Panang. Malaysia - A Nice Surprise.

I arrived in Penang, an island off the western coast of Malaysia.  To be honest, before looking at a map, I thought Penang was in Vietnam, not Malaysia, so to say I knew nothing about the island is understatement. 



The riding on the island is actually quite nice.  There is a coast road that circumnavigates Penang.  It takes about two hours to complete the journey, and provides a nice tour of the island.  The City has a mountainous area with tons of switchbacks, and other twisties, 5 star resort area, a mini silicon valley, British built heritage area, and tons upon tons of huge condominium towers, but manages to keep the old too, such as rice farms, fishing villages, and local culture .  It is quite obvious that Penang has money, and the nicest part, it is not expensive to say there.   A private room in a home-stay in the Heritage Area was $10 a night. 



Due to the international influence, there is plenty of western food. I had the best hamburger since I left the United States over two years ago.  I also had a Burrito at Mexican restaurant and hummus at an Arabian restaurant.  All this was a very nice change of pace to the 99 percent rice noodle menu that Asia typically offers.  A good meal at a local restaurant runs about $5.  I stayed for 5 days, and food and housing cost barely over $100, and it is a very nice place to visit.



Next stop, Kuala Lumur




Leg Distance:  0 mi (0 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 37,664 mi (61.591 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia

Malaysia - Out of Thailand

I am back on the move again after spending an extended period of time exploring mainland Indochina.  The cross into Malaysia was relatively simple. The carnet (a promissory bond to assure the motorcycle leaves the country), as always is the case, was an issue.  Not so much from a legislative point of view, but how to actually fill out the form.  This has been an issue for a number of countries, but especially a challenge for Thailand.  Every crossing I have made out of the Country has been significantly delayed because the form was incorrectly filled out by customs coming into the Country.  Apparently. they do not get many people here on Western registered vehicles.   With regards to Malaysia, they too require a carnet, but I was passed through without going through the carnet process.  Sounds great at first, quick crossing and all, but when trying to leave the country without a valid carnet, it can mean an impact ranging from not being permitted to leave, to the confiscation of the motorcycle, and everything in between.  So, in an attempt to avoid the potential ugliness, I had to track down the customs agent to fill out the carnet.  It was no big deal, and the Malaysian customs are extremely friendly, so all was good.  A friend of mine went through without securing a valid carnet; the result was he could not leave with his motorcycle as no shipper would take the bike, which included the ferry to Indonesia.  He rode back to the Thai/Malaysia border and had one issued, so all worked out, but it was 20 hours of extra touring he was not planning. 

The roadway infrastructure in northern Malaysia is quite good.  It is clear that the Government has invested allot of money, and the roads look the part.  The store fronts along the road are still a bit dilapidated, but that will come improve as their economy grows.  The first destination in the Country will be Penang and I am lookiing forward to it.  

Leg Distance:  756 mi (1,220 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 37,664 mi (61.591 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia

Chennai. India - A Quick Trip to Hell and Back, But Worth It;

Anyone who has been reading this blog for a while knows I dislike India...with a passion.  The place is hot, disgustingly piled up with trash everywhere, it smells, and many of the people are extremely rude.  They continuously grab, push and shove, harass,  scam, cut in lines, shit and piss in the streets, cough without covering their mouths, and during my last trip there, they vandalized Greta on three different occasions (OK, once it was probably a monkey, but twice is too many), and to date. the only country during my trip to hurt her.  So basically, this is not a country I adore, so why go back?  The short answer is medications, prescription name brand medication in India is dirt cheap.

I do not recall if I have announced this in my bog before, but I am a kidney transplant patient, which requires a bit of medication, expensive medication.  In the USA, a one month course of anti-rejection meds costs about $1,400, which is ridiculous.  In Europe, I can get these same meds, without prescription, for about $225 a month.  In India, I can get get these meds for about $120 a month, again without prescription.  Now that I am in SE Asia, I kind of assumed the cost would be somewhere between the India and Europe.  I was wrong, dead wrong.  A one month course of meds is about $900 here in Bangkok.  I had a nurse friend of mine check neighboring countries, and the prices were about the same as Thailand or the drug was unavailable.  So with a quick e-visa (which are now good for a year, and are multi-entry), and a $150 round trip flight, I went off to India for a very long three-night stay to pick up six months of meds.  So did I use the country for medical purposes?  Absolutely.   Do I feel guilty?  Nope,  Why don't I feel guilty?  Well, India has a check-box right on the visa app in the "purpose of visit" section, for medical tourism. The Government actually advertises for Westerners to come to India for cheap meds and surgeries.

Leg Distance:  0 mi (0 km)

Total Distance Traveled by Motorcycle: 36,908 mi (60,371 km)

Countries/Territories Visited: USA, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Canada, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, France, Monaco, Italy, Vatican City, San Marino, Slovenia, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Transnistria, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China (for 20 seconds), India, Nepal, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam