Day 1: S'pore - Ipoh (Road Trip to Tibet)

Day 1: 560km on a tankful of diesel





WF infront of Impiana Hotel, Ipoh

 Roslyn & I woke up early this morning and headed for Tampoi, JB where we park our Malaysian registered Land Cruiser. Crispin my second son stayed the night before and fetched us to JB. Understandably, we were both happy and excited about the next 36 days. I had spent a good 5 months preparing the Cruiser for Tibet and finally the day arrived.



Kelvin Yeo's Toyota Prado

 In all there were 16 cars. 14 participants and 2 official cars from AA Singapore. The Team Leader, Kelvin Yeo has led many such expeditions. This trip was especially a thrilling one, as he was driving his pride & joy, a new Toyota Prado which he bought 4 months back to replace his old Toyota Rav4. Certainly a Prado is a lot more comfortable, of higher performance & reliability and definitely Bigger is always better for long haul trips such as this one.




Some of the other cars in the convoy

 In all, there were two Prados, four Rav4s, an Audi Q5, a Honda CRV, a Volvo XC90, two Kia Sportage, A Lexus RX300 and a BMW X3, a VW Tiguan, a Nissan Murano  and my 20 year old Land Cruiser. What a vast range of different models.

The journey from JB to Ipoh was quite uneventful, except for a speeding ticket issued to the oldest gentleman in our convoy, Mr Seet who is 75 yrs young. As usual, he will be driving all the way to Tibet and back whilst his lovely wife, who's also in her 70s accompanies him on probably his 20th Auto-Venture to date.
Well it's off to dinner now. Tomorrow we'll head straight to the Thai border and stay the night at Hat Yai.

Enroute to Thailand from West Malaysia

JB Hotel Hat Yai

Pit Stop for a quick rest 

Waiting for the Ferry to cross the river from Chiang Rai to Myanmar

Escaping the sun on the barge ferry crossing to Myanmar

The White Buddist Temple in Thailand - This Golden building is the toilet

Arrival at Meiji Mountains - Tibet

Tibet here I come - 10 days to D1

I'm feeling very excited as the days to the departure draws nearer. Next week would be the last week spent in Singapore. My Land cruiser KZJ78G with a 1KJ-TE engine is all set up and ready for the 40 day expedition to Mount Everest Base camp.
The final accessory I fitted was a snorkel. It will enable the engine to breathe cooler dust-free air. So far so good. The air filter appears to be super clean and the looks enhanced to a more rugged 4X4. As for