The Man Who Rode Around Borneo - 4 Off We Go!

Today was the ‘D’ day for Ride Around Borneo 2013 (RAB). I have been waiting for this day for a while now and hello the first day of RAB. I’ve been through an accident, in the hospital, broke my ankle and was asked to postpone RAB and here I am ready for the go. I didn’t sleep well the past 2 night. Apparently some guest decided to watch the television until early morning.  I spoke to the both of them last night and apparently they are both from Kuala Lumpur. A student and teacher team that worth telling the story here. The student wanted to show her teacher how it’s like to be staying in backpackers and also to show her hometown in Sabah.  Since her teacher never been to Kota Kinabalu and never climb Mount Everest before, she booked two tickets to come here and Google search  budget slash backpackers and found Borneo Beachouse.  Since this is the first time the teacher staying in backpackers and saw a “strange” person (Me!), she decided not to sleep at night and got her student to stay up all night watching television. Of course she wasn’t convinced even after I told them I am not a bad guy and will be leaving the backpackers to cycle far away.

Other than that, staying at Borneo Beach House has been great. The boys’ hospitality was superb. We got dinner cooked for us on Friday and Saturday night. Though it was simple, it was definitely something I will remember for a very long time. I don’t usually recommend my friends places to stay as I have really cheap taste when come to staying in a hotel but I can assure you  for home away from home experience, give Borneo Beachouse a try.

Heather and I got all our stuffs down by 6.50 am. It’s really a simple affair as we have everything, our gears ready the night before. We looked at each other and I spoke softly, “Here we go teammate”. Heather smiled signal that she is ready. Alex, a friend from Kota Kinabalu took a few shots of us at the start point outside Borneo Beachouse and we rode off immediately after. I led and Heather wasn’t far behind and followed with Alex close behind Heather. Our route today was supposed to be straight forward and short. Basing from the information received and Google map, we are heading to Beaufort about 100km away and pretty much “flat”. It was fairly an easy Sunday morning ride though I was feeling nervous. I am going to be cycling around Borneo and I am also doing it with someone I had known for just a short while. I got to know Heather via Facebook, a friend posted something about her intending to cycle in Sumatra and we hook up from there. We met once, a month before RAB to start in Kuala Lumpur to bond and also delivering RAB shirts to our supporters. We got on well I thought and to ride in Borneo together was on. Well, with or without a riding partner, the ride will go on at least for me.

We were only about 10km from our start point when Alex guided us to our first rest stop at a small town. A great start! As I need coffee before all my system can function in the morning. I did manage to walk around the market very near the coffee shop to see and feel the local. It was so colourful and crowded, the Sunday’s market. There seems to be people from all over Sabah trading their wares and some brought their home made Malay pastries prepared very early in the morning. I bought some Malay traditional kueh for Heather and Alex, took some photos  and explore the further in until I am happy before going back to join the two of them for coffee. I am happy already. Exactly what I’ve been doing whenever I am cycling anywhere. Over breakfast, we spoke about the speed we will be doing and what will be our ideal distance before we rest and Alex would be leading us until we arrived at the next rest stop and however long Alex wanted to ride with us. I am fine and happy with those suggestions.

After many months of talking about it, looking at maps, convincing friends that cycling around Borneo should be attempted or I will be regretting it at a later stage of my life. It wasn’t an easy decision though. There are many uncertainties. Such as the road in Kalimantan, the kind of weather I will be expecting other than the weather. Will it be really hot or if it going to be raining, will there be floods? What will it be like cycling through the forest and plantations in Kalimantan? Will I survive it? Between taking on the challenge and ditch the whole plan, ditching it was the easiest but that wasn’t what human are made for. I believe we are brought up in this world to challenge ourselves and test our limits. It is safe to be sitting at home, hangout with friends but that isn’t what we are born in this world for –at least that is what I believe. To make everything as normal as possible, I am taking this adventure like any other camping trip I had done previously. Get the bike out, cycle as far as I could, find a place to rest, eat, sleep and repeat. Boy I was wrong as I found out later on in the trip.

We rested for about an hour before heading off to our next stop, Papar which was about 25km away from where we are now. Alex took the lead now, Heather follows and I took the sweeping position. I wanted to go slow, stop whenever I wanted too or when I see something interesting so the last position was the best for me. So far our ride has been good, nice people on a Sunday morning giving us the thumbs up and friendly honk. I even witnessed how a big lorry slowed down behind Heather and waiting for the other side to clear before overtaking. I do not want to say this early in our ride but nice place to be cycling in Sabah – so far.

After an easy ride to our first rest stop, getting in to Papar wasn’t straight forward, at least for a Sunday morning on the start of RAB. At one point, I almost dismount from my bike and push. All in the spirit of cycling I kept going. Anyway, we all made it to Papar as happy as the bird Heather and I saw high up on the trees in the middle of our first climb.

We saw the cloud while having our break at the corner coffeeshop in Papar. The next thing on my mind is to get moving before the rain came. We got everything to where it supposed to be and quickly mount our bike. Same formation, Alex up ahead, followed by Heather and I am behind.  We went slightly faster doing 25km per hour as it was flat and the clouds looks like it going to pour anytime. I definitely do not want to be riding in the rain on our first day of RAB. As predicted, the rain came 10km after we left Papar.  We didn’t expect it to get heavier and we left with little choice but to encourage Alex to turn back. It took some convincing to get Alex to agree and after realising the rain not going to get any better, Alex agreed to turn back. Heather and I move on and less than 2 km into our ride after we parted ways with Alex, the rain got heavier. Heather at the front turn back to me and immediately I gave her the turnaround sign (read: turn around, I saw a chicken wing shop). She gave me the smile and we turn back towards the chicken wing stall. There we got 3 boiled eggs, paid by a fine gentleman, 4 hot drinks and a simple vegetables and white rice and spend two hour at the coffee shop. Heather managed to get the laptop out and did some writing. Me? I walked around to see if I can capture anything interesting while waiting the rain to past.

We made the decision to get going at 2.30pm in order for us to reach Beaufort at 5pm. The rain doesn’t looked like it is going to stop but we have not much choice but to go on. Riding in the rain reminds me during my younger days playing with my friends in the rain so I don’t mind actually. I go slow, steady and try to scan for outstanding scenery or subject to shoot. Heather was way ahead of me. I don’t mind either as we already established where to stop, how long to wait and all the SOP of team riding. Also riding by myself behind, I have the freedom to stop whenever I wanted to and spending some time interacting with any local that attracts my attention. I love asking the local on my destination ahead of me, what to expect, what is good for food and where is good to stay. I managed to stop for fruit juice and pack some cut fruits for Heather before catching her up at the last 12km marker. We rode into Beaufort together and the first thing on my mind was to get soya bean drink and the Indian rojak was a bonus. Both of us were wet and cold. What a way to start RAB.

We rode around the small Beaufort town to look for a place for the night. I think by now we were getting a little uncomfortable riding with our wet gears and needed a place asap and camping is definitely out. We found a reasonable price hotel in this little town, Beaufort. We get ourselves sorted quickly, wash up, did our laundries and hang it to dry before we head out to look for dinner. We do not need anything fancy so it was easy for us to find dinner and within an hour; we were walking back to our room and all set to rest for the night. I am happy with my first day ride and no doubt, RAB will get tougher. I am going to do this one day at a time.

  I woke up early and after day 1 introduction of cycling around Borneo, which I thought  was like riding in a park other than the climbing and the angry rain. I found out later day 2 was something else. The moment we got out of Beaufort, the sun was in my face. I still remember the first picture I took of Heather; it was nothing on the screen but the glaring of the sun. It was that hot at 8.30 in the morning. I have this love hate relationship with the heat (I almost died of heatstroke in Thailand while serving in the army) and the rolling hills didn’t help either.  Our first check point for today was Weston. We picked it up while having coffee in the room. It wasn’t in our initial planning but we decided to give it a go. What do you know, it was nothing there. That place is like a retirement village. So I advised that if you’re thinking to head down to a fancy place called Weston, don’t! Well, the maps we have was a little misleading, it place Weston very near to the sea and from the way in look in the map, it was like a beautiful bay to be visited. One thing I noticed about the roads in Sabah is that it was well maintained, no potholes and are clearly marked. Most comes with hard shoulder and I have no complains about that. There wasn’t a lot to see actually other than miles and miles of Oil Palm plantations so I plugged in my earpiece and rocks along in the burning heat towards Weston.

We left Weston as quickly as we got in. We’re heading to Sipitang next.  I call this stretch the “blue stretch”. There is more blue than you can imagine. Make a guess? Well you see, we happened to be cycling around the period of Malaysia’s general election, and most places in Malaysia are control by Barisan National and being the current government, they are doing a good job making their party flags seen all the way from where we started, Kota Kinabalu. One experience which later on convinced me to be at the election centre during Election Day, out of curiosity.

Today’s riding felt a little different, first it wasn’t a Sunday ride like I enjoyed back home and secondly it was really hot , 34-37 degree Celsius. The heat was bothering me throughout and from Weston, Sipitang was just about 40km a distance which I can usually covers without sweat but it feels like forever so far away. I took my time riding 2km behind Heather and tackling the small hills one at a time. I wasn’t tired or anything, it was just the heat; it wasn’t something I am used to. I kept pushing, one pedal after another. Slowly but surely, we arrived in Sipitang. We sat under comfortable shades in a parking lot and had simple lunch of rice, fish and vegetables. We were recommended a special kind of little fish which we can consume the bones too; well I am game and got the young excited server to bring out some. While chilling out and waiting for our lunch, we had the chance to dry our wet socks and shoes from yesterday rain. There and then I felt like taking a quick nap as I felt my energy was all squeeze out from the heat. It was that hot and we have long way to go. Lunch came and mostly the vegetable goes to Heater and being a “fish-man”, I have most of the fish. We spend another 30 minutes consuming lunch before consolidating our wet gears and taking our leave.  I had totally enjoyed the lunch break. We slowly rolled our bike out and searching for the toilet nearby so we could settle some urgent matters and we found one at a petrol kiosk. Again, I am surprised it was a well maintained rest room! We took turn to visit the rest room. Before heading out, we met with someone who had read about us on the papers published on the weekend and were greeted and obliged to a photo request. We stayed for a little while to chat and it was good to know people recognized us even in this quiet little place, Sipitang.

