Today was a nice day on the roads of Malaysia. I am starting to get into the rhythm of riding now, and feeling a lot more comfortable with the bike + the load of luggage I have with me.

We decided to take the coastal route today, rather than the main highway, mostly as I’d regretted not riding along the coast earlier when riding to JB and back.

This turned out to be quite a good decision, as the roads were quite nice and also not too occupied on the way to Penang. Gentle turns, and highway straights, separated by the occasional toll booth.

We were quite quick on the road, taking advantage of a unique combination of:

• respectful / rider-aware drivers
• light(ish) traffic
• decent road surface and
• I don’t think speeding fines are a thing in Malaysia? (Or at least Malaysian riders ride as though there is no such thing).

In Thailand, you have 3 out of those 4 conditions (minus the rider-aware driving). In China, I am too afraid of getting in trouble, until I am told otherwise. (And Laos…I don’t know how “rider aware” I would call the average cow wandering the highways).

We took one stop about halfway to Penang in a town called Sitiawan (which happens to be the hometown of the Southern Bike Barn owner - I know this because he keeps calling me while I’m riding to check in). There, we had lunch at a local eatery next to the petrol station. Laksa mee for me, and ayam goreng for Kiat. Afterwards, we had a quick chat with the owner and her adorable kids posed for photos with our bikes.

The second half of the trip was also at quite a fast pace. I removed my windshield extension, as i was afraid it’d fly off mid ride and hit me - so was only constrained by the stability of the bike. I find at higher speeds, the front end of the Desert X tends to start wobble. I’m not sure if that’s because of the things I’ve got strapped onto my crash bars / my luggage affecting the aero, but i know well enough to slow down when the wobbles start (there are numerous videos online where the wobbles compound until the bike highsides/has a horrible accident).

[Unedited clip for vibes]

Then we reached Penang. First impressions of George Town - very old, run down, looks as though the glory days were in the late 1800s. It was also the first place with streets that gave me “tourist trap” vibes. Irish pubs, “choose your next adventure” travel agencies, and “scooter for rent” signs. I, (guilty as ever) after putting a load of laundry on, went straight to one of the main tourist trap parts - Armenian Street - known for its street art to snap a few pics of and with Sandeep. Dinner was street food, and then I went scavenging for durian.

My time in Malaysia is coming to an end; tomorrow we cross to Thailand. Some quick thoughts:

• Malaysia is a lot more developed than other parts of SEA (ex Singapore). People seem reasonably wealthy and it leans more car centric (vs the hordes of scooters in Vietnam/Indo). This results in very very heavy traffic in the cities and on highways during peak periods such as after-work rush, or holidays.
• Malaysia also has a decent biker community - and they’ve managed to get the cars used to their presence - so it feels safer on the highways relative to other parts. Riders here are the craziest/fastest I have seen.
• Road quality is excellent, so if I were to come here again just for riding, I would ride during the week / outside of peak times.

Tomorrow: Hat Yai!

Some stats:

• 431 KMs ridden
• 1 unique interaction
• 35g coffee consumed
• First time it rained while riding! (Twice)
• 2 durians consumed (making the trip total ~3 to date). When in Malaysia…..

Other photos:

Temple on Armenian StreetSandeep at the Durian KingMy scooter > theirsAirbag setup - shoutout to Jinky and Janet for the neck scarf + the tail bag (keeping my electronics dry in the rain!)Tourists posting with my bike