Alien Sighted

Rocker57, an early riser himself was considerate enough to allow me to sleep till almost 8am, thank you kind sir! After packing, we had complimentary breakfast in Avillion Legacy, Melaka. At breakfast, we decided to return via the old trunk road. It was an uneventful trip from Melaka to Alor Gajah except for loads of traffic lights (pretty annoying if I must say so).

Turning into a small town aptly named KOTA, I saw that it hasn't changed much in 4 decades. Moving along, we reached Chengkau, birth place of my granny (maternal) and a place where my grandpa used to go hunting a couple of kilometers from there. Thereafter, we arrived at Rembau. From Kota to Rembau, I was delighted to reminiscence the old trunk roads. The locals still sell their produce (eggs, petai, rambutans, durians & dokong, etc) along the main road under shaded "pondoks'. I remember the good old days when my grandpa used to stop and buy their produce in bulks as he has a large brood, 9 kids in all and mom was the eldest.

We took a short tour of Rembau, not much has changed since. They happened to have "pasar pagi" i.e. morning market, oh...my senses went hare-wired. The scent was intoxicating yet refreshing. Intoxicating because they were cooking so many different local dishes and oh...the aroma ROCKS! (salivating as I write). Unfortunately, we didn't stop as it was getting hotter plus the road was conjested with free for all parking.

It was in Pedas, a small "kampong" that we sighted an alien, see picture (right). Don't you think I look like an alien (from Mork and Mindy)...NANOO, NANOO.
This is the kampong that I grew up, mostly during school holidays. I have many fond memories of this place. Will share more about my childhood in subsequent postings.

We stopped by Seremban to visit my mom-in-law. Now, I must take my hats off for her. At 87years of age, she was doing her own stitching and refused to get help!!! Amazing lady. She still cooks and does her own washing. I tell you, people from her era are so strong, determine and simple. More surprising is, she has not commented on her weird daughter-in-law wearing bandanna!! It is not so nice for chinese to wear bandanna as it resembles a person in mourning during a funeral wake. Didn't I tell you my mom-in-law is adorable? I did? Yeah...I did.

Journey to Melaka

It was a cool Friday morning (23rd July). We tried & sped upto 141km/hr for a short distance...it was no sweat at all, Kawa-babe just cruise along as if the "baby hippo" pillion rider didn't exist! It was exhilarating to ride against the wind at such speed...AWESOMELY COOL!! You can try that too in your car.

How? Simply wind down the windows, break your wind screen & doors, travel at 141km and feel the breeze!!! Yah...I know...I'm nuts!

First stop, Seremban. Rocker57's  sis-in-law joined us for breakfast then we proceeded to her house for a few friendly games of mahjong as well as to catch up on family affairs. It was great to spend quality time together, had an enjoyable time.

Left for Historical city Melaka after late lunch. We were surprised that our favourite beef noodle stall in Seremban market has a so-called branch in Kepayang Square called Quinn, as if on purpose, a nemesis to King's, the other branch near MCA office & The Store. Anyway, both rocker57 and I find that King's is much better in taste but lost out on ambience and decor to Quinn.

Second stop was to check-in to Avillion Legacy in Melaka town. Psst...(see below) this is actually rocker57 first captured picture in full gear. CHILL or not???

After the long ride, it was hot, so we chucked our stuff before going out to savour my favourite delicacy...Durian (aka king of fruits) Cendol at Tan Kim Hock. This outlet used to retail Melaka delicacies such as dodol, dodol durian, cincalok and shrimp paste or better known as belacan. Subsequently, over the decades they have changed to sell what-nots and what-have-you. I guess, borderless trading has impacted even local market, sigh.

Notice the blue backpack on the study table? (see picture on the right, below) Yeah...clothings for 2 inclusive of 2 pair of jeans, extra T-shirts & facials stuff. Ain't I a neat and compact packer?? Due to our tropical weather and unpredictable weather conditions, I had to double protect the clothings, camera & misc with plastic bags. You know...come to think of it, I kinda looked like "Ninja Turtle" / Baby Hippo with a blue backpack. Hmmm....

At Tan Kim Hock, I had the durian cendol with red beans, my usual. While rocker57 settled for cendol and coconut. (picture below). Mine costed RM5 while his was RM3.50. And you know what? It was disappointing to know that they have lost "that loving feeling"....the taste was way OFF!!! I vouched not to return in future because they are too commercialized now and have not retained their original recipe. The cendol was frozen, the durian was sourish...all in all, it sucked, i.e. for me. FYI, mine is on the left and rocker57's is on the right.

