Table of contents
- Motorcycle tour in Malaysia Borneo Big Bikers
- Rent for a Modenas 130: 8 euros per day
- First-class tour tips from the Borneo Big Bikers
- Warmth that gets under your skin
- New, identity-creating biker culture
- “From here, no motorcycle in the world can go any further”
- Tropical heat, human warmth: this is Borneo Biking
- Info
Dentges
18th pictures
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1/18
Malaysia, capital: Kuala Lumpur; Area: 330290 km²; Foundation: 1957; Currency: Ringgit; Population: 28 million.
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Preparation of the popular natural drug betel.
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To where the pepper grows: In the jungle, natives live from scratch-
build black pepper.
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These local bikers have rebuilt Chinese and Malaysian small choppers very individually.
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The motorcycle scene on the mega-island of Borneo is just as colorful as the country itself.
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Only a few orangutans still live in the wild – for example in Sarawak on Borneo.
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Sarawak is a Malaysian state and is located on Borneo, the third largest island on earth.
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A tropical paradise in the middle of Asia with diverse nature and a lot of ancient culture such as that of the headhunter tribes. On the go on two wheels, you can also meet other tribal brothers there these days: the Borneo Big Bikers.
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Sporty motorcycle fashion from Europe is part of good etiquette in Malaysia.
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People like to refuel at the kiosk.
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The Borneo Big Bikers like the latest machines with a lot of power.
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Made in Malaysia: Modenas machines. As cheap shoddy Moravia, they are hardly noticed.
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With brisk 130 mopeds or scooters, daily stages of up to 250 kilometers are possible.
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… According to the old tribal culture, over 100 people live under one roof. Both take a lot of getting used to.
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The foul-smelling durian fruit tastes like onion pickled in honey …
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Duration of the trip: 7 days; Distance covered: 1100 kilometers.
to travel
Motorcycle tour in Malaysia
Motorcycle tour in Malaysia
Borneo Big Bikers
Sarawak is a Malaysian state and is located on Borneo, the third largest island on earth. A tropical paradise in the middle of Asia with diverse nature and a lot of ancient culture such as that of the headhunter tribes. On the go on two wheels, you can also meet other tribal brothers there these days: the Borneo Big Bikers.
Thorsten Dentges
16/01/2014
Warm air caresses your cheeks, the draft massages your chest and shoulders. Wind. Incredibly relaxing. To stop would be to sweat. And like hell. Temperature: almost 40 degrees. Humidity: 98 percent. A dog day in Borneo near the equator, in the middle of the tropics. Right now, I even love this tiny, almost ridiculous moped. Because it does 100 things and thus this wonderful airflow. Dense green vegetation flies past to the left and right, leaves larger than sauna towels, flowers in all colors, beguiling smells – pineapple, jasmine, lime.
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The engine hums in a youthful, high-pitched voice, the chassis rumbling over small asphalt protrusions and loose wooden bridge boards. Rustic driving dynamics, but no matter, 20 kilometers to the beach. The 130 cubic moped is definitely not a touring machine, but it’s comfortable and amiable – and we’re lucky.
Rent for a Modenas 130: 8 euros per day
Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, an area about a third the size of the Federal Republic. It’s supposed to be a men’s vacation only, just my junior and me. In the provincial capital Kuching we wanted to rent a big bike, from 600 cubic upwards. Allegedly not a problem in Malaysia – but apparently very much in Borneo. The third largest island on earth is shared by Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Indonesians also like big bikes. Some of them just don’t want to pay for it. The motorcycle rental company explained to us: “A friend of mine had treated himself to a Hayabusa last month. Great motorcycle, fun. But the fun barely lasted a week. The thieves are quick, it takes barely an hour to get to the border to Kalimantan. And then goodbye! ”That’s why only very few motorcycle rental companies have big bikes on offer. Bread-and-butter mopeds or motor scooters from the country’s own production, on the other hand, can be left almost anywhere without being locked. All right, bring it on, the rent for a Modenas 130 from Malaysian production is just eight euros per day, a full tank in the mineral oil country Malaysia costs less than three euros. So it’s cheap fun.