I had thought the toughest sections were behind us as we pedaled slowly towards Lawas, Sarawak on flat roads. I was wrong again. The slopes appeared as soon as we left Sipitang. It went up and down like a roller coaster ride and made worst with trucks using the small trunk roads. After about 20km, I found Heather resting in a wooden pergola outside someone’s wooden bungalow. I rode in, towards her, leans my bike against the pergola and strip my riding jersey off my body and get downs some liquids in me. I was burning from the heat. The next we knew we were both laying on the long bench taking a 10 minutes nap. I learn from my army days about this power naps. Too long and you’ll wake up feeling groggy and too short you’ll feels as tired. The best duration for power naps should be 10 minutes and never take your naps in darkness. It is best to expose your face in some lights to keep yourself semi conscious while at the same time resting your “engines”.

We took off after regaining some energy and not 5km later we found the border crossing post between Sabah into Sarawak. No big dramas as we were told to expect before crossing into Sarawak. The only problem I had been with my bike stands giving way. It was a small problem which can be solved later. Again, the roads were perfect and not much vehicles over this side of Sabah and we rolled quickly into Sarawak. We have about 40km to reach Lawas from here. Immediately after crossing into Sarawak, we stop at a fruits stall to get bunch of banana and a papaya for the journey ahead and the papaya for following morning breakfast. It was cool, shady and flat riding towards Lawas. But not for long, the sun shone on us again. Blistering hot and what best was the climbing along the way. A good combination to torture your legs. My speedometer drop from 20 to 15 and a little later after much battling with the slopes, it dropped further to 12 and towards the end 10km/hr.

“Another hill climb, I’m going to stop and have a break”. I hear myself saying. By now, Heather should be about 3km ahead of me...The heat going to slow me down and knowing there is no way I can chase her and 20km outside Lawas, I decided to stop at a small stream to take a dip. I went back to my bike and telling myself an hour or so we should be in Lawas. I was wrong, 15km outside Lawas, I was texting Heather, “Hey go ahead find a cheap hotel. I will ride slowly in”. I was with a friendly villager who serves me ice-cold mineral water and a can of coke. I return the kindness and gave the shop owner little girl RM 4.00. After 4km where I last rested, I cross the bridge I was told about at the last rest point. I did a quick stop to take a picture and I was told by one contractor working on the bridge there is no way I will make into Lawas before dark.

I take a quick look at the time and it was 6pm (here in Borneo, 6pm is like 7pm in Singapore) and I was 11km out. I can do 10km in 30 minutes, in an ideal world, yes 10 km in 30 minutes. In Sarawak, I don’t think it would be possible. A lady stopped her car before the bridge and we start chatting. I kept making excuses to leave but she kept going at it, where I am from, where I am going and who I am with. In my head I kept telling myself, “We’re running late Ra!!!! Get the fark out!”

Even at the last ten kilometres, the slopes just won’t go away. I kept going as it was getting dark. Until I saw the 4km marker to Lawas and the road was flat, I cranked up harder all the way towards Lawas. It was a relieved reading Heather message she was at Sugar Bun having a deserving break. I pulled into Lawas slowly recovering and I was glad I made it safely. The first thing came to mind was fried chicken. I wasn’t sure why but after we check-in at a cheap hotel, we headed to KFC for what I thought at that moment was like food’s from Heaven.

The Man Who Rode Around Borneo - 3 Land Below The Wind

Sharks for breakfast

19 April 2013
Friday, my second day in Sabah, Borneo and I got woken up early by the man who is going to ride ‘tip-to-tip’ of Borneo. Simon Sandi, a Sarawakian is going to do that with two other young cyclists from Kudat, Sabah. The three of them arrived in Kota Kinabalu late last night cycling 190km from ‘Tip-to-tip’ starting point, Kudat. If you haven’t try cycle touring, riding 190km on the first day of your 14 days trip, with loads on your recumbent bike (Simon) and mountain bike (the other two young man), going up and down Sabah rugged terrains, it is not a matter to take very lightly. Simon is one heck determined old man but it was a good call from the team to take a day off and see Kota Kinabalu and chill with me today. Simon and his team was housed at Promenade Hotels and Resort (a fantastic hotel in Kota Kinabalu if you ask me) and I was invited to join his team for breakfast and also press interview. It was hard for me to get up this morning. I cannot imagine how it is going to be for the rest of my attempt to cycle around Borneo starting in about 48 hours from now. I foresee there’s going to be pained in the butt, packing, brewing coffee, stowing away that brewing kit and ahead of me the road I have yet to travel.

