GIVI Magazine - Dicembre 2020

Nowadays, the city is one of the most important ports in the area, but it is also one of its most popular tourist destinations: the weekend traffic is really unbearable, but luckily we were there during the week and missed it entirely. Before dinner, we were invited to a welcome party by our local retailer GIVI Song Heng Motors, one of our travel companions, where we were offered delicious coconut water and to taste various delicious and exotic local fruits. Our day ended with a walk down the picturesque Jonker Street, with its vibrant nightlife where we could “unearth” almost anything in the hundreds of little boutiques that lined the roadsides. DAY 7 Tokong Si Thian - Kuala Gandah, National Elephant Conservation Center Day 7 of the 2019 GIVI Explorer Malaysian Adventure really amazed us. We left Malacca in the early morning, heading North for around 300 km. The road that we found before us was truly stunning - ascents, descents, rainforest, small towns and motorways: a real motorcycle crash course in a few fabulous hours. The first stop was the Buddhist temple in Tokong Si Thian. From that point Route 9 became a “feast” of sudden radical curves that kept us entertained until lunchtime. The next stop was of particular interest as it can be rather emotional. It was the National Elephant Conservation Centre in Kuala Gandah, a nature reserve where sick, wounded and orphaned elephants are rescued and rehabilitated, in order to then be released back into their natural habitat. Some badly wounded elephants that are too weak or frightened to return to the wild become ambassadors for the centre, where thousands of students and tourists visit every week to admire these incredible and extremely intelligent creatures. As the evening crept in we reached the Rimba Valley in the Lentang reserve, around 50 km north-east of Kuala Lumpur. This was the location for our 2019 GIVI Rimba Raid: the most important off-road motorcycle race in South-East Asia. After dinner, with the 150 participants and their crew, we attended the briefing for the race that will cross an entire rainforest. The one condition for the race was a requirement from the National Forestry Authority that the footprint from the motorcycles must be imperceptible for 4-6 weeks after the event. It’s for this reason that promoters established the route in order to have a low environmental impact, with temporary bridges and routes being made to protect the most vulnerable areas, and numerous sweepers provided to facilitate clean-up once the motorcycles have come past. Our Explorer Jeremias Israel was 30th in the starting grid (lot selection). This meant he would have 29 racers in front of him and would need to maintain his rhythm and overtake well in order to win. Despite being a “mere” 50 km long, the circuit would be a great challenge for all racers, especially on the most difficult stretch that goes through a jungle with the frightening name: Green Hell. Unfortunately, during the night some sections of the route can flood, forcing the organizers to postpone the start of the race or remove these sections from the established circuit. The rains can also transform the red clay in the Malaysian soil into thick, unforgiving sludge. The news that the former Honda Dakar racer, Jeremias Israel , has been reported to have travelled across Malaysia with the Explorers and been part of the Rimba Raid has spread like wildfire. Acoi Pangkolo , a local off-road instructor and a legend of the motorcycle world, immediately contacted Jere to offer him his land on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur to host a workshop. Over 20 enthusiastic motorcyclists, most of whom were registered to participate in the Rimba Raid, showed up. During the event, Jeremias highlighted several fundamental aspects of the correct technique to use when travelling off-road on a big adventure bike: weight balancing, braking, turning, power-slides and finally, how to deal with steep uphill climbs and difficult descents with various obstacles. All the participants were satisfied with the former rider’s valuable tips and were able to put their new-found knowledge into practice, both during individual exercises and the final group tour. Certificates of participation were also presented, personally delivered at the end of the workshop by Jere and Acoi to all the “brave” participants who, despite the heat and 80% humidity, decided to get take part in this great event SAFETY DRIVE - WORKSHOP BY JEREMIAS ISRAEL KUALA LUMPUR DAY 8 Rimba Raid race - Lentang Forest reserve Day 8 arrived in a buzz of anticipation for the Explorers: it was Rimba Raid Day! We travelled a few kilometres to the starting line, situated in the heart of the jungle, to encourage Jeremias before the race started. We then relocated to the GIVI complex, located to the left of the finish line, at the other end of the Lentang forest reserve, at Kampung Janda Bike. To our great surprise, we found Jere there waiting for us... his race has been interrupted by a bad accident caused by the unpredictable movement of a beginner marshal. Fortunately no one had been hurt, but he had to