poor kids had been waiting. The kids were entertained by Biker Santa and later given Christmas presents which the bikers brought along. It was a very nice event and I felt happy to see the excitement and all smiling faces of the kids.

PANAMA (7 – 13 DEC 2015)

After spending 1 week in Costa Rica, I said good bye to my lovely host, Julio, whom I already regard as my brother. I continued south to the border by riding on Highway 2 - 243 - 34. I took the mountain road half way, and the coast a little bit. It was cold and foggy in the mountain, and very warm when I had descended. Exiting Costa Rica was very easy. I need to pay USD8 exit fee and took only 30mins to settle everything. However, entering Panama was another story. I had to deal with the immigration, photostat the stamp on my passport, then go to the customs, purchased mandatory insurance for USD15, back to the customs, wait forever for the officer to prepare the TVIP, then bike checking where the guy asked me to open all my box and panniers, then when I was rushing as its going to rain, another officer stopped me. He said GD needs fumigation first. Then back to the window, paperwork again bla, bla, bla, paid USD1, and he sprayed water on GD. Then only I was done. Sometimes I was soo pissed off to see how they tried to make money at any way they could. After spending 1.30hrs on the Panama side, then only I was through. Thank god road in Panama was double lane and paved nicely. So for the first time after USA, I managed to speed at 110kmh. Panama was country #65 for me and #9 for GDR.

I arrived David City when the sun was setting. I contacted a biker, Giovanni who was a friend of Julio, and he came to meet me. The next day, he took me for a ride to Bouqette, a nice charming mountain about 30kms from David City.

Later, I continued riding to Santiago via Sona. Even though this road winded and 50kms more in distance, but the view was sooo green and beautiful and the road was very good compared to the straight PanAm Highway which was nearer but with 40kms dirt and gravels as the road was under construction. In Santiago, I was entertained by another biker, Jorge.

The next day, I rode 270km to Panama City via Centennial Bridge. I saw lots of police by the road side, waiting to catch people speeding over the limit. When crossing the Centennial Bridge, I saw Panama Canal for the first time in my life. It was awesome. I was met by Raul, also a friend of Julio who hosted me for 3 nights. Raul took me to a Givi distributor shop in Panama City, where I met Rebecca and her husband. They were so nice to me and even donated some money for my ride. They asked my opinion about Givi products and I told them that except for the top box problem, all other stuff was great and I am very satisfied.

During my stay, Raul brought me for a sightseeing around Panama City. Nothing much that I knew about this metropolitan except for the famous Panama Canal and that it was once an important US military base during WW2. Raul took me to the old and new Panama, which was huge in contrast. Skyscrapers in the new, and as the name implied, old buildings in the old Panama. Unlike other Central American countries that I had been to, I can see lots of different ethnics here, being the original Panamaian, the Guna Yalas tribe, the blacks from scattered Carribean islands and plenty of Chinese in this city. I also visited the starting of Panama Canal which took 10 years to complete and was opened in 1914. The 77km long canal linked the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean via Carribean Sea.

After spending 3 nights in Panama City, I made my way to Carti Pier to board a sail boat to cross Darien Gap.

What and where is Darien Gap? Darien Gap is a break in the PanAm Highway consisting of a large mountainous rain forest within Panama's province in Central America and swampland dominated by river delta at the northern portion of Colombia's in the South America. It measured just over 160km long and about 50km wide. Road building through this area was expensive, and the environmental cost was high. Due to environmentalist protest and the concern of drug traffic will get easier between Central and South American countries, at the mmt, there was no road connection through the Darien Gap. It was the missing link of the PanAm Highway. The Gap was also subjected to the presence and activities of the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which had committed assassinations, kidnappings, and human rights violations during its decades-long insurgency against the Colombian government. Many had tried to cross the Gap, be on a 4WD, two wheelers or on foot. Some survived, but many not. Some had to abandon their vehicles and had to turn to boats to get out of the Gap.

The time when I did my research about crossing Darien Gap, there was a ferry by the name of Ferry Xpress which charged approx USD430 for a motorbike and owner to cross from Colon, Panama to Cartagena, Colombia. Unfortunately, this ferry had stopped operating and will only resume later in 2016. This left me with two options, both resulted in lots of money had to be spent (given that the distance was not that far, only about 350kms) - either to fly my bike, or to take a traditional sail boat instead. I chose the latter. The cost rocketed to USD1030 + USD23 (Guna Yalas toll) for a 4D3N journey, sailing along San Blas islands in the Carribean. Its big money, but this was the only option that I had, and I am lucky to secure the last available place on the boat for their last departure for year 2105, or else I had to wait until 2016 to cross.

I arrived Carti Pier after riding on the steepest and scariest road of my life. At times, I doubt if my small cc motorbike could make it or not. It was a first or 2nd gear affair almost all the way. Thank God I made it safely. I met other bikers who will be my sailing mates for the next 4D3N.

COLOMBIA (16 DEC – 26 DEC 2015)

After an unforgettable 4D3N experience on the 'biker pirate' sail boat, sailing from Carti to San Blas Islands on Carribean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, I finally reached Cartagena, Colombia. The sailing was fun in the beginning when the boat went around amazingly beautiful San Blas islands, but once it hit the open sea of Atlantic Ocean, I got a terrible seasick and couldnt do nothing except just lie down. I was happy when I finally step down on the land of Colombia. I took a taxi to the hostel which was located 4kms away, and was charged USD20. It was a daylight robbery, but theres nothing I could do as I had lots of luggage with me and the bike was still on the boat.

While waiting for my bike, I took the opportunity to visit the old city of Cartagena. Honestly my backpacking skills had gone rusty and I tend to forget about the existense of free guided walking tour. It felt like ages ago since I joined one. Anyhow, after chatting with fellow backpackers at the hostel, I decided to join the walking tour which was fun and informative. Most importantly, no need to get lost in the small alleys and no need to find the info center for free maps. Cartagena old city was very nice and vibrant. I loved the colonial buildings and the flowers dangling from the balcony. The women in their colourful skirt really caught my eyes but its not easy to photograph them. The 'based on tip' tour lasted for almost 3 hours. The temp reached 35'C and I felt myself melting in the heat of the old city.

It was only 2 days later that I managed to get GD as the Colombian customs were well known for its hassles. And if its not for Captain Ludwig (the boat captain) who did the clearance, it might took me longer than that. I went to DIAN office at 8 in the morning to sign the papers, then to the dock where the boat picked me and the others. We sailed for 10kms and waited for the aduana officers to come up on board to check our papers, bikes and passport. It took them more than an hour for the checking and they chose 3 bikes at random for a more detailed checking. Thank god that none of the 3 bikes contained illegal stuff such as drugs. Then the boat unload all the bikes. I had to fix my side mirrors under the blazing sun, and later rode 14kms to the old city to find an insurance shop. It cost me USD31 (paid with credit card only as they didnt accept cash) for a mandatory insurance which will be the first thing the police @ milItary check point officers will ask if u are being stopped.

Exiting Cartagena wasnt difficult but it took almost 30mins due to traffic. I had never seen a city so full of public buses everywhere. They filled the double lanes city road and had no respect for motorcycles, so there wasnt enough space to zip in between the buses. I rode via route 90 - 25 on a single lane road which was sometimes pretty bumpy and sometimes good. Colombians driving attitude were similar to the Cambodians. They droved as they liked, so I need to open my eyes bigggg to hv a wide 180' view. There were lots of fruit stalls by the road side. Colombia must be a fruit heaven. Theres one time I saw locals selling colourful live birds. The birds were not caged but stood on a branch which the guys held out to the passing vehicles. They stood loyally and didnt fly away. That was sooo cute. I passed 9 military checkpoints and only once being stopped. However, upon seeing my GPS, the officer shake my hand and let me thru. After riding for 380kms in 6.15hrs with only 1 minute break to drink from my bottle, I reached the small town of Caucasia. Theres nothing interesting here so I just relaxed in my hotel room which was sponsored by Incolmotos Yamaha Moto, Colombia.

The next day, I rode 265kms on route 25. It was a very scenic yet stressful ride, at least half of the way. The okey (no potholes) but sunken road was narrow, winding and with steep inclines @ declines and tight hairpin bends. One really need patience to ride on this road as there were lots of trucks on both lanes. Everytime, there will be looongg line of vehicles with trucks taking the lead. It was very tiring to overtake them one by one, and once u are done, not even 1 min ahead, there will be another long line awaiting. Continously. Repeatedly. When the opposite coming truck taking a sharp bend, the driver will take side, meaning half of my lane was gone. So where do I go? Theres no shoulder lane here, and the edge of the road was pretty high too. The most dangerous thing was vehicles from both sides of the road tried to overtake trucks in front of them. Most of the time, they had no concern for motorbikes. So when this happened, I need to slow down or stopped completely by the road side to avoid accident. The winding and narrow road really test my patience. When patience gone, I nearly ended down the ravine....Few times. Nevertheless, the very green view was spectacular. I saw lots of horses and freesian cows grazing upon the sky.

Upon reaching Girar Dota, I was met by Jader and Ferney, reps from Yamaha Incolmotos. They took me to the hotel to rest, and at night, Ferney and his girlfriend took me to watch a final football match at a cafe, between Nacional (representing Antioquia) vs Junior (representing Barranquilla). This was a very important match, which was similar to our very own Malaysia Cup. The place I'm at now was in Antioquia state, so everyone here was cheering for Nacional. The result was Nacional team won by penalty. Everyone was so happy and celebrating. Singing, dancing, music, fire crackers, honking, drumming, horn blowing...you name it. To the Latinos, football is life...football is pride...FOOTBALL IS RELIGION.

Since couple of months back, Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (Msia) via Mr Hoo and Mr Lee had been contacting their counterpart in Colombia, Alejandro, and notify them about my ride. I received hospitality from Incolmotos Yamaha Colombia and was taken to their HQ and factory. GD was given a full check up, oil change and tires change. Not just that, I was also being taken for a visit at the huge factory. I watched the workers assemble bikes and visited the Communication Plaza which had a story about the history of Incolmotos, a display of all bikes they ever had and the most interesting part, Yamaha here also combined their motors and music division together. Their musical staff, Mateo entertained me with beautiful songs. I really had a good time here. Thank you Alejandro, Luis, Jader and the staff at customer service and technical division for the hospitality. Thanks too to Hong Leong Yamaha Motor for all the support and for sending the tires for GD all the way from Malaysia to Colombia. After everything was done, Luis took me to his house in Medellin city.

During my stay, Jader from Incolmotos Yamaha Colombia took me for a ride to Santa Fe, about 60kms fr Medellin. The road was good and winding all the way. Santa Fe, a cobble street old city was surrounded by beautiful mountains. We also went to the hanging bridge over Rio Cauca. Later, Jader took me for a metro cable ride over Medellin. I get to see the red brick buildings and houses which filled the mountains as far as eyes could see. It was indeed a lovely day spent.

After 2 nights in Medellin, I continued riding to Cali, which was 445kms away. It took me 8hrs with a short 10min break, along route 25. The road was a single lane steep and winding fr Medellin to La Pintada. The first 100kms took me 2.30hrs. Then it was a flat road with some uphills @ downhills occasionally and after Pereira, it was a good double lanes road. I passed along beautiful mountains and coffee plantations along Autopista Del Cafe and later, sugarcane fields all the way to Cali. Theres a massive traffic about 20kms to Cali due to an accident and I cant zip in between the trucks as there wasnt enough space. In the end, I rode on gravels next to the road as I was dead tired already and all I had in mind was to reach my hostel ASAP. Cali was the 3rd largest city in Colombia, and its the centre for salsa dance. I stayed 2 nights in Cali, during Christmas. I met Manuel, who happened to be a biker, and he brought me to his parents house for lunch.

On my last days in Colombia, I rode 501kms from Cali via route 25 to Ipiales. The road was 70% good but mostly single lane and winding. I saw lots of military presence along the way. These days, I'm not scared of them anymore. Rumours about them taking money from foreigners could be a thing of the past. I found them friendly actually.

The view was soooooo breathtaking all the way. Its sooo hard to keep my eyes on the road. The wind was strong too. I had to battle with the wind for 3 hours. I also saw some mountain villagers, mostly kids and the elderly stretching out their hands asking for money when I passed. They were so poor. Pity them. Some even blocked the road with a piece of rope. Theres one time a black couple blocked my way and I had no choice but to stop. They asked for money. I just smiled and said "losiento, no money". With a pat on the lady's back, I asked to be allowed to move on. Luckily they let me go. Finally, after riding 8.20hrs, I reached Ipiales. Its cold and I was really exhausted, but the ride was awesome and I felt great satisfaction. In my opinion, the route from Popayan - Pasto - Ipiales, were the most scenic road in Colombia.

ECUADOR (26 DEC – 30 DEC 2015)

It was raining on the morning of 26th Dec, and was very cold. I checked out from the hotel and before crossing the border into Ecuador, I took the opportunity to visit probably the most panoramic church in the world, Santurio Las Lajas. This beautiful church was about 8kms from Ipiales and the road to reach here was pretty steep and winding. I had to walk down approximately 400m which was ok, until the time to return, its uphill. I had not done any workout except for walking ever since I started my ride. Nevertheless, the church was beautiful and stunning and there were lots of visitors there as it was Saturday. I bumped into Bruce & Doug, my sailing mates on the 'pirate' boat. It was so nice to meet them again

After that, I rode to the border. Its easy to cross both country borders. It took me just 10mins to stamp my passport and cancelled the permisso on the Colombian side, and about 40mins on the Ecuadorian side. It could had been faster if not bcos there're many ppl today. For the first time in Latin American countries, I didnt have to pay to enter a new country.

As in Colombia, Ecuador was mountainous and beautiful as well. As yesterday, its hard to keep my eyes on the road. It was soooo green with some yellow flower fields which I'm not so sure what it was. I saw lots of sheeps and horses. The road on E35 was okey but there're some construction parts and its no fun to ride on winding downhill on gravels. I almost dropped the bike once. Theres one time I had to stop due to landslide. While waiting for the bulldozer to clear the road, more sands and rocks fall from above. It happened right in front of my eyes as I was just 10m away. That's scary. The landslide happened due to the strong wind which moved the rocks on top.

I rode 196kms and reached Otavalo, a small town but very popular with its outdoor market. It was quite difficult to find a guest house here as I didnt have any Ecuador map installed in my GPS, so I was going round and round. I found one finally, and didnt waste much time to explore the very interesting market where the Incas sold their merchandise. Inca guys're handsome :)

Navigating my way in Ecuador was not too difficult even though without the guidance from my GPS (except when entering towns), as signboards along the national highway were quite clear and the road was 90% good. Ecuador had tolls for motorbikes but its only 20¢ per toll. This country did not has its own currency, but using USD for trade @ business. Unlike its neighbouring Latin countries, I didnt see military presence here. It felt safe to ride here and the view was sooo gorgeous. Similar to in Msia, along my ride today, I could see many group of big bikes going for their weekend coffee ride.

I rode 320kms via route E35. Its winding, climbing and windy all the time. Theres one time when I'm about to day dream while enjoying the view, a sudden wind gust blew me and GD. In a split second we were pushed from slow lane to the fast lane. Phewww...Thank god theres no car on the fast lane at that time and I managed to control the bike. I had never experience such strong wind gust. It felt as if a bomb exploded right on my face. I finally reached Riobamba, the 3rd largest city in Ecuador after riding for 5.30 hours. Its very cold here as this city was surrounded with mountains.

The next day was a very beautiful but stressful ride to me. It started with a very nice, relaxing, pleasant and enjoyable ride. I purposely chose route 35 - 47 - 40 - 25, without knowing what to expect. After all, this was my adventure. Without knowing, this route happened to run parallel or above the famous Andes rail line which was an attraction for those who visited Riobamba. I'm glad I chose this route as the train didnt run everyday, so I still managed to see the same awesome view, but on my bike. It was sooo lovely and I stopped too many time for pics. Then the view changed to pre-desert with bushes (wind was strong here) and later mountains again. The difficulty when riding on this route was sign board were close to none, and since I'm not using my gps, I had to ask locals for direction. With my broken spanish, I survived. The rural road I chose was in ok condition (ok meaning not so many pot holes) and with very few traffic. Its cold and winding as usual bcos this country was mountainous.

After ascending a mountain, I thought I had entered the clouds bcos when climbing, I could almost reached the low clouds. In the beginning, visibility was 20m, then reduced to 10m, then 5m and at times, I couldnt see nothing. I was going at only 10 - 20kmh. The white road lines was my only guidance, but after a while, theres no more lines to follow (its Ecuador rural road). It was really scary when you had to descend or ascend without knowing where u r going, and I had to brave this for 35kms!!! To make matters worse, there was a road washed away that I had to cross and in the thick fog, I was chased by dogs for 3 times. At one time, 4 dogs chased me all at once!!!

I was very exhausted by the time I managed to get out from the thick fog zone. My earlier google map calculation was 306kms for todays ride, but I don't know how, when I thought there will be 30kms more to reach my destination, the sign board said that Machala was 120km more. Urghhhh!!! In the end, I reached Machala after riding 400kms in 9hrs and spent another hour trying to find a room suiting my budget. Its a looonggg day without eating anything since light breakfast this morning, and believe it or not, the last time I pee was 12 hours ago at my hotel in Riobamba.

PERU (30 DEC – 18 JAN 2016)

Heyyy, welcome to Peru lah :)

Its quite a straight forward border crossing from Ecuador to Peru, except it took me about 2.30hrs for both borders as there were many people today. To cancel Ecuador permisso, I had to go to CEBAF building which was 2kms fr the border. There was no immigration office on the Ecuador side though, even after the bridge which had the Welcome to Peru sign. I was worried as I had not stamp out my passport yet. Apparently both Ecuador and Peru immigration counter was located side by side in a building about 3kms from the Peru welcome sign, and the customs was on the next building. Mandatory insurance was USD35, then GD rolled its wheels on Peru PanAm Norte route 25 highway. After withdrawing some Peruvian Soles at Tumbes, the border town (no money changer at the border), I started to feel as if I'm in another planet. Gone were the Ecuadorian green mountain views but was replaced with barren desert hills. Wind was strong but not so bad and the road was okey. Whats not so okey were the locals driving attitude. I reached Mancora after riding for 200kms and since it was peak season as new year was approaching, rooms were expensive. I found a very nice place to pitch my tent which faced the Pacific Ocean. I fall in love with the place and decided to stay there for 2 nights. My friend, Tim Charman from Canada, whom I met last time in Baja Cactus, also arrived this town today and I shared my location with him. He arrived not long after and pitched his tent next to mine. It was very good to see him again. We went around the town and even to the wet market to shop for fresh seafood which was very cheap here. It was good to enjoy delicious seafood after eating the same menu everyday for months.

After 2 nights in Mancora, and as I'm getting ready to pack my tent, I heard Tim calling my name. He told me that he lost his wallet while celebrating New Year at the beach last night. I didnt go to the beach with him, where the locals were celebrating, but prefer to enjoy the fireworks from my campsite. Tim told me that there were about 10 000 people on the beach and he felt a push from behind. The next thing he knew, his wallet was gone. His ATM card, credit card and driving license which were in the wallet were gone as well. Thank god he still had his passport. This news came to me like a thunderstorm. I had been adapting well in Latin countries and kinda forget about being careful sometimes. I felt so sorry for Tim and lend him some money before saying goodbye, with a promise to meet again.

I rode 430kms on Pan Am Highway from Mancora to Pimentel in 6 hours. The road was 80% good but the wind? Perghhh!!! The straight looonggg road crossed the desert for miles. And the desert? Its flat and empty as far as the eyes could reach. No tree, building or whatsoever except for the electric posts. I had to fight the side wind for approx 200kms. From Pimentel, again I had to fight strong head & side wind all the way for 400kms. There were times that vehicles from the opposite direction gave me high beam. I supposed from a distance, they could see my bike swayed left and right. I noticed GD consumed more fuel than normal due to the strong wind. Theres nothing to view here except for dunes and barren rocky or sandy mountains at certain places. Anyway, its kinda cool to see the fine desert sands shifting places as it crossed fr the right to the left side of the road when being blown away by the wind.

Since Ecuador, I had stopped using my GPS. Previously, I didnt have Ecuador map in the GPS, but now, the GPS's touch screen frozed, so its unusable anymore. Since I didnt have a paper map with me, its back to old school navgation. I had to be alert on the signboards, or look at the sun to determine my direction, or asked locals. My Spanish was far from able to have a decent conversation, but to ask for direction, I think I'm getting better from day to day. However, tomorrow, its going to be a challenge to ride without the help from a GPS, as I'm entering Lima, the capital city, which the driving attitude of the locals were said to be worse than Delhi.

The road to Lima took me 475kms in 9 hours. The view was very spectacular along the way, but again, I had to beat crazy wind (I had sore arms and neck by now). Not just that, I also had to stop by the road side countless of times to check for direction as my GPS was not functioning. I had to face crazy drivers in Lima too, and almost run down twice by a white Fiat ALL 275 who drove like a maniac. I was also being stopped by traffic police bcos taking the road not allowed for bikes (luckily he didnt gave me a ticket). Finally, I made it into Lima, the 3rd largest city in Americas with 10 million population. I was soooo exhausted by the time I reached the hostel where I want to stay.

I stayed 5 nights in Lima and managed to visit the Malaysian Embassy there. I was almost into tears when I saw Malaysian flag and Malaysian emblem at the embassy. I met the Ambassador, Dato Ayauf Bachi, and the staff, En Adham, Pn Hanis and Pn Sharmini. Dato chatted with me for 1.30hrs despite his busy schedule. En Adham and Pn Hanis invited me to stay at their houses. Pn Hanis's husband, En Wan helped me a lot during my stay in Lima by driving me in and out everyday to settle my matters – sending my GPS for repair and to sort out my Bolivian visa. A friend, Carlos, introduced me to Alejandro who managed to fix my GPS. I was soooo relieved. However, getting Bolivian visa was a pain in the ass. I had to go to Bolivian embassy 6 times before I finally got my visa sticker on my passport. I would had surrendered if not for En Wan's patience. The last 2 nights, I stayed with En Adham and his wife, Pn Maryam. They were very kind to me. Another staff of the Malaysian Embassy, Miss Sharmini took me out for dinner on my last night, while En Wan took the trouble to lead my way to exit the city of Lima to head south. I really am so grateful to all of them for their kindness.

After exiting Lima, I rode 335kms on PanAm Sur (South) to Huacachina. The speciality of this place were the amazing sand dunes. However, due to my lack of fund, I didnt take any 4WD tour to visit the dunes. I only view them by the road side.

The next day, I rode to Nazca. Again it was desert all the way but with some green fields views at Palpa. I dropped by at Geoglifos de Palpa to view some lines by the Incas. I had to climb a tower for better viewing. Only 3 geoglyphs @ pics can be seen at this place.

Upon arrival to Nazca, I headed straight to Nazca Airport, to check on tour prices for flight over Nazca Lines. Even though, I'm on a budget, this tour is not to be missed. I had been wanting to see the Nazca Lines ever since I was 15 years old!!! The price to see this lines from the air was approx USD85 + USD10 (airport tax). Nazca Lines was a huge representations of geometric patterns, animals, humans figures and thousands of perfectly straight lines that go on for kilometers. They were created by removing surface stones, revealing the lighter-colored soil below. They're unquestionably ancient (dating back 1400-2200 years), and remarkably precise (with straight lines and clean curves). The images were huge that they were best appreciated from the air, a fact which has led to speculation that the ancient Inca people either had access to hot air balloons or alien helpers. Until today, no academics or scientist can confirm who actually made the lines or whats the significance of it.

The flight over Nazca Lines was a quick 30mins flight, too quick to truly appreciate the lines actually. I got may be 10 seconds for each figure before the next one. It's a bumpy fast ride in the small 6 persons (including 2 pilots) aircraft. Its hard to get a good picture due to the bumpy ride. I almost throw out and somehow relieved when the flight was done. Anyway, the lines themselves were amazing. To be able to see them for real from the air and to finally achieved one of my childhood dreams after dreaming about them for 33 years, was too good to be true. It left me with one kind of self satisfaction and wonders, and unsolved mystery of how the ancient Incas made them. I would like to thank Bob Robert Shannon for sponsoring me this tour and for making my dream came true.

