Singapore flag.
Problem
A member of my family and their friends on motorbikes have left the civilised skyscraper city of Singapore, new, modern, clean and green. Why?
A keen biker can't pass a row of bikes parked in Singapore without stopping to admire every one.
Preparations
Before the departure date, there are trips to buy helmets and gloves. What size of helmet to buy? What about the spare helmet in case you take a passenger?
Buy gloves in a sale? But are they padded, with double stitching?
The languages of Singapore are English (with taxi drivers sometimes speaking Singlish, a kind of pigeon English which includes words in Malay and Chinese, meaning Mandarin), plus Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
I am practising my Malay language on Duolingo. Terimah Kasih is thank you. Malay and Indonesian are very similar, like American and English. Malay uses the English alphabet so is easiest of the local languages. Bahaya means beware, hey! Stay away. Danger.
In Singapore I was visited by my new Chinese friend, who has a Japanese husband. They lived in Australia.
My friend displaying her Australian flag on a beach towel
They sat watching TV, watching the previous races on Philip Island in Australia.
Previously, the bike races were in Japan.
Japanese flag.
We must plan a big trip to Japan or Australia. With Megan Markle and Prince Harry in Australia, the newspapers were full of stories about Australia.
But before taking a trip there, my relatives planned something simpler and near to Singapore, Malaysia.
Malaysia. Twin Towers, KL
They talk of nothing else but bikes and bike races. I am not a bike person. I listen politely, show an interest, try to make sense of it all.
My family includes supporters of Formula One Races (cars) as well as Moto GP (bike races), although some people are into either only one or the other.
Freedom Of The Open Road
A whole group of motorcyclists will go up on their bikes from Singapore to Malaysia to watch the race. Some people ride in motorbikes in Malaysia every weekend. It makes a change to be in the wide open spaces, instead of the motorways crossing the small city state island of Singapore off Malaysia's southern tip.
Preparing For The Bridge Crossing
The building of the second bridge helped eased the early congestion which some drivers and tourists remember from earlier years. We have also been across from Singapore to Malaysia in a car or hired car. Many Singaporeans go across to visit friends, staying with friends and family. Pedestrians take the bus from Singapore to 'JB' for a change and for shopping.
What do you need to take with you? A passport. You will be stopped on exiting Singapore and a few yards further on for entering Malaysia. Cyclists have separate crossing points from the cars, buses and big vehicles, with automatic barriers.
Passport Check
You go through two stopping points, one is the passport control, next customs. What are the officials on passport checkpoints looking for? Passport checks, in addition to stopping criminals, are looking for people overstaying their visas.
Customs
What about the security and customs check? Cigarettes. Petrol. The Singaporeans don't want people going across to Malaysia to fill up with cheap petrol (Americans say gasoline).
Petrol Points
Make a note of the restrictions, but also where the garages are. You used to be able to stop at a garage in the Malaysian border town of Johor Bahur (Bahru is Malay for new). But now the road bypasses the city. That speeds you on your way. But you don't want to run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere on an empty road.
Stopover Choices
Tourists would spend a day or two in the pink city of Malacca. We have done that at least twice.
Stopover at Ipoh
Ipoh is a sleepy trading post. We stopped for coffee at tea time once in the big hotel. Like British station hotels, it had run down.
Stopover at KL
Or in KL, with its must see Petronas twin towers where Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones were filmed in the 1999 movie Entrapment.
If you go as a group, even two or three, and staying not for just one night but a weekend of a week, you might find it cheaper and more fun to rent an apartment.
Malaysia. Petronas Twin Towers. KL, filmed in Enrapment.
In KL with my late mother-in-law, who was already frail, we stayed at the grand hotel beside the Twin Towers. We visited a museum in the basement about the construction of the towers and surrounding area and learned how they overcame the problems of finance and construction which threatened to derail the plans.
I can't recall specifics but I can recall the stress on the people involved and the types of hazards you face in a large project which takes years to complete. Once a building is up, running, a success, it's a marvel. You assume it was easy.
But I had not appreciated why builders of major projects, the architects, surveyors, project managers, are given awards. I thought, they are just doing their job. Spending somebody else's money. However, you know how long it can take just to get a simple repair done. The workman arrives and says, 'when we quoted for this job, we hadn't realised there would be ...'
All sorts of things can happen. Governments change and want to change plans. Backers go out of business. To fund the project, for commercial backers you need to add a shopping mall, hotels and restaurants. But to make up the money, for permission to go ahead as well as for more funds, you need government and local government, you need public projects to enhance the city such as parks or gardens.
You find water tables or rocks which you had not expected. Drought, flooding, earthquakes, upset the architecture or frighten off the workers, backers, or delay opening day celebrations. The backer or architect can die, funds frozen, supervisor not available, and workers can be injured.
The area suffers flooding or earthquakes. You need to add a religious building or remove it to get backers. You have Indians with auspicious days, Chinese with feng shui and lucky numbers, Moslems with holy sites, religious holidays, stops for prayers, Ramadan for a month and religious buildings must face Mecca.
Then we went up to walk across the bridge. We went early to avoid queues (long line-ups) and had timed tickets.
Timing Of Journey
If two or more of you are leaving Singapore, if you live nearby, it is easier to go together. It is also safer to ride with a partner or in a convoy.
I listened to stories of two accidents. On one occasion, an injured person went back to Singapore and his friend followed on a bike.
On another occasion a bike rolled over and caught fire. The rider came back without it, having had it delivered to the repair shop as instructed by the police who would not take it. So far so good, and so bad.
But the insurance company in Singapore insisted on having the bike returned to Singapore. Their assessor had to inspect it. Why? To ensure it existed and had not simply been sold after a fake accident. to check it was not still roadworthy.
Meanwhile the shop in Malaysia had already sold it to a breakers and it had to be retrieved by them, the money they received reimbursed, the driver to pay the cost of transporting the broken bike back to Singapore.
You can get an estimate of time taken to drive to meet your friends. But some drivers allow an extra half hour for at least one rest stop to refill with petrol, buy a drink or something to eat and eat it, and go to the toilet. (That's without losing your way, stopping to take photos, or stopping at a tourist site or city, stopping to phone your fellow travellers or reply to their queries.)
Weather and Police
In addition, you might drive slower, or pull off, if it is raining hard. You might also be stopped by police doing a speed check.
Sepang
The race course is at Sepang, about 60-70 miles south of KL, a circuit near the town. More about the races and tickets and what you see in my next post.
Useful Words
Malay - English
bank - bank
bas - bus
hotel - hotel
jalan - road
imigresen - immigration
kastam - customs
klinik - clinic
minuman - drinks
pos - post (American say mail)
restoran - restaurant
stesen - station
teksi - taxi
English - Malay
bus station - stesen bas
clinic - klinik
customs - kastam
drinks - minuman
immigration - imigresen
restaurant - restoran
road - jalan
post - pos
taxi -teksi
Useful Websites
Singapore
visitsingapore.com
singaporeair.com (Singapore Airlines)
Malaysia
visit-Malaysia.com
malaysiatourism.gov.my
www.sepangcircuit.com
Australia
australia.com/en
www.lonelyplanet.com/australia
Japan
see_japan.co.uk
Also see TripAdvisor, Wikitravel, Wikivoyage
Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker.