Early morning of the second day in Borneo and I am thinking funny and what better to wake up with some sharks delicacies. I know this might offend some people from the “save the sharks” fraternity but let me tell you this; I am here to experience different culture, foods and any other along that line. Come what may and if push comes to shove, I’ll eat shark too. To me it’s just another fish. Ok, I didn’t exactly volunteer for this but the idea of tasting the shark's offered to me by the Borneo Beachouse boys is just very hard to resist. Why they eat sharks was beyond me and if you expect me to live like the mainstreams, writes beautiful stuff and expecting me to say the nicest things, I think it is clearly written that I am not that sort. The good news was that I didn’t go full on as the taste was just awful. So calm down sharks’ lovers, I am with you. I'll do shasimi anytime. Here is how the had prepared it,as was told by the "chef" himself.
"First thing..mesti guna daging ikan yu yg segar..ptong dan ambil yg isi sahaja...kulit mesti di buang dan ptong cube dging ikan tu..memotong..didihkan air dan msuk kan ikan selama 5 saat ..ptong limau kapas..bwang merah dan cili..msuk kn gula dan ajinnomoto jak..gaul ikan..dan semua rempah2 tadi dan msuk kan ke dalam fridge selama 1 jam.." Loosely translated; first, it got to be a shark! freshly caught shark! cut it into pieces and removed the skins. Cut the flesh into cube form, while doing all these, boil water and pour all the cubes meat into the boiling water. Next cut some lime, red onions and red chillis and these also goes into the boiling water with a ajinomoto and wait for another 5 minutes. Once done, put it in a container and put the container in the fridge for an hour. Go ahead, give it a try.

I am not a historian either but from the casual conversation I had with the oldies in Sabah, I found out the name "Land Below the Wind" was given to Sabah simply because it is located below the typhoon belt, thus setting the State free from climatic disturbances (sort of). It has also been said that Sabah was once referred to as Seludang in a 1365 Javanese text known as Nagarakretagama written by Mpu Prapanca. I am not 100% sure on this but it would be interesting to find that out the accuracy of that claimed.

From what I read in Wikitravel, Sabah was once known as North Borneo before its independence through Malaysia in 16 September 1963, Sabah occupies the top portion of Borneo (the third largest island in the world) and covers and areas of 74,500 sq km (29,388 sq miles) with a coastline of about 1,440 km (about the length from Singapore to Bangkok) washed by the South China Sea and Celebes Sea on the East. Sabah is blessed with a diverse landscape of tropical forests (which from what I see is slowly disappearing), rugged mountains, green flat lands and pristine seas teaming with indigenous flora and fauna some of which can only be found in this part of the world. Sabah climate is tropical but pleasant. Sunny blue skies typify most days and it is summer all year round. Depending on the month and your location in Sabah, rain may cause a little inconvenience. As a general guide, the wet season falls between November and February (Debatable with the unpredictable weather we have now). Sabah has a population of around 2.0 million with the ethnic Kadazandusun race being the majority followed by the Chinese, Malays and other indigenous groups such as the Bajau, Murut, Rungus, orang sungai and others. Together there are over 30 different races and over 80 different dialects, each group having its own colourful culture, tradition, festival and customs and unfortunately eating sharks is one.

I was in the main bungalow kitchen having a go at the raw shark when Alex, my new friend in Kota Kinabalu comes around to pick me up. We had planned to meet for breakfast, going around town and since there will be breakfast at Promenade Hotels and Resort, I had asked Alex to come along. Alex owns this old 4x4 wagon which reminds me of my 4x4, an old Suzuki Vitara. I am not sure if Alex using it for used in the jungle but it sure rekindle some of my 4x4 days. Then, I have this obsession of searching one “rainforest highway” used by the Orang Asli in Selai / Endau. I heard about that “rainforest highway” during my dirt bike days but I didn’t follow that up. I heard it again when I started driving my 4x4 in to Selai and this time round, I am more or less equipped for such adventure and the search for the “rainforest highway” was on. Some weekends, I’ll just drive to Johor and talks to the off-roading “abang” (strangers whom we call brothers as a sign of respect) if they ever heard of the Orang Asli “rainforest highway”. Some would go to the extend drawing me a sketch map in an empty cigarette box complete with landmarks and the entry and exit point and I quickly rally friends to look for it. Many times I was disappointed. One time, I was standing right in front of the discreet entry point; I took one look at it but thought that wasn’t it. I was standing right in front of it for god sake but I wasn’t confident enough to venture in further. I was alone with no co-driver.

The Team (with me behind the camera)

The only way to find it was with fully equip and formidable force you might think? Yes and no, I did organised numerous trip with other 4x4 groups to look for the “rainforest highway” and one experience I remembered started with a recce trip and I had also invited a lady friend, Alice (for the experience). This was supposed to be a day trip, a quick in take a look, cross check on the GPS, get out and plan a comprehensive trip at a further dates. So we happily went in one Sunday.
‘Ra, what to bring?’ Alice asked me the night before.
‘Hat, sunscreen, bikini and maybe a towel. We will be hanging out by the waterfall.’ I said to her.