First-class tour tips from the Borneo Big Bikers
Damai Beach is 45 minutes north of Kuching. Ideal for an afternoon on the beach under palm trees. As the sun sets moodily, we grab our helmets and go to the parking lot. There: Around a dozen large motorbikes are parked next to our small rental cucumber. Harleys, Kawasaki super sports bikes, a Ducati. In addition, drivers in racing leather and fringed look. A mixed bunch, all Malaysians. They introduce themselves as a group organized via internet networks: the Borneo Big Bikers. And after my outing as a German motorcyclist, showered me with business cards and travel tips for the coming days. The next morning we head for one of the tips: the Semenggoh Wildlife Center. An hour south of Kuching is an area where the few remaining orangutans native to Borneo live in the wild. We don’t want to miss that. There are some boring country roads leading there at first, but then there are a few nice bends. We park the moped and after a few hundred meters on foot we actually spot the great apes. Terrific!
In general, the tour tips of the Borneo Big Bikers turned out to be first class in the days that followed. Stef and Vivian from Rotterdam, our hotel neighbors, accompany us. This time I’m borrowing a semi-automatic Yamaha that works better. We find good routes, visit the national parks Gunung Gading, Kubah and Bako on two wheels with their enormous variety of flora and fauna. Among other things, Rafflesia with the largest flowers in the world can be found there, as well as orchids, lianas, carnivorous plants, dozens of different species of palms, proboscis monkeys, monitor lizards and flying foxes. But also snakes, giant spiders and all kinds of horror-movie-like crawling animals on the ground – it’s good that we are wearing sturdy motorcycle shoes.
Away from the tourist highlights listed in travel guides, the muezzin calls to prayer in remote villages. Distracted by these impressions, we have probably been running on reserve for a long time, because suddenly the engine dies. No gas station far and wide. Schoolchildren come along and giggle in embarrassment. We mime our problem and they laugh. But escort us to a small kiosk. There are a few liters of petrol in disused water bottles, the rescue!
Long-distance travel with the MOTORRAD action team
Warmth that gets under your skin
And then it is this airstream again, this fragrant jet stream, which enchants us with the whole exoticism of the wonderful landscape. We pass tour buses with tourists squeezed into them, who enviously look after us. The roads are mostly good, and with the exception of a few young automobile boys with fast-and-furious attitudes, Malaysian Borneo drives very considerately. I feel safe, despite the unfamiliar left-hand traffic.
After 250 kilometers of a day’s stage, we reach the periphery of Kuching again, but lose ourselves in an industrial area. A man with two children on a moped passes us and signals to follow him. The good man accompanies us almost ten kilometers to the hotel, shortly before arrival he waves with a smile goodbye. A foreign country – but a warmth that gets under your skin.
After a refreshing shower, we stroll through China Town in Kuching. A brand new KTM Adventure 1190 is parked at a Chinese temple, we stop in front of it. Shortly afterwards a man comes up to us. His t-shirt reads: Borneo International Big Bike Festival. We quickly get into conversation, and when we ask where we can eat well, he leads us to a small restaurant, recommends a Laksa Lemak. This is a typical soup made from coconut milk, prawns, fish, chicken, noodles, sliced pancakes, lemongrass, limes, countless spices and so many chili peppers that it steams out of your ears – in short: the total taste explosion.
New, identity-creating biker culture
Hassan, born in Bornean, tells of annual bike festivals in cities like Sibu and Kuching, to which a few thousand motorcyclists and other curious visitors from all over Borneo and even abroad make a pilgrimage. An international folk festival. But not only this comparatively new, identity-creating biker culture is important to many, the traditional tribal culture is still very important. In the Malaysian part of Borneo, these are mainly the Iban and Bidayuh tribes, whose members still make up around a third of the population today. Very few of the descendants of the notorious headhunters, who until the 1960s ended up with the severed heads of their enemies in the saucepan and then dangle decorative trophies on the ceiling of the good bamboo room, live in the 21st century Wilderness in traditional longhouse kampungs (villages). These are “row huts” up to 100 meters long, in which entire village communities live under one roof. Big Biker Hassan says that you can visit them as a tourist, but often they are just expensive folklore shows, and often they are already fully booked. On a piece of paper he scribbled the address of a Bidayuh man who was always good for a tip.
“From here, no motorcycle in the world can go any further”
Next day. Goffrey, who brought us Bidayuh, is worth gold. The cordial guy with resounding laughter organized a visit to his relatives’ camp for us at cost. We drive towards the Indonesian border in a highland area, leaving villages and the last posts of civilization behind us. We park at a dam. “From here,” says Goffrey, “no motorcycle in the world can get any further.” A young man with a worn football shirt and a knife on his belt emerges from the jungle. “That’s Martin. He will lead you to the Semban, a Bidayuh tribe, ”explains Goffrey and says goodbye.