I stayed 2 nights in Nazca, and after that made my way to Cusco via route 3S. I purposely did it slowly as to acclimatize with the altitude as the road to Cusco climbed high mountain passes. It took me 3 days to arrive Cusco with stopovers at Puquio and Abancay. It was a very enjoyable and scenic ride, even though its quite windy at certain places. The first mountain pass I climbed was at 4300m, and I felt dizziness, but not too bad. The view was soooo spectacular and changed with the altitude, that I felt as if I'm looking at an artists masterpiece. The road to Abancay ran parralel with the greenish blue Rio Pachachaca which winded its way along the many gorges of the Andes Mountains. It was sooo beautiful. I also saw lots of sheeps. Ohh...and vicunas too!!! Tons of them, but they were too shy to pose for my cam. I saw few high altitude lakes too, but too bad its a cloudy day so the supposedly blue lakes didnt appear blue due to the lack of sunlight. It was freezing and winding almost all the way.

The stretch from Abancay to Cusco, even though paved, must not be taken lightly as the climb was from 2500m (at Abancay) to 4000m (the highest point). Also, there were lots of debris on the road due to landslides. View of the Andes was gorgeous. Beautiful and colourful rock formation can be seen along the way. For the first time since I started GDR, today I saw snow peak mountains. It seemed so near and I felt joy and brrrrrr...Finally, after riding 716kms in 3 days, I arrived Cusco.

Cusco was a nice historical town, but somehow I found it a bit too touristy. Its not a surprise though, as Cusco was the most popular place to book a tour to Machu Pichhu, a world heritage site, which lies on the mountain in the jungles. I took the cheaper tour which only provide return transportation from Cusco to Station Hidroelectrica for 75S. It was a long 7hrs journey along amazing route which almost reached the snow peak Andes, plus a stretch of very ugly and scary offroad. If u had seen 'Bolivian Death Road' video on youtube, thats how the road looked like. Most of the time, the narrow offroad can only allowed one vehicle to pass. Arriving Stn Hidroelectrica, one can choose either to take a train which will cost USD30 (one way) or walk for 10kms to reach Agua Calientes, the nearest little town to Machu Pichhu. My option was the latter. I had to walk on the rail gravels along the rail line. At this age, it was quite taxing for me to keep up with the youngsters pace, but I managed. Even I'm faster than half of them. It took me 2.15hrs to walk non stop for 10kms to reach AC. It was already sun down when I arrived here. I went straight to the information counter to purchase Machu Pichhu entrance ticket (S128 @USD40) and a one way bus ticket (USD12) or u can climb up 7kms to reach the ancient site. I chose to save my energy and just took the bus.

Machu Pichhu needs no description. Its everyones dream place. You should visit it at least once in your life time. As for me, I had dreamt to be here since I was a teenager. Its far, yes...and its challenging to reach here especially when riding alone. But the satisfaction, only god knows.

To be here was somehow unbelievable. Its hard to describe my feelings. The first sight of MP definitely was a sight to remember all yr life. Its all ooohhss and ahhhsss. It was sooo impressive. It left me with wonders...as how I wondered upon laying my eyes on the pyramids in Egypt, Al Khazneh in Petra, and many other ancient sites. How did the ancient Incas built this city on the mountains without modern tools and technologies? How did they carry the stones up the mountains? How? How? How? Too many questions which I didnt get the answer as yet.

I spent 4 hours to explore the historical site, until the Inca Bridge and as I'm running late, I had to take the bus again (USD12) to AC. Then, I took the expensive 50 minutes slow train (USD30) as I didnt have the energy to walk the 10kms anymore. All in all, total cost for me to see my childhood dream place was USD137 (inclusive a cheap bed at AC for USD15). Yes, its expensive, but its the wonders of the world, and Machu Pichhu worth every single $ which I spent. My special thanks to sis Puteri Juliana for her generous contribution and big support for me to fulfill my childhood dream to visit this special place and to continue with my ride.

My last destination in Peru was Puno. Its a chilly wet ride almost all the way. When I reached Juliaca, the offroad was sooo bad with lots of pot holes filled with rain water and there was a weekend market going on. It was a very tense moment as I had to squeeze in between the many ppl, the stalls, and the road was muddy and slippery. Thank god I didnt drop GD. When I was climbing up a mountain to reach Puno, there was snow on the road!! I reached the town after riding for 420kms via route 3S with highest elevation at 4355m.

BOLIVIA (18 JAN – 23 JAN 2016)

After saying goodbye to the nice lady at the hostal in Puno who gave me a very nice room with discounted price and even invited me for breakfast, I started riding south to the border. Hardly 15mins, it started to rain again. It was cold and Lake Titicaca was not as blue. Arriving Desaguadero, there was a looong line of people at the Immigration. The line was about 40m outside the office. It took me 1 hour to line up and only 1min to get the exit stamp. Cancelling my permisso took just 5 mins. Then I crossed the bridge and entered Bolivia. To my surprise, the line at the Immigration here was longer, about 70m!!! It took me 2 hours to line up and just 1 min to get the entry stamp. Its not difficult to get my permisso at the aduana to bring GD into Bolivia. Perhaps I'm already used to how the system worked here in the Latin American countries. Overall, it took me 3.40 hours to cross both borders, the longest time for all 13 countries so far.

Once done, I had to ride on gravels for 1km with 3 dogs chasing me before I hit the paved road. The weather did improved, so I managed to enjoy beautiful blue Lake Titicaca. The road to La Paz was so-so, with some badly sunken road and pot holes in places. There were lots of stray dogs and I wonder why, Bolivian dogs seemed not to like me very much. They always chased me!!!

Arriving here, the traffic were quite crazy but not as bad as in Lima. Its not very easy to find accommodation with secure parking here, unless at the more expensive hotels. In the first place, if you are searching for hostal or hospedaje (spanish word for 'lodge'), u will end up frustrated bcos in Bolivia, the term used was 'alojamiento'. I did found a good place anyway, Hostal Internacional, which charged unbelievable B50 (RM25) for a really comfy room.

The road in El Alto, La Paz was sooo bad with pot holes, puddles, construction and piles of construction sands or gravels in the middle of the road, making it difficult for me to exit to the highway. Pedestrians here were crazy too. They crossed the road as they liked without looking left and right. I saw a dead man lying on the road with pools of blood. Euwwww...I tried not to look more than I should. I kept reminding myself to go slow and be extra careful. I put up at Oruro for 1 night and continued towards Uyuni. The weather was fine. There were good and bad roads. The houses here were made from mud bricks, meaning the SES was lower. The view was sooo different here. As a matter of fact, the landscape between all SA countries - Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia differed even though they were neighbours. I saw lots of llamas and amazing sand twisters spiralling into the sky...which also meant that I had to fight strong side wind for 2 hours today. After riding for 600kms from El Alto, La Paz, I reached Uyuni, the heart of salar – the famous salt flats.

I took a one day tour to the Salar. It was amazing. I had no word to describe the beauty, so I will let the pics do the talking.

CHILE (23 JAN – 5 FEB 2016)

Previously, I was doubting whether or not I can afford to do the famous route 701 from Uyuni to the Bolivian – Chilean border as it was a looonggg offroad but offered spectacular views along the way. However, after thinking deeply, I decided that I will give it a try. I left Uyuni at 7.40am. The view was indeed amazing and the offroad was not as crazy as I thought it would be. Well, the harder part was yet to come. It took me 4 hours to reach Avaroa, the border town.The border was in the middle of nowhere. It was 12pm then and the officers were gone. I had to wait to get my exit stamp and cancelled my permisso. Then, I rode approx 3kms in no mans land into Ollague, Chile. I stamped my passport and get my permisso. No fees or mandatory insurance required to bring in my bike into this country. However, there was an inspection done on GD as animals @ plant products were not permitted to be taken in. But the nice officer just took 2 secs check on my top box. Overall, it took me about 2 hours to clear both borders.

I then continued my ride to Calama via route 21, passing amazing salt lake and beautiful volcanic mountains. It was unbelievable that all SA countries that I had been to were sooo contrast in views and landscapes. All were unique and beautiful. However, the road was not. It was worse than route 701 in Bolivia. There were many stretches of soft sands and loose gravels which I need to ascend and descend. The wind was stronger here too. I almost fell not less than 10 times, but luckily I managed to handle GD even though I was already off balance. I'm sure my mom back home can hear me screaming for her. It was a big relief when I finally met paved road again. Ohhh...I loved paved road, and who ever made them. In total, I rode 450kms today on ripio - dirt, gravels and soft sands. Only less than a quarter of the distance I rode today were paved. The most km of offroad in a day that I had ever done!!!

My next destination in Chile was San Pedro de Atacama, which was only 110km via route 23 from Calama. The road was good, but it was a bit windy bcos I was crossing a vast desert. Tourist from all over the world came to San Pedro de Atacama not for the sake of the town. Theres nothing in the rustic town except dust. However the surroundings were soooo spectacular. There were lots to see, the desert, geysers, lagunas, salt flats etc. Due to my tight budget, I could only managed to visit Valle de la Luna, or Moon Valley. Its not far from the town. The view was incredible. All this while, when talking about desert, what we had in mind will be sands, dunes and perhaps one or two barren mountain. However here, you can see a mountain range, Cordilerra de la Sal, which was made from salt, and the amazing rock formation was formed by wind erosion. Another god's creation which left me speechless...

Northern Chile was dominated by the Atacama Desert, so it was very dry and windy. My skin and lips were peeling by now due to the dryness. Even my lip balm didnt help. Anyway, after 2 days, I left San Pedro de Atacama, heading back to Calama and then south via route 25. I started early as to avoid strong wind in the desert which normally will blow hard at 12pm onwards. I made a good time to Antofagasta within 4 hours (had to brave the morning chill though). Upon reaching Antofagasta, I started to look for a cheap place to stay. From my research, I knew theres nothing cheap in this city, but I just tried. Normally there're cheaper places which were not listed in the internet. Unfortunately, after wasting 2 hours going around the city, and the cheapest room I could find was USD35, which was waayy too much for my wallet, I decided to continue riding to the next town, in hope that my luck will change. However, it was 2pm by then and the wind was blowing like SUPER CRAZY!!! I never face such strong wind before, not even in Peru. From a distance, I saw HUGEEE cloud of sands being blown away. It was really scary and my poor GD was zig-zagging helplessly. Theres one time that the wind gust shoved me to the opposite direction in a mere 2 seconds and theres a lorry approaching from the opposite direction!!! Luckily I managed to get back on my lane. I was sooo stressed out and its very unsafe to continue riding in this condition. However, where must I go? Where must I go? WHERE??? The next town was few hundred kms away and all around me was nothingness but desert and sands. I was praying real hard in my heart while riding slowly and gripping the handle firmly. Thank god I saw a Shell station next to the highway. I pulled over and begged the owner to let me camp behind the station. He was reluctant in the beginning, but agreed when he saw tears started to pool in my eyes...

The next day was not easy for me either. Ever since I entered Chile 6 days ago, almost everyday I will get surprises. The offroad, the crazy wind, the high price on everything...and now, another surprise. A country which was said amongst the most developed and expensive in SA, but the gas stations were very far apart. Its hundreds of kms before you found one!!! I made a big mistake which I learnt well and will never repeat. I didn't refuel at the gas station which I camped last night because they no longer have the cheaper gas. Since I still had half tank of gas, I asked the attendant, wheres the next station? He was talking so fast and I thought he said "dos""tres". So using fingers, I pointed two and three and he nodded. I thought its 23kms away, so I proceeded. After 50kms, theres no gas station in sight. I checked my GPS, it said theres one 150kms away. I started to get worried as GD didn't have much gas left. I asked the locals but everyone was giving me different answers. And what scared me most was, yesterday, the gas station listed in my GPS was of non existence. How if the one which my GPS said was 150km away didn't exist too? Only god knows how I felt. I had to ride very slowly, about 50 - 60kmh only. And all the while praying hard that GD could make it.

Finally, after almost 3 hours of really slow ride of 160kms, there it is...the gas station. And GD almost reached blinking level, but not yet blinking. Approx 450km was done since its last refuel. A new record set. Phewwwww...

Anyway, even though the experience of almost running out of gas was scary, I achieved a remarkable victory today when I reached Mano Del Desierto, or 'Hand of the Desert'. This sculpture was in my wish list ever since I got into adv riding, and it was only today that I rolled my wheels here. I also managed to locate the landmark for Tropic of Capricorn.

The next few days, I continued riding further south via route 5, passing towns such as Chanaral, La Serena and Valparaiso. Chile's landscape was very unique. There were times that I'm surrounded with reddish mountain, at other times, brownish or yellowish. I felt like in a different planet. The wind was still strong at certain stretches, but the beautiful blue Pacific Ocean view down the cliff compensate the unpleasantness of having to fight the wind. As I rode further south in Chile, I could see more colours and more cactus & bushes in the pampas, compared to sands, dunes and barren mountains in northern Chile.

The houses in the bigger towns in Chile were similar to in Msia. Road was good, but motorbikes had to pay tolls :( Along my way to Valparaiso, I could see locals waving and flagging white flags to attract people to buy cheese which they sold by the road side. View got greener later on. I stayed 2 nights in Valparaiso and explored the historical city which was also a sister city to Malacca.

My last destination in Chile was Santiago. I rode straight to Malaysian Embassy and was given a very warm welcome by Dato Dr Rameez, the ambassador, and all the staff. Lots of delicious food being served such as nasi lemak with chicken rendang, rojak and Malay delicacies. Dato Rameez even invited me to stay at Malaysia House. I felt so honoured and happy. I spent 3 nights and managed to send my bike for maintenance service at a Yamaha HQ here and attended a tea meet with the Perwakilan Ladies. I wished to thank Dato Rameez, lovely Datin Noor Zulaikha , Malaysian Embassy in Santiago and Yamamotor Santiago for the hospitality.

ARGENTINA (5 FEB - 9TH MARCH 2016)

My last day in Santiago, Chile was a hard one. It wasn't hard due to riding, but to leave the kind family of Dato Rameez and his wife. They had treated me like their very own family. I would never ever forget their kindness to me. Anyhow, the journey must go on.

I left Malaysia House with tears flowing down my cheek, all the way until I reached Paso De Los Libertadores, a mountain pass with 30 very tight switchbacks. I need to focus while ascending the hairpin bends, so I must stop the tears. It was a bit scary to see the ravine down below from the corner of my eyes, but once in a while, I did enjoyed the beauty of Mount Aconcagua which can be seen from the pass.

I had to pay tolls 4 times though from Santiago to the border which was located at the peak of the pass. My ride was interrupted twice due to landslides. The border was a toll-plaza-kinda building where both countries had their booths side by side. It took me about 1hr to settle everything as there was a long line today. The funny thing was I was not given a permisso from the Argentinian side, even after I had asked for it. I was worried if I had missed something, until I met another overlander and he told me he didnt get any permisso copy too.

Then I rode via route 7. Argentina was sooooo beautiful. Blue lakes, beautiful gorges, but the highway was not as nice as in Chile. Its quite windy at certain stretches too. After riding 385kms in 8.30hrs from Santiago, I reached Mendoza. I found a hostal and later went to the cambio to change some money. There were about 70 people lining up at the money changer, from inside to the outside. I had to cue for 1 hour to get some money changed...sigh...

I exit Mendoza via Ruta 40 which was the longest route in Argentina and one of the longest in the world. It stretched from the Bolivian border in the north to Rio Gallegos in the south, running parallel to the Andes mountains. The southern part of the route, a largely unpaved road through sparsely populated territory, had became a well-known adventure ride journey. My ride on the epic Ruta 40 started from Mendoza all the way down to El Calafate. It was indeed a tough journey. Especially when doing it all alone on a small bike. I had to face great challenges such as very cold weather, unbelievable strong wind, rain, storm, and offroad (thick and loose gravels which rattled my teeth and bones, and soft sands too). I passed towns such as Malargue, Chos Malal, San Martin de Los Andes, San Carlos de Bariloche, Esquel, Perito Moreno, Gobernador Gregores, and El Calafate. The total distance for my route in Ruta 40 were 3400kms which took about 10 days. Everyday, I had to start early in the morning as the wind will start to blow fiercely after 9.30am and get even more stronger by midday. I was told that the reason behind this was the wind came from the Pacific Ocean and when it reached the Andes mountains, it crashed. When the road surface heated up by the sunlight, the pressure increased and this resulted in crazy wind around this area.

Carrying extra gas was essential here as distance between towns were huge and there were always cases of gas stations ran out of gas. There were many occasions that I had to cue and wait for at least 30mins whenever I need to refuel. Even though the ride on Ruta 40 was hard, the view was so breathtaking. Green pampas, beautiful gorges, green Rio Grande river, canyon, blue Lago Nueva on the way to Chos Malal. Some pics here to enjoy...

The famous 'Seven Lakes' via Villa La Angostura and all the way to San Carlos de Bariloche.

The pine trees and some desert like views to Esquel.

While at El Calafate, I managed to visit Perito Moreno Glaciers. This glacier was number 4 for me after Franz Josef (NZ), Khumbu Glacier (Mt Everest) and Bear Glacier (Canada-Alaska). The entrance fee was AP260, and the tour AP600. I took a tour as I'm having fever at that time and I didnt feel like riding 160kms (return) to this place. A decision which I'm so glad to take when seeing the wind condition that even the bus I rode on was shaking!!! This glacier was indeed the most beautiful and the biggest glacier that I had seen. I was sooo stunned at its beauty that I cant figure out the most suitable word to describe it. The glacier changed colours according to the amount of sunlight it received. When I was there, it was raining and shining on and off. Every now and then I heard loud 'thunder' sounds of the glacier cracking and fell into the lake. It was really awesome.

I exited El Calafate and made my way to Rio Gallegos and after that I head south via Ruta 3. My first real big problem started here when I was denied exit by the Argentinian officers due to failure to show them my bike permisso copy, which I didnt get any when crossing into Argentina to Mendoza the other day. The officer accused me for taking GD into the country illegally and he threatened to confiscate my bike. I tried to explain my situation and fortunately he referred me to his chief, but I need to go to another customs building about 1km away. I met the lady and again had to explain to her. She told me to wait while she checked her computer. Later she told me that theres no information about my bike in the custom's system. She said that this was against the law and she will take my bike away. I was panicking but I controlled my charm and cool. I knew very well how in this situation, I'm at her MERCY and she could make matters worse for me. I told her there must be some mistakes, as I knew the procedures to bring my bike into a country, and I had registered at the customs. I'm not new to this, and this border is the 17th for GDR. After listening to my rationals, she couldnt decide and told me to wait while she brought the matter to the HQ. She made some calls and emails. I had no choice but to wait. I waited from mins to hours and started to get very restless. Whenever I asked her, she told me to wait. I couldnt bothered her too much or else she will be pissed off. But I'm in a hurry and had wasted too much time here. So my last solution was to beg her and of course I had to act and shed some tears to get her sympathy. Thank god it worked. Finally, after wasting 3.30hrs, she let me passed without a fine.

I hurriedly left and registered my bike on the Chilean side which took only 20mins. Then, I sped to the ferry terminal and crossed to Tierra del Fuego. Not long after that, I had to ride on offroad for 110kms. It was a bone rattling ride, but this time, I cant pampered GD anymore as the sun was going down. I had to go as fast as my offroad riding skill allowed me to. After that, I did the 2nd border crossing. The Chilean side first, then 12kms on no-mans-land, then the Argentina side. Luckily I got tail wind after that and I arrived Rio Grande after riding approx 400kms. I had to spend some time to find a room which suited my budget and only get to check in at 9.30pm. I was dead tired.

On 18th February, I reached Ushuaia, Fin Del Mundo...

158 days...

Approx 32000kms...

2 continents...

15 countries...

Countless sleepless nights due to worries...

Countless scary moments...

Countless good ppl I met on the road...

Countless wonderful memories...

All the crazy & wild wind along the way...

All the hunger, thirst, exhaustion, pain, heat, cold, frozen fingers & lips...

Not forgetting the tortured butt...

Without any top ppl as patron...

Without big fund to support my ride...

I am finally here...

The end of the road...

At the end of the world...

Only God knows what I had been thru...

1 world

1 small bike

1 solo rider

1 woman

1 huge dream

*IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING*

Excuse my very emotional moment in the video :)

After the first big objective that was to reach the end of the world had been accomplished, my next target was to ride to Buenos Aires, some 3100kms away via Ruta 3 to prepare my bike for shipping to London. I rode the same 230kms way back to Rio Grande. The road was wet due to melting frost. The wind was strong...among the strongest I felt so far. I had to fight the head and side wind for the last 100kms. To make matters worse, the wind forecast said that the wind gusts is going to reach 101kmh for the next days. It was true. The wind was insane. The sound of the howling wind was like a ghost trying to swallow everything which it passed through. Its too dangerous for me to ride. If theres no more offroad to ride, I might still try to brave the wind. Unfortunately theres 110km of offroad awaiting. I was stranded in Rio Grande for 3 nights. However, I accepted my fate. Things happened for a reason...

Finally, the wind lessened a bit and I hurriedly left the town. It was a brrrrrr ride, braving the chill since theres no sunshine but a thick cloud hovering above my head. It was so cold and all my fingers froze. But I still need to continue or else the wind will get stronger. The tip of my fingers were soo froze that it were sooo painful. Honestly I cried. That being said, most people thought its easy to ride a small bike which didnt have a heated grip for this kind of ride? I rode on the same 110kms gravels. Its tougher this time due to the wind and bcos there were fresh soil being put on the road under construction. I made it to Rio Gallegos after riding 400kms in 10 hours, with 2 border crossings. I was so tired.

The next days werent easy for me either. As at Ruta 40, the wind at the southern part of Ruta 3 was very strong too. I had pains on my upper limbs due to fighting the wind for many hours everyday for many many days.

It rained very heavily when I reached Puerto San Julian. The road to my host's house got very muddy and slippery. It was really hard for me to control GD when the mud already coated the tires and as I'm nearing my host's house, I fell in the mud puddle. My host came running but it was difficult for us, two ladies to put the bike to stand. My host then asked her neighbour to help and we had to push GD to her house which was nearby. The wind was very strong and the rain continued pouring for the whole night. It was hard for me to sleep as I was very tensed. I had only a very little sleep and when I woke up in the morning, the rain had stopped but GD was lying on the ground. The wind might had pushed it down and the surrounding had turned into paddy fields. My heart sank. I cant believe I had to face this after being stranded in Rio Grande due to wind the other day. I prayed very hard for the sun to come out and for the earth to suck the water. The sun only came out at 12pm and miraculously the water drained very quickly. However, what remained after that was a very muddy based ground for about 400m. It was really tough to get out from the muddy part, but I was lucky not to drop the bike again. It took me half n hour to get out, and another half hour to clean the mud on GD.

Then, I raced towards Comodoro Rivadavia. It was a very cold ride as it was raining on and off and the wind was still strong. I thought there wont be any more challenge after the mud, but I was wrong. I had to ride on offroad, ascend a pretty steep dirt hill and descended a slope with thick gravels for about 5kms to reach my host's house. Hadoiiiii :(

The next days were to reach Buenos Aires as soon as I can. I made a stop at Puerto Madryn, Viedma, Bahia Blanca and Azul via Ruta 3. As I went further up north, the wind lessened significantly and its not as chilly as the previous days. In Azul, I stayed at a cool place, La Posta, which was dedicated for bikers. Finally, on 2nd March 2016, I arrived Buenos Aires and rode straight to the Malaysian Embassy. The Ambassador, Dato Ashri Muda and all the staff gave me a very warm welcome. The medias were there too. Dato even invited me to stay at Malaysia House until the day I departed to London. I was soo touched by the nice hospitality. I met Datin Rohayahti at the residence and she treated me like her very own sister. I stayed 8 days at their place and they brought me sightseeing in Buenos Aires. I also managed to sort out my bike to be flown to London, using the service of Dakar Motos. I had to pay USD1850 for the fees. All the while, Dato helped me a lot by letting his staff to asist me. Till the final day, Dato and Datin send me to the airport. It was really hard to say goodbye to these nice people. May Allah pay back all their kindness.

END OF MY RIDE IN THE AMERICAS.....

UNITED KINGDOM (11 – 30 MARCH 2016)

After a looonnggg 30 hours journey with two transits from BsAs - Atlanta - New York, I finally reached Heathrow International Airport, London at 6.45am. I was sooo tired and sleepy due to the lack of sleep, but am happy to reunite with my ex student Eleanor, after 22 years. She had not changed one bit. She fetched me at the airport and we drove to Terminal 3 to fetch my darling son, Emiershah. It had been 6 months that I didnt see him, the longest ever, so I was into tears. I was a bit sad because my eldest son couldnt meet me in London due to job commitment.

