After leaving Brinchang, we headed for the road to take us back to the E1, the main north south highway. Enroute, we found what must be one of the best bike roads in Malaysia, or anywhere else, & we virtually had it to ourselves. Apart from never knowing what sort of traffic idiocy awaited us around the next bend, it was just superb. We were having too much fun to even stop for photos, sorry. As we approached Georgetown on the island of Penang, the traffic started to really build up. There is the choice of a very long bridge or a ferry to the island, & we opted for the bridge. We soon found the traffic to be even worse than Melaka, people just carve you up from all angles, plus it was stinking hot, & we had no idea where we were going. But enough whingeing. We finally found the Sunway Hotel, which was one of the better choices away from the Millionaires Row along the nicest part of the city. As we rode up, the security guard greeted us with a curt "Can I help you, Sir", no doubt thinking these two scrubbers are lost. After we informed him that we were in fact intent on staying at the hotel, he barked a few orders to his minions, & escorted us to the front desk while another guy stood watch over the bikes.



When we got to the room, the door would not open because someone had somehow allowed the security latch to be set from the inside. Back to the desk, & we were invited to have a drink in the lobby lounge while we waited for this to be sorted. Having such sweaty , malodorous thugs sitting in the lobby soon attracted the attention of the Assistant Manager, Pauline Chua, who came over to ask what the hell we were doing in her hotel. As it turned out, this delightful young lady was intrigued by the whole journey thing, and could not have been more helpful. One word from her & things really started to happen big time. People flew in all directions, we were given a new room, and the car park attendant pulled up a deck chair next to the bikes, & settled in for a long wait. The deck chair was manned day & night until we left.

Later that night, I broke a tooth while eating tea. (Note to Don Wilson: not your fault, mate)

Pauline organised an appointment for me at her own dentist, & next day, I had the tooth filled. Total cost, $28Aust. Just the excess on my health insurance is $100. (Note to Don Wilson: $28!!!)



Around to the local BMW dealer to get a new headlight bulb, and we soon found out that there was a bunch of local BM riders going up to Phuket, Thailand, for Bike Week, & we were invited to tag along, by the head bike honcho at Auto Bavaria, Lim Bak Kau. A quick revision to the itinerary, & we fronted up. We were going there anyhow, but had planned to do the trip over 3 days. These guys were doing it in 1. We knew it would be fast, & we were not wrong!! About 800km, with a border crossing, made it a very big day,and we were pushing it hard through heavy traffic. To make matters worse, the bike just refused to start after one of the fuel stops. Lim had a service vehicle accompanying the group (I mean, how good is that!), & the technician got it going, but it was only a temporary reprieve. It turns out that the ignition immobiliser has an electronic problem & will need replacement. Lim is organising a replacement from the BM dealer in Bangkok, who is also coming here for Bike Week. So, while I am less than impressed with the fact that my 8 month old bike has incurred a serious reliability issue, I reckon I'm bloody lucky it happened when & where it did, & not in India or Pakistan,where thereare no BM dealers at all.