The next day, 3 fully modified land rovers, 1 classic Series III land rover (which I am going to affectionately refer to as WWII relic) and one fully modified Jeep Wrangler (Rubicon) are set for the one day recce slash fun trip. So we roll very early Sunday morning to meet up at Gelang Patah shell station while Andy and Meng Choon joining us along the way on North South Highway. It was a straight forward 180km Sunday’s drive towards breakfast point just outside shell along Route 1, on Chaah before moving off using the J150minor road entering Kampung Bekok Ranger Station (for Park Permit) Within hours, we pretty much got everything sorted at the Ranger Station and are all sets to go for a day short adventure. Benson Tan drives his D110 with me as the co- driver, Meng Choon on his D90 with Andi as co-driver, Anthony Peplow was with Matt as his co-driver, Alvin, driving his WWII relic land rover with Alice co-piloting and Eric (Ah Kok) with his Rubicon and his lovely wife Alicia co-piloting. Remember our intention was to recce slash have fun, so we weren’t really self- sufficient on top of just drinks and snacks.

‘Let’s rock and roll’. Someone called out from the back. Benson and I were ahead on this section as I will be looking out for the landmark and the sketch maps that was given to me, behind us Alvin and Alice on the WWII relic, Meng Choon and Andy followed behind and Pep and Matt and Rubicon sweeping close behind. I’ve been in and out this area countless times. One time I saw 2 fully modified vehicles park outside on a concrete bridge complete with their tent set up, brewing coffee and just standing around. I know they must have been coming from somewhere but I didn’t stop to ask. Where I saw them, just after the bridge there is this telephone tower which I was told to look out for and from that tower, turn right and keep going. While Benson was concentrating on the wheels, I am busy looking at my sketch map and yes the bridge and tower was in the sketch map but not exactly where the right turn was. Could it be a right immediately after the concrete bridge crossing? So we’d that check out to be sure. Nope, it wasn’t it. We were out from there within twenty minutes but we witnessed how difficult for Alvin’s to get out from that trail. We put it aside not to bother us and press on towards the National Park. Somehow, something tells me the entry point to the “rainforest highway” got to be around here. Why would the orang asli ride all the way into the park and back track south to go to Kahang? Still, we need to look for it nearer the park as there are places needed to be seen, trail to be explored. We will never know. Anyway it was a Sunday time for some fun I had thought.

The Machines

We arrived at the Park camp site within an hour and we gathered quickly for safety briefing and formation conducted by Andi the group most senior (as in age experienced. Pep was the oldest amongst us). Ah Kok and his wife in their Rubicon moved up ahead to scout, Alvin’s WWII relic land rover second from the front, Pep and Matt third, Meng Choon and Andy fourth with Benson and I in the D110 monster fall back to sweep. It was now sometime about 1pm went we making our entry to cross the main river over to the other side of the trail and it was really a beautiful Sunday. The flowing river water, the sun rays and nature sound in the background was just perfect for a picnic lunch but we couldn't afford that as we were behind time. Ah Kok was the first to cross the river to start our day’s recce. Current was just perfect and he made the crossing looks easy and quickly get over the other side and set up the winch for Alvin WWII relic land rover, just in case. Next Alvin made the crossing and trouble. He went straight into one big rocks and that was it.

Benson's monster crossing the river

We got held for about 20 minutes rescuing the WWII relic. This was when we decided to swop Alice to sit in Benson’s Monster and I went into Alvin’s WWII relic. Pep and Meng Choon did the crossing without sweat and next came Benson with his monster. All made the crossing safely and we press on. Time passes us so very quickly and we were trying our very best to get to wherever that trail lead us and plot it in our GPS. While on the trail, Alvin’s WWII relic already showing signs of stress and might not be able to take the terrains ahead of us. We weren’t that concern  initially as we were there only to “recce” and also we had set up time and distance limit and by what time we needed to get out and cross the main river back out. From beautiful sunshine Sunday the weather turns shitty and we are only about 10km from our starting point beyond that river so we press on. The rain came and by now Alice dreams of tanning by the waterfall looks bleak and we had forgotten about the river behind us. We had forgotten we need to blardy cross that river to get home tonight. You know like they said, you can plan anything, any sort of contingency but when all of us were in that sort of adrenaline rush; we couldn’t figure that the river might swell and call for a turnaround pronto forgotten. It was about 4pm after pretty much sees the terrains and condition on the area the ‘Chinese parliament’was call (a decision base on everyone inputs and Andi the most experience in the group made the final call) and the team decided it was time for us to turn back and heads to the main river.

Brother Ah Kok clearing for the convoy

On the way out, I realized we might be in the shit. Alvin’s WWII relic was losing grip, slipping and sliding during climbs and taking longer to complete certain sections. Being his co-driver, I had the honor to work my ass out to run up and down for winching recovery. Boy I was cursing throughout. We were still on higher ground and going down in a rush becoming a high risk by itself. Pep overshot a trail and just managed to jam his brake on a slippery trail and short of few feet before going down a 100 meter steep slopes on his right. The team quickly jump into action with the girls giving us the hands too. In all, three winches, 2 tow-strap and everyone hands not on the wheels were out assisting.