I was eager to watch the sunset. So, off we went to Klebang/Tg Kling. Alas, another disappointment. The state of Melaka has reclaimed the land!! All we could see was sand, sand and more sand. The sea was so far off that we were put off by the sight of the reclaimed land. Awww...another disappointment.

It's okay, my final consolation...to eat at Papa Joe's located at the Portugese Settlement. The place was busy with loads of tourists and locals alike seeking portugese seafood. A few people approached us to offer their services and to describe how authentic their food is. Since we have made up our minds, I said we have decided to dine at Papa Joe. Sadly, it was not to be. We weren't able to taste Papa Joe's cooking (again, sigh) as he has just served a group of tourist and was out of food.

Well, 3 disappointments in a few hours was suffice to make us head back to our hotel to call it a night. Oh, incidentally, we did eat dinner prior to retiring for the night. We ate at City Famous in Melaka Raya. This outlet serves great Muar food like Otak-otak (steam fish paste with spices), prawn/sotong/petai sambal, fish head assam curry..etc. The food as Chris Ng from a previous foodshow would say....Its to die for....well, one man's meat is another man's poison, so, you be the judge.

Bike Mags

Since we've decided to purchase a superbike, am glad rocker57 is taking an interest in reading. Never a reader, he is enthusiastically reading now. Reading what??? Reading bike magazines, of course.

It was so adorable to see him intensely reading a mag while waiting for my daughter and I to shop at 1 Utama recently. A sight to behold...rocker57 reading? Seriously... the image of him reading is permanently etched in my brain. Priceless! Sorry, no pix to show, at that moment in time, did not think I would start a blog until early this month, i.e after our trip to Bukit Tinggi and Janda Baik. More on the trip in coming postings...keep a look out for it, yeah?

It was from these mags that we found the shops that sell superbikes. Just to name drop a few good shops to visit :

1) Chear Motor (apparently the largest and most branches in Malaysia). You can't miss the shop painted in dark green. The HQ is in Klang (near Centro)
2) Welly World Cycle. This is located in Sg Buloh but there is a branch in Batu Caves. The latter owned by the brother, using same name but different management. The owner of the former is a keen biker and frequently take his bikes overseas for touring. When we visited his outlet, he just left for his China tour.
3) Sunvay Cycle. As the name suggests, it is in Sunway PJS7. And yes, confirmed no spelling mistake on name of bike shop. (i.e. if you are checking my spelling, just in case...hehehe..caught you there, huh?)
4) NAZA situated along federal highway. This outlet sells high end & premium bikes like DUCATI, HONDA, YAMAHA, BMW (think so), etc
5) HARLEY DAVIDSON is located along Federal Highway too. Same row with NAZA. They obviously sell HD bikes, apparels, etc.

All first 3 outlets do bike servicing and accepts trade-ins, not sure about the latter. Each time we visited NAZA or HD over several weekends, there was no one to serve us, so I don't have much info. Chear Motor (Klang outlet) has a wide range of apparels and accessories. Incidentally, Sunvay Cycle claimed to be the FIRST in Malaysia with electronic tuning and have been accredited as tuning specialist, how's that.

Potentially, we may join some clubs to network and get to know more bikers. For now, we need to get to know "kawa-babe" first. Clubs information are also published in the mags.Check them out. Psst...to check out the clubs, you gotta buy the mags, obviously!!! Duh! Alternatively, google for it :)

It's from these magazines and the people at the various shops we visited that I learn the difference between streetbike, easy rider, cruiser and what nots. An eager apprentice...I'm still soaking in...bring in on, baby!!!

MAIDEN TRIP TO SEREMBAN

Up and about at the break of dawn, yawn, yawn...to get ready for our maiden journey on our "Kawa-babe". Why so early you asked...one word - cooling!

And off we went at 7am!! Yes..7AM!! Great start but as with all new cars/bikes, we were advised not to speed until the bike is broken in at approximately 1,500 km (i.e to be on the safe side). Hence, rocker57 had to intermittently change speed. Know what? I could have died of whipped lash from the many jerks from the changing of gears!! Consolation...soon, it will be a smooth ride when we hit the highways.

