The R1's Borneo Romp (2008)

[FB666Y]

So the bike sprouted wings and flew Pegasus like over the ocean and found itself in Kuching.

Here are some pics of the recent Borneo trip: from Kuching through Brunei and into Sabah.

 

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While the bike flew the expensive seats in MAS I had to take the cheapo seat on Air Asia from KL to Kuching.

The is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) - sounds as bad as Budget Terminal.

 

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The bike in Kuching cargo building

 

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Unleashed and in the streets of Kuching.

 

Here are some pictures of Kuching:

 

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Kuching

 

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Kuching

 

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Kuching

 

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Kuching

 

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Kuching

[FB666Y]

Bako National Park is amazing - huge and beautiful but you better be fit if youre planning the walks through the jungle.

Our 5.8km walk through the jungle lasted 4 hours and we were drenched in sweat. Some pics from Bako:

 

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I paid one of the stalls to look over the bike while we were off galavanting in Bako National Park

 

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Crocodiles!

 

 

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Bako National Park

 

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Bako National Park

 

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Bako National Park

 

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Bako National Park

 

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Bako National Park

[FB666Y]

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Riding to Matang Wildlife Centre and got caught in a Barisan National rally.

 

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Almost there

 

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The road into Matang

 

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Finally at Matang

[FB666Y]

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

 

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Matang Wildlife Centre

[diddy the patient]

wow, bro, hands down u r now than ppl cannot say so many things.... even though they ride to malaysian peninsular, coz u ve beeen to the EAST MALAYSIA.. :thumb:

[larree]

wow, bro, hands down u r now than ppl cannot say so many things.... even though they ride to malaysian peninsular, coz u ve beeen to the WEST MALAYSIA.. :thumb:

 

yeah man... so patient gg for west msia? haha

[diddy the patient]

yeah man... so patient gg for east msia? haha

 

i'm not power like him mann:bow: :bow:

[FB666Y]

The ride from Kuching to Sibu is about 450km and passes right next to the Indonesian border.

The roads are bumpy - too bumpy for the R1 - it was bone jarring at times.

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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At the hotel in Sibu

 

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Sibu

 

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Sibu

 

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Sibu

[FB666Y]

We rode from Sibu to Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei - another 450km-ish distance.

I was very glad that I hadnt seen a single palm tree. I was soon to be disappointed -

the new route that run parallal to the sea to Miri was choked full of kelapa sawits.

At least the route was in good repair and the R1 was pushing up to 160kmh.

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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On the road

 

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Border crossing into Brunei

[FB666Y]

Border formalities are pretty straightforward - the only problem is that there are 10 - yes ten - border crossing, ie Sarawak to Brunei, Brunei into Sarawak, again Sarawak into Brunei, finally out of Brunei into Sarawak, and finally Sarawak into Sabah. You will be stamped at every entrance/exit.

 

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Finally into Brunei - damn shouldnt have filled so much in Sarawak!

I wish petrol prices were like this! The R1 will fill up under ten dollars. They had controls though - Malaysian vehicles couldnt fill up more than $10.00.

[FB666Y]

Ok, thats it for today - will try to finish up the rest tomorrow.

[ganman]

You never fail to amaze!

 

Great planning, riding & an adventurous traveller.... I am impressed and inspired.

 

Heading down into "unchartered territory" with a singapore registered bike.

 

Makes the rest of our rides.... such a simple affair.

[larree]

Border formalities are pretty straightforward - the only problem is that there are 10 - yes ten - border crossing, ie Sarawak to Brunei, Brunei into Sarawak, again Sarawak into Brunei, finally out of Brunei into Sarawak, and finally Sarawak into Sabah. You will be stamped at every entrance/exit.

 

http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m308/FB666Y/borneo42.jpg

 

http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m308/FB666Y/borneo43.jpg

Finally into Brunei - damn shouldnt have filled so much in Sarawak!

I wish petrol prices were like this! The R1 will fill up under ten dollars. They had controls though - Malaysian vehicles couldnt fill up more than $10.00.

 

 

yeah how i wish sg petrol station displaying such price...

[PaLmEr]

kudos to you! How much to fly your bike there?

[Kushinagar]

wow, bro, hands down u r now than ppl cannot say so many things.... even though they ride to malaysian peninsular, coz u ve beeen to the WEST MALAYSIA.. :thumb:

 

Some correction to highlight;

 

M'sia Peninsular is called West Malaysia which is accessible via the 1st & 2nd link whereas bro FB666Y brought his R1 to the East Malaysia which consist of Sarawak & Sabah with Brunei in between the two states.

 

[yenyenpark]

wow.. neber tok there is ROAD between Sarawak and Sabah..

 

did u visit crocodile farm in Kuching.. they are HUGE..

 

thumb up for u.. waiting for ur sabah pictures..

[FB666Y]

Unfortunately couldnt find time to update with the rest of the pics, but to answer some queries:

 

Yes - its East malaysia

It cost 800RM KL to Kuching

But it cost 1000RM Kota Kinabalu to KL

I have found it quite amazing that Sabah, although one of the poorer Malaysian states, is the most expensive. A double cheesburger in McD cost 6RM

[yenyenpark]

i think the price of transporting ur bike seems reasonable.. i heard even sending kupkia from kuching to KL also around tat price, by ship..

 

normally east malaysia western fast food, or boutique shop clothes r more ex.. but local food shud b alrite..

[FB666Y]

Some pictures from Bandar Seri Begawan. BSB has my vote as the cleanest city in South East Asia.

The city gets somewhat deserted by early evening though - most of the action is along the waterfront area:

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

 

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Bandar Seri Begawan

[FB666Y]

The ride from BSB to Kota Kinabalu involves waaaaay too many border croassing and 2 ferry crossings:

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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The road to Kota Kinabalu

 

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At the hotel in Kota Kinabalu

 

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Clouds over the sea in Kota Kinabalu

[lao uncle]

wow, bro, hands down u r now than ppl cannot say so many things.... even though they ride to malaysian peninsular, coz u ve beeen to the WEST MALAYSIA.. :thumb:

 

Sabah is in East Malaysia

[JustRider]

Dude, I understand that Malacca can ship bikes over to East Malaysia, Indo and even Australia. So yours went by air from KL? I am curious about the Malacca option cos' it is supposed to be cheap.

 

Great trip, fantastic pics. and even better travelling spirit!

[chrislayer]

interesting ride!!!

[FB666Y]

JustRider - I think you mean Port Dickson. You can send over by ship but depending on the location it could take a while - for example Sydney is about 2 weeks of sailing.

If you fly it the bike gets there same time as you do

[FB666Y]

Short of time we decided to stow the bike in Kota Kinabalu for a few days.

I spoke to the bell-boy and he let me park the R1 in his house for a couple of days.

Before we knew it we were dipping our toes in the Cebu Sea in Pulau Mabul and Pulau Sipadan.

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul

 

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Pulau Mabul