withdraw from the race because the accident had left his Triumph Scrambler XC with a bent chassis and no front brakes. Despite all this, spirits were still high: this is the nature of races, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Just before lunch, some lucky members of the group had the chance to drive the last few kilometres of the Rimba Raid on some 2-stroke KTM 300s… talk about unmissable opportunities! Although this was essentially an amateur event, the humidity and difficult terrain that the racers faced were big challenges... the winner burnt through the course in record time, an incredible 48 minutes! In order to understand how challenging the race was, we need to remember that most racers take between 3-4 hours to finish the race and some die-hard riders on their big, heavy racing bikes can even take over 5 hours to finish the 40 km circuit. DAY 9 Genting Sepah - Genting Highlands Day 9, the last of the 2019 GIVI Explorer Tour, we left Janda Baik to descend into the valley to Genting Sepah, through the stunning and tortuous roads of the surrounding areas. From there we climbed upwards to reach a place that is unusual, to say the very least: Colmar Tropicale Castle. It is a “faithful” reconstruction of a French medieval fortified village, situated at the top of Berjaya Hill. After this incredible “step back in time” we faced the final climb towards an even more unique place. With its nickname the “Malaysian Vegas”, Genting Highlands is a real amusement park, the only location in Malaysia where gambling is legal. Packed with lavish attractions, casinos and a huge shopping centre, this resort has been developed over the last 50 years, and attracts crowds of tourists every day. As we crossed what turned out to be one of the most entertaining roads of our Malaysian adventure Useful information and numbers -Tourism Board in Malaysia: Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB). Address: 9th Floor, No.2, Tower 1, Jalan P5/6, Precint 5, 62200, WP Putrajaya, MY - Tel: +603 8891 8000; Fax: +00603-8891-8070 ; Email address: enquiries@tourism.gov ; Website: www.tourism.gov.my The office can provide a lot of information in English as well as brochures and maps to download. - Emergency medical services and Police services: 999 Currency, telephones and electricity network -Currency: Ringgit (RM) or Malaysian dollar. 1 Ringgit corresponds to around $ 0.24 and € 0.22. All main credit cards are accepted in hotels, shopping centres, shops and restaurants in major cities. -Electricity: 240V (230V in Penang). 50Hz. The mains frequency is quite stable. -Telephones: the cellular network operates throughout the national territory, offering good coverage. The prefix for making calls to Malaysia is +60. To make calls from Malaysia to Malaysian landlines, dial 03 + the phone number. When to travel The best period for visiting Malaysia depends on the area you intend to see. Peninsular Malaysia: the most highly recommended period to visit the east coast is between April and October; while the west coast is recommended between November and March. East Malaysia: the best time of year to visit this area is between January and May. Malaysia has an equatorial climate, with temperatures fluctuating between 23°C and 33°C throughout the year, while humidity ranges from 70% to 90%. Hilly inland areas, at an altitude of 1,500 metres, feature temperatures of 17°C/18°C. Personal and motorcycle documents Your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your entry into the country. For almost all EU citizens, tourist visas do not need to be presented. During your stay, it is recommended that you keep an authenticated photocopy of your passport with you at all times (assuming that your motorcycle tour intends to return to a starting point where you can leave the original for safekeeping). Driving Licence: in order to drive in Malaysia, you must hold a valid national licence and an international driving permit. Mobility and fuel Direction of travel: drive on the left, overtake on the right. It is important to note that a Carnet de Passages en Douane (international vehicle passport) is needed in order to temporarily import a vehicle (for further information see the following website: www.aci.it/index.php?id=2090 ) A temporarily imported vehicle can remain within Malaysia’s national borders for a period of up to 90 days, with the option of extension for another 90. At the end of this period, the vehicle must be exported or nationalised. Currently (May/September 2019), the average cost of one litre of petrol in Malaysia is 2,080 Malaysian Ringgit. THINGS TO KNOW and reach the top of Mount Ulu Kali, we became aware of the number of people headed in the same direction as us. The peak that is nestled in the clouds about 1800 meters above sea level was dotted with large buses and two big cable cars full of tourists. This “crazy” city was our destination for the last night of the 2019 GIVI Explorer Tour, with a gala dinner, a fun award ceremony and lots of end-of-race celebrations. The next morning we headed to GIVI Asia in Kuala Lumpur, returned our motorcycles and left everyone... until next year! 24 Turismo