Oh, I so enjoy the cool morning breeze, refreshing change indeed. The ride wasn't smooth but who cares...I was riding..free, easy & relax. Shortly, rocker57 motioned that he needed to stop at the next R&R (rest and relax) area in Dengkil, approximately 15mins after we started the journey. When we did stop, he told me his right hand was NUMBed!!! Can you believe it??? Yeah, numbed!! I had a good laugh, poor rocker57...perhaps too old to ride, huh? He did gripping exercises for a couple of minutes and off we went again with frequent gripping exercise between both hands until our destination.

Ah...Seremban, our hometown. We decided to eat "yau yee mai fun" (thinly sliced squid, vegy, light starchy gravy with stewed sirloin pork poured over wok-fried vermicelli)in Jalan Tok Ungku, previously named Loop Road. The quaint hawker stall is situated just next to a petrol station, i.e. if you are interested to savour the delicious signature dish that has been passed on from generation to generation. Yummy.

Now,now...new bike must be parked within sight, right? So we parked as closed as possible to where we were seated. When a car left, rocker57 decided to move the bike nearer to us.Lo and behold!! Where's the key???

OMG...it was on the asphalt! Under a car that was parked next to the car that had just reversed out!! Hmmm...great expedition indeed!

Rocker57 asked me to place order while he re-park "Kawa-babe". When he came back, I was still seated and have not moved an inch. He was not too happy about it. Psst...I asked him to come closer and whispered " both my legs are NUMBED!!!"

Lesson learnt : Don't laugh at others, you could be next!!

Helmet hunting

Just a few days before we took the bike, we went hunting for helmets. Hmmm..what to buy, which is safe, which is cheaper, what design to choose? Decisions, decisions, tough!

Arai? Shoei? Nolan? SOL?...some of the brand names of helmet that I've just made "acquaintance" over the past few months since we've decided to purchase a superbike. Full face helmets or ??? In the end, we both chose full face helmets from Nolan..Nolan Xlite X802 for rocker57 and Nolan N403 luminous orange for me! The day of the purchase, I learnt that Nolan's made in Italy, just like our superbike hero Valentino Rossi. Aww..he's so cute with his curls. Unfortunately, we could not find the one he wore so we settled for something more affordable and sleek (to me, i.e.).

Boy, do these helmets weigh a ton! Actually, its just over a kilo in weight...still, it is heavy particularly when it is your first after decades of not wearing one!! I love mine because of the 'loud' color and I simply adore the tinted shade (see pix). That way, I don't have to wear sunnies, cool eh? And guess what, I have options to bring the shades down or keep it hidden....oh, so practical.

I also learned that we need to have a thoroughly fit helmet for one's headsize, safety purposes. Or else, at high speed, your helmets will be swinging behind your neck!! Ok, kind of over exaggerating a teeny bit, but, it does makes sense to have a fitting helmet. Full face helmets make hearing kinda difficult but for safety reasons, it's acceptable. And, to my surprise...both rocker57 and my headsize are the SAME...gosh...I'd always thought his was bigger!!! Now, I know better.

The price of these helmets are shocking!!! Rocker57's helmet costs as much as a Gucci's lady wallet!!! Hmm...now I know why men's expenses can also sky rocket and burse their credit cards!! WOW, what a discovery, for me i.e.!!

With main safety and compulsory gadget in place...we are set for our maiden journey. Read more about it in the next posting..

A New Chapter.

Back in 1997, hubby (rocker57) and I were travelling in Europe, we chanced upon a group of aged bikers with their spouses/partners somewhere in Germany. Geared in leather jackets, jeans, bandannas and shades....and their big bikes, obviously.. they seem so cool and enjoying life. Rocker57 said to me that he would want to do just that when the time is right.

Fast forward 13 years...The time is RIGHT!!!

Firstly, rocker57 had to pass a B full license to enable him to ride bikes above 250cc. So, he registered, went for lessons and passed. Haven't ridden for over 3 decades, we scouted around for a bike that would meet our needs & requirements. After learning more on superbikes from various visits to motorbike shops, we finally settled for Kawasaki ER-6F, it met our expectations and budget.

First day - rocker57 was elated to ride on his new love affair, whille I patiently waited in the car (tailing him as I had to drop him earlier)...er..something wasn't right...he got on the bike and then, got off. Ran after the boss that sold him the bike, after some demo and chat, rocker 57 gladly rode to the nearest petrol station to fuel up.

Later on, I found out that rocker57 didn't even know how to put into gear!! OMG!!!

Now, this is the beginning of a new chapter in our semi-retired lives.