We were all knackered after the major recovery work and I had it worst because I am still at it assisting Alvin in the pissing rain. I remembered covering the last small section of about 4km on a level ground was the toughest as the rain got heavier and the terrains gotten worst also at about this point of time we realised some of the smaller streams we crossed on the way in were swelling. I remembered at one RV point midway to the main river where we gathered to re-organised ourselves, we’d loosen up a little and joke about not coming home because the main river had swelled and we all laugh it off. Alice gave us the, ‘you boys better get me home tonight!’ look and we know she meant business. I didn’t know she just started her new job the same week not until later on. I was still jumping in and out of Alvin’s WWII relic to do winching recovery all the way to the end before the river crossing and when we got there, ‘Oh my god!’ was our expression at that exact moment when we saw the raging river. It didn’t just swelled, it farking swelled! (Excuse my language children’s) There was no way for us to cross that river tonight! I wasn’t worried and many of us either but Alice got to be back home tonight, ‘by hook or by crook’. We parked all the vehicles away from the raging river and walked towards it to reassess our situation. Andi whistles Meng Choon to drive his monster land rover closer so that we can wrap the tow-strap around and walk into the raging river to check for depth and current. Andi and I did just that and we looked at each other with the thumbs down, ‘No good to cross’, Andi called out and I realised this might screws up some of our Monday’s plans. Most of us don’t have to report to anyone (like a boss sort) but not Alice. She told us she needs to be back at work the next day as she had just joined the company not a few days ago. We have no mobile connection and we are not contactable, we are screwed. We are not going to die or anything but being Singaporeans, we are not used to this sort of things, you know – like no phone connection.

'Chinese Parliament' in session

Our survival mode quickly kicks in. Benson places a marker with luminous stick by the river to check for water depth. We will go check the marker every one hour to see how much it had subsided and if it possible to cross at night. Next, we brought whatever we have in the vehicle out. We got from Meng Choon’s vehicle a flask of hot coffee Andi brought from home and some other snacks bought at the breakfast stop. A box of pastries, bottles of mineral water and some soft drinks from Ah Kok's Rubicon. Some packets of potato chips from Alvin’s WWII relic, Pep had half of 7-11 inside his rig and decent supplies of cold drinks from Benson’s monster D110 and 2 loaves of Gardenia bread I bought at breakfast stop. That was it. We can live in there for another week. Not!

Cook out and coffee brewing session

By 6pm that evening, we pretty much accepted the fate we were in and what choice do we have but to quickly sort ourselves. The guys jump into the river to clean up the mess while the girls prepared dinner. Not like there was anything to cook at least there were stove and 3 packets of instant noodles to go around. Andi gets everyone’s around and spoke about the next day plan. We were to get up early morning tomorrow and if it safe to cross, we will make the crossing and that should gives us enough time to quickly call back whoever we needed to call before the start of the official work day. We all went back to our respective vehicles after and had some food. Alicia went around to share her instant noodels and Andi came over to our wagon with the hot coffee. We were pretty ok that night. We shared stories, jokes and witnessed the trouble the girls need to go through during nature call. In fact we slept peacefully that night.

Around 9pm, 200km away from where we were, our friend Jerry Tay was calling and sms-ing friends about our whereabout and had plan and formed a rescue team to search for us. The one crucial thing I did was to sketch our route map and hand it over to Jerry. So more or less Jerry could tell the situation we were in if he hasn’t heard from us the first thing next morning. We were told he was ready to go in anytime if need be.

Alice controlling herself against the call of mother nature

We woke up very early the morning around 5am the next morning and were greeted with a beautiful sound of nature and we can still hear the roar from the river. Andi was up very early brewing coffee and went around the other wagon to wake everyone up. One natural leader and definitely an asset to be in this sort of situation. We pack everything up, go for a quick clean up and followed by safety briefing conducted by the boss himself, Andi.
(I’ll let Alicia, one of the members in the team to continue with the rest below)

Alicia Tan:
At first, Benson or Andy did check out the marker every now and then but eventually everyone was too tired as the rain didn’t stop until around midnight (if I’m not mistaken) both Benson and Andy decided to sleep in their respective vehicle and waited for mother nature to show her mercy.  I remember the time because I woke up and woke Ah Kok up and said:      ‘Well the rain had stop does it mean we can go home now?’ But sadly, Ah Kok said it still need sometimes for the rain water to flow from the top of the mountain to bottom and this river is one of the main river in this mountain and that’s mean we still have to wait until the river water level to drop and also the fierce current to subside then we are able to drive across and well, he estimated it to be around after 6am the next day. (Pretty accurate prediction)  Very disappointed indeed but well, everyone of us didn’t brought any tent, sleeping bag, or even extra food as we expected it to be a day trip and we saw everyone were squeezing in side of the car like ‘sardine’ with different kinds of sleeping posture and yes, it was an experience that most of us never encountered before as the rain and the rise in the water level of the river weren’t totally put into consideration in this trip.

Moving off early in the morning to make the crossing

At that point, nobody thought about the dangers of encountering the wild animals or sudden lightning which can cause serious tree falling over us and which can endanger our lives, etc.  The only things in our mind are when will the rain stop? When will the water level subside? When will the current ease and most importantly was when are we going home?  I still remembered everyone took out our phone and started searching for phone signal at the time when we knew we were stuck in the jungle, even a slight signal from our phone, we started calling out for help but as expected, it never went through. I started to think what will the native people in the jungle do when they encounter situation like this. Perhaps they will not take out their phone and dial for help but to build a simple but safe shelter for the night, they probably will be searching for food in the jungle to ease their hunger (by way of trapping) and they may not be as panicky compare to us when dealing with such situation.  It’s a well lesson learn for us, city people.

