Ride from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore
Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 9:43 pm
Last Saturday (March 1st), my fellow biker friends & I went for a ride to squeaky clean but regimented Singapore.
Singapore is made up of not just one island but a main island with 63 surrounding islets. The main island has a total land area of 682 square km. Not really big but it is a thriving centre of commerce & industry and has the busiest port in the world!.
Its geographical location is 136.8 km north of the equator & it is linked to Malaysia by two causeway bridges.
We had Noel on his trusty & thumping Harley Dyna Glide, Ganesan( Thats Me ) on his ever reliable boxer engined BMW R1150R, Sam on his super fast Suzuki GSXR 1100, Paul on his sleek Honda CBR 900, John on his bullet Suzuki SRAD 750 & yours truly on the ST1100.
We left Kuala Lumpur @ sharp 6 a.m. on a windy dark morning heading south down the Malay peninsular using the North-South expressway. A slight drizzle met us as we approached Nilai. I was in my full cordura suit that kept me dry & warm but the cool looking lads on their leathers got the brunt of the rain as it got heavier. Practicalities can be set aside, looking cool was more important.
We rode about 150 kms (93 miles) & stopped at Air Keroh (Malacca) for refuelling and a bit of a breather. We met a Singaporean couple in a Kawasaki Concours. This bike is a 6 speed, 4 cylinder, liquid cooled bike. They were touring the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia & were on their way back to Singapore. We spoke motorcycles for a bit and continued on our journey stopping at Pagoh R&R for breakfast. We had hot cups of Nescafe & 'mee-hoon' (local fried noodles). The weather was not letting up and it continued to drizzle. The rain then got pretty heavy (tropical downpour) but we kept on the road regardless. We then headed for the second causeway and headed for Tanjung Kupang. We refuelled just before the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (Malaysian side). Fuel is a lot more expensive in Singapore with the exchange rate. We had at this juncture done about 340km's (about 211 miles) & it had taken a little more than 4 hours. The wet roads caused the delay.
The Malaysian Immigration was a breeze and we then crossed the twin deck bridge over the Johor Straits. The total length of this bridge is a little more than 1.9 km (1.1 miles). On arrival at the Singapore immigration complex in Tuas it became a little 'difficult'. This is expected when you cross borders anywhere in the world. Ask me, I was hassled in LA International Airport on my way to Vancouver BC. This was before 911. On hindsight, I was coming in from Bogota transiting in LA. I must have the drug mule face!!!
The Singapore Police randomly picked me and a few others in my group and took our fingerprints (biometrics). Security Profiling.
The process took a little less than an hour and we were on the road into Singapore. There were speed cameras everywhere & everything seemed to work. The roads were clean, people kept to their speed limits unlike Malaysia & we were prewarned not to ride in convoy. We on the other hand actually rode in convoy.
We proceeded via the Pan Island Expressway & headed for Serangoon Road. We had a sumptuous banana leaf lunch comprising of Beryani Rice, Chicken, Fried Fish, Mutton Curry, several different vegetables & condiments.
We all ate too much and then headed for Desker Road where we visited Chong Aik International Pte Ltd (http://www.chongaik.com.sg) to buy stuff for our motorcycling needs. I bought a NOLAN N102-C N-COM helmet for Singapore 300 dollars (about US$215) & a pair of AVON AV55 (Front) & AV56 (Rear) STORM-ST tires for Singapore 337 dollars (about US$241) for the pair. They charged me a further US$35 as fitting charges.
We then rode a bit around Singapore and headed back for Tuas. We were greeted at the Singapore Immigration by a sea of motorcycles and cars heading for Malaysia. It took us 2.5 hours to clear the jam. This was the low-point on this trip. We were told that the reason for the stringent checks & delay at the causeway was because of the escape last Wednesday of Mas Selamat bin Kastari, alleged leader of the Singapore wing of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah. The Indonesian-born Mas Selamat was accused by the government of having been involved in plans seven years ago to attack the US embassy, the American Club and Singapore government buildings in retaliation for the city-state's arrest and detention of fellow JI members.
We had a smooth entry into Malaysia and the Customs officers were not keen on motorcyclists that night and so we headed straight for the nearest Petrol Service station where we filled-up and had some isotonic drinks. We left at 10 p.m. stopping along the way for supper in Malacca before reaching Kuala Lumpur and home at 2 a.m. It was a good trip and we covered about 760 kms (471 miles). The body aches were presented to us the following day. ( Written by David Netto, ST 1100)
Singapore is made up of not just one island but a main island with 63 surrounding islets. The main island has a total land area of 682 square km. Not really big but it is a thriving centre of commerce & industry and has the busiest port in the world!.