We went back to Eleanor's house at Rickmansworth and after resting a while, I started to wonder why I didnt get any message from my agent in BsAs regarding my bike. GD had been flown into London earlier than me, so by right it should already reached Ldn by now. After a series of nightmare calling here and there to locate GD's whereabout, but fail to locate the bike, I decided to ask a lady biker friend, Lillian Hobbs for help. Having air freighted her bike many times during her previous rides, she knew how and where to locate GD. We finally get the info that the bike was now at British Airways Cargo warehouse. Lillian advised me to go straight to British Airways Cargo Center to talk to the personnel after I told her of my frustration to get any info regarding bike clearance prosedure from UK Customs staff as they passed my call from one person to another, but I ended up getting nothing. Eleanor drove me to British Airways Cargo Center and I was very lucky to get efficient and kind help from Mr Frankie and Mr Bryan. They went out of their way to help me. Within couple of hours, GD was cleared and I hit UK road in the cold winter night. I was very tired by then because I hadnt sleep for 60 hours!!!

The next few days were spent on doing major service on GD, as by now it had already completed half way of my total journey. My new set of tires which were sent by Hong Leong Yamaha Motor had also arrived. Thanks HLYM for the help and support, and thanks too to Eleanor for helping to drive me here and there to settle my matters. It would have been difficult for me if she's not around.

I had a remarkable 3 weeks in UK filled with lots of activities. First was the Ace Cafe Adventure Day event. I met sooo many people there including two muslimah lady biker (Noorah and Jan), and some from Women International Motorcycle Association (Sheonagh, Pat, Janet and Barbara).

I also met my idol lady advrider at the event, Tiffany Coates. This amazing woman had been zig zagging the world on her trusted GS for years. We had been on FB for quite a while and she had been giving me lots of tips and advises. It was so nice to finally met her in person, and an honour when she invited me to go to her place at Lands End, the western most point of UK about 500kms from London, which I accepted.

In Lands End, Tiff brought me to the western most point of UK. The view was soooo beautiful but it was a very windy day. We spent some time admiring the beautiful panoramic view and later, we rode to her parents hse about 50kms away. I met Charlie & Margaret who lived in Msia fr 1969 - 1972. It was so nice when they recalled those days when they're in Msia and asked me if this or that still exists.

Back to Ldn, I was invited to gv a talk to the Perwakilan Ladies of the Msian High Commission at the Ambassador's residence. I was given a very warm welcome by H.E. Dato Ahmad Rasidi and his wife, Datin Rosilawati, together with approximately 50 other Msian students who came as far as Brighton. Some of my followers who came from Windsor were there to meet me. Not just that, Asa Okhvist, the secretary of WIMA WORLD, and representatives from Msian TV3 and RTM, sis Haliza and sis Zaharah Othman were there to interview me too. After the event finished, sis Zaharah as Jan's pillion, filmed me riding around London.

During my last days in Ldn which I stayed with sis Zaharah, she took me for some sightseeing. We visited Portobello Market, British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Trafalgar Square. She also filmed me riding around the city. Jan and Noorah accompanied us too. Thank you very much everyone for the nice hospitality.

The day came and I finally said goodbye to Ldn. Noorah came to meet me. She accompanied me for few kms, then I rode to Brighton via M23, approx 108km away, to meet another lady rider friend, Sue Barnes. UK road was fantastic but I had to be careful not to ride on the wrong side of the road. It had been 6 months that I'm riding on the right, so I was very awkward. LOL!!! It was a very windy day due to the storm which hit southern UK since the past few days. Sue waited for me at a rest area before Brighton and took me back to her house. She had advised me to take the ferry from Newhaven (near her place) to cross into France as its much easier compared to taking the ferry from Dover. I spent 2 nights at Sue's place and she took me for sightseeing near Brighton Pier. Sue also helped me to purchase my ferry ticket (GBP48), and advised me on the must have and riding rules in France which I'm not aware of, such as reflective stickers on helmet, wearing yellow + reflective vest, 2 breathalizers and a spare bulb. Failure to have all these can result in one getting a ticket if being stopped by the police. I didnt have all that (except the spare bulb), and I was very thankful to Sue for giving hers to me.

FRANCE (30 MARCH – 4 APRIL 2016)

I said goodbye to Sue and rode to Newhaven pier via A27. I was early and had to wait for a while. The ferry check in was very straight forward. It departed at 10am and the crossing took me 6 hours. I arrived Dieppe, France and it took me only 10 mins to stamp my passport. It started to rain soon after and the back road (D2915) which I took was very slippery. It was a very chilly and exhausting ride due to the rain and because the back road was narrow with lots of traffic lights and roundabouts. Maximum speed limit was 70kmh only. I arrived Paris during peak hour and it took me ages to reach my hosts house at Mozart Avenue. My hosts, Mejar Zakhir Asni and his wife, Zirah welcomed me to their home. Mejar was an Assistant Defense Attache for Msian Embassy in Paris and they had been living in Paris for about 3 years.

This was my 2nd time in Paris. During my 1st time here, I didnt manage to visit Louvre Museum, so I took the opportunity to visit it this time. I did some research and I found out that the best time to visit this museum were on Wednesdays and Fridays late afternoon, as on these days, the museum opened until 8pm. I managed to view the famous Mona Lisa painting by Leornado da Vinci without having to haggle as there were not many visitors.

I also reported at Msian Embassy in Paris to H.E. Dato Ibrahim. After that I shared my riding story with all the staffs and families.

On my last day in Paris, my hosts took me for a sightseeing around the city. It was a very wet day, but nevertheless, I still enjoyed the sightseeing as Paris was a very historical city. All the buildings were carefully preserved for the tourist and the next generation to enjoy.

After 4 nights in Paris, I had to say good bye to my lovely and kind hosts and proceed with my journey. Mejar Zakhir guided me to exit Paris as I didnt want to be stuck anywhere since Paris Marathon Day was held on that morning and lots of roads will be closed. After that, I continued riding on my own, but taking the back road to avoid paying expensive tolls. As the other day, it was a very slow ride as I couldnt ride fast on this kind of road. The view was nice though.

After riding 350kms, I decided to take the toll road, or else I will only arrived my destination after it gets dark. It seemed that some of the roads on the highway were FOC, and some, you had to pay tolls. Whenever I approached a toll plaza, a camera will detect me and the screen will show the amount that I have to pay. This was different than the system in Malaysia. Finally, I reached Toulouse after riding for 724kms via N20 – D2020 – N20 in 10.30 hours. I was soooo exhausted. I went to my hosts place straight away. My host, Mejar Nurul, studied Nautical Engineering at a university in this town. She and her husband brought me out for a little sightseeing in this canal town. It was very windy and chilly, so we didnt stay long and went back to her place.

ANDORRA (4 APRIL 2016 – 5 APRIL 2016)

Todays ride started with a very beautiful weather. I left Toulouse and head to the border. There were lots of yellow canolla fields. I really enjoyed the beautiful view. There were side winds too that I need to be careful.

Not far from the border, the road get narrower and more trucks. The view was soooo beautiful with rivers and green fields, that I wished I could stay there for one night to enjoy the view.

The sun hid behind the clouds as I entered Andorra, the 20th country for GDR. Soon after, ice rain started to fall and followed with snowfall when I was climbing up El Pass De La Casa. It was sooooo cold with strong winddd. The road became slippery. I was soooo scared as I was still on the mountain, riding on the winding road. I had to stop for shelter at a gas station and it took me 20 minutes to rub my hand to feel the warmth again.

After waiting and there was no sign that the weather will improve, I decided to continue riding. Descending on the wet, slippery and steep curve road was scarier than ever. I was reciting prayers all the time. Thank god I didnt fall even though few times the tires skided when I couldnt avoid snow which started to accumulate on the road. I cancelled my intention to play with snow at the ski resort due to the bad weather. I rode past the capital city, Andorra La Veila, and had to climb on a steep winding road for another 5kms to reach my hostel. The reason why I had to stay outside the capital city was because accommodation was very expensive here. I was shivering and soaked wet because I didnt wear my Givi rain coat. My mistake. Anyway, I was very lucky to get a single heated private room at the hostel for EUR20. It rained the whole day and night, so I just stayed in my room.

SPAIN (5 APRIL – 15 APRIL 2016)

It still rained in the morning of 5th April. My heart sank. The temp is 5'C but I must continue riding. I rode carefully down the steep winding and slippery road. There were many times that I felt that my tires skided and I wondered if its because my tires were very new. Because of that, I had to be even more careful. It was a verryyy colddd ride and I was shivering all the way. I entered Spain with no hassle. It was a relief when the sign boards're familiar as I could understand the meaning. It should be a nice beautiful ride with twisties and I saw a very green river, greener than Neretva River in Mostar, but it was so cold so I didnt stop for pics. Its not fun riding in cold and wet especially when yr bike didnt has a heated grip.

I had to pay tolls 4 times to enter Barcelona via the tunnels. I should had taken another road, but it was cold and I want to arrive ASAP. The total amount was almost EUR20 for a distance of 170km (Spain part). After riding for 206kms, I reached Barcelona and had some difficulties to find my host's house. I had to ask a local to help me to call her. I stayed only 2 nights here as I had been to BCN before. I managed to do some sightseeing at Sagrada Familia, Plaza Catalunya, Sant Pau and Ramblas during my stay. Sagrada Familia was soooo impressive that I couldnt help staring at it for a long time, wondering how did Antonio Gaudi made this amazing cathedral. The only thing spoiling the view was the skylift and scaffolding which surrounded it.

My worst nightmare happened on the day I left BCN. In the morning, I couldnt start my bike. There was no sound at all after I had pressed the starter. I asked my host to push the bike from behind and the engine managed to come alive. I rode from BCN heading south. The wind was unbelievably strong after I passed Tarragona. It was similar to the wind at Ruta 40. It was sooo stressful because unlike the quiteness at Ruta 40, there were lots of vehicles on the road here. It was worse because there were too many high flyovers I had to ride on. It was scary when my small bike being pushed to the other side of the road. Then when I off the engine to put gas, the same thing happened. I couldnt start my bike, and I had to ask someone to push it from behind. Fortunately, the engine can be started. I was getting worried and wondering what was the problem, but I told myself to relax and I will find a mechanic once I arrived my destination.

My GPS also wanted to test my patience today. After I had repaired it in Lima, today, the screen froze again after it instructed me to enter Valencia. I wasted 1 hour trying to find the way to exit the city. However, I do managed to see some beautiful castle and historical buildings here. I passed lots of orange fields too.

Since todays ride was long, I had to put gas again for the 2nd time. This time, I was not lucky anymore. The bike couldnt be started even after being pushed, and the gas station was the one and only building at the highway. GD had never failed me before, and I was wondering what could be the cause. I was getting worried as failure to start the bike, meaning that I had to find a transportation to send it to the nearest workshop, and the cost wouldnt be cheap. The girl at the gas station counter didnt want to help me, but I was fortunate that there was a Bulgarian guy (who was also a biker, but on his car), was there at that time. He helped to take me to his mechanic at a very small village near L'Olleria, about 5kms from there. However, I had to wait for 1.30 hours for the mechanic to settle his job before he could check my bike which I left at the gas station, It was getting dark, and I'm dead tired and sooo hungry. Finally, the mechanic was able to follow us to my awaiting bike. After checking, he managed to sort out the problem. There were some wiring shorts at the starter, which was most probably due to rain, snow and cold ride few days ago. The problem was settled within few minutes. I was soooo relieved. I thanked Cristoph and the kind mechanic who didnt want to take any money from me.

It was already dark by then, and I continued riding even though I had bad eyesight at night. There were some winds on the way and it was freezinggg as temp dropped significantly. It was sooo cold. At times like this, how I wished my bike had a heated grip. The road was winding up and down. It felt forever to ride the last 100km. Finally, after 12.30 hours since I left BCN and riding approximately 600km, I arrived safely at Alicante and only managed to settle at my host's hse (after sending the bike to a secured garage) at 11pm. Its a loooongggg dayyy, but I'm glad that everything was ok in the end.

It had been 7 months I'm on the road by now. In terms of people, I'm truly blessed that I met sooo many lovely people and made many new friends. But in terms of riding, to be frank, I cant recall even one day that everything was super easy. Honestly, everytime I hit the road, there will be challenges. Its just a matter of huge or little challenges. Sometimes, I was tested at the beginning, sometimes in the middle, sometimes at the end of the day and sometimes, through out the journey. Sometimes, when I get good weather, the road was bad. When the road was good, the traffic was bad. When the view was nice, the wind was crazy. When everythg else was ok, my gps was not. Or my maps.me couldnt detect my location, or I couldnt find my accommodation, or I was lost...bla bla bla...To sum it all, everytime, there will definitely be challenges. Nothing was 100% easy peasy.

I thought that after I'm done with South America, Europe will be a bliss. How wrong I was. It was stormy when I left London. It was raining all the way when I entered France. It was snowing and very cold in Andorra. And in Spain? Its strong wind again. The temp was 8'C as I rolled my wheels to exit Alicante. It was raining and sooo cold. The wind was strong. It was so stressful as the side wind pushed my bike on the wet slippery road. I felt as if the tires had no traction at all as it skid every time being pushed. I had to face this for 4 scary hours!! After that, even though the sun came out, I had a strong head wind which froze me in and out for the remaining journey. My neck and hands were so painful. However, the view was very beautiful as soon as I entered Andalucia province. Beautiful Sierra Nevada greeted me from far away. It reminded me of Patagonia in Argentina.

I was very cold and exhausted by the time I reached Granada after riding 400kms via A7 – A92. As I'm getting tired and stress riding on the pebble stone very narrow alleys in the old city of Granada, searching for a place to stay which suited my budget, a nice guy appeared out of nowhere to help me. Lucas brought me to the tourist info office and later guided me to a cosy hostel which I got a private room for EUR15. I stayed for 2 nights here and managed to visit the historical city and La Alhambra.

La Alhambra was indeed a must visit while in Granada. I was lucky that my host in BCN told me to purchase La Alhambra ticket online beforehand as I didnt know that the daily number of visitors to this palace were limited. The ticket cost me EUR15.40. I collected my ticket at a bookstore in the city and walked to the very impressive place. The Alhambra is Granada’s and Europe’s love letter to Moorish culture, a place where fountains trickle, leaves rustle, and ancient spirits seemed to mysteriously linger. Part palace, part fort, part World Heritage site, part lesson in medieval architecture, the Alhambra will definitely blow your mind away.

My next destination in Spain was Cordoba. I took N432 and the ride along the winding rolling hills was awesome. I do feel some side and headwind along the way. At times, I was being surprised by wind gust which blew from the wind tunnels which was created by the range of hills and valleys. It was cloudy and cold ride again, but I was entertained by beautiful red poppy flowers and olive fields view.

I stayed 2 nights in Cordoba and visited many historical places such as the old city, Templo Romano, Mezquita, the cathedral, Torre Callahora, Puente Romano, Alcazar, and others.

I continued towards Seville via A92. Its only 144kms but took me 2.15 hours to reach due to rain, storm, strong wind and chill. In Sevilla, I stayed with an advrider, Mahsa Homayounfar. I was very lucky that Festival de Avril was being held when I was there. Mahsa took me to the festival and I managed to watch the colourful feria. This annual fair was held for a week in the month of April. During this fair, the locals from all walks of life made themselves looked the best. The women dressed up beautifully with flowers in the hair, and the men looked smart and handsome with their coat and tie. They gathered and dance in the street. There were horse carriages too.

I also managed to visit the old city, the famous cathedral and beautiful Plaza de Espanya.

PORTUGAL (15 – 17 APRIL 2016)

It was a very misty morning when I made my way to Aracena via N433. At times, my vision was limited to 50m only, but well, I had experienced worse, so its ok. Then it was raining on and off the whole way. Brrrrrrrr. The back road in Portugal was not as good as in Spain. Its narrower and uneven at parts, but theres not much traffic, so its okey. As for the wind? Similar like at Ruta 40 (may be this time a bit less), the wind caused the velcro on my plastic map slot on my tank bag ripped open. No matter how many times I sealed it, the velcro seal will open, and the velcro on my Givi Italy tank bag was of a very good quality. Huhh...to show how fierce the wind here was. It took me almost 7hrs to ride 451km to reach Lisbon. The sun only came out for 20 minutes for the whole journey. It was a colddd wettt ride. Nevertheless, the wild flowers were in full bloom. I felt like riding in Kazakhstan. Wild flowers of yellow, red, pink, purple, white...It was soooo beautiful.

I stayed 2 nights in Lisbon and managed to visit the European western most point, Cabo Da Roca. This place was 40kms through a narrow winding road from the capital city. Entrance was free. This place reminds me of Lands End due to its rock cliffs, the sea down below and the surroundings.

I also visited down town Baixa, Belem and relaxed by the sea front watching the waves and sea gulls.

BACK TO SPAIN (17 – 23 APRIL 2016)

It was pretty chilly even though the sun was shining when I exited Lisbon via Vasco Da Gama bridge. I took N4 – A5 road and was sooo thrilled with the beautiful white, yellow and purple wild flowers along the way. It was an easy 275km ride to Merida. My Air BnB host was a Muslim. She's a very nice person and she served me lunch and dinner even though its not included in the rental.

The next day, I rode 476kms to Madrid. It took me longer as my gps directed me to take a tertier road, which was narrow and winding. However, the view was very nice and it was a peaceful ride as I seldom met other vehicles on the road. I spent too much time stopping for pics.

Realizing that I'm already late, I sped fast towards Madrid on A5. There were some hassles and tense moments for me when the 2 lanes highway expands to 8 lanes with fast speeding vehicles racing the road. I also had to ride inside a 3km long tunnel. My gps lost its signal and I didnt know which exit to take while inside the tunnel. I took the wrong exit and had to go round and round to find the correct way. I found the building which my embassy should be located but I couldnt see the embassy's office because it was actually inside a shopping mall. I had to park GD a bit far and walked to the address. I managed to find it and reported the Ambassador, H. E Kennedy Jawan. One of the staff, sis Zarina invited me to stay with her which I gladly accepted.

The next day, sis Zarina and I fetched another Msian advrider, Faizal Sukree who happened to ber her relative. I already knew that some Msian riders will be in Madrid for their ride in Spain but I had no idea that Faizal will be leading them. I received a call from the Ambassador's secretary telling me that the Amb invited me to his residence for dinner, so I told her about the presence of the other riders. The Ambassador was so nice to invite all of us to come over. So on that night, we had a nice gathering at H.E. Kennedy Jawan's residence. His wife, Madam Josephine and the staff made Laksa Sarawak, a popular traditional cuisine originated from the Ambassador's home town.

Before saying goodbye to my kind host and all the riders, I managed to visit the famous Real Madrid stadium.

Then, I rode 346kms to Zaragoza via A2, and the next day, another 410kms via N11 – A2 – C25 to Girona. It was a pretty chilly ride as its cloudy with on and off showers, but enjoyful with beautiful view & twisties.

I also met my friend, Jorge Saeta in Girona. We first met in Laos in 2007 and later in Malaysia in 2008. It was very nice to meet him again after so long.

BACK TO FRANCE (23 – 25 APRIL 2016)

My ride from Girona to Marseille was a very stressful one. It started with a very lovely weather and temperature. But as soon as I entered France, things changed.

While riding along the French Riveira, I had to fight strong side wind again. I was being swept by the wind for 5 times. I had already lost control of my bike. It was very very scary, scarier than at Ruta 40 in Argentina. Scarier than in Spain. God knows I almost wet my pants. When being swept by the ferocious wind, GD's wheels was no longer touching the road. At times like this, I envied those riding big bikes. They didnt seem to be affected by the wind at all. Only smaller bikes like myself had to struggle. I had to fight the strong wind for 9 continous hours!!! Even though the view was sooooo beautifful, but I couldnt enjoy it. I was very tired but sooo relieved when I finally reached my hosts place at Aix de Provence. I did some research to check on the wind. No wonder the wind was crazy. My route today was along Languedoc-Roussillon region, which was the windiest place in France, caused by the wind named Mistral. No wonder I could see wind turbine everywhere.

I stayed 2 nights here and took the chance to visit Marseille. The wind was even more stronger here. I can hardly walk as the wind kept pushing me backwards. I had to force myself to brave the wind and visit the super famous Port Vieux, and the surroundings.

MONACO (25 – 26 APRIL 2016)

The wind was still strong when I left Aix and headed east. However, it was a very nice and beautiful ride along French Riveira via DN7, passing towns such as Cannes and Nice. I stopped too many time for pics.

The ride to Monaco was even more beautiful, but the road was smaller. It was really a stunning ride along the narrow, winding and hilly coast. Blue skies, blue ocean, big and small boats, yachts, the ordinary ones, the luxury ones, good weather and some wind, but not as bad as the other day.

Entering the capital city, Monte Carlo, there were lots of road works going on with very bad traffic. I couldnt zip in between the vehicles as the road was small, so I was stucked between Ferrari, Maseratti, Lamborghini, Porsche...u name it :)

Accommodation was very pricey, so I decided to pitch my tent near Menton Beach.

ITALY (26 APRIL – 9 MAY 2016)

I entered Italy without any difficulties. I rode along the coast via SS1 from San Remo to Genoa. It was a very beautiful hilly ride with beautiful warm weather but a bit stressful as the road was narrow, winding, lots of vehicles, traffic lights and round abouts. The speed limit was 50kmh only. It took me almost 4 hours to reach Genoa which was only 200kms away.

Since my destination was Milano, I decided to take the A7 highway. I passed lots of tunnels. When I need to put gas, I was surprised that the prica for RON95 gas was EUR1.60, the most expensive for me so far. I reached Milano within 2 hours after that.

Milano is the most important city in Italy. After the 2nd world war, the city had rebuilt itself into a thriving cosmopolitan business capital. What made Milano interesting compared to other places was that the city was truly more about the lifestyle of enjoying worldly pleasures, a paradise for shopping, football, opera, and nightlife. Milano remained the market place for Italian fashion. In Milano, I took a free tour and was taken to the gothic cathedral Duomo, Plaza Del Duomo, the stock exchange building and Castello Sforzesco. I also visited the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, an ancient and glamorous arcaded shopping gallery, which I could only feast my eyes, but couldnt afford to buy anything there. I also managed to drop by at San Siro Stadium, the AC Milan and Inter Milan football stadium.

My next destination in Italy was Brescia. I never include this industrial town in my route in the beginning, but after I found out that Brescia was where the headquarter of Givi was located, I made a detour. Its a must and very important for me to drop by and visit Givi as they were my title sponsor for Global Dream Ride. It was an easy 110kms ride via the back road which filled with beautiful poppy flowers and I reached Givi HQ in less than 2 hours. Simona Montini and Miriam Martinazzoli, reps from Givi HQ greeted me and took me out for lunch. We talked about my ride and how Givi products which had given to me had performed. I told them everything was good and I was very happy and satisfied with Givi products. They also briefed me about the agenda for tomorrow's event, where I would be doing a presentation in front of the media people. I felt goosebumps upon hearing that because its not the same when doing a presentation in front of ordinary people, and in front of the press. After that, we went back to Givi HQ where both of them let me try new outfits to replace the old ones. I was also given some gifts such as a casual sweater, Tshirts, and gloves.

I was introduced to the mechanic, Alessandro, and he helped to fix and replaced some items which had worn out due to the extreme ride. Well, actually all Givi items which I had were still in good condition (to proof how good quality Givi products were). Only the colours had faded because being under the sun and rain for more than 7 months already, but Alessandro insisted to replace them. He also offered to check my bike and changed the engine oil which I gladly accepted. After that, Miriam send me to the hotel (complimentary from Givi), and that night, Cristina Lodrina, Givi's vice president, took me out for dinner. We had a nice conversation while eating.

The date 29th April will definitely be the most memorable day in my entire life. To be honest. I didnt sleep very well last night due to the thrill and excitement of whats awaiting me on this special day. GD and I made our entrance at Givi HQ at 11am, and was given a big applause by all the staff and the journalists. Mr and Mrs Visenzi, and their daughter Hendrika were there to welcome me too. I was soooo thrilled. After that, I was taken to the conference room. I gave a one hour presentation and Giampaolo Deambrogi acted as my translator. I also showed the audience a piece of my video clip which showed my success to reach Ushuaia, “the end of the world.” I had no idea that the video moved some of them to tears. After I'm done with the presentation, Mr Visenzi handed me a bouquette of flowers. That was so sweet. After that, it was my turn to be interviewed personally by the journalists. I tried my very best to answer all the questions. I was very relieved when Cristina told me later that the presentation that I just did was very successful and all the journalists were very impressed. Thank god :)

Later, Cristina told me that Mr Visenzi agreed to donate EUR1000 for my ride. I was sooooo speechless and couldnt help tears. I hugged Mr Visenzi, whom I already felt as my father. What a kind man he was. I was so touched and I thanked him for his generousity. He patted my shoulder and just smiled while wishing me all the best for my remaining journey. I would never ever forget his kindness to me.