Next morning around 530 am, everyone got up and started a simple wash up by the river as water is limited in our supply lines. Andi, Benson and Ra went to check on the marker.  The water level did went down but was still high at that time so another discussion started, finally we agreed to try and cross the river with Ah Kok, the sweeper, standing by the river bank, winch pulled out in just in case. If any vehicle got stuck while crossing the river, I will have to rush to the stranded vehicle, hook up and winch it back.  Meng Choon with Andi co-piloting will be the first to cross and test the river current and if he, one of the most modified Landie cannot complete the river crossing, then high chance non will, so as our team leader, Andi with Meng Choon on the wheel went first and thanks God, he made it followed by Alvin and Alice, Pep and Matt, Benson and Ra and lastly Ah Kok and I with everyone else waiting at the opposite bank with Benson winch readied for recovery. We all came across safe and sound. 

We had a short break after we had crossed the river, suddenly Ra phone started to ring (with the ridiculous Lady Gaga “Ra Ra Ra” tone) not once but countless times and the rest too, friends in the 4x4 fraternity whom didn’t joined us.  We were very delighted as we managed to cross the river and our phone received signal, calling and sms-ing. Friends who didn’t joined us were so worried about us as they too expected it to be a day trip and that no one from this trip got out of the jungle the night before.  After ensuring that we were safe, the next thing was to call our family, ensuring them of our safety and of course why we were not back last night, as many didn’t manage to call their wives the night before to explain the situation we were in or to inform their boss (Alice was one of them) for not reporting to work that day.  Everything turn out to be a great trip and experience worth keeping and one thing we learn about this trip is regardless if it was a day trip or multi days trip, we must prepared extra food for unforeseen situation such as weather, accident, etc. 

Alex and I arrived right on time for breakfast at Promenade Hotels and Resort. I didn't know Simon and the two boys were treated really good in Kota Kinabalu and I am happy for him. We were met by Simon and were ushered quickly by the hotel F&B manager inside the beautifully decorated interior of the hotel lobby lounge for breakfast. Anita Chung, the Marketing Director from Promenade Hotels and Resort join us shortly after and I was introduced immediately. We spoke briefly about Ride Around Borneo (RAB) and I was asked to follow up with an email to see the possibility of hosting me towards the end of RAB. Alex came back from the buffet table with deliciously looking breakfast but I can't make my move just yet as there are some other formalities to attend with the newspaper reporter and it was good hearing Simon sharing his team first day experienced riding from Kudat into Kota Kinabalu. This man, Simon is well organized and prepared for the interview with proper type up Q&A given to the reporter and his 'Tip-to-tip' schedule and and route planning. I am impressed and learn a thing or two about being organized.

We had our chance after the interview and Promenade Hotels and Resort F&B people were kind enough to reserved some freshly made breakfast for us. Again and again I am impressed with this place and it would be a shame if I don't come by to stop here on my way to the end point 2 months 2 days later. After interview and breakfast, we were brought out to the main lobby for some obligatory newspaper photo shoot. I thank Anita and promised to send her an email once I get RAB preparations sorted.Next stop Simon brought Alex and me to a bicycle shop nearby to look for his 2 teammates. They  are there to change some of their bike parts and do a little bit of modifications of their rack. They do not have any specials racks or special bicycle to cycle that 'tip-to-tip' of Borneo. Even their panniers were homemade by their mom. Their determination were contagious, to see how much they wanted to cycle for the first time outside their small hometown, Kudat and all the way to the other end of Borneo was very inspiring. When we reached the bicycle shop, the two boys were negotiating with the shop-owner to give them special price if they would to service their bike there. I pulled the shop owner to a corner and offered to foot some of the cost but like many Sabahans I met, the owner told me it's all taken care.

Heather arrived in Kota Kinabalu sometime around 11 in the morning and immediately after her plane landed, we exchanged a quick messages and told her I should be making my way back to Borneo Beachouse and pack her a simple vegetarian breakfast along the way back in Tanjung Aru. This is our second time meeting each other, the first was when we were in Kuala Lumpur for a weekend and also to meet RAB supporters and friends. It was good to see Heather again after our last meeting and team bonding in Kuala Lumpur. I helped to get her stuff to our room and quickly after brought our bicycles out of the box to assemble before the press interview with one reporter from Daily Express, one of Sabah’s leading newspaper and another from Breeze Magazine, Dino a friend of mine. Simon and his team joined us for the press interview to share his ‘Tip-to-tip’ stories. It was a good session with everyone contributing a little about why they wanted to cycle in Borneo and for what purposes. Simon is doing it to challenge himself and also taking a break from his daily routine life - Work. Whereas the two boys wanted to experience how it would be like be like cycling out from their small town Kudat and all the way to end of Borneo 1,440 kilometres away from home. I am proud of the three and my hope was to have more people taking that challenge in the near future. No specific reason though just to see Borneo on a bicycle speed and discover stuffs along the way and partly the same reason why I am going around Borneo on my bicycle.

