Thailand 2012: Phuket Santai Ride...

"Travelling is physically tiring but mentally refreshing..."

June 22, 2012 - Friday
(KL - Krabi)

(Doing some stretching before the long ride...)

Tayar golek from Sg Buluh R&R with Hj Din & Yati, Zali, Lan, Shanaz, and Azim. Refueled at Rawang R&R and met with 8 other bikers.

(Briefing for the big-bikers...)

(Waiting in line for refueling...)

Refueled at Simpang Pulai and Juru where Chon and Hakim joined the convoy to Changloon, At one Chinese coffee shop in Changloon, we bought motor insurance and changed some baht. Had light breakfast of milo and toast before started riding the winding road of Wang Kelian. It was a hot long process of border clearance at Wang Kelian even though the place was deserted.

(A long and humid wait at the border...)

(Lunch stop at Pak Bara Beach...)

(Opportunity to stretch tired back and legs...)

.
The group rode to Pak Bara beach for a sumptuous nasi goreng and tom yam lunch. The initial plan was to ride direct to Phuket but when we reached Krabi, the other group of big bikers decided to stay a night at J Mansion hotel in Krabi and we followed suit. We had Thai food for dinner and later went for a relaxing full body Massage.

June 23, 2012 - Saturday
(Krabi - Phuket)

(Souvenir t-shirts...)

(A morning stroll along the beach...)

We woke up late and had breakfast at a bistro cafe by the beach. Later we strolled along Au Namg beach for some photo shots. We checked out at noon and 10 of us rode out towards Phuket. The rest will ride out a bit later.

(A group shot and a good rest...)

(At Phuket check point before entering the island...)

.
We reached Phuket around at 3pm and had Mihoon soup lunch at a stall by the mosque. We checked in Boomerang Hotel and rested till 8pm. At night we walked to the shops along the beach and had dinner at one Russian Restaurant.

(A night walk along the beach...)

June 24, 2012 - Sunday
(Phuket - KL)

(A group photo before the ride home...)

We checked out at 9.30 am and had breakfast nasi lauk at a restaurant near the mosque. Today we rode direct to the border with several stops for refueling and refreshments. We reached Danok around 6.00 pm and had a very late lunch or early dinner. Border clearance at Bukit Kayu Hitam was fast and efficient. We stopped at R&R Bukit Merah for drinks and solat and had our last refueling at Simpang Pulai. The group split from there and rode in the rain home. We reached our Sri Putramas apartment around 1.30 am.

(Good companions of disciplined riders...)

Alhamdulillah. Today we rode our first 1000 km. And we broke our own record…

Date: 22 -24 June 2012

Route taken: KL - Spg Pulai - Changloon - Wang Klian - Pak Bara - Krabi - Phuket - Danok - Bkt Kayu Hitam - Bkt Merah - Spg Pulai - KL

Total mileage: 2,060 km

Bikers gang: Mus/Mun, Din/Yati, Chon, Zali, Shanaz, Tawfik, Lan, Hakim + 7 other bikers

👈👈 2012: Koh Lanta, Thailand

2012: Betong, Thailand 👉👉

Thailand 2012: Betong (III)

"Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out..." - Robert Collier

(Puncak Titiwangsa)

On Saturday morning we met with 6 other bikers at BHP Karak for a riding trip to Betong, Thailand. After refuelling, our Vulcan refused to start. We were lucky that some of our bikers' friends were able to diagnose and fix the problem. We started riding at 09:30 using the alternative road to KB via Gua Musang. We had nasi kukus and ayam percik lunch in Gua Musang and refuelled at Bukit Balah.


(Bikers fixing the problem...)

(Riding the alternative Gua Musang winding route...)

(A group shot at the Banjaran Titiwangsa R&R...)

From Jeli we rode across the East West highway and stopped for hot coffee and solat at Puncak Titiwangsa. We refuelled at Pengkalan Hulu then headed to the border and completed immigration clearing by 19:30.

(A swift border clearance...)

(Thai Hotel, comfortable and clean...)

The group checked-in Thai Hotel, had our shower and later walked to a nearby muslim restaurant for dinner. Later at night we had  Thai and oil massage for two in the room @Rm30/hr.


(Local scenes around Betong town...)

(The largest Post Box in the world...)

(Favorite drinks in Betong, air pegaga and 3-layer tea...)

On Sunday, after breakfast of roti telur, we went on foot to the wet market, accessory shop and the Bazaar for last minute shopping. At noon we checked out and rode out for border clearing.


(Clearing immigration checks at the border...) 

(Lunch at R&R Selat Pagar, Grik...)

We stopped for lunch at Selat Pagar R&R and refuelled at Simpang Pulai and had our last stop at R&R Ulu Bernam. It was raining heavily all the way back and we reached our Putramas Apartment after Maghrib, tired but happy...

Route taken: KL - Raub - Sg Koyan - Gua Musang - Jeli - East West Highway - Grik - Pengkalan Hulu - Betong - Pengkalan Hulu - Grik - North/South Highway - KL

Total mileage: 950 km

The bikers gang: Mus/Mun, Din/Yati, Chon, Azim, Hakim and Rozlan

👈👈 2012: Phuket, Thailand 

2012: Sarajevo/KL 👉👉

2012 Bosnia/Croatia Tour: Bound together by shared history...

“I am not the same having seen the moon rise on the other side of the world...”- Mary Ann Rademacher

(10 - 18 April 2012)

Hubby and I joined the Puspanita of Bank Negara for a trip to the war torn Bosnia and Croatia from 10 to 18 April 2012 with a stopover in Istanbul for a day.

Why did Croatia and Bosnia go to war?