After that, Miriam and Marco showed me around. I was taken to the production site and watched how things were assembled. I was introduced to some of the staff and also watched a safety test for helmet. It was very impressive and now, I am more confident than ever to wear a Givi helmet. It was indeed the best and the safest helmet which you could really rely on.

Then, Miriam and Marco brought me for a ride into Brescia old city for a photography session. We were escorted by two traffic policemen. I posed in front of the Capitolium, Piaza Loggia – Town Hall, the old and new cathedral, and we also rode up to the castle. The view of Brescia from the castle was very nice.

Summary of the event at Givi HQ Brescia can be watched here...

Before going back to my hotel, I said goodbye to Simona and the office staff, and later Miriam took me back to the hotel. That night, two Miriams accompanied me for dinner. The other Miriam was an advrider too. Her name was Miriam Orlandi. We had a very interesting chat with lots of laughter. Miriam Orlandi happened to be a chiropractic and she gave me two free massages for my paining hands, on that night, (and the next morning). She also gave me a bottle of cream to ease the pain.

I went back to my hotel with lots of sweet memories. Even though tired, I was very happy and I felt a sense of fulfillness. Thank you very much Givi for not only supporting my ride with your awesome products, giving me some cash for my upcoming journey, but also giving me the chance to share my experience and to speak of my satisfactory on the the items which had been given to me. Thank you. Thank you very much.

I left memorable Brescia and head to Venice. It was not in my plan to visit Venice, but since this city was just 212kms away, and many people had been telling me not to miss Venice since it was very near already, I made up my mind to visit it. I passed beautiful lake Garda and took some pics.

I arrived my hosts house just outside Venice after riding for 6 hours (with stoppings for pics). I was hosted by Ridza and Diah, a Malaysian couple who had been living here for few years. Their sister, Yaya was there too for vacation.

In the evening, Ridza and Yaya took me to Venice by bus and we walked to Piazza San Marco. Its a very lively place with beautifully lighted souvenir shops and surroundings. The next day, I went there again to get a day view of the place. I spent few hours strolling slowly and checking out the shops. Souvenir from Murano glass were something which caught my eyes but I couldnt buy any because the risk of breaking it since I'm on my motorbike. However I did purchase a medium size Venetian mask to be taken home. I loved to watch the gondola cruising by the canals, but the fare was EUR80. Too pricey for my wallet, so I didnt try it.

After 2 nights in Venice, I said goodbye to my kind hosts and rode to Florence or Firenze, via SS309 – S65. It was a chilly wet ride almost all the way. I felt some wind which came from Adriatic Sea while riding along the coast. The road got narrower and winding when I crossed National Park Foreste Casentinesi. The view was very green and beautiful. I climbed up a mountain pass and had two very close calls. Both hapened at the very tight and steep hairpin bends and both times with buses from the opposite direction which took half of my lane. OMG, only few inches spared between me and the bus!!!

I managed to find the hotel which was a complimentary from Givi. It was a very nice and luxury room for me. I was soooo tired that I slept from late afternoon and only woke up at midnight.

The next day was spent on sightseeing in Florence. This city was the capital for Tuscany region and was considered a cultural, artistic and architectural gem. It was a beautiful city, but too touristy for me. Too many tourist everywhere. I wonder how pack this city would be during weekend? Anyway all the attractions were close to each other. I managed to climb the hill up to Piazzale Michelangelo to hv a full view of the city.

I also visited the old city, few churches and Duomo cathedral, and walked on the famous bridge, Ponte Vecchio and its Palazzo. It was very beautiful.

I continued my ride to Bolsena. The challenge started with my gps directed me to take a steep narrow pebble stone road to exit Florence. I hate it when my gps did this to me. I cant check the gps choice of route as the screen will freeze when I slide my finger on it. So I will have to just follow its choices and later worried if my small power fully loaded bike couldnt afford to climb the steep road. Luckily I exited to SR2 safely. It was a very fun ride with beautiful view and warm weather.

Suddenly my ride was interrupted. The road was closed. Theres no one for me to ask for alternative road. I took an offroad nearby hoping that it will rejoin with SR2 but it came to a dead end. I rode back the same way I had taken, and managed to find someone, but he couldnt speak English and I cant speak Italian. He told me bla bla bla which I only understood 25%. I continued riding as what I understood and had to climb a narrow winding and steep road (but offered beautiful view of the valley down below) to Abbadia San Salvatore. Worried now as GD was low on fuel. I asked a guy who could speak some English, and managed to find my way back to SR2 via Piancastagnaio - Casa Del Corto. I lost 1 hour due to this, but the good thing was the very beautiful wild flowers scenery that I managed to capture with my cam.

Finally I arrived beautiful Lake Bolsena after riding 212kms in 5 hours. I stayed at Hotel Eden, also complimentary from Givi. This hotel was situated by the lake side. Its very beautiful and serene. Thank you very much Givi for sponsoring me the room and my dinner for that night, and thanks to Simona for choosing this 'little heaven on earth' for me.

The next day, I rode to the capital city, Roma via SR2. The distance was 140km only, There were lots of traffic upon entering Roma, but it was not so difficult to find the Malaysian Embassy there. I reported to the Ambassador, H. E. Dato Abdul Samad Othman. He was a very friendly person and invited me to stay at his residence. The staff, Miss Zebine, Mrs Norli and Mrs Sukinah took me out for lamb briyani lunch. The next day, I gave a presentation at the embassy.

During my 4 nights stay in Roma, I also managed to report to H. E. Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, the Malaysian Ambassador for Vatican City.

I also did a short sightseeing trip at this world's smallest country. Its only 0.44sq km in size. This country was surrounded entirely by the city of Rome. Vatican was the center for Roman Catholic and the Pope lived there.

Visiting Roma will not be completed without seeing the Colloseum and surroundings.

I said goodbye to Dato Samad, her kind wife, Datin Zaiton and their son, Adam, who had treated me like their own family. I felt very sad to leave them, but today I must continue my ride.

I rode a fun 310kms ride from Roma to Ancona. The weather was very nice, not too hot and not too cold. There were some twisties, some greens and its easy to find the ferry ticket office and the pier. The fare for myself and GD was EUR60. It was a 12 hours ferry ride from Ancona to Split, Croatia.

At 7.45pm I said goodbye to Italy. I have had a wonderful 15 days here with lots of sweet memories. Again, I'm thanking GIVI, and my hosts in Venice (Ridza & Diah), and in Roma (the Ambassador, Dato Abdul Samad Othman & Datin Zaiton) for the hospitality. My memories in Italy will be cherished in my heart forever n ever.

I wonder whats awaiting for me in the Balkans.....

CROATIA, BOSNIA, MONTENEGRO & ALBANIA (10TH – 15TH MAY 2016)

The 12 hours Jadrolinija ferry ride from Ancona (Italy) to Split (Croatia) was okey. Adriatic Sea was calm so the ride was smooth. The ferry arrived Split Harbour at 8am. I got on my bike and rode to the immigration. Border crossing was smooth and easy. The customs asked for Croatia's Green Card which I didnt have any. The one that I have didnt cover Balkan countries. I lied to him saying that the GC was in the bag which I strapped on the pillion seat and it would be troublesome to take it out (a method taught by advrider friends to me....LOL). Looking at the long lines of vehicles behind me, the officer waved me off. Yeayyy, it worked :)

Split city was exactly like I saw it in 2010. Nothing had changed. I rode along the coast to the south of the country. Too bad that it was a cloudy day, so I couldnt enjoy the blue Adriatic Sea. The road was quite narrow and winding which went up down up down along the way. On my left was the mountain and on my right was the sea. Most of the time the road I was riding on was higher and the sea was down below the cliff. It would have been very beautiful if the sun didnt hide itself behind the clouds.

As this was my 2nd time in Croatia and I had covered most of the country before, I didnt intend to spend any night here but rode straight to Bosnia. I crossed the border at Metkovic. It was a very small border and the border post was a toll plaza kinda office. I didnt have to get down from my bike at all. Everything was settled at the window. I need to hand over my passport and GD's registration document to the officer and it was done in less than 10 minutes.

Bosnia too was a second time visit for me. Bosnia was a small country in the Balkans which was once ruled by the Ottoman empire from 1463 – 1878. My actual plan was to ride straight, crossing the smallest part of this country and after that cross into Montenegro. However, I changed my mind due to a request from a Malaysian traveler who asked to meet me in Mostar. The ride into Mostar was okey. The road was so-so. I had to ride in few unlit tunnels. It was very dark but fortunately the tunnels were short in length. Nearing Mostar, the view of the green Neretva River came into sight. It wasnt difficult for me to find the hostel which I booked via Airbnb.

About 1 hour later, Menk Mahawangsa, the Msian traveler, came to meet me. Menk was a famous backpacker icon in Msia. At such young age, he had traveled solo to many countries and its always a long term traveling. His epic solo travel was overland from Msia to UK, to the place where he once lived when he was a little boy. He managed to find the same house. It was interesting to hear his story. We had lunch together and after that we walked to the Old Bridge, Stari Most. There were too many tourists and it was very crowded everywhere.

I noticed lots of differences in Mostar now compared to 6 years back. It was December 2010, winter, when I first came here. The old city was very deserted. Perhaps it was off season, so there were very few tourists at that time. It was very cold then, and stalactites of ice could be seen dangling from the tree branches. Part of the Neretva River surface was frozen and theres not many souvenir shops, only some along Kujundziluk. At that time, I really felt the effects of a postwar city by the stillness and the quietness around me, and I drowned myself in the emotions while walking from tomb stone to another tomb stone in the many cemeteries, feeling sad on how young the Mostarians lost their lives during the war. But now, the old city was so lively and full of people. Lots of cafes, bars, shops, loud music and everything. Its good for the economy, but I somehow felt that it had lost its charm as a postwar city. The war museum and mosques which were free to enter last time were now not free anymore. Everything had its price. The only thing remained the same was the green green Neretva River.

During my time here, both Menk and I managed to visit some old mosques and we climbed up a minaret to enjoy the view of the old city. From above, we could see that the right side of the old city belonged to the Christian Croat community and the left side belonged to the Muslim Bosnian community. They had a long complicated history with each other but now they lived in peace. They learnt well from the unpleasant bitter past.

We also walked from cemeteries to cemeteries. Graveyards were norms here. Effects of war could be seen everywhere. Mostarians preserved the war proof as they didnt want to forget what had happened here in 1993, and during the previous wars. Bosnia went through three major wars for the past hundred years. The First World War in the early 1900's, Second World War in the mid 1900's and Bosnian War in 1993.

After 5 hours walking and chatting, its time for Menk to go back to Sarajevo. We were not aware of the time as we had so much fun talking to each other as if we had been friends for a long time. I felt at ease with this young man who was a funny guy, yet matured and wise despite of his young age. I guessed traveling had made him into such, as how traveling had moulded me in becoming who I am today. Goodbye Menk. Good luck in all your future business + travel plans you had in mind. I hope to meet you again someday.

The next day, I left Mostar and rode to the Bosnia – Montenegro border. It was a fun ride with lovely views, green Neretva River, sheeps, some twisties and some straights.

The border crossing at Deleusa was very fast and easy too. The procedure was just the same as when entering Bosnia.

Montenegro was a very beautiful country. Green mountains, lovely twisties and nearing to the capital city, Kotor, the beautiful bay welcomed you with amazing views. It was so hard for me to focus on the road as I kept looking at the bay down below.

It wasnt hard to locate my hostel which was situated right next to the bay. I could enjoy the beautiful view from my room window.

View from my window

I'm supposed to meet Msian advrider friends but it was only before sunset that they arrived my hostel. It was soooo nice to meet Faizal Sukree again, after the last time I met him in Madrid. This time, he came with Musa and Musa's wife. They were doing Europe and Balkan ride together. We walked to the old city and had dinner together. We exchanged route infos as I had came from Croatia (north) and they had came from Albania (south). Thanks guys for meeting me and buying me dinner.

The next day was a very wet day as I made my way out of Kotor Bay. The road was very slippery and many times I felt GD's tires skidded. I had to ride with lots of caution. I did two crossings today. The first border was at Sukobin to enter Albania. This border was located in the mountain. I didnt hv to pay to bring GD in. Faizal Sukree had warned me that theres plenty of road blocks when he rode in Albania. I didnt want to get into trouble if the police stopped me so I purchased Albanian insurance for EUR13.

The ride became more stressful due to heavy rain all day since early morning. The narrow mountain road was so slippery. About 30kms to Tirana the road was quite bad with pot holes and the driving attitude was crazy. I felt as if I'm entering El Alto, Bolivia. After I exited Tirana, it was again narrow, winding and slippery all the way to the Macedonian border (again in the mountain) with thick fog blocking the view.

MACEDONIA & GREECE (15TH - 21ST MAY 2016)

Macedonia was actually not in my route. It was a last minute decision to enter this country bcos I wanted to see Lake Ohrid from the Macedonian side. Upon declaring my bike at the customs at Kjafasan border, the officer insisted to see my GC. He wouldnt let me in until I showed him one. The price for GC were EUR50 for 15 days (thats the minimum). It was very expensive. I felt like going back into Albania, but I was so tired and cold after the stressful ride and my hosts house was just 26kms away fr the border. I didnt have any choice but to purchase it. This is the most expensive GC among all 28 countries in GDR so far, considering that I will be in the country for 3 days only.

Finally, I reached Labunishta village after riding 400kms in 10hrs. It was a very tiring and cold ride indeed. The challenge didnt last there as I had to ride on a very narrow and steep road, or I could say alley, to reach my host's house which was located almost on highest most part of the village. It was indeed a scary ride as my small powered bike with heavy loads at the back seemed almost unable to climb up the steep ascend. The last right turn to reach my host's house was so sharp and steep. Past experience had taught me that with my lack of skill and the lack of power on GD's side, taking the turn right away will cause disaster. I had to continue riding straight onto a flatter ground, than only slowly made the turn. Thank god I didnt drop my bike, but God knows how fast my heart beat at that time.

Bertha, her husband, Cani and their grand daughters were already waiting for me. Bertha was an Indonesian who married to Cani, a successful jewelery businessman (specialized in pearls) in Macedonia. She was introduced to me by Adeeb, a famous Malaysian cyclist who rode all the way from UK back to Msia. Bertha served me hot soup right away when she saw me shivering. How shouldnt I be? I had been riding under the rain in the mountain for 10 hours!!! After taking a hot shower, Bertha served me delicious dinner of steamy white rice and ayam penyet with sambal (smashed fried chicken with hot chilly paste), a very famous Indonesian cuisine. It was sooooo delicious. This must had been the best ayam penyet rice that I had tasted in my whole life. Thanks Bertha.

I spent three nights in Labunishta. Bertha and Cani treated me like their very own sister. I felt very touched by their kindness. The same goes to all my previous kind hosts. Bertha told me lots of things, mainly about her past and her experience living in Macedonia for the past few years. I was very amazed by the strong will of this lady. She may seemed small in size, but the way she fought her life battle was undescribable, something which I'm sure many of us will surrender if we were to be in her shoes. Despite being a full time housewife currently and a housemaid previously when she worked in Hong Kong, she was rich in knowledge as she spent most of her time reading academic books. If only her fate turned out differently, I wont be surprised if this lady became a successful woman holding an important post as she's a very smart person. She impressed me with her thoughts and opinions and I must say that I really admired her. She also talked about the charity and Islamic foundation which she raised while in Hong Kong, how she put her efforts (without being paid) in teaching Islamic knowledge to Mualaf and whoever needed one. How many of us could do that? On the other hand, her husband, Cani was a very generous man when it came to Islamic charity. His family and himself had built few mosques in and around Labunishta. Every few months, Cani will allocate a certain amount of his money to buy groceries such as rice grains, flour, sugars etc and he donated them to the poor villagers. Whoever in need will come to him asking for help. Mashaa Allah. My salute to both of them and may Allah grant them jannah for their good deeds.

Cani and Bertha are on my left hand side

I managed to visit Sturga, the Lake Ohrid city, during my stay in Macedonia. Bertha showed me around the beautiful old city. We strolled along the charming little shops and houses with beautiful flowers dangling from the balconies. We also visited an old mosque and a church and spent some time drinking the view of beautiful Lake Ohrid.

Bertha also brought me to an Old Fort near Sturga which I could see birds eye view of the whole city and Lake Ohrid from above.

Its time to say goodbye to my wonderful hosts. Both Bertha and Cani tried to persuade me to stay longer, at least 1 week more, unfortunately I couldnt do that. Bertha gave me lots of food for my upcoming trip that I didnt have the space to put them in my box and panniers. I also got some souvenirs from her. How kind hearted person she and her husband were. It was hard to leave them. I hope we will meet again someday.

The ride from Labunishta to Macedonia – Greece border was interesting. I passed lots of wheat fields. Some were still green, some were golden, waiting to be harvested. Wild flower fields of white, yellow and red dominated the view. At one point, my GPS directed me to take an offroad. I thought that was the correct road so I followed it. It get more and more difficult later with big gravels, whilst in the same time I saw paved road ran alongside with the offroad. Then only it crossed my mind that the road I'm riding now must had been the old road. I found a path which linked to the new road but it was quite a steep climb. I managed to do it but I wasted half and hour riding on the offroad. Later, again my GPS played trick on me when it directed me to a secondary road inside the villages. I followed the road for about 20kms and the whole time I was doubting if it was the correct way. My instinct proved that it was the wrong way as the paved road ended just like that, but my GPS showed as if theres still road ahead. I turned back 5kms and managed to find another road which was connected to the correct one. Again, I loose some precious time here. I hated it when my GPS decided to play games with me.

I arrived the border and exited Macedonia without any hassle. To enter Greece, I need to show the officer my GC. Thats the first thing the officer asked. Greece was listed under EU countries, unfortunately my GC for the EU's expired just 2 days ago. Previously, I purchased a 2 months GC but failure to follow my own itinerary resulted in failure to enter Greece, the last European country for me before the GC expired. I had to pay an expensive lesson for that. It was EUR100 for 1 month GC, too pricey for me considering that I will only be in Greece for a period of 1 week only. Okey, lesson learnt. Next time make sure to follow what you had planned, or if you're unsure, its better to purchase a longer period GC which will be cheaper than purchasing a new individual one.

The road in Greece was better than in Macedonia. My destination for the day was Trikala. The view was interesting as well. I really loved the wild flowers, so beautiful. Before reaching Trikala, I enjoyed the rock formation Meteora views which was very famous here.

The next day, I rode to the capital city of Greece, Athens. The distance were 360kms, via E65 and E75. I had to pay toll for 4 times. It was a very windy day and my small bike was swept by the wind few times. It was quite scary, but the view from the mountain road (which I'm not sure the name) was awesome. There were lots of vehicles upon entering this big city, but that was not a big issue. The big issue for me was how steep the road in Athens were!!! Everywhere in the city, you had to ascend and descend steep road and it was narrow. My host's house was also situated on the steep road. However, to my amusement, Panos who was also a biker and a tall guy, had some trouble to help bring GD inside his yard. He said its unbelievable that GD which looked small in size but was actually quite heavy. LOL...

I stayed 3 nights in Athens and managed to meet Krista, a beautiful and friendly lady biker. She was linked to me by Tiffany Coates (my idol) and Rashmi (the founder of Global Women Who Ride). The three of us were featured in GWWR. We met at a famous bikers meeting place and I met some other men and women riders. They were all very nice. They were amazed to know that I had almost done ¾ of the world.

Krista is the tallest one

In Athens, I also managed to visit the first modern olympic games stadium. It was a fascinating feeling to be here, not because of the structure or the architecture of the stadium, but for the glory and history which once created at this place. This was the stadium which witnessed the modern olympic games came alive after being banned for hundreds of years. I stared at the track for a long time, trying to imagine the glory here way back in 1896.

Self made crown of olive leaves

Visiting Acropolis is a must when you're in Athens. I was lucky because it was Museums Day today, so the entrance was free. I had to climb up a hill to reach the site. There were too many people since it was a free entrance day to visit all historical sites, anywhere in the world. In a way, I could save money, but it also meant that I had to 'fight' with other visitors to get the best picture. Acropolis was impressive, but when I was there, restoration works were ongoing and there were many parts which was covered by scaffolding. It was quite frustrating, especially after seeing a documentary showed in the Acropolis Museum of how beautiful this ancient site was (without the scaffolding). Anyway, in my personal opinion, Lebanon offered much more interesting ancient sites compared to here.

After 3 nights in Athens, I made my way to Thessaloniki. Since today's ride was long (530km), I decided to take the motorway. Through my experience riding in France, Italy and Balkans, you can only do 50kms per hour if you took the back road, due to the low speed limit, lots of roundabouts, traffic lights etc. If you stop frequently for pics, the time spent on the road will be much longer. The motorway here in Greece was nice and less traffic, but the number of tolls were unbelievable. I had to pay tolls for 12 times which cost me more than EUR20. Theres one part that the road suddenly shrink to a single lane, narrow and winding for 19kms, and I had to pay approx EUR2 toll for that part too. It took me 7.30hrs to reach Thessaloniki (with stopping). I took some time to enjoy the seafront view of this city.

On my last day in Greece, I rode to Alexandrapouli, a famous beach town facing Agean Sea. The ride was okey and fortunately, no toll. At one time, as I want to get down from my bike, I felt something holding my Givi pouch and it was stuck. I pulled my pouch with some force and it was freed. However, I noticed that the buckle strap was broken. I felt very angry with myself. The waterproof pouch had served me well and never fail to keep my important belongings stay dry inside it during heavy rain, no matter how long it rained. I had been wearing it on my waist everyday and theres not a single tear on the pouch even though the ride was rough. But now the buckle strap was broken due to my own carelessness. Sigh...

I found a nice camping spot facing the beach and decided to camp there for the night.

TURKEY (21st MAY – 16th JUNE 2016)

In the morning, I made my way to Greece - Turkish border at Kipoi. Nearing the border, I saw lots of lorries lining up by the road side and the line was like a km or so. In my mind, oh god, why is such a long line? At the car/motorbike lane, there was a long line too and it took me 30mins to get my exit stamp. Then I rode to the next counter which was the Duane (customs). But the window was closed. There were 2 cars ahead of me and they were stuck there too as the gate was closed. I saw the driver of the first car talking to an officer, (in a soft manner first, then arguing), but I didnt understand what was going on. After 15mins, the line became longer and all restless drivers started to gather. Then only I knew that the Greek customs were on strike and they didnt want to work on that day. Ouchhh!!

I waited patiently. What else can I do? Fortunately the customs opened the gate after an hour but the officer didnt record my bike's exit (bcos they didnt want to work on that day!!), even after I had asked. Surely GD will be blacklist as never exit the country. I crossed the river which separated the two countries. In the Turkish side, first I need to register at a police check point. He asked for the bike docs. Then I had to ride to the immigration for an entry stamp. The third was the customs. They asked to see Turkish insurance which I didnt have. I had to go to the duty free shop nearby to purchase one, and it cost me EUR78 for a month. Thats the minimum rate. Then I made my way to the 4th counter which was a police check point again. In total, it was about 40mins at the Turkish side.

After that I rode all the way to Istanbul via E84. It was a very windy day and pretty stressful as I got side and headwind all the way and there were lots of rolling hills. My poor GD had a tough time to beat the headwind while climbing up the hills. For the first 100kms, the road was not good as there were lots of road works and many trucks plying the route. After that it was a good dual lane road but 40kms to Istanbul, I was caught in a very heavy traffic. It was a snail ride to zip in, in between of the vehicles. The drivers here didnt have any respect for motorcyclists, so they didnt give a damn to give way for me to zip in. It was very tiring. About 300m to reach my hosts house, the road was closed as there will be a United Nation meet at Grand Hyatt Hotel (which was next to my host's hse). The meeting is next Monday but they closed the road since last Thursday. I really wonder why. I had to go in circles to find another way but it all ended up closed. My last solution was to ask the police to help me and finally, I managed to reach my hosts house.

In Istanbul I was hosted by a lovely couple, Avram & Fanny. Avram was a successful Turkish businessman who lived in Singapore and Msia in the 70s. Fanny was an Indonesian/Sporean Chinese. They invited me to stay at their daughter's apartment since their daughter was away for vacation. I just couldnt believe that after a series of uncomfortable nights at dorms with mossies and raining during midnite while camping, I walked into an elegant apartment with marble floor and wall, beautiful chandelier, glittering 5 stars hotel kinda toilet and shower, a fully equipped kitchen and Fanny stocked the kitchen with food during my stay here. Not just that, she invited me for meals everyday and took me out to an expensive restaurant for lunch. I was very lucky indeed. I felt fully charged after spending 4 nights in Istanbul.