Heather, Dino and the two boys (Minus Simon Sandi)

Lunches were packed from nearby Tanjung Aru town and all of us stayed inside Borneo Beachouse to stay away from the heat. After lunch, Dino and the Daily Express reported departed followed by Simon and his team to see the rest of Kota Kinabalu and to fine tune their gears before taking off again early tomorrow. Alex left immediately after and suddenly the place became so quiet to give Heather and I had some chance to hang out and chatted until the weather gets a little better. We managed to get our bicycles assembled and brought the rest of the stuff to our room before heading out into Town this time to get Heather phone card top-up. I gave my HTC Smartphone to Heather so she can hook up with her family back home in the US and probably also Google stuffs she want to find out. All good on my second day in Borneo (first day for Heather) and we rode off together for some fun into Tanjung Aru Beach to relax and getting to know each other better.

Alex putting Heather's bike together.

Heather and I had “home cooked” vegetarian dinner courtesy from Borneo Beachouse. A while later, Unding Jami, another friend from Kota Kinabalu and also a guide with one of the research centre in Danum Valley visited us at Borneo Beachouse to share some of the useful information we should know in Sabah and Danum Valley. It was a short and precise information sharing and Unding left with a pair of Ride Around Borneo shirts. We were pretty tired from the day’s activities and so ready for an early night but before going to bed, I send Simon an SMS wishing him and team the best, just in case if I couldn’t get up early the next morning. In less than 24 hours will leave Borneo Beachouse and into a journey into the unknown (at least for me and Heather) and tomorrow will be another jam pack day preparing for the start. We chatted for a little while on our bed before drifting into our sleep.

Unding Jami gave us a courtesy visit

I got up pretty early the next day, Saturday and as routine brew myself a coffee but this time enough for two. Simon had left me a message early morning informing me he had left Kota Kinabalu heading into Beaufort approximately 100km away continuing their quest to cycle Tip-to-tip’ of Borneo. ‘We’re heading tomorrow! And I will catch up with you’, I heard myself saying while typing it into message to Simon. Heather got up just after me and we headed downstairs to cycle out for breakfast nearby, you guess it correctly, Tanjung Aru town. I have this love hate relationship with the city centre. Though it is convenient to get stuffs in the city centre, I find it difficult to convince myself to be at a place full with people. Is it me or its normal for a person feeling this way avoiding city centre if possible? I don’t see myself wanting to be in the city if I can avoid it and what I can buy in the smaller town, I’ll get it from there. Or is it age catching up with me? In Singapore, where I am from, I don’t even wants to be in Orchard Road and I don’t know why.


Just before we took off, a friend, Sam send me a message to get us from Borneo Beachouse and bring us to the city centre for breakfast. I was so looking forward for the Indian Vegetarian’s breakfast. I am sure by now you realised it’s all vegetarian ever since Heather arrived in Kota Kinabalu. Yes, she is and I am happy to be vegetarian for the duration  of cycling around Borneo, 60 days or so. Like eating meat, being a vegetarian won’t kill and so no harm giving it a try. My first taste of Indian vegetarian food was actually just recently in Petaling Jaya (PJ) when team RAB first got together. David Lee, Base Camp Manager for Team RAB who is base in Kuala Lumpur brought us to a place in PJ for some serious Indian vegetarian lunch. Everything that I had there was superb. I actually over ate and felt pretty bloated when we made our way back to the hotel. It was one serious lunch for a guy who eats little most days.

Sam came around just slightly after 9 am and quickly drove us to our breakfast stop in Gaya Street. It was the first time we met and we introduce ourselves while on our way to breakfast. An owner of a fitness club (not massage parlour), nice guy, and well travelled and definitely someone I could hang out with, not on the bike though. Breakfast was heavy and we got on well actually. After breakfast, Sam drove us to Karamunsing complex specialised in electronics equivalent to Singapore’s Sim Lim Tower to replace my laptop charging cable. I was quite shock when the lady in the shop quoted me RM10.00 for a cable. It’s cheap! And I bargain harder but failed. It was half of Saturday well spends and we got back to Borneo Beachouse to get our bicycle out and rode around in the city centre one last time to absorb the atmosphere. Again for dinner, I handed the Borneo Beachouse in-house chef RM50 for him to get groceries to prepare us vegetarian dinner. We had planned to rest early tonight until I received a call while having dinner my buddy from Kota Kinabalu is coming over to bring us out for Dinner and some catching out session. We obliged of course and we headed back out to the city for couple of hours before heading back to get some deserving rest. I promised Malcolm I’ll look out for him when I am done with Ride Around Borneo 2 months later.

Heather and I packed our gears into our panniers, clean up and had a casual discussion of our first day tomorrow. Alex send me a message that he’ll be coming in the morning to join us for the ride. Everything looking good again and I tried to go to sleep knowing in less than 10 hours, we going to be on the roads riding around Borneo.