Its geographical location is 136.8 km north of the equator & it is linked to Malaysia by two causeway bridges.
We had Noel on his trusty & thumping Harley Dyna Glide, Ganesan( Thats Me ) on his ever reliable boxer engined BMW R1150R, Sam on his super fast Suzuki GSXR 1100, Paul on his sleek Honda CBR 900, John on his bullet Suzuki SRAD 750 & yours truly on the ST1100.
We left Kuala Lumpur @ sharp 6 a.m. on a windy dark morning heading south down the Malay peninsular using the North-South expressway. A slight drizzle met us as we approached Nilai. I was in my full cordura suit that kept me dry & warm but the cool looking lads on their leathers got the brunt of the rain as it got heavier. Practicalities can be set aside, looking cool was more important.
We rode about 150 kms (93 miles) & stopped at Air Keroh (Malacca) for refuelling and a bit of a breather. We met a Singaporean couple in a Kawasaki Concours. This bike is a 6 speed, 4 cylinder, liquid cooled bike. They were touring the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia & were on their way back to Singapore. We spoke motorcycles for a bit and continued on our journey stopping at Pagoh R&R for breakfast. We had hot cups of Nescafe & 'mee-hoon' (local fried noodles). The weather was not letting up and it continued to drizzle. The rain then got pretty heavy (tropical downpour) but we kept on the road regardless. We then headed for the second causeway and headed for Tanjung Kupang. We refuelled just before the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex (Malaysian side). Fuel is a lot more expensive in Singapore with the exchange rate. We had at this juncture done about 340km's (about 211 miles) & it had taken a little more than 4 hours. The wet roads caused the delay.
The Malaysian Immigration was a breeze and we then crossed the twin deck bridge over the Johor Straits. The total length of this bridge is a little more than 1.9 km (1.1 miles). On arrival at the Singapore immigration complex in Tuas it became a little 'difficult'. This is expected when you cross borders anywhere in the world. Ask me, I was hassled in LA International Airport on my way to Vancouver BC. This was before 911. On hindsight, I was coming in from Bogota transiting in LA. I must have the drug mule face!!!
The Singapore Police randomly picked me and a few others in my group and took our fingerprints (biometrics). Security Profiling.
The process took a little less than an hour and we were on the road into Singapore. There were speed cameras everywhere & everything seemed to work. The roads were clean, people kept to their speed limits unlike Malaysia & we were prewarned not to ride in convoy. We on the other hand actually rode in convoy.
We proceeded via the Pan Island Expressway & headed for Serangoon Road. We had a sumptuous banana leaf lunch comprising of Beryani Rice, Chicken, Fried Fish, Mutton Curry, several different vegetables & condiments.
We all ate too much and then headed for Desker Road where we visited Chong Aik International Pte Ltd (http://www.chongaik.com.sg) to buy stuff for our motorcycling needs. I bought a NOLAN N102-C N-COM helmet for Singapore 300 dollars (about US$215) & a pair of AVON AV55 (Front) & AV56 (Rear) STORM-ST tires for Singapore 337 dollars (about US$241) for the pair. They charged me a further US$35 as fitting charges.
We then rode a bit around Singapore and headed back for Tuas. We were greeted at the Singapore Immigration by a sea of motorcycles and cars heading for Malaysia. It took us 2.5 hours to clear the jam. This was the low-point on this trip. We were told that the reason for the stringent checks & delay at the causeway was because of the escape last Wednesday of Mas Selamat bin Kastari, alleged leader of the Singapore wing of the militant Islamic group Jemaah Islamiyah. The Indonesian-born Mas Selamat was accused by the government of having been involved in plans seven years ago to attack the US embassy, the American Club and Singapore government buildings in retaliation for the city-state's arrest and detention of fellow JI members.
We had a smooth entry into Malaysia and the Customs officers were not keen on motorcyclists that night and so we headed straight for the nearest Petrol Service station where we filled-up and had some isotonic drinks. We left at 10 p.m. stopping along the way for supper in Malacca before reaching Kuala Lumpur and home at 2 a.m. It was a good trip and we covered about 760 kms (471 miles). The body aches were presented to us the following day. ( Written by David Netto, ST 1100)
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