While in Istanbul, I managed to meet another kind Malaysian souls, PK and her husband. They were friends of Avram and Fanny. They came to meet me once they found out that I had arrived Istanbul. Both of them had been residing here for more than 20 years. They were proud of what I'm doing. PK took me out for sightseeing, and even gave me souvenirs for remembrance. Since this was also my 2nd time in Istanbul, we only visited the free attractions and had a drink at a restaurant in the Graand Bazaar. Thank you to all of you for the nice hospitality.

Words about me and my solo ride spread fast. I was contacted by TRT World TV saying that they were interested to interview me for a slot in the national news. I agreed and we spent about 3 hours for the shooting.

While in Turkey, I managed to do some touristy things such as visiting the travertine of Pamukkale. Its been quite some time I wanna see this place. Unfortunately, at the time of my visit, some of the basins already dried up. Only a little bit were left to feast my eyes. However, its still a remarkable view. The whitish things of the travertine were hardened calcium carbonate. You need to walk bare footed on the travertine in order to conserve it. Entry fee to visit this place was YTL35. There were also some ruins nearby to explore.

My next destination in Turkey is Ankara. Its Friday and Fanny had warned me that the weather gonna be shitty and she advised me to stay few more days but unfortunately I had a schedule to follow. Fanny was right. It rained continously for 4 hours and I was soaked bcos I didnt put on my Givi rain coat. Hahh, served me well!! However, the view along the way was very beautiful.

I reached Ankara after riding 500kms in 8 hours. The good thing was theres no traffic jam when I entered the capital city of Turkey, unlike when entering Istanbul the other day. But the not so good thing was before reaching my hosts house, I had to ride on very very very steep and narrow switchbacks. Not one or two, but lots of switchbacks along the 4kms to reach her apartment. Few times when taking the crazy sharp inclines, I almost dropped GD bcos the corners were too tight and the road was too narrow. GD couldnt afford to climb up even with first gear. The impatience Turkish drivers didnt help at all. They were angry at me. Luckily I found my hosts house but I was so exhausted by then. Fortunately I am going to stay here for quite a while bcos I need to sort out Turkmen and Uzbek visas here.

During my GDR, I was very blessed to have very kind hosts during my journey. In Ankara, I was hosted by Colonel Zakaria (Msian Defense Attaché in Turkey) and her wife, Fida. They were truly kind to me. They took me everywhere they go, including to the agro market in Ulus doing their weekly marketing. What caught my eyes at the market were sheeps feet which sold here. I asked Fida if it taste good, but she hadnt try as yet. Mushrooms were cheap too, only TL5 per kg.

After that, we wanted to visit Ankara Castle, a medieval citadel up the hill which was built more than a millennium ago. Unfortunately the road to the castle was closed. Then we visited Haci Bayram open mosque. Haci Bayram was a pious man who lived in the 14th century and his tomb was located nearby the mosque.

There were many visitors at this place and I took the opportunity to talk to some of them. It was a nice experience. In my opinion, Turks were friendly people and they didnt mind to be photographed (unlike the people in some countries), but some requested me not to put their pics on FB, which I fully respected. After Ulus, I was taken to a shopping mall to enjoy the weekend.

I loved Ankara. Despite being very hilly, its a very clean and organized city with not so bad traffic, and never looked congested, unlike other world’s capital cities. Before we went home, we stopped at a place where Col Zakaria feed some stray cats everyday. It was fascinating to see how the cats came running upon seeing Col's car as if they knew that its eating time. The strays here were beautiful and I wished I could take one with me for GDR, but of course I couldnt do that.

On Monday, my hosts took me to report to the Ambassador at Msian Embassy in Ankara. I chatted with the Ambassador for a while and had to excuse myself bcos I need to sort out my visas.

Getting visa is one of the trickiest part in any travel. Different country has different procedures and sometimes the procedures can change overnight. For my GDR, I need visas for US, Canada, Bolivia, Iran (VOA), Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia. I have had difficulties when applying the first 3 visas, and I had set my mind that it will be tough for the remaining.

Fida and I went to Turkmen Embassy to apply for the visa. Knowing that its always difficult to deal with the Turkmens, I brought along a support letter from Msian Embassy in Ankara. To my surprise, the handsome young officer told me that processing will take 5 working days (instead of 2 weeks when asked by phone). I'm applying for a transit visa and the rule is you must already had both country visas in your passport (before and after Turkmen), then only you can apply for Turkmen transit visa. May be its bcos of the officers confusion to see sooo many stamps and previous visas in my passport, and bcos of the support letter that I brought along, he didnt demand to see Iran and Uzbek visas (before and after Turkmen, which I had not get as yet). He didnt even want to take the USD10 visa processing fee (visa fee was USD35). He didnt asked for hotel booking whatsoever, and the application form is a very simple one. As for Uzbek visa, the embassy only entertain visa application on Wednesday, so I had to wait two more days before applying for it.

While waiting for my visa to be processed, Fida took me to her many events. Being a wife to a Defense Attaché, Fida's schedule is always packed with her formal and informal activities with AMAC Ladies (an organization for the wives of foreign Defense Attaché based in Ankara). I was brought to a Ramadan Coffee Morning event, hosted by Mrs Mayada, spouse of Egypt Defence Attaché. This event gave me the opportunity to join and mixed with classy ladies from all over the world. The wife of Sudanese Ambassador was there too. Some of the guests were very beautiful. I also get to taste Egyptian and Turkish delicacies served during the event.

It impressed me to see how well Fida brought herself and its even more amazing to see how highly she was respected by the AMAC ladies. She was the source of advises and approval whenever they discussed about their programs. She represented herself (and Malaysia) very well and I am so proud of her.

Everyday in Ankara was busy days for Fida, and me too, LOL. In a way, it made the waiting for the visa less stressful. Fida brought me to a potluck picnic party at Lozan Park organized by herself. Some of her AMAC Ladies friends were there. We had a really great time. Eating, playing games, chatting and laughing. Besides us, there were many other locals having their picnic here too. The park was very lively. Each of us brought food from own countries. I get to taste variety of food and they were all delicious.

Fida also took me for a vist to Anitkabir, a must visit grand museum dedicated to Mustafa Kamal Ataturk in Ankara. The museum not only housed the Turkish first President's belongings, but his tomb was here too. There were lots of exhibitions about his life history including his involvement in military and his contributions to the country. It was very obvious how Turkish people loved him. Here, his body was preserved and kept in a coffin. The coffin was not buried but was placed in an underground chamber in the museum.

On the last day before Ramadan, my hosts took me to AMAC picnic party which was held at a military recreation centre. It was a nice event, meeting lots of people from all around the globe. Some of them were bikers too and we had a very interesting conversation. The food was really good and I really had a feast.

One the first day of Ramadan, my hosts took me to an Iftar event, hosted by the Mayor. It was a Turkish style iftar. The starter were bread with lentil soup. The second course were rice and meat. The best was the dissert, which were baklava with goat milk ice cream. It was very delicious and indeed to die for.

On the 3rd day of Ramadan, my hosts organized iftar for Msian students who studied in Ankara. About 20 students turned up and lots of menus were served. Fida was a great cook. Whatever she cook surely tasted good. I had been putting on weight since I stayed here and I knew that I am going to miss her cooking very much.

It had been 15 days that I'm in Ankara. I already got my Uzbek visa, but Turkmens one seemed to be taking a while. They had promised that processing time are 5 days but I still didnt get the invitation letter. I'm already behind schedule. On day 17, I couldnt wait no more. I make a move after Turkmen Embassy ensured me that once I got the invitation letter which will be emailed to me, I can collect the visa from their embassy in Tehran. It was really hard to say goodbye to Fida after staying more than 2 weeks at her house. We had already been the best of friends and Fida actually asked me to stay longer, but the ride must continue. I felt really heart broken when I bided her good bye and viewed the last glimpse of her thru my side mirror. Without realizing, tears started to roll on my cheeks. Thank you very much Fida and Col Zek for the wonderful hospitality during my stay in Ankara. I will cherish this until my last breath.

The wind was a bit strong as I made my way to Goreme via D260 – D765. The weather was fine and the view was spectacular with golden and greenish wheat fields and rocky mountains. The road was sometimes good and sometimes so-so. It took me 4.15 hours and 302kms to reach the small town of Goreme. The rugged barren rocky view was a clear sign that I had reached this place which was famed for its cave houses and hot air balloon.

Its not difficult to find Red River Tours office, the meeting point for me to meet my Air BnB host, Cave. He brought me to the hostel cave and I got my first experience staying in a cave house. It was cold inside my cave room. Before iftar, Cave brought me to Love Valley for sightseeing and sunset viewing. This place was name as such due to the many male genital like rock structure around this area. It were very unique.

The next morning, I woke up early for the hot air balloon experience. I had always wanted to experience this and I got a good price from Cave since I'm staying at his place. The experience and excitement were hard to describe. It was sooo beautiful viewing the rock formations and cave houses from above. It made me felt so small compared to God's power. The sunrise added colours to the magical view below me and I felt as if I'm in a fairy land.

Once done with the tour, I checked out and make a move towards Erzincan. It was a long 545kms ride which I did in 7.15hrs, with no break except for quick stop for pics. The ride for the first half was ok with good road condition, but the 2nd half was quite taxing as the road after Sivas was bad, sunken and very bumpy. I had to fight side wind as well. My lips were peeling due to the dryness and the wind. Anyway the view was spectacular. I love Turkey's landscape, its so beautiful.

My last destination in Turkey is Dogubeyazit, a town not far from Turkish – Iranian border. I took D100/E80 route passing by Erzurum and Agri. The weather was good and less wind today. I must say that Erzincan to Agri was one of my bestest route in GDR. Even though I rode 500km in 7.30 hrs while fasting, but the amazing 'carpet' view of wild flowers of red, pink, white, purple and yellow made me forget the thirst and hunger.

IRAN (16th – 24th JUNE 2016)

Before leaving for the border, I stopped at a place which I since long wanted to see, which is 'The Landing of Noah's Ark'. It was a 5kms offroad and some badly broken asphalt with 4kms steep climb on the narrow winding road to reach the visitors centre of this attraction. The stoned ark was located on top of the hill (up left in the pic below). I had to walk up to reach the ark to get a closer look. Theres no one here except me and a village boy guarding after his goats.

I didnt spend long time here bcos it started to drizzle. The steep loose gravels road would be slippery when it get wet so I hurriedly left the place. Thank god I managed to get down safely. I left Dogubeyazit and rode to the border. There were too many people at the Turkish immigration. People were shouting and a police was trying to control the situation. I didnt know whats going on. Some touts approached me but I told them its ok, and I can managed myself. I cued up at the long line. A nice guy asked me to follow him if I didnt want to wait 4 hrs to get my exit stamp. He assured me he's not a tout. He brought me straight to the counter and spoke something to the officer. I was lucky that the officer entertained me straight away. The officer said something in Turkish which the guy translated to me, asking about Iranian visa. I told them that Malaysians can get a VOA for Iran. The guy asked if I'm sure about it, I said thats what Iranian Embassy in Ankara told me. He said ok then, but if theres trouble, he asked me to find him there. I thanked him and registered GD’s exit at the customs. It was very easy. Thirty mins and I'm done on the Turkish side.

Then I rode to the Iranian side. I had to wait 10mins for the guard to open the gate. And after that, Iranian hospitality begins. The guard brought me straight to the immigration office. The officer asked about visa and I told him the same thing. The officer made a call and 2mins later he stamped my passport. Then the guard brought me to the customs. My Carnet was stamped for the 1st time. Later, another officer inspected GD and then he said I'm good to go. Woweee...so quick!!! Its only 30mins and I'm done. I cant believe it. I had mentally prepared that its going to be 2 - 3hrs, bcos thats what I always heard from my overlander friends. Theres no fees or insurance to pay. Ohhh I'm sooo loving Iran :)

However, the not so good thing abot Iranians was their reckless driving attitude. They drove like maniacs, switching lanes as they liked and they didnt follow the road rules. I had to show my middle finger (excuse me) to a car who almost ran into me. To make matters worse, rain started to fall as soon as I entered this country. A storm and heavy wind came soon after when I'm crossing the desert. It was a very torturing ride. However there were some very unique landscapes which I managed to see while otw. Finally, I arrived chaotic Tabriz after riding approximately 350kms in 8.30hrs.

The next day, I rode to Zanjan via route 32. It was raining a bit in the morning and the road was quiet. After a while, I realized that its Friday, a rest day for Iranians. No wonder the road was deserted. The road was sometimes 2 lanes and sometimes 3 lanes but the surface was not very smooth. Theres presence of strong wind but the view of the sandy and rocky hills were so so spectacular. I made it to Zanjan in 5 hours.

After being back otr for the past 6 days, riding approximately 2300kms from Ankara, to be honest, I'm exhausted. Riding, fasting and fighting the wind took so much of my energy. The ride into the capital city, Tehran which has13 million population was quite hectic. Again there was strong wind all the way from Zanjan to Qazvin, and the presence of wind turbines were the indicator. Theres nothing to view except the empty desert.

One funny yet pissing me off thing was the too friendly attitude of the Iranians. They waved at me, took my pic and even tried to have a conversation with me on the busy road from their moving vehicle!!! I didnt mind that actually, but I do mind when I was struggling to keep my bike upright and keeping to my lane when being pushed by the side wind, and yet, those drivers drove side by side and very close to me, exactly to the direction where the wind was pushing me, just to ask me where I'm from, where I'm going and welcome to Iran. Crazy. I knew they were not aware that they could endanger me by doing that. I hope if theres any Iranians reading this note, please, tell your people, dont do that. I know you are the friendliest people on earth but this attitude is very dangerous.

I made my way to Sarah's house. Sarah was a dear friend whom I knew since 2008. We had been lost in contact since Iranian government banned FB, but I managed to find her in internet few months before I arrived Tehran. It was soooo good to meet her again. She was only 18 when I met her the first time, and she's sooo pretty now. We hugged very long time but I couldnt stay long as I need to send my bike for servicing. I had contacted Mr Vaziri who once worked for Yamaha Iran (but the business had stopped since 10 years back due to some problems). Mr Vaziri arrived and I followed him to TVS Motor. GD had his EO and oil filter changed, brake pad changed, air filter and spark plug cleaned, chain tightened and lubed, radiator and battery power checked, all screws tightened, air tires filled, coolant topped up, and side mirror fixed. The mechanics even washed the bike. When I asked Mr Vaziri how much was the total cost, he said, "Its very expensive. You had to rob a bank to make the payment." I'm puzzled. With a pat on my back he continued, "Its our complimentary. You are our guest." OMG. Iranian hospitality. TQVM sir...

I stayed 3 nights at Sarah's house in Tehran and I managed to get my Turkmenistan visa (finally). It cost me USD55 and about 1.30hrs of waiting at the embassy. After that Sarah drove me to Malaysian Embassy in Tehran and I reported to H.E. Raja Nurshirwan Zainal Abidin.

I was also being interviewed for Jamejam newspaper and CHAMEDAN magazine on my last day in Tehran. I didnt do any sightseeing in Tehran as it was fasting month and very hot during day time. Besides I had visited Tehran before and had seen all the attractions.

After 3 days, I left Tehran with a sad feeling. Sarah and her parents were like family to me. Its hard to let go our hugging, however the journey must go on. For 2 days, I rode 1000kms on E44 Imam Reza Expressway and reached Mashhad, the holy city for the shi'ite. The ride had been quite taxing with temperature of 40'C, especially when crossing Dasht-e-Kavir, a sand stone and salty desert plateau, which was said that in the heat of summer, was one of the hottest places on the planet. The wind was strong as well, as the vast desert enabled the wind to blow without any disturbance. From a distance, I saw sandstorms and twister of sands spiralling in the air. I had to fight side and head wind again which at times, I could only move at 50kmh. My arms and neck were so sore but I still keep my fast. Theres nothingness at the desert except sands. I also noticed GD consumed more gas due to this. Normally, a full 12 liter tank can last 400kms, but these 2 days, it didnt even cover 300kms per tank. Luckily gas here was sold at IRR10000 (USD0.35) per liter.

I stayed two nights in Mashhad and managed to visit the holy shrine of Imam Reza. It was very impressive and beautiful.

TURKMENISTAN (24 – 26th JUNE 2016)

Today is tough. Today is really really tough. Its one of the toughest day for me in GDR. I started riding as early as 5am and rode 200kms on route 22 to Sarakhs, the Iran - Turkmen border. In the beginning, it was a very fun ride as the view was amazingly incredible. I almost skid few times due to focusing more on the view, rather than the narrow, winding, and hilly road. There were lots of amazing gorges up the hill which formed a cliff (when looking from lower view).

My GPS only showed me the magenta colour driving guidance approximately 35kms to the border, after being malfunction since Tehran. This proved my theory that the government blocked the satellite, so, certain type of navigator gadgets will be influenced and disturbed.

Unlike when entering Iran the other day, exiting this country took a while as there are lots of checking and paperwork to be done. Two officers (one after another) asked to check all my boxes (I really dont understand why it must be two times checking instead of one. Its really a waste of time. Then I had to wait inside the building before I got my exit stamp, which was a blessing as it was a very hot day and I’m fasting. After that, one more last report at another office near the gate and I was led out. In total, I spent 1 hour to settle everything, and many thanks to a kind guy who helped me. It would be longer if he didn’t help. Khoda Hafez Iran. I have had a nice time here, and had a 'family' and good friends here. I wont hesitate one second to come and visit this country again for the 3rd time.

Then I rode towards Turkmenistan. A military officer checked my passport at the bridge and later pointed me the direction to the immigration. Then it was about 1km off road ride to the immigration and customs building. Unlike the negative remarks about this country which I had read and heard previously, my experience was totally different. A military staff welcomed me with a broad smile and asked me to sit down first as it was lunch time. I waited 30 minutes and after that, an officer called me for registration. Then he told me (in his language) to do some stuff which I understood only a little. With my limited Russian, I asked him to help which he agreed. I was ushered from one room to another. Lots of registration to do, but it were very fast and smooth as theres always someone (the staff) who happily assisted me. I had to pay USD14 for registration, and USD63 for insurance. Then I had to submit my declaration form to the customs officer, went to another building for another registration at another custom’s officer and finally a simple checking on my boxes which were done by a group of officers. It was laughter all the way. All the staffs and officers were very friendly, always said "welcome to Turkmenistan" and not just that, they’re very handsome too.

In total, I spent 1 hour to settle everything at the Turkmen side (minus the lunch hour waiting time). I must say that this is a very fast Turkmen entry, as I always heard of delays for hours from previous overlander friends. In my opinion, besides my 'luck', I think it has got to do with how I brought up myself when dealing with the officers. My methods are very simple. Firstly, SMILE your sweetest smile when dealing with the officers. Doesnt matter how tired or how stressful you are, smile is the first attempt to melt people's heart. Second, take the initiative to learn some simple phrases. This is another way to tackle the officers. Doesnt matter if you pronounced it wrongly, it could be hilarious to them, and once you made them laugh, you already win their hearts.

It was all fun and smooth before I exited the gate, but very soon the 'hell ride' on AH75 begins. From my reading, I knew that this stretch of AH75 was bad, but I had rode on too many bad roads since GDR, so what could be worse? Well, this one was one of the worst. It started with badly sunken road to gravel to dirt with lots of pot holes, sooo big and deep, it could easily fit a family of elephants to have their morning breakfast together. There were countless of times that I didnt know which trail to ride on as the whole road was filled with holes, one after another. At times, I could only move at 13kmh.

After a while, I started to get very tensed with the situation. I rode faster and GD went 'flying' through the potholes many times. GD landed roughly on the ground and the landing’s hard impact caused the top box monorack to bend. Honestly, I felt like giving the handsome Mr Presidents head a hard knock for his lack of concern in giving his people a better road, when the country is so rich with oil and gas. He could build his giant statue made from pure gold in Ashgabat (the capital city), but he couldnt be bothered to give a better facility to the country!!

The most tortured part for me was the soft sands which go for kms. I didn’t check how far it was as I was sooo dehydrated due to fasting. I felt like fainted anytime. Theres some wind though but it didnt give any fresh feelings as it only blew hot dusty air into my face and I felt so pain on my cracking lips. I was sooo dehydrated that I didnt have anymore saliva to recycle to at least wet my drying throat. Theres no shelter at all. It was a hell ride for me. Can u imagine what I had to go through? Riding under the blazing heat of summer, crossing the desert with temperature at 50'C? Well, this is Garagum Desert, what do you expect, Anita?

I had to stop many times to check on my top box which already hung too low. Every time, I will give it a push but after a while, it will bend low again. I was worried if the top box fell down so I kept on looking back from my shoulder while riding to make sure that the box was still there. It took me 4 hours to cover the 118km stretch before I met M37 paved road again.

I managed to ride faster on M37 bypassing the beautiful city of Mary. I should stop for pics but I was very exhausted and what I had in mind at that time was to reach my host’s house as soon as I can. Finally, after riding 440kms in 13 hours, I reached my host’s place which was located in between of Bayramaly and Merv. I noticed the old city walls but was too tired for any pic. I felt like dying already. Begench, my kind host welcomed me and asked me to take a shower first to cool myself. After that, I had my iftar of Turkmen’s dishes, made by Begench’s mom after fasting for 17 hours. Phewwwww….

Before leaving my host’s house the next day, Begench helped me to fix the bend monorack of the top box. Both of us gave the rack a hard push but the really tough Givi metal bracket didn’t move at all. This made me wonder of how hard was the impact during yesterdays landing when GD went flying, that it could bend the tough Givi bracket. We tried to lift up the top plate instead and succeeded with few milimeters uplift only. I had to satisfy with that and continued riding to Turkmenabat which was 260kms away. I made a mistake by not refuelling since I still had half tank of fuel. I didn’t know that theres no fuel station at all until almost Turkmenabat. It was desert all the way. I had to ride very slowly and was sooo relieved to be able to reach the city.

UZBEKISTAN (26TH JUNE – 11TH JULY 2016)

Even though I got a five days transit visa, I didn’t intend to stay long in this country as everything is very pricey. I made my way to the border on the third day. Its not difficult to navigate my way except at one point where I was lost because the road closed due to construction. After going in circles and asked some locals, I managed to find the correct way. I had to cross a bridge over Amu Darya River and was charged USD18 for the bridge crossing and the highway toll (I didn’t see any highway except a so-so paved road). Exiting Turkmen was very easy and took me 30 minutes only. However, entering Uzbekistan took much longer time. The lady officer who spoke reasonable English demanded that I brought ALL my stuff into the customs building, rather than an officer made the checking on my motorbike. It was hot and I’m fasting but I had to drag all my stuff to and fro for few times for the checking and scanning. It took approximately 1.15 hours and after that I’m good to go.

I rode on M37 to the old city of Bukhara. I was smiling from ear to ear when recalling the familiar road to reach Rustam & Zuhra Guesthouse, the same place where I stayed during my Stans ride in 2013. It was a very hot day so I didn’t go anywhere. I had seen the attractions here before so I chose to just rest until iftar time. The guesthouse owners still remember me and they asked me to join them for sahur early next morning free of charge.

Before going to bed, Michael and Sarah, advriders from Switzerland whom I met at the border earlier today helped to fix my bend monorack. The bracket was wayyy too hard and strong to be pushed up using hand strength. After some discussions, we agreed to make some modifications. We replaced the screws which connected the plate to the bracket with a long type screws, and we slid in some metal pieces underneath the plate to raise the top box. It didnt reach the actual level, but at least, it worked for the time being. Thank you very much Michael and Sarah for the help.

The next morning, I made my way to Samarkand. By right, I should take the shorter distance M37 all the way, but my GPS directed me to take the long way via A380 to Qarshi, and later M39 via Shahrisabz. I asked a local about the road condition and the guy said the road was good. Well, it was good only for few kms and after that it was so-so. I couldn’t speed on this road as theres lots of goats and sheeps. However, the view after Qarshi was quite interesting with some beautiful hills to enjoy. Again, it was a very hot day and I was exhausted for taking the long 430kms road. I actually planned to visit Imam Bukhari’s Mausoleum which I missed to visit in 2013, but I was too tired due to fasting. I rode straight to Bahodir Guesthouse which I stayed in 2013. The owner still remembered me and my Stans Solo Ride calendar was still hanging at the memento board.