Both Croatia and Bosnia faced a complex set of reasons that led to the outbreak of war between them. The dissolution of Yugoslavia, authoritarian governments, economic crises, and strong social cleavages all contributed to rising nationalistic and ethnic tensions that became too much to handle for the two neighboring countries. The conflict between Croatia and Bosnia resulted in a bloody three-sided fight for territories, with civilians of all ethnicities becoming victims of horrendous crimes.

2012: Istanbul - City of minarets...👉👉

2012 Bosnia/Croatia: 01 Istanbul - City of minarets...

"Don't let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life..."

(The Blue Mosque...)

Day 01: ISTANBUL CITY TOUR
Date: 10/04/2012 (Tuesday)

Hotel: Grand Harlic Hotel, Istanbul

Hubby and I joined the Puspanita of Bank Negara for a trip to Bosnia and Croatia with a stopover in Istanbul for a day.

Our Emirates flight to Istanbul was at 02:00 via Dubai. When we arrived in Dubai around 05:00, we were just in time for subuh prayer. It was a 5-hour transit before we boarded Turkish Airlines at 11:30 for another 4-hour flight to Istanbul.

(Part of the group...)

When we arrived in Istanbul we were greeted by Miss Burju, our local guide and boarded a 40-seater bus for the city tour, which is a little too big for our group of 16.

(Beautiful leather jackets on show...)

We were brought to Kircilar Leather Store for an enlightening fashion show of leather jackets where some of us had the opportunity to model their beautiful expensive jackets. This leather shop is the same shop we visited in 1998 when I bought a leather jacket that cost me USD400.

(The Grand Bazaar...)

(Bright colorful decorative lights...)

(Masks made of leather...)

We visited the Blue Mosque and later went for a shopping spree at Grand Bazaar. Dinner was at one fish restaurant but the menu was lamb kebab instead.

It was late night when we checked-in Grand Harlic Hotel, Istanbul. Tomorrow we will be flying to Sarajevo, Bosnia and will be touring interesting places in Bosnia and Croatia, insyaAllah...

2012: Travnik/Bihac, Bosnia👉👉

2012 Bosnia/Croatia: 02 Bihac - Breathtaking and scenic...

"Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe..."

(Restaurant Sunce on River Una...)

Day 02: ISTANBUL/TRAVNIK/BIHAC
Date: 11/04/2012 (Wednesday)

Hotel: the Ada Hotel, Bihac

We checked out of the hotel after breakfast and boarded the bus to Istanbul International Airport by 09;30. Our Turkish Airlines flight to Sarajevo took about 3 hours. When we arrived at Sarajevo Airport we were met by Amila, the local guide and immediately boarded the bus to Bihac via Travnik.

(Lunch at Restaurant Plava Moda Travnik)

(Too cold to eat by the river...)

We stopped in Travnik for a late lunch of chicken and potatoes at Restoran Konova Plava Voda. We performed the solat at a nearby Elci Ibrahim Pesina Medrasah and met a lecturer who once studied in UIA. As we were already 3 hrs behind schedule, we missed visiting Masjid Suleimania in Travnik. Travnik is situated 90 km west of Sarajevo and is the City for the Gabenor of Bosnia from 1697-1850.

(A serene surrounding...)

After Travnik, we headed towards Bihac situated in northern Bosnia along River Una. Bihac is a tourist attraction because of its breathtaking natural surroundings.

(Crystal clear water...)

In Bihac we checked-in the Ada Hotel. And for dinner, we had to walk to a nearby Restaurant Sunce by the riverside.

👈👈2012: Istanbul, Turkey 

      2012: Plitvice Lake/Vlasic Mt, Croatia👉👉

2012 Bosnia/Croatia: 03 Plitvice and Vlasic Mt - Wonder of nature....

"Those who are hardest to love need it the most..."

(The unique cascading waterfalls)

Day 03: PLITVICE LAKES NATIONAL PARK /VLASIC MOUNTAIN
Date: 12/04/2012 (Thursday)
Hotel: Pahuljica Hotel, Vlasic Mountain

(Mode of transportation after a 4-hr walk)

(Still very far to hike)

After breakfast we boarded the bus to Plitvice Lakes National Park in Croatia situated on the Plitvice Plateau surrounded by 3 mountains that formed as part of Dinaric Alps: Pljeevica Mountain (1640 meter), Mala Kapela Mountain (1280 meter) dan Medvedak mountain (884 meter).

(The blue and green lakes)

(Tired but all smiles)

(At the bottom of the waterfalls)

(The wooden path along the lakes)

Plitvice Lake National Park is a wonder of nature formed from dolomite and limestone, consisting of unique lakes, cascading waterfalls and caves. We had an exhausting but fun walk through the multi hued woods along the enchanting lakes.

(The cascades change shapes almost every day)

(End of the hiking trip, waiting for the boat ride)

(A boat cruise across the lake)

It is also claimed that the cascades changed their flows and shapes daily. We later had pan-fried trout and potatoes for lunch at the Poljana Restaurant.

(Warming up before dinner)

(A lively ambience of the dining room)

We drove back to Bosnia and stopped for solat at a Blue Dome Mosque. We proceeded climbing the mountain route to the Vlasic Mountain and checked-in Pahuljica Hotel situated at a ski resort 3000 meter above sea level.

(Live wolves could be seen roaming outside too) 

(The cozy hotel room)

The resort offers stunning views of the country side, with cold weather all year round. During winter the slopes are perfect for skiing. Dinner of trout, veal and chicken was served in the cozy dining area in the hotel. An authentic fire place kept us warm throughout dinner.

(The many chalets and resort hotels)

(Trying out the snow mobil)

Vlasic Mountain was one of the sites in Bosnia for the Winter Olympic in 1984.

👈👈 2012: Travnik/Bihac, Bosnia

                 2012: Visoco, Bosnia 👉👉