DAYS 4-5
This took us first to Kota Bharu and then to
Penang. We had a technical problem with one
of the bikes on the run to Kota Bharu. The fuel
pump failed and that was the end of the Versys
for the day. MMG regrouped quickly and the
fault only delayed us an hour or so and as it was
a short day to start with, we still rolled into Kota
Bharu in the late afternoon. It was on this run that
we encountered traffic lights with a countdown
timer on them so you knew how many seconds to
go before the next launch. Having timers might
seem a bit excessive (albeit entertaining) but
you do sometimes come across lights that have
a looooong wait time so you’re not sitting there
ready to drop the clutch when the timer is telling
you it’s still three minutes until your turn.
Day 5 was one of the longest days of the trip but
was still only a comfortable 350km or so. Initially
we retraced our steps back part of the way back
towards Cameron Highlands and then headed on
to Penang where we would stay for the night and
then have a rest day on day 6.
We stayed on Penang Island which is joined to
the mainland by two bridges, the longest of
which is 24km, and the old ferry. And who doesn’t
love bridges and ferries? After our long day on
the road we took the easy option and took the
bridge straight over to the island, ending the day
with a fabulous seafood dinner at a restaurant
just five minutes’ walk from the hotel. It’s worth
mentioning here that the evening meals that
MMG lined up for us were always excellent. There
was a different cuisine every evening and the
food was always healthy, tasty and plentiful. It
also gave us all a chance to have a chat about the
day’s ride and share a few laughs.
DAY 6 – PENANG ISLAND
At the start of Day 6, our rest day on Penang
Island, we took the opportunity offered by
Zahed, for a very pleasant tour around the
island on the bikes which included some
fabulous twisty roads. He also took us back
across to the mainland so that we could
experience the ferry ride back to Penang
Island, which was an excellent little detour.
The remainder of the rest day was spent
exploring Penang Island with its blend of old
and new. It really is a fabulous city, and as we
were feeling a little lazy, we hired a rickshaw to
take us around George Town, which is the main
tourist centre of the island. We were particularly
taken by the murals and artwork painted on a
lot of the walls, many of which depicted scenes
and stories that related to the shop or street
they were painted on.
Penang has a much heavier Chinese influence
than elsewhere in Malaysia and that’s never
more obvious than at the Clan Jetties. These
were originally built to house the labourers
who built Penang Harbour and, as the name
suggests, each jetty was, and still is, the home
to one of the eight clan.
KIWI RIDER 41