After a few hours on a towel the width of a jungle path, a few adventurous bamboo bridges, climbing up steep stairs over tangled roots, it is also clear to us: Not even a trial world champion could get through here on two wheels. We stay at Semban-Kampung as guests for two days. The people let us participate in their secluded life, we eat wild mandarins, pineapple sprouts wrapped in banana leaves with rice, let us show us how pepper is grown, and Martin leads us to a refreshing waterfall with a natural bathing pool.
Tropical heat, human warmth: this is Borneo Biking
You will sleep on bare bamboo floors. “An overall arduous, but very happy, simple life,” reports village chief Swen. The village community has not been chasing heads since it was Christianized a good 200 years ago, he assures, and instead of living under one roof, since 1986, because of the high risk of fire, people have lived in individual huts. The seriously injured or sick would be carried down to the valley on a few shoulders. Sometimes you have to turn around halfway – “The funeral then takes place in Kampung, on holy ground,” says Swen with sad eyes.
In 2014 the area is to be converted into a nature reserve, the Semban tribe will then be relocated to a newly developed settlement. The young people in Kampung look forward to cell phone reception, television and bus connection – but with the elderly, the historical tribal culture of self-sufficient survival in the wilderness will then probably die out.
Deeply impressed by our time with the Semban in the jungle of Borneo, we make our way back. Thankful for this exclusive excursion arranged by the Borneo Big Bikers, after a long hike we only have one more wish: the wind! We start the engines and cruise to the western end of the island near Sematan. A lonely beach several kilometers long welcomes us.
We lie on the water, relax and, blinking, watch how thick clouds slowly pile up. Better to saddle up and get back on the road. And then the rain comes. A shower, it pours, it pours. We laugh, thick drops patter on the helmet visor, we drive towards Kuching with soaked clothes, the fresh airstream creates goose bumps. Tropical heat, human warmth: that’s Borneo Biking.
Info
Dentges
Duration of the trip: 7 days; Distance driven: 1100 kilometers.
Stress-free dream vacation: In order to be able to ride a motorcycle for a week in Sarawak / Borneo, you should plan an additional week for arrival and departure as well as excursions without a motorcycle.
Getting there: Flights to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore cost from 600 euros and take between twelve and 15 hours. After one or two nights with worthwhile city sightseeing, you can fly from there, for example. B. with Air Asia to Kuching on Borneo (from 60 euros for the return ticket, approx. Two hours flight time).
Travel time: There is tropical weather all year round with temperatures above 30 degrees. Usually there can be heavy thunderstorms in the late afternoon. The lowest precipitation falls from June to September. From November to January, the northeast monsoon can cause the weather to become cloudy.
Rent a motorcycle: It is difficult to get motorcycles over 600 cm³ on loan in Sarawak. On the Malaysian mainland, daily rentals for a Kawasaki ER-6 or Yamaha XT 660 start at 80 euros, while the fun is likely to be more expensive on Borneo. According to the Borneo Big Bikers, there is a KTM dealer in Kuching who may also rent motorbikes. Enrich Adventure (www.enrichadventure.com) offers organized tours with larger motorbikes in Kuching. Otherwise there are numerous small landlords and hotels in the provincial capital that rent out scooters and mopeds including helmets for less than ten euros per day. However, since the condition of the machines is very different, it is worth making a comparison.
Traffic: on the island – apart from the 500,000-inhabitant city of Kuching at peak times – completely unproblematic. You quickly get used to left-hand traffic and the road conditions are usually good. However, there are sometimes nasty potholes lurking on remote country roads. Driveways to beaches are often not paved. There is at least one gas station in every major town.
Stay and eat: very cheap in Malaysia. Simple double rooms in the backpacker guesthouse with air conditioning and bathroom start in Kuching’s centrally located China Town from ten euros per night. In upper middle class hotels of European standards, more than 50 euros are rarely charged. Malaysian and Chinese dishes are offered in innumerable street restaurants in excellent quality for little money. Soups from one euro, complete menus for under ten euros. Soft drinks, coffee and tea from 25 cents, beer from 1.50 euros.
Health: Hepatitis and tetanus vaccinations are important. The best way to counteract the risk of infection from malaria or dengue fever is through extremely meticulous mosquito protection.
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