I stopped by at the famous Registan for pics the next morning before making my way to the capital city, Tashkent.

The road via M39 was okey except some broken parts when I climbed up the small mountain at Jizzakh. There were some interesting views and I saw lots of people selling big watermelons and apples by the road side. Again, my GPS lost its driving guidance 200kms before I reached Tashkent. Well, this had happened in 2013 so I’m not surprised when it happened again. There was some wind along the way but unlike my fear of the wind in 2013, this time I only smile. I had faced much stronger wind, so this wind is nothing to me already. I arrived Tashkent by noon and tried to find my friend Dilshod’s office who owned a travel agency in Tashkent. The location he shared with me was not very accurate. I had to ask a beautiful receptionist at a hotel to phone him and he came to fetch me. Besides running Uzbek tour business, Dilshod also ran motorbike tour in Uzbek and he helped foreigners to obtain visas. He had helped me in 2013 when I faced difficulty to get Uzbek visa by giving me a Letter of Invitation (LOI). I didn’t get a chance to meet him then. This time he helped me again to get Russian visa. He readied all the needed documents such as LOI and Russian travel voucher.

Dilshod's office Asia Tours: FB - https://www.facebook.com/hdilshod?fref=ts

Once everything done, I left Dilshod’s office and rode to Malaysian Embassy. They had moved to a new location. It was difficult to reach the embassy as the road leading to it was not allowed for motorcycles. I was going in circles and tried to take alternative road but all the road seemed to be forbidden for motorcycles. In the end, I just rode through and it didn’t take long for a policeman to blow his whistle loud and asked me to pull over. With my limited Russian, I explained to him that I want to go to my embassy and all the road seemed to be forbidden for motorcycles. After checking my documents, he let me go without any ticket. Pheewww. I found the embassy without any difficulties. The embassy's new building was sooo grand and beautiful. I felt like walking into JW Mariott Hotel instead of an embassy. It was sooo nice to see familiar faces again such as Mr Farhod, Mr Mahmud, Giulia, Naseeba and Kamola. The ambassadress, H.E. Dato Nor'Aini Abd. Hamid was on leave so I didn’t manage to meet her. Mr Farhod helped me to fill up Russian visa application form and promised to take me to the Russian Embassy the next day.

The next day, I reported to the ambassadress, who was also known as Dato Anne. What a sweet, caring and kind person she was. She invited me to stay at her residence while I settled my visa matters here. Dato used to be a biker too. She rode Harley Davidson Sportster 883 when she was in the States, so she was very interested and supportive to what I am doing now. When talking to her, I could feel that we had a lot in common, hence I felt the chemistry within a very short time.

Later, the driver, Mr Mahmud, drove me and Mr Farhod to the Russian Embassy. Security checking was strict here. I kept my fingers crossed as I’m not sure if the visa can be done here in Tashkent or not. I had asked to do it in other countries previously but was told that its not possible, and I must go back to my country to get it. With Farhod to help me, and the support letter from Msian Embassy, I was soooo relieved when the lady told me that I can apply for the visa and it will be ready in two days. After that, Mr Mahmud drove me to the hostel which I stayed last night to pick up all my things and then he led me to Dato Anne’s beautiful house. I will be staying here for few days until Eid. I just cant believe my luck. Alhamdulillah.

After two days, I went to Russian Embassy to collect my visa. I was given 30 days single entry for USD100 (inclusive of LOI). I felt like a heavy stone had been lifted up from my shoulder. Thank God.

By now, it was already the end of Ramadan, and Dato Anne insisted that I stayed on and celebrate Eid with her. Since my Uzbek visa is expiring, Dato Anne worked her way to get me an extension. However I must exit Uzbek first and get a new visa in Almaty (Kazakhstan) instead. Dato Anne made all the arrangements for my visa extension and she paid for my return flight ticket to Almaty. She also gave me some money to pay for my visa renewal. I really don’t know how to thank this very kind hearted lady. Not just that, she linked me with Madam Norliza, the director of Tourism Malaysia in Almaty. I stayed at Madam Norliza’s house for 3 nights. Madam Norliza brought me to Medeu Stadium (the place where I didn’t get the chance to visit, way back in 2013) and Arbak Street Handicraft Center. In Almaty, I get to taste Kentucky Fried Chicken for the first time in almost a year. It was so good :)

Uzbek visa extension was not as easy to get as I thought, even though Dato Anne herself went to Uzbek MFA in Tashkent and talked directly to the officer in charge asking for assistance. I was told to collect the visa at Uzbek Embassy in Almaty on a specific date. I went there at 10am, and had to cue up for hours before I was let in. The consular said that my visa application was not in their system. I was asked to come again at 2pm. When I returned, the same thing happened again. After cueing up for 2 hours, I was told that my application was still not in their system. I informed Dato Anne and upon receiving my message, Dato Anne went straight away to Uzbek MFA once again. She managed to get another officer to sort out this problem (the officer whom she dealt with the other day was on leave). After receiving the officer’s call from Tashkent, the consular in Almaty asked me to go to the bank to pay for an express visa (USD75) before the bank close for the day. I returned to the embassy, but still couldnt get my visa, as its still not in their system. I was tensed. By hook or by crook, I must get the visa on that day itself because my return flight to Tashkent is scheduled tomorrow, and tomorrow is Eid Day for Kazakhstan (they celebrate Eid a day earlier than most Muslim countries). I was getting so restless and impatience. I had been waiting since 10am!!! Finally, the consular called me in, and only at 8.15pm I got my visa. I don’t know if I should cry or I should be angry. Seriously, its not easy dealing with CIS countries. Again, I owed Dato Anne, the staff of Malaysian Embassy in Tashkent, Madam Norliza, her staffs Aziza and Aibek for all the help.

After the ‘nightmare’, Madam Norliza and I did some marketing to prepare food for Eid Day. Another two Malaysians, Chef Ina and Chef Yat joined us. We cooked Malaysian delicacies such as beef rendang, tomato chicken, compressed rice, peanut gravy and others. We cooked until past midnight. We were all tired but happy. The Eid mood was surely in the air as Madam Norliza played Eid songs from her hand phone. The next morning, we celebrated Eid. Even though there are only four of us, we felt like family. I had to say goodbye to them in the afternoon to take my flight back to Tashkent.

Unlike Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan celebrates Eid on the same day as in Malaysia. This meant that instead of having a zero celebration (I thought I’m not going to celebrate Eid this year as I’m away from home), I was blessed to get a double celebration instead. At Dato Anne’s residence, we busied ourselves cooking lots of delicious food. It was served on the morning of Eid and I get to celebrate (again) with Dato Anne’s family and the staff of Malaysian Embassy in Tashkent. It was indeed a joyous celebration, especially for me. I remembered how I shed tears on Qurban Day when being all alone in the cold of Alaska with so much pain due to the pinched nerve, but here, I’m surrounded with my own people. Of course I missed my kids back home but in the same time, I cried silently in my heart for all the kindness that I received here. I wonder how would I survive on this day if I didn’t meet Dato Anne? Can I tolerate the loneliness on this special day somewhere in the mountains, perhaps with some wild horses or goats to accompany me? I have no idea. I really have no idea…..

I spent few more days in Tashkent and Dato Anne and her family were kind enough to take me out for sightseeing in and outside Tashkent. I was taken to the War Memorial, Earthquake Memorial, Independence Square and Monument, Amir Temur Monument, Kukeldash Medressa, Broadway and surroundings.

The next day, Dato Anne and her busband, Mr Hasdi took me to Chirchik and Chimgan. The view along the way was very beautiful. It was a very hot day but we managed to do a short trekking, climbing, and horseback riding. Dato Anne is a very active person despite her age. After long last, I think I had found a good travel mate, but unfortunately she’s a very busy ambassadress. LOL… We also went to Beldersay and took the chairlift up to the mountain peak. The view from above was superb. I enjoyed myself very much. Thanks to both Dato Anne and Mr Hasdi for a day well spent.

Finally, after spending 10 days (in total) at Dato Anne’s residence, its time for me to continue with my journey. Its not easy for me to leave this sweet, caring and kind soul. Dato Anne had been so nice to me. She treated me like her very own sister. She showered me with love. How I cried my heart out before the flag off at the embassy!!! However, the journey must go on. I still have 15000kms more to achieve my goal. Dato Anne’s last words to me were, “you must be strong. I know you are strong. Show to the world that you can do this. I want you to finish this ride.”

Thank you Dato Anne, Mr Hasdi and all. Thanks for everything. I will never forget my beautiful days with all of you.

With a lump in my heart, I pressed GD’s throttle and moved on. I rode towards Dostyk - Osh border on route A373 bypassing Angren, Fergana and Andijan. The view in the beginning was filled with orchards. There were many people selling honey by the road side too. Fuel was a bit hard to get as most stations had finished their supply. GD almost ran out of fuel!! After Angren, the view gets more interesting when the road ran parallel with Akhangaran Reservoir. There were beautiful gorges as well.

There were four times that I need to get down from my bike at the checkpoints along the way to register at the counter. Border crossing on the Uzbek side was unbelievably fast, only 20 minutes. The customs didn’t even check my bike – and that’s because I showed the officer the support letter from Malaysian Embassy. However, entering Kyrgyz took almost 1 hour (in 2013, I took less than 15 minutes to enter the country), and its no longer free as last time. I had to pay approx USD10 for eco fees.

KYRGYZSTAN (11th – 28th JULY 2016)

I was already tired by the time I’m done with the border crossing. The sun was setting and I need to reach my host’s house ASAP. However, my GPS decided to play games with me and took me for a ride inside Osh Bazaar!!! I was sooo angry with my GPS. Imagine I had to ride inside the narrow alleys with people walking in and out. I was stopped by 2 policemen. Well, not surprising to me since its forbidden for motorbikes to enter the bazaar. As usual, the police asked for my documents and tried to find my fault. I was getting tired and restless and the sun was getting down, but I had to keep my charm and smile and asked them to let me go. I only managed to reach my host’s house at 9.00pm after riding 455kms. I was sooo exhausted.

My host, Firuza couldn’t speak English. She was linked to me by her daughter, Nura, who was linked to me by Madam Nurliza who hosted me in Almaty. Nura’s son, Iskander stayed with her grandmother and he could speak reasonable English. I was served plenty of food for dinner which consisted of fruits, variety of nuts, dates, soup and plov (traditional rice). The plov was very tasty.

The next day was quite taxing for me too. I intend to ride into Tajikistan, but I didn’t have a Tajik visa. In my mind, I will just try my luck. I had rode in Tajikistan before, all along the Pamir Highway of M41 until Dushanbe. This time, with the lack of visa, if I manage to repeat the road and ride until Ak Baital Pass, that’s very good for me already. I started early and rode on M41 Pamir Highway via Gulcha. The road was 70% okey and 30% so-so. Despite that, the view was sooooo beautiful and took my breath away. Ohhh….I am sooo loving Kyrgyzstan. I had been to more than 80 countries, had seen the beauty of Patagonia, Argentina, had breathed in the spectacular New Zealand scenery, had viewed Turkish landscape, but I still say that Kyrgyzstan is the most beautiful country in the world.

It got cloudy as I climbed up two mountain passes, Cigircik Pass (2389m) and Taldyk Pass (3615m). The road climbing up the passes which was built in 2013 had started to deteriorate and was broken at many parts due to landslides. I had to ride with extra care until I reached the small town of Sary Tash.

To reach the border, I need to ride on badly broken asphalt + some off road for approx 23kms. The view of the green grassland, snow cap Pamir mountain, horses, goats and yurts gave me joy even though its getting colder.

Reaching the border, I had to wait for approximately an hour before I managed to exit Kyrgyz. This would be the second time for me to ride on the road heading to Tajikistan. Not many people get the chance to ride on this road, whats more to ride twice on it. I was veryyyyy excited. However, the 20kms crazy road via Kyzyl Art Pass (4280m) to Tajikistan was more difficult now compared to 2013. There were three water crossings and the wind was super strong. The ride was tough as I didn’t have off road tires on my GD. I nearly dropped my bike few times, but thank God I didn’t fall. Too bad I couldnt have any pics of mine on the bike as I didnt hv a riding buddy to capture my act. The view of the mountains changed to orangish brown, which meant that I am nearing the border. It was sooo beautiful.

I couldn’t hide my joy when I saw the Marco Polo sheep structure which marked the Kyrgyz-Tajik border. I was soooo happy. Heyyy, I had been here twice lah :)

I didn’t spend much time here as the clouds didn’t look promising. After few pics, I hurriedly rode another 5kms more to the immigration and customs office. The post still looked the same as three years back. I greeted the officers and as usual, played my charm. But to my frustration, this time I failed due to the lack of visa and permit. I begged, I pleaded, I did everything I could to charm them. It always worked in the past, but it didn’t this time. I was denied entry by the guards even though I had sweet talked them and even tried to give some bribes. It felt weird why they didn’t want to take my money when money is king at this part of the world. I suspect something might had happened recently thus security seemed to be very tight. After wasting my time for half an hour without any luck, I had to turn back. I only managed to ride 10kms (return) on Tajik’s land this time. My target to repeat Ak Baital Pass failed. I was a bit sad, but its ok. I had already prepared my mind mentally and psychologically for the consequences and denial.

Turning back was more challenging as it started to drizzle and the dirt road turned to slight mud in a very short time. As I’m going downhill, many times GD’s tires skid and I almost fell to the ground. Fortunately I managed to get back to Bor Dobo safely. Then only the rain got really heavy and I had to take shelter at the border post for a while.

When the rain lessened, I continued riding and decided to push to Osh. I was surprised to see the paved road which I just did in the morning was broken at four parts due to overflow of the fast current Gulcha River (due to the heavy rain). It was very muddy and big gravels scattered on the road. I didn’t take any pic as I was very tired. Again, it was only at 9pm when I reached Osh feeling sooo drained out after 13 hours on the road covering almost 500kms.

Before leaving Osh, my host Firuza and her friend Lilia brought me to Sulaiman-Too sacred mountain. A visit to Osh is not complete without visiting this UNESCO heritage site. I should have visited this place in 2013 but I didnt have the time then. It was quite a hike up and pretty exhausting as it was 42'C. Osh city can be viewed from up here. There were some ancient worship sites and I also visited a very interesting cave museum which displayed exhibitions about Zoroastrians which was practised here before Islam’s presence. Previously, I thought only the ancient Iranians practised Zoroastrians.

As it was getting late I hurriedly left Osh to Arslanbob which was 150kms away. Arslanbob was famed for its walnut forest nature reserve. I rode on M41 under the heat of summer and a very boring view, until I turned to an unnumbered road which was paved on and off for approx 50kms to my destination. The view was quite interesting but I had to ride on an off road at certain stretches along Karaunkur River. The last part to reach the village was a bit steep.

The next morning, I hiked few kilometres to see the walnut forest. It was interesting in the beginning but boring after a while, so I turned back.

Then I make a move to Karakol via M41. It was 275kms ride on a bumpy road but the view was sooo awesome. It was very green and there were lots of gorges and grey coloured mountains. The fast current Naryn River flowed alongside the road. I also saw countless waterfalls along the way.

In the beginning I planned to wild camp near Toktogul Lake @ Reservoir. However, most of the time, the road was higher above the lake. I found an off road trek leading to the shore but the trek got more and more challenging for my off road skills and GD's non off road tires. Besides, the lake might seem near from the road, but it wasnt so. Theres also another off road trek which I found, but it went straight to the local's front gate, so I had to turn back and forgo the camping idea. I found a cheap motel facing the lake and opted to stay here. How lucky I was as 1 hour after settling down, heavy rain and storm hit the area, and the rain continued through out the night. I cant imagine how stressful it would be if I choose to camp.

On my way to Bishkek the next day, I rode on two mountain passes, Ala Bell (3184m) and Too Ashu Pass (3180m). The view along the way was soooo beautiful. I stopped too many time for pics. The climb on Ala Bell Pass was easy as the road was good and the incline was gradual. However, it rained when I climbed up this pass and it was soooo cold. The temp was -5'C. I stopped the bike to capture some pics and took video of the beautiful surroundings. Suddenly, I felt droplets of 'sands' fallen from above. Goshh, it was iced rain!!

The moment I finished doing my stuff, cold burn already burnt my fingers and I couldnt even curl them anymore. My fingers were frozen. It was sooo painful when I had to force them on the throttle. I hurriedly descend the pass to beautiful Suusamyr Valley which was a bit warmer.

On the other hand, the climb on Too Ashu Pass, literally a "camel pass" was more challenging. This pass was a part of the Kyrgyz Alatau range of the Tien Shan mountains. It was about to rain when I was riding on this pass. There were many broken parts and pot holes. The worst was at the hairpin bends where there were lots of dried mud, rocks and debris which were carried away by the running water as a result from yesterdays continous rain. Here in Kyrgyzstan, heavy rain would cause landslides and overflow of rivers and closing of road were not uncommon. I was lucky that it didnt rain when I did this pass as there were times that the lorries stopped completely at the bends when only one lane was decent enough to drive on. I had to ride very carefully.

In Bishkek, I was hosted by Nura. She's the daughter to Firuza, my host in Osh. Nura asked me about my plan in Kyrgyzstan, and surprisingly she offered herself to come along as she had not seen some of the places I intend to see @ trek @ climb. The first place we went to was Ala Archa National Park which was about 30kms to the south of Bishkek. This park was popular with locals and the view of wild flowers and the pine trees were very pretty.

I also managed to go to Karkara Valley, which I had wanted to see since 2013. At that time, the plan was to ride from Almaty and enter Kyrgyzstan via this valley. However, the border was still closed then (this border only opened few months in a year), so I had to forgo the idea. I’m glad that I managed to see it this time. Yes, its beautiful and very green. Its off road with bee houses and people selling pure honey along the way.

I had planned to do some trekking to see Ala-Kul, a rock-dammed lake in the Terskey Alatau mountain range. I fall in love with this lake after seeing a pic of it posted by my idol, Zahariz. This lake lies at an altitude of approximately 3560 meters. To get there, I must first get to Ak-Suu village, and after that to Altyn Arashan. The distance from Ak Suu village to Altyn Arashan is 14kms. One can take a jeep (a very rough ride) or horse or walk the whole distance.

Nura and me chose to walk. We passed amazingly beautiful river and some pine forest. The walk was easy in the beginning with some rolling hills, but later the dirt track changed to rocky. We did a good time of 2.5hrs covering almost 9kms. Then it started to rain heavily.

The already muddy track (due to continous rain for few days earlier) made it very difficult to walk. Our shoes were coated with mud, and its not easy to walk while carrying our backpacks in this condition. We were lucky (or may be not so for me), that a couple with horses passed by and they offered one of their horse to us for a small fee. Unfortunately, Nura and I had to share one horse and I had to ride on the back of the stallion without a saddle. It was very torturing and painful because not only I’m not used riding a horse, I had to sit right on the horse’s back bone without any padding or cushion!!! And it was a very bumpy and steep climb. I almost cried due to the pain on my thigh and butt. How I wished the ride will end soon, but we only reached Altyn Arashan 1 hour later. I fell from the horse while trying to get down as my legs were so sore and I’m unable to even stand up.

It was veryyyyy cold in Altyn Arashan but we had to start early as today we are going to trek to see the lake. Weather forecast said that its going to rain again in the afternoon and I had no idea if we will be able to see the lake or not. Being on the bike for too long (approx. 10 months now), I didnt do any fitness training and as a matter of fact, I didnt even jog since I started GDR. The longest walk I did was 10kms from Station Hidroelectrica to Agua Calientes (Machu Picchu town), last January. Apparently, the lack of fitness, age factor and pain which caused from previous day horse riding made the climb a very hard one for me.

It was a beautiful day when we started walking. The track to Ala Kol Lake was not so nice though. It was very muddy at certain parts and steep loose gravels on the other parts. But there were also nice rolling hills grassland too. The view was soo beautiful with pine trees, horses, sheeps and cows. The track here was not marked at all and many times it disappeared just like that. Its very easy to get lost in this area. We were lucky to meet a couple who had a guide with them so we just trailed behind.

The guide led us via a short cut which we need to cross one particular river for 3 times. Two crossings were done via a fallen tree trunk (definitely not for gephyrophobics), and one time we had to cross the freezing fast current river on foot which the water reached up to our knees. The moment I dipped my feet in the water, I felt numbness as it was very very cold. It was very challenging. Not long after the third river crossing, the fine weather turned bad. Thick clouds covered the sky and we had iced rain thru out our climb.

After a very hard 6.30 hours constant climbing in iced rain, we reached the altitude of 3700m. Theres only 100m more very steep track to climb up which will take about 1 hour, and we'll reach the iced mountain pass to enable us to view the gem hidden below the mountain pass, the Ala-Kol Lake. Unfortunately the weather turned from bad to worse with not just iced rain but very thick fog and blizzard. Within few seconds, I couldnt feel my fingers anymore. It was freezing cold. Dont ask for shelter, theres nothing up there except mountains, rocks and ice. A fast decision had to be made as we were not equipped with proper gears for such harsh weather condition. We had to get back down ASAP before we get frost bite. We had come this far...but what to do...

Indeed everything happened for a reason. The couple and the guide which we had been following from the beginning were no longer in sight. Both Nura and I had to survive on our own now. We followed the same track that we had taken earlier. The moment we reached the lower level, the sun came out again. Its always like that, isn’t it? When blood started to flow back into my fingers, the tips felt so painful and ballooning as if its going to burst any moment. I was dead tired but I had no choice but walked back to Arashan.

We tried to find the short cut which the guide had led us previously but we couldnt find it. We walked and walked and walked, and the next thing we knew, we were lost!! All around us were pine forest and everything looked the same everywhere now. We knew that theres river crossings to do but where were the tree bridges? We spent too long time walking by the river bank, to find the safest way to cross. The fallen tree bridges that we found (not the same which we took earlier) were too risky and dangerous and its scary to think of whats going to happen if we fell into the river. We had walked too far and we were tired. Theres no inhabitants nearby. After following the river for quite some time, we met a boy and he showed us a 'safe' bridge to cross. I was a bit shaky when crossing it but thank god, both of us made it safely to the other side.

Then it were few kms more to walk on the disgusting muddier track (due to more rain) to the yurta. God knows how I had to drag my painful legs and tired body. I had to motivate myself and said, “just walk, eventually you’ll be there.” We managed to get back to the yurta just before sundown. In total, we walked 20kms in 12hours today (and its a steep climb). In our case, the quote ‘no pain no gain’ is insignificant because it is a ‘lots of pain and no gain’ (except for the beautiful view) for us today.

Below is the pic of Ala-Kul Lake that we didn’t manage to see. (Pic from Zahariz’s collection).

Its frustrating for not being able to see the lake after all our efforts, but there is a blessing in disguise. Imagine if we managed to see the lake, we will spend longer time than we should, and definitely we wont be able to reach Arashan when we were lost in the forest. I'm scared to think how we're going to survive a night in the cold mountain without tent and proper clothing if we couldnt manage to reach the yurta before it get dark. We might die of hypothermia.

I woke up the next morning with lots of pain and muscle soreness. Nura and I made our way back down to Ak-Suu where her cousin, Damir picked us up with his car. We drove along the southern road of Issyk Kul Lake and camped by the lake shore for the night. There was a storm that night and the tent was almost toppled by the strong wind.

The next day, we continued our way to Kyzyl Oi, a remote village far in the Suusamyr-Too Range. The reason why I want to go to this remote village is because I was told that there is going to be a traditional festival here. We drove via A367, passing Kyz-Art Pass (2664m). The road was partly bad asphalt and partly off road. The view along the way was sooo breath taking. The fast current green Kyz-Art river really amazed me.

Kyzyl Oi village was indeed very calm and serene. It was surrounded by orangish rolling mountains and coated with green velvet like grasses. It was so peaceful to be here.

The festival consists of few traditional routines and games. But the one that I really want to see is Ulak Tartysh game, a nomad goat polo game where a dead goat weighing about 25kgs were passed from one to another till it reached the opponent’s goal to score a point. It was very exciting to be able to watch this game live, right in front of my eyes.

After watching the game, we made our way to Song Kul Lake, an alpine lake in northern Naryn Province which lies at an altitude of 3016m. The road to this lake is very rough but very beautiful. We arrived after sundown and put the night at a yurta. Its too cold to camp up here. The night sky was filled with millions of stars. What a sight to see.

The following day was spent at Tash Rabat, a well-preserved 15th century stone caravanserai in At Bashy district. The distance was 275kms and we had to drive on Dolon Pass (3035m). In 2013, the road from Sary Bulak to Kochkor was still under construction, but now its already paved. The view was sooo beautiful. Tash Rabat had more visitors this time compared to my first time here, and the view was a bit spoilt due to the rubbish thrown by irresponsible people. We camped by the small stream and enjoyed another night of milky way.

Before leaving for Bishkek the next morning, I took some time to find Elizet, my yurta stay host here in 2013. She still remembers me. It was nice to meet her again.

Even though this is my 2nd visit, this country still sits on the top rank as the most beautiful that I had seen. I’m glad that this time, I managed to venture more into the remote areas, explored new places and I also repeated some places which I had been before. It was nice to recall places which I had seen and I screamed with joy whenever I saw landmarks which I had posed with my DREAM in 2013.

In terms of landscape, nothing much had changed since 2013. Its still very green, pure and beautiful. In terms of road, there are lots of differences. The paved road which I rode on in 2013, now had broken. The one under constructions in 2013, now already completed, but there are some parts which are still unfinished. Some parts which were totally off road last time, are now under progress to be paved. Still there were some parts which had not changed at all, still off road.

The best time to visit this country is from end May to mid Sept. Weather plays a big role. If you are lucky with the sunshine and less clouds, you'll get to see blue lakes, green rivers, and milky way (at night). If you are not so lucky, you will get torrential rain which will cause road destruction due to landslide and flood. Believe me, I had witnessed all that, how in a very short duration, heavy rain caused mountain river to flow mud and stones on to the road. Too bad the government didnt have enough money to build landslide barriers nor to monitor the steep slopes to prevent landslides as Kyrgyzstan is a very mountainous country.

After being back in Bishkek, I managed to meet Zahariz, the person who was to be blamed for inspiring me to become an advrider. Five years ago, he was the one giving me the idea to travel on a motorbike, and the rest of my life after that is history. Zahariz was married to Merim, a Kyrgyz woman. He managed to do some filming on me for a short video clip.

KAZAKHSTAN (28th JULY – 1st AUG 2016)

On the morning of 28th July, I said goodbye to Nura. Similar to my farewell bid with my previous hosts, it was hard to leave her too after spending unforgettable memories and adventure for two weeks together. Thank you Nura for the hospitality and for being my sister. I’m leaving you for now, but our family tie binds forever. I left Bishkek and crossed into Kazakhstan at Korday border via M39. Border crossing was very easy and smooth (five minutes on the Kyrgyz side and 25 minutes on Kazakh side). Theres nothing to pay on both sides. The road to Almaty was good. I was happy to see the same landmarks which I posed with DREAM in 2013.

Since now is the middle of summer season, the steppes were not as green as last time, and theres no wildflowers carpeting the grassland as I had seen before. The view was replaced with lots of locals selling apricots and strawberries by the roadside. I didn’t buy any because I had enough of fruit tasting in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The road after Almaty was good too, but there were some constructions nearing Taldykorgan. I reached the town after riding for 532kms. I rode slowly in search for a place to stay and I bumped into a biker who coincidently just came back after a month students exchange program in Malaysia. He helped me to find a cheap apartment, but I had to park GD at a paid parking about 200m away.

The next day I rode to Ayagoz via A3. The distance was 552kms. It was a very bumpy ride with lots of pot holes. There were off road too and the rain worsened its condition. The road to enter Ayagoz was very muddy. This time, I wasn’t so lucky. GD kissed the muddy road, for the 8th time since GDR.

The road to Qalbatau was as bad as yesterday. However, the view improved by lots. The steppes and the wheat fields here were golden in colour. The wind was sometimes strong as I crossed the vast steppes.

I finally reached Semey after riding for 380kms the next day. It had been three days of looongg rides, and I am very exhausted. Semey is a city approx 100kms to the Russian border. Its easy to find Semey Hotel which I want to stay and I decided to stay here for two nights.

While in Semey, I managed to visit Nuclear Victims Monument which was built to commemorate victims of the nuclear tests. The tests were conducted nearby this area by the Soviet government to see the effects of it on humans. It was reported that 456 tests had been done around Semey from 1949 – 1989. Few years later, cases of leukemia, cancer, and deformed babies rocketed significantly. It was estimated that 6000 Kazakhs died because of the tests.

War or anything related to it never do good for ordinary people. Only very few shall benefit from it. It was sad for me to think of the victims and the torture they had to live with until they let go their final breath…

We cant change history, but we can prevent it from happening again

We cant change people’s attitude, but we can change our own for the better

Every cruelty in this world started from sickness in the mind

We can treat this sickness if we truly want to become a better person in life

Believe me, we are able to change it if we really want to…..

RUSSIA (1 – 28TH AUG 2016)

I checked out in the morning and made my way to the Russian border via A322. As soon as I exited Semey, the road passed through pine forest reserve area. The road was so-so, bumpy at times but with very few traffic. The quietness around me made my mind wandered as I rode. I have heard quite a number of not so nice stories about Russia. It was seen as a difficult country, corrupt police, cold people, and no English was spoken. Honestly I do feel worried, but I want to see and experience this country for real. How would my experience be? I have no idea.

I reached the border after riding for 130kms. First, I stopped at a military checkpoint. The officer gave me a slip. Then I rode to the customs building for the customs to check my bike. The officer was very friendly, perhaps he felt funny to hear me speaking Russian. He only took 5 seconds look in my top box. Then I went to the immigration to stamp my passport. The immigration officer spoke good English.

Then I continued few hundred meters on no-mans-land to the Russian side. I was nervous yet excited. Finally, I saw the sign post. Yuuuhuuu…I’m about to enter the world’s biggest country on day 324 of my GDR. Welcome to Russia.

At the Russian side, everything was being done at the same counter (for passport and bike registration). The lady officer couldnt speak English. I cant help laughing as she took 15 minutes to check my passport very thoroughly. Not that she's amazed by all the stampings and visa stickers in my passport, but she's checking for any hidden objects in the passport pages, and in the middle part of the passport. She used a magnifying glass with lights to check every single page. Thank god she's not the one inspecting GD, or else she's going to take forever to finish checking everything. Luckily for me, the customs checking was fast and simple. Before leaving the border, I purchased Russian insurance at a small shop for RUB751 (for one month). I also met a trio who rode all the way from UK, heading to Ulan Batar, Mongolia. They amazed me with their old classic rusty bikes. Who said that only BMWs and KTMs can do long rides? Its not the bike, brother…it’s the rider :)

Surprisingly, the main road in Russia was good. A lot better than in Kazakhstan. However, theres no more roman alphabet signboards to be seen. All the signboards were in Cyrillic alphabet. I had prepared myself for this situation, so I faced no problem to navigate my way even though for the umpteenth time, my GPS didn’t give me proper driving instructions. Unfortunately, I took a wrong turn somewhere in Rubtsovsk town and ended up riding about 10kms on a secondary road which was pretty bad. I managed to get back to A322. As for the view, I had to agree with former travellers who had passed this road. It was sooooo boring. Only some sunflower, wheat and white wildflower fields cheered me a bit. I reached Barnaul after riding 460kms in 10 hours. I was pretty tired.

The M52 road to Novosibirsk, my next destination, was not as good as yesterdays. There were lots of road works and the wind was quite strong even though I could see the presence of Taiga forest by the roadside. The view on the long straight road was boring as yesterday, except for some lakes and locals selling mushrooms and potatoes by the roadside. I reached Novosibirsk after riding 260kms.

Novosibirsk is the third largest city in Russia. I spent 30 minutes to enter the city as traffic were pretty bad and went straight to Panavto, a Yamaha dealer here. It was already 6000+kms after the last thorough checking on GD at Tehran and the last oil change in Osh, Kyrgyzstan. I met Mr Kiriu who spoke reasonable English. I was linked to him via Mr Lee from Hong Leong Yamaha Motor who monitored my ride. GD was serviced (the odometer read 57k km), new battery replaced, new air filter installed and all the checking done to make sure that this final part of GDR will be smooth. I wished to thank Hong Leong Yamaha Motor (especially Mr Lee CW for taking all the troubles to courier everything that I need), YMC Japan, Yamaha Russia and Panavto manager (Mr Kiriu) for all the help and support.

I would like to suggest to other advriders to try to get support from your motorbike brand’s company during your ride, especially when the bike you are using for the ride is not commonly used for long rides such as RTW. Not only this will help you to save some money, but also a win-win situation for yourself and the bike's brand.

My next destination is Kemerovo which was 280kms from Novosibirsk. It got cooler as I rode further north on M53 in the Siberia region. Sometimes I shivered when the wind was strong. All along my way, Taiga forest dominated the view. I used to teach Geography in school and natural plants of the world were among the topics that I taught. Now I'm seeing this Siberian natural trees for real. The trees were not as tall as Malaysian Tropical Rain Forest but it was so compact and dark inside it. Euwww...I wonder whats inside it?

Its interesting to recall soo many things which I used to teach my students, now I'm seeing them during my GDR. Steppes, savannah, pampas...not to mention the natural rock face caused by water, salt, heat or wind erosion. I saw lots n lots of them, especially in the South America.

The next day, I rode to Krasnoyarsk via M53. The distance was 576kms and I met some bikers along the way. They were heading to Baikal Lake Bike Festival. We managed some conversation and they asked me to go to the festival which I’m not so keen on going. There were lots of road works going on so only one lane was opened for vehicles. There were lots of lorries plying this route too. There were some beautiful golden wheat field views which saved my boredom.

It took me eight hours to reach Krasnoyarsk which was quite a big city with more than 1 million population. I rode on the Kommunalnyi Bridge over Yenisey River to enter the city and went straight to my AirBnB host’s apartment. Unfortunately, she was not at home and I had no idea when she will be back. I was lucky to meet Vladimir, a nice guy who helped me even though he didn’t speak a word of English. With my limited Russian, and later another girl, Paulina who could speak little English, we managed to call my host. Yuria, my host, arrived 45 minutes later.

Coincidently, Yuria’s husband was a biker and he was excited to meet me. Unfortunately, he didn’t speak English at all. He posted in his FB bike group about me and asked if theres any biker who could speak English. A lady biker responded and she came to the apartment to meet us. Her name is Darya and she just picked up riding this year. She rode a BMW CS650. Darya told me to park my bike at a paid parking nearby as the apartment area was unsafe. The next morning, Darya came again with Misha, who rode ZZR1000, and they took me to a Givi dealer in Krasnoyarsk.

Since my top box rack was bent due to the bad road in Turkmenistan, I couldnt ride fast on the uneven road anymore. I always had to go slow because I'm worried about the rack. I only had a temporary solution with help from Swiss advriders Michael and Sarah whom I met in Bukhara. Theres no Givi branch or dealer at all in the Central Asia countries. Finally here in Krasnoyarsk, I managed to get help from a Givi dealer, Konstantin, to solve the problem. Konstantin was linked to me by Givi’s overseas operational director, Mr Joseph Perucca. He repaired the rack and customized two metal pieces on both sides of the rack to raise the base plate. Now my top box was back to the actual level. Konstantin assured me that even if I fly with my bike and land roughly on the ground, the rack wont bend again. HAHAHA…..

Many thanks to Konstantin for the help, Givi Italy and Givi Asia for the awesome network and support.

While waiting for my top box rack to be repaired, Darya and Misha brought me for a little sightseeing. We went for a ride for about 30kms outside Krasnoyarsk to a view point over Yenisey River. This viewpoint is very famous with picnickers and weddings and the river is the natural habitat for sturgeon fish.

After that, I was taken to Karaulnaya Gora (the watch hill) which is famous with Paraskeva Pyatnitsa Chapel which lies on top of the hill. The picture of this chapel is a symbol of the city depicted on the RUB10 bank note.

I rode approx 1200kms in two days to reach Irkutsk. I was quite tired as its a loonggg ride. There were lots of road works which delayed me as only one lane opened for vehicles. There were quite some stretches of off road too. Ever since I entered Russia a week ago, the view along Moskovskyy Traktt (Moscow Way) had been the same. Taiga forests, golden wheat fields, long straight or slightly winding road and some rolling hills. Only today I saw beautiful pink wildflowers. But all in all, everything is okey.

Irkutsk is the 6th largest city in Siberia, due to its proximity to Lake Baikal. Angara River flows into the city and towards the famous lake. Irkutsk was founded in 1661 as a settlement for trading gold and furs. It was nicknamed the "Paris of Siberia" due to its wide streets and ornate, and continental architecture, but travellers today will find a little resemblance with Paris. I spend two nights here and managed to do a little city tour. I liked to see the architecture of the cathedrals and churches, but the one that I loved most was the fountain and gardens at Kirov Square. It was so beautiful. I also had a nice stroll by the river and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

I continued my journey east towards Ulan Ude via M53 and M55. The road was 90% good. I rode 500kms on nice twisties and soon the view of Lake Baikal emerged into view. Taiga forests soon disappeared and were replaced by steppes view again. I saw people selling blueberries in pails and I also saw smoked omlu fish by the roadside. I was told to try this fish as you can only find it in Lake Baikal. However the price was expensive for my wallet, so I had to miss it. I noticed that the further east I go, the pricier the fuel get, but the performance of the fuel dropped and full tank of GD could take me 350kms only. I reached Ulan Ude and didn’t face any difficulty to find the guest house which I had booked earlier. I normally booked my accommodation in Russia via Booking.com. I'm now only about 300kms from Russian - Mongolian border.

After resting 2 days in Ulan Ude, I continued my journey. However, I must say that today is another most challenging day for me in GDR. It had been raining continously since yesterday and also today. So when I exited Ulan Ude in the morning, it was flooding everywhere. The temp was 10'C. My destination was Chita, 700kms away. Theres no town in between these two towns, only a few small villages, thats why I had to ride the huge distance. By right, the road was not so bad (I had seen worse), with certain parts similar to Kazakhstan, but the continous rain (since yesterday) really made the difference. There were lots of road works on and off for the first 500kms and I had to play with mud (due to the rain). The first 150kms took me 4.5hrs!! It was very hard and stressful. I only stopped for 20 minutes rest once because GD needed gas, and that was after riding 7.5 hours straight. Then only I realized how tired, thirsty and hungry I was. My bad habit, whenever the ride became stressful, I didnt wanna stop. I'll keep on pushing myself to the max, as my mind always said, "God knows whats awaiting in front."

Hour by hour passed, I get more and more exhausted. I motivated myself by saying, “Hey, cmon, you can do this. You had experienced far worse than this. This is peanut only.”

But I cant lie to my mind. My mind knew this is not peanut.

The pics below (the only pics I took for today) were taken in the beginning of my ride when exiting Ulan Ude. The worst condition, sorry, no pic. The mud was thick and I was freezing colddd. How my teeth rattled!! Thank god I didnt drop the bike even though many times it was out of control already, and many times too I almost fell when I couldnt escape the pot holes which were filled with rain water and I had no idea that the holes were deep.

Finally, I reached Chita after almost 13 hours on the road riding 700kms. Fortunately, after all the challenges, I checked in to a nice hostel and Dima, the receptionist happened to be a biker, so he put me in an unoccupied room so that I could rest without disturbance. How kind of him. We chatted over dinner and Dima linked me with another biker in Mogocha, my destination for tomorrow. I felt a bit relief as accommodation for my onwards journey is tough.

It was raining again when I checked out the next day. As early as in the morning, my patience was tested when my GPS directed me to a secondary road which was not only muddy but steep incline. I know that I will surely drop my bike if I were to take that road so I turned and tried to find the primary way. I asked locals but communication breakdown found me going in circles for 1 hour and 30kms wasted until I finally managed to exit the town. The rain poured for 2.5 hours but this time I was prepared with my Givi rain coat so I stayed dry.

The road from Chita to Khabarovsk (Amur Oblast Federal Road), is known for its remoteness. This stretch of 2100kms is tough for me. Why? Because the distance between small towns which provides accommodation are huge. You need to ride approx 800kms per day if you want to stay in motels. With my small bike, this is not possible. Wild camping is not recommended as this stretch is famed for its tigers and bears. Amur (in Russian) means tiger. Theres no accommodation which you can pre-book in the internet except for Khabarovsk. So, where am I supposed to stay when riding along this stretch? This somehow worries me, but for today I already have a place in Mogocha. Many thanks to Dima. As for tomorrow’s and day after’s accommodation, worry about it later. Today’s ride is not as stressful as the previous day and I enjoyed the rolling hills, green mountain view, steppes and pink flowers. There were some green and yellowish taigas which looked familiar like the trees I saw in Tierra Del Fuego. It was a very scenic ride.

Unlike yesterday, the road for today is in a much better shape. There are three construction sites that I need to ride on but it was not muddy, only gravels. After riding for 660kms on P297, I arrived Mogocha and took the left turning to the village. Then I texted Alexei who owned a bike post here. Alexei is the founder of Iron Angels Motorcycle Club. He couldn’t speak English at all so we had to communicate using hand signals and a lil Russian that I knew. Alexei brought me to the bike post. It is actually a double storey house made of wood. The ground floor is a workshop to work on your bike and the upper floor is the living room @ sleeping place. Theres no indoor toilet so you need to walk about 50 meters to use the public toilet outside. So, this is the place I’m going to sleep for tonight, which is way better than having to camp in the cold and the fear of tiger or bear threats.

My journey for the next four days was tensed. It rained every single day. All my things were wet. I didn’t have any more dry socks to wear. Imagine having to start the chilly morning with wet socks, wet boots, wet gloves, wet, wet, all wet. It really turned one’s mood down. Not only everything was wet, I had to brave the cold, strong wind and some road works which delayed me. Some parts of the road were ok and some with lots of pot holes. To find a decent place to put the night was tough too. I had to stay at a workers hostel for one night where I am the only female in a crowd of males who eyed me as if they wanna eat me alive. I was so scared. Another night I had to wild camp as theres no place to stay. Only for one night, I was ‘lucky’ to sleep at a highway motel but the cheapest room meant a very tiny room with barely enough space to move and theres no door latch from inside. Twice, drunken men opened my door in the middle of the night and I had to shout to prevent them from entering my room. I had a very poor sleep due to this. Sigh…

Fuel was scarce and pricier as well. There were few times that GD almost ran out of fuel and I had to go really slow. The view was nothing special, perhaps some autumn colours here and there. However, the thing which really depressed me was the lack of internet connection. It had been days since I’m last connected to the outside world. My family and close friends must be as worried as hell because they didn’t hear from me for days.

To be honest, I don’t have the heart to do this last part to Vladivostok because I knew that its going to be tough and I already knew that I couldn’t fly my bike to Bangkok as Vladivostok airport is small and only small air crafts fly in and out from here. When I was in Ulan Ude, I was doubting whether or not I should ride all the way for 3500kms to Vladivostok, and later turned back another 3500kms the same way back to Ulan Ude before going to Ulan Bataar, the place where I will finally fly GD to Bangkok. Ulan Ude to Ulan Bataar is only 600kms. But if I don’t touch Vladivostok, my RTW ride will be questioned and argued. So I had to force myself to just finish what I had plan from the beginning. However, by doing that, I had to face all these challenges when by right, I can choose to ride straight to Ulan Bataar (from Ulan Ude) and save myself from all this unpleasantness, time and money wasted.

There were times when riding along this road that I felt so scared as it was toooo quiet. I hardly met anyone for hours. The trees and tall bushes by the road side made the ride even more tensed as my mind tried to imagine whats going to happen if all of a sudden, a tiger or bear jump out in front of me. What am I going to do then? Theres no house or village in sight at all. I cant even see the locals selling their agricultural products anymore. This is to show how dangerous this stretch of road that even the locals are scared to hang around here.

Do u notice the tiger pic on the sign board?

Finally I arrived Khabarovsk, feeling so exhausted after the long continuous ride without a break. The first thing I did after checking in at the hostel was to contact Alexander, a biker from Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club to help me with GD’s loosening chain. Alexander sent Vladimir who was a member of the same club (Khabarovsk chapter) to help me. While waiting for Vlad to arrive, I read messages from concern family and friends who had been worried for my days of silence. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to reply to their messages, nor to update my FB status when the electricity suddenly went out. I thought it will recover after a while, but it didn’t for the whole of my two days stay in this city. Can you imagine my frustration?

The following day, I rode 375kms via M60 to Dalnerechensk and camped at a village. Actually theres a hotel here but its too pricey for me. I camped near a stream and accidentally dropped my phone in the water. The phone died instantly. Damn!!! How I curse myself for my carelessness. The phone can be switched on but I couldnt see anything on the screen. I tried to dry it but the lack of sunshine didnt help much. I am now even more tensed and all I want is to reach Vladivostok ASAP. Oh my godddd, this ride is surely driving me CRAZYYYY!!!

As I exited Dalnerechensk the next morning, I met a local biker. His name is Gosha and he could speak English. He’s a very nice guy and happened to be a member of Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club too. This club is the most famous motorcycle club in Russia. Gosha wanted to talk to me and offered to buy me breakfast. I told him about my phone problem and how I had not updated my whereabouts for already 7 days. Gosha let me use his phone to get connected. I was so thrilled to read concern messages from my family, close friends and my silent reader followers...but the most touching was from Wissam Al-Jayoussi, an advrider from Dubai whom I had met only twice when he reached Malaysia during his RTW ride. To read his concern about getting a wide search done for me put me into tears.

I spend about 1.5 hours with Gosha and later moved on to Vladivostok via M60. The road was so-so and it rained a bit, so I cant go fast. After riding for 400kms, I reached the bridge across Amur Bay which is also the gateway to Vladivostok. How I screamed with joy upon seeing this bridge as in a short while, I am going to reach the eastern most point of my GDR. I just cant believe myself. I cried my heart out and screamed my loudest voice while riding on the 4kms long bridge until I reached the signpost which read VLADIVOSTOK. Only tears of joy can justify.

I made it. I made it. I MADE ITTTTTT!!!

Finally, on day #342 of GDR, Friday 19th August 2016, 4.32pm local time, I created HISTORY. From Seattle (USA) to Alaska to Ushuaia to BsAs to London to Lisbon to Italy to Balkans to Central Asia to Russia...

After 60000kms, I now reached the easternmost point for GDR, Vladivostok. Meaning to say that I had successfully circumnavigated the globe from west to east. It had been a looonggg ride. A looonggg, looonggg ride. What had I been through? Only me and Allah knew. The pain, the struggle, the fight, the survival...

I'm not an olympian. I didnt win any olympic medal. I didnt win any race. I didnt win any game...

But I won a BATTLE which only few men in this world dare to fight...

Let alone women...

"FIRST MUSLIM WOMAN TO RIDE SOLO AROUND THE WORLD ON A MOTORBIKE"

I still had so much of adrenaline when I left the sign post and continued riding to the city center to my host’s house. To my horror, Vladivostok is just like Ankara, very hilly with narrow road and sharp inclines. I had to ride very carefully. Once in a while, I took a quick glance at the sea down below while riding along Golden Horn Bay. It was beautiful. To find my host’s house was quite a challenge. I had to go in circles few times before I managed to find the apartment building, but I was very lucky that Milana my host, was already waiting for me downstairs. Milana couldn’t speak English at all but this petite beautiful lady is so friendly. It was funny how she tried to explain to me that I couldn’t park GD at the apartment as its unsafe, but I must park the bike at a paid parking nearby.

Milana and her husband, Sergei were both bikers and they were also from Iron Tiger Motorcycle Club. They were linked to me by Darya, the lady biker whom I met in Krasnoyarsk. I stayed 4 days at their house to rest and recharge before returning via the same road back to Ulan Ude. This couple not only hosted me but a few more people as they had spare rooms at their house. I also managed to meet Svetlana, a very tall Russian girl (1.98m) at the house. Svetlana spoke good English and we talked about Islam. She had lots of curiosity and I tried my very best to explain to her and to correct her wrong perspective. I was glad that at the end of the day, she now had a better understanding of my religion.

While in Vladivostok, Milana and Sergei brought me and Svetlana for sightseeing at the attractions. We went to the view point to view Golden Horn Bridge which is the famous landmark of Vladivostok.

Then we took a funicular down and went for a stroll at the waterfront while watching people passing by.

Beratur mengikut ketinggian. LOL...

We also went to Spotivnaya Harbour to view the ships from all over the world which docked here.

And a visit to Vladivostok is not complete without visiting the Central Square. This is a good place to relax and watch the locals at leisure. A pair of massive statues served as the Memorial to the Fighters for the Soviet Power in the Far East, in honour of those who brought this remote corner of Russia under Bolshevik control.

On the way to the bus stop to take a bus back home, we stopped by at Vladivostok Train Station which was old but beautiful.

I said goodbye to my wonderful friends, and took the same way back to Ulan Ude. For 5 days and 3500kms and without an internet connection, it was as boring as hell. Fortunately the weather improved by lots and theres no rain at all. I arrived Ulan Ude without any issue. I checked in at the same guest house in Ulan Ude. I was shocked to find out that my FB post of reaching Vladivostok few days ago had gone viral. Some congratulated me but some don’t. In fact, ugly words were thrown at me by keyboard warriors. To be honest, even though sad, I pity them actually. I understand that they were bored because they lead a very dull and boring life, hence they couldn’t hide their jealousy when seeing people who dared to step out of the comfort zone and live life to the fullest. Well, as the saying goes, “what didn’t kill you makes you stronger”, which is very true in my case.....

I took some time to see Ulan Ude city which was quite nice also. The biggest Lenin’s head statue can be found here.

MONGOLIA (28TH AUG – 8TH SEPT 2016)

I woke up feeling dizzy as I only managed two hours sleep last night due to lots of things playing in my mind. After checking out of the guesthouse, I exited Ulan Ude. I need to cover 600kms to reach Ulan Bataar. I was feeling so down this morning so I’m not focusing on the road, thus I made lots of navigating mistakes. Besides, for god-knows-what reason, my GPS was directing me to go north instead of south. It was a waste of time having to turn back. After going in circles for approx 30mins, I managed to get back on track. The road heading to the border was quiet and this let my disturbed mind to wander. Too many thoughts, sadness and frustrations. What had I done to deserve all this from my own people, especially from my own race and same religion? I don’t have the answer. Thank god that fifty kms after Ulan Ude, the view started to get better, a lil bit like Kyrgyzstan. This shifted my troubled mind and I stopped for pics at Lake Gusinoye.

I continued via A340 to the border town, Khyagt - Altanbulag. It was a very small border but the procedure took so long time. I spent almost 3 hours for both border crossings. At both borders, I need to show my passport and GD’s registration papers for 4 times. I was a bit worried as I only registered myself (as a foreigner in Russia) twice, within my almost 1 month stay in Russia. Luckily the officer didn’t say anything. At the Mongolian side, getting insurance is mandatory. I purchased one for MNT18, 250.

It was already 4pm by the time I leave the border and head south to Ulan Bataar. The road was so-so and some were quite bad, narrow and single lane only. I must hurry or else I wont be able to reach UB before it gets dark. However, there were lots of vehicles at certain stretches, and I must also be careful due to the livestock eating grasses very close to the road. It was quite a stressful ride for me.

I arrived UB when the sun already set. Fortunately, I didn’t face any difficulty to find Kelvin’s house. Kelvin is my host in UB and he’s a successful Malaysian living in UB for already 20 years. He had a very nice beautiful house and both he and his Mongolian wife, Ochgi welcomed me with a nice smell of nasi lemak coming from the kitchen. What a relief after a looonggg 13 hours otr without any rest nor food. We chatted over dinner and the nasi lemak tasted soooo good. Thanks to both of you.

Nasi Lemak in Mongolia lah

The next morning I followed the couple to their office. Kelvin is the sole distributor for Gano Coffee. Besides that, this couple also ran few other businesses including doing customized tour and two wheels tour around Mongolia. Kelvin also owned a ger stay at Golkhi Terej National Park which I’m going to visit later.

I told Kelvin that I want to pose in front of Ulan Bataar sign and he brought me to the sign. While posing with a Malaysian flag at the sign, I heard someone greeted me. Guess who is it? Auwww, she was Siti Noridah Et, a Malaysian famous solo backpacker who just started her silk road trip. We had been FB friends for couple years but never met before. It was a nice surprise to meet her here in UB. (Psssttt Et & Kelvin, shhhhhh :D )

It was Merdeka Day when we pose with Msian flag at this sign

I asked Et about her plans in Mongolia and co-incidentally, both of us wanted to visit Khovsgol Lake. A fast plan was made and I decided to be a backpacker this time. Kelvin sent us to the bus terminal and we purchased our bus ticket for tomorrow’s journey.

The next morning, Mr Tserendug, my air freight agent came to meet me at Kelvin’s house. He measured GD and gave me a quotation. It was very expensive, more than USD2000. Mongolian air freight system obliged all cargos to be crated, hence the high price. Unlike my previous experience where my bike was fixed to a wood pallet only, this time, GD has to be put in a crate. In order to reduce the price, Mr Tserendug suggested that I dismantle both tires and the top box bracket or be prepared to pay the high price. I had to agree to his suggestion, but in my mind, I was worried about fixing it back later. Ahhh, worry about that later, I told myself. Lack of knowledge in the technical aspect is not a big issue. There will definitely someone who could help. So for the time being, lets enjoy Mongolia and what it has to offer.

Before departing to the bus terminal, I busied myself finding cheap flight to fly to Bangkok (after I’m done with my Mongolian sightseeing). I found some cheap flights but I need to transit and change terminal in China airports. This worried me as I didn’t have a Chinese visa. I didn’t want to face problems so I had to buy a more expensive ticket and flying via Hong Kong instead. After making the online purchase, Kelvin sent Et and me to the bus terminal. It was quite a search to find the bus as the terminal was very unorganized. There was no platform and there were lots of buses which destination was written solely in Cyrillic alphabet. After asking around, we managed to find the bus. It didn’t depart on time, not a surprise for me. The driver played very loud music inside the bus. We took the same route from the way I rode from the other day before reaching UB. The bus made a left turning at Baruunkharaa.

Mongolia is sooo beautiful. It has similar weave rolling hills like in Kyrgyzstan but its more yellow here. Perhaps due to the upcoming autumn. I could see more animals here too and they are not afraid of humans and vehicles at all. Some horses even feast themselves with grasses just next to a busy road, something which is difficult to see in other nomadic countries. Yaks too, and they are in large numbers here. The sky is sooo blue and people are friendly and always smiling.

Finally, we arrived Murun after a not so comfortable longgg 15 hours drive. It was 6am and very cold. A local girl approached us and offered transportation to Khovsgol Lake, but we need to rest at her guest house first while she searched for two more people to fill up the car. We agreed and was taken to the guest house to rest while waiting. We were served hot tea which was very nice.

Around 9am, the girl knocked on our door. She managed to find two more people to share the car. We drove via A1101 road to Khovsgol Lake which was very scenic. The road was long, winding and very deserted. We stopped few times for pics and to enjoy beautiful Egiin River flowing peacefully down the valley.

The other two passengers get down at Mankhan while Et and I continued to the lake. The paved road disappeared and was replaced by offroad for about 30kms. There were some inclines and declines and I kinda regretting not taking GD with me. After about 1 hour of slow drive, the blue Khosgol Lake emerged from the horizon. It was very beautiful. The driver drove us around to find accommodation but since it was off season, very few options were left for us. After bargaining, we settled down at one which offered MNT35000 per cabin with breakfast.

It was a good choice and we stayed here for 3 nights, just chillaxing and enjoying the blue serene lake. Indeed a very good place to find inspiration to write :)

However, the weather was not very good on the 3rd day. It was very cold and raining at times. Thus we couldn’t laze by the lake and boredom started to take over as theres no entertainment here at all. Theres no TV and wifi signal from the simcard which Kelvin lent to me was very slow. Electricity for lights came from the solar panel and we had to burn woods traditionally in the oven to heat up our cabin. Against all odds, both of us still managed to go for a walk in the woods after the rain stopped, but not for long as its freezing cold.

I said goodbye to Et as I’m going back to UB and she will stay for a while in Murun to find transportation to venture deeper into Mongolia and later to Kazakhstan. It was a very boring 15 hours journey on the bus as the person who sat next to me (and same to everyone else in the bus) couldn’t speak a word of English. Kelvin fetched me at the bus terminal and we returned to his home. The next day, I send my bike to Mr Tserendug’s garage near the airport. Kelvin lead the way so I had no difficulty to find the place.

My actual plan is to fly GD from Vladivostok, but through my research, I found out that its not possible because Vladivostok's airport is small. So GD has to be flown out from UB instead. Since theres no cargo flights from UB, GD will be flying with a commercial flight, which means that the cost will be higher. In order to reduce the air freight fees, I had to dismantle almost everything so that the package size is smaller and wont cost me a bomb. During my previous freighting experience, GD had only very minor dismantling. However this time, I watched Kelvin and Mr Tserendug worked on the bike, and get involved until everything was done, including drying the fuel tank. I learned a lot in the process. The final costing for air freighting GD (in a crate) from UB to Bkk is USD1700. Imagine how high is the price if I didnt make the package smaller. GD will fly on the 9th and myself on the 8th of Sept. See u in approx a week time, baby. I’m going to miss you :’(

I spent my last days in Mongolia visiting Gorkhi-Terelj National Park, which is a must visit place in Mongolia. It is not very far from Ulan Bataar, only about 70kms. This place is famed for its beautiful and unique rock formations, amazing views and definitely its spectacular milky way up in the heavenly sky. Since I no longer have GD with me (already left it under Mr Tserendug’s care), Kelvin was kind enough to drive me to the place. We stopped for pics at Genghis Khan Statue Complex (Tsonjin Boldog) and by the roadside to admire the pride of Mongolia, the eagles.

Then we continued to the National Park. I stayed two nights at Magic Rock Camp inside the park, which was owned by Kelvin. I really loved this place as it was very quiet. It was located at the end of the road, so one can enjoy the serenity without any disturbance. During my stay here, I could also see wild squirrels and marmots. The ger (Mongolian tent) here was very comfy and the toilet (they have western type toilets) were the cleanest in the whole of Mongolia. Seriously spotless, something which was difficult to find in this country. The concept at this camp was traditional but with high western standards.

The small hill near Magic Camp which you can climb

The food served here was very delicious. Since Kelvin is a Malaysian, he understood the need for halal food for Muslims and he could arrange that too. I feasted myself with delicious BBQ lamb which he made himself.

At night, the spectacular milky way will definitely blow your mind away. This place was indeed a million stars heaven and strongly recommended.

Kelvin also took me for sightseeing around the park. I saw lots of beautiful rock formations around the area. The yellow grassland, the blue skies and the animals scattered around made this place seemed like heaven to me. Soooo beautiful.

To those who want to experience staying at Magic Camp, you can contact Kelvin at his Facebook,

https://www.facebook.com/kcwchong74?fref=ts

On my last day in UB, I visited the famous square, Genghis Khan Square. Since it was a beautiful day, there were lots of people around. I took some time to just laze here and tried to imagine Genghis Khan and his troops during the former golden days.

Finally, it was time for me to say goodbye to my wonderful hosts, Kelvin and Ochgi. I hugged Ochgi in the wee hour of the morning before Kelvin send me to the airport and we parted goodbye. I have had a very memorable stay in Mongolia and GD’s air freight task had been done smoothly and successfully – all with their kind help. Thank you both of you for the hospitality which I will remember forever.

As the Mongolian Airlines aircraft took off from the runaway, I whisper silently in my heart. Bye2 Mongolia. Bye2 Uncle Genghis. I'm going to miss you. I know that you are going to haunt my dreams after I'm back home. And the more frightening to me is to realize that GDR is going to end very soon. Yes, very soon. Can I cope? Can I adapt to being back to normal routine after been living a life on the road for a year? I’m afraid to even to think of it…..

THAILAND (8 - 16 SEPT 2016)

My flight from UB transit in Hong Kong for few hours before the connecting flight with Cathay Pacific Airlines, and I finally arrived Bangkok at 8pm. I took a taxi to a hostel nearby the airport. After all the challenges in GDR, reaching here felt sooo blissful. Everything was easy when almost everyone spoke at least a lil English. Its easy to find my way around, easy to find a suitable place to eat, and easy to find a place to stay. Thailand‘s like my second home and its sooo good to be ‘home’.

I had few days to chillax in Thailand before my bike arrived, so I decided to go to Pattaya for 2 nights. There’re lots of things and sights to see here, but this is not my first time in this sex city so I only enjoyed the halal food (at last) and walked to the walking street at night which was filled with bars, sex businesses and sexy girls dancing at the poles. Well, not my kind of thing actually, so most of the time I prefer to just laze on the beach and watched people.

I returned to Bangkok by public bus and took the metro to Malaysian Embassy. One of the staff, Miss Aishah, who was linked to me by Madam Nurliza's friend, was kind enough to let me stay at her house even though she was away for vacation. It was the eve of Eid Qurban when I arrived, and I was lucky again that the person who gave me her house key also gave me some Eid delicacies to eat. Mmmmm…..soooo yummy…

Meanwhile, I had been in contact with Thai Yamaha Motor in Bangkok who was linked to me by Mr Lee CW from Hong Leong Yamaha Malaysia. They were very thrilled to know that I had arrived and they offered to help. I was informed that the bosses also want to meet me. Since my bike had arrived, the offer to help was like winning a lottery which I couldn’t resist but accept happily. The next morning, Mr Nikhom and Miss Yi came to pick me up. They drove me to the airport to do the bike clearance.

It wasn’t easy to unite with my baby. Even with Mr Nikhom and Miss Yi to assist me and to be my interpreter, its still not easy, as both of them had zero experience on doing bike clearance. The clearance procedure was disrupted by the greedy staff's attitude at the entrance to the cargo complex which pissed me off. The staff insisted that I take the agent’s service which I declined. He (and the agent) said that its going to take a long time to do the clearance and the process is VERY difficult. I politely rejected the offer especially when the agent asked for THB3000 for his service (excluding the compulsory fees). They kinda forcing me by saying repeatedly its very difficult and refused to give me the FZ pass to enter the cargo complex. I’m beginning to lose my patience. They have no right to force me. I knew the staff will get some kind of commission from the agent if I fall for his 'threats'. Luckily I saw an officer and seek for help. Reluctantly the staff gave me the pass, but 1 hour already wasted for that.

The clearance procedure might not be very straight forward but its not so dead difficult either, only lots of to and fros from one building to another. As usual, the first place to go is the cargo office (Thai Cargo), to get the AWB copy and locate the respective warehouse where GD was kept. Then I had to go to the customs for declaration. Then back to Thai Cargo for documents signing and fees (THB1330 only), then go downstairs at the warehouse for more signatures, locate the crate, inspection, signatures again and walla...I finally got my baby back.

Since its already late by the time we’re done clearing GD, and its going to take quite some time to assemble the parts which were dismantled from the bike (to make the crate smaller in size), Mr Nikhom suggested that GD being brought back to the HQ on the company’s pickup truck. We were all very tired by then so I agreed to the suggestion. Mr Nikhom then sent me back to Msian Embassy. The next morning, both of them came again to pick me up and brought me to their HQ. Upon arrival, I was surprised to see that GD was done assembled and even the oil had been changed. Woww, that was so nice of them. Remember what I wrote in my previous post? There will surely be someone who will help, so do not worry too much that you're lack of the technical knowledge. All you need to do is to pray that everything will be smooth, and help will find its way to reach you :)

Then it was time for me to meet the bosses. I was given a warm welcome by the management, including Mr Atsumi who recently transferred here from Japan. Mr Atsumi was one of the important YMC Japan person whom Mr Lee CW from Yamaha Malaysia will contact to handle the support that I need during my GDR.

After that Mr Nikhom brought me for a sumptuous Thai cuisine lunch. The tomyam was to die for.

I left early the next day to escape the morning traffic. While riding my bike, I cant help smiling when recalling my first time riding in and out of Bangkok in 2012. The road was sooo heavy with traffic and being a newbie at that time, it was sooo stressful for me. Ever since then, I never want to enter Bangkok anymore. I rather make a big loop every time I want to ride to the east part of Thailand. Now, after all the challenges in GDR, after all the difficulties reading signboards which only have Cyrillic alphabets in Russia, after having to use my own survival skill to navigate my way when my GPS is of no help due to the frozen screen, after riding on scary big highways to enter or exit huge cities such as Seattle, Vegas, San Diego, Lima, BsAs, Ldn, Madrid, Rome, Tehran etc, Bangkok didnt seem so hard or scary anymore. Same goes to their long lorries which scared me most last time. Now, I'm not scared anymore. Its because I had experienced riding (and overtook) by much bigger trucks on I-5 (N & S) in California, which ran at 130kmh the least. Thats to tell how much I had gone through during this one year...

I exited Bangkok without difficulty and head south. It was a breeze when riding on the familiar Highway 4. I experienced baby wind along Prap Khiri Khan to Chumphon and theres lots of road works along this stretch, so one side of the road had to be shared with both. I checked in at a guest house in Chumphon just before a very heavy rain hit the area.

I didn’t sleep well last night. Perhaps I only managed sleep for one hour. Again, the reason was hate comments thrown to me by readers in the latest article about the success of GDR. It was very sickening to read what they wrote. Even though sleepy, I had 500kms to Dannok to do today. Dannok is a small town at the Thailand – Malaysian border. I cant wait to meet my friends who came all the way from KL to welcome me here, especially my best friend, Zana. I found Paramount Hotel, the hotel where we had agreed that all will stay here for the night. I met some bikers from Lanun Bikerz club, and the President, Jai (who is also Zana’s husband) at the lobby. It was a very hot day today and I felt like fainting, so Jai helped with my checking in and asked me to take a rest in my room. As I made my way to my room, I bumped into my close friends, Sue Rahman, Rosmawati and my bff Zana. It was a teary moment as we all hugged and kissed each other. It was like a dream to meet all my dearies again. I hugged Zana for a very long time. For a minute or so, nothing came from my lips except sobs and cries. We were hugging like a couple deeply in love, but please do not get us wrong. We were the bestest of friends. How I had missed her so much.

When I finally gained control of my tears and emotion, then only I noticed a figure in the background holding a video cam, capturing every moment of the scene. I heard her calling my name. Her voice sounded very familiar. Who was that? It looks and sounds like Deborah, my host when I was in Temecula. Is that really her? OMG, it was indeed her!!! I could see her hb, Mark standing by the door. OMG, OMG, OMG!!! I was screaming and crying and being emotional again, all at once as I hugged Deb tightly, while Deb just laughed and patted my back and said, “See, you made it. I know you can do it.” All these emotions drained me out very quickly. I just couldn’t believe it was really her. She and Mark flew all the way from USA to Malaysia just to welcome me home. It was unbelievable. I had to pinch myself few times to be sure that all this were real thing and I’m not dreaming. I can never imagine someone would do such thing for me.

After we’re done with crying, hugging and kissing, it was teasing and laughing again while sitting on the floor of the alley. Ohhh I loved my friends sooo much.

I met more friends after that, Yongsuzi and her hb, Lee Panjang (who helped to change my expired spark plug...HAHAHA), sis Mira Yaacob, and friends from Lanun Bikerz convoy. It was so nice of them to come more than 500kms from KL to meet me here. We had a nice chat over dinner and I was also interviewed by Thai TV.

FINALLY....MALAYSIA (16 SEPT 2016)

Again as the previous day, I only managed 1 hour sleep last night. No matter how tired I was, I just couldn’t put my eyes to sleep. Too many things distracted my mind. I woke up feeling dizzy, but its my big day today so I forced myself to stay focus. At 9.30am, all of us gathered outside the hotel with our machines and we make a move to the border. I stamped my passport at the Thailand’s immigration new building and surrendered the customs form. Then it was the Malaysian side and I was grinning from ear to ear to see the familiar Bukit Kayu Hitam border post. The customs officers had the privilege to interview me first as I need to get my carnet stamped at their office (as a proof that I had taken my bike back into Malaysia). The custom officers, including the immigrations congratulated me and took pics with me.

It was still early before call time, so all of us stopped for a while next to the immigration building. More bikers from Lanun and northern Yamaha FZ joined us. Jai gave instructions that 20 bikes will escort me while the rest will enter the venue first and wait for our arrival. Some of my fans and followers had been waiting for me since morning so they took the opportunity to take pics with me too. I felt like a superstar. HAHAHA sesekali, jangan marah yaa :)

At 11am, those who escorted me marched into the police station with our bikes (the place where Givi put up tents for my home coming event), with me taking the lead. While riding GD, my heart throbbed so fast and my eyes watered to see how grand was the welcome given by Givi Malaysia and my supporters who lined alongside of the road. Camera flashes blinded my eyes as the reporters (lots of them) tried to get the best shots. I was greeted by the State Assemblyman and Givi Malaysia Managing Director, Mr On Hai Swee. Too bad that Mr Joseph Perucca, Givi Overseas Operational Director, the one among very few who believed in me since the very beginning and never had any doubt of my ability, and also Edwin, Givi staff who put lots of effort for the home coming preparation, couldn’t be here during this special moment. Friends and biker friends from Lady Bikers Malaysia came to hug me, including my dear friend Mastura who came with her hb Ajax and their kids. I noticed not less than 60 big bikes parked at the venue and approximately 100 people gathered in and outside the tent. It all happened too fast and again I felt as if I’m in a dream.

After a series of speeches (which was interrupted by the arrival of my kids and the emotional hugging and tears scene again), media interviews, live TV phone call, and photo session with fans, friends and Givi team who worked very hard to organize the event, I made a move to my home town Ipoh, which was 300kms away.

Again, I was taking the lead with 10 bikers from Lanun trailing behind. They accompanied me to my mom’s house. My mom was not feeling well, so she couldn’t be at the border for the home coming event. Surprisingly, there were also reporters waiting at my mom’s house. It seemed that my GDR has sparked a phenomenon in the country.

I remembered the day when I left my country one year back. Not a single media write about me. What more to have any journalist send me off at KLIA. It was a very quiet and simple send off among friends. Sadly one year later, there were even some of them who sent me off last time didnt seem keen to be my friend any longer for only they-know-what reason. And not just that, there were also lady biker friends whom I used to be so close with them before the ride, now they are drifting apart. I wonder why? I wonder why? What had I done wrong?

Tiredness, the lack of sleep and repeatedly emotional moments are taking its toll on me. By the time I hugged my mom and my sister, I can only shed tears of happiness. I thanked God for keeping me safe during my journey and allowed me to come home safely. After all the challenges in GDR when there were countless of times that I thought I am not going to meet my family again, its hard to believe that today, I am back into the arms of my loved ones.

With that, my GDR has now come to an end. Million thanks to Givi Malaysia for organizing a wonderful home coming event for me. A very memorable event for me to cherish forever in my life. Thanks to all individuals who has given a hand and came to celebrate my victory day, especially Deb and Mark who came all the way from USA. My special thanks also go to my sponsors, Givi Msia, Givi SRL Italy, Hevik, and Hong Leong Yamaha Motor. Also many thanks to my family, Lanun Bikerz, LBM, Dato Raja and Datin Yan, all my hosts, donors, friends, fans and followers for the support and prayers throughout my ride. May Allah pays all of you for your help and kindness.

All memories of blood, sweat, pain and tears in GDR is now a history not only to me, but to my country as well, for me being the first Muslim woman who rode solo around the world. GDR is not just a ride to enjoy seeing the world, but it’s a spiritual journey to correct negative perspective about Islam. And the road is my best teacher from where I learned a lot about life and people. I came back now a different person. Again, a much better person….for my people, my beloved country and my religion…..

A journey of 1001 stories…..

THE END OF RIDE

GLOBAL DREAM RIDE: SPONSORSHIP, PREPARATION AND A NOTE OF THANKS

PART 1: CANADA & ALASKA

PART 2: USA (WASHINGTON, OREGON, CALIFORNIA, UTAH, NEVADA, ARIZONA)

PART 3: CENTRAL AMERICA - MEXICO

PART 4: CENTRAL AMERICA - GUATEMALA, EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS, NICARAGUA, COSTA RICA & PANAMA

PART 5: SOUTH AMERICA (COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, PERU)

PART 6: SOUTH AMERICA (BOLIVIA, CHILE)

PART 7: SOUTH AMERICA (I CRY FOR U ARGENTINAAAA)

PART 8: WESTERN EUROPE (UK)

PART 9: WESTERN EUROPE (FRANCE, ANDORRA, SPAIN & PORTUGAL)

PART 10: WESTERN EUROPE (BACK TO SPAIN, BACK TO FRANCE & MONACO)

PART 11: WESTERN EUROPE (ITALY)

PART 12: BALKAN COUNTRIES

PART 13: BALKAN COUNTRIES

PART 14: WEST ASIA - TURKEY & IRAN

PART 15: CENTRAL ASIA (again....yuuuhuuuu) TURKMENISTAN & UZBEKISTAN

PART 16: KYRGYZSTAN - TAJIKISTAN - KAZAKHSTAN

PART 17: RUSSIA

PART 18: MONGOLIA, THE LAND OF BLUE SKIES

PART 19: BACK TO HOME LAND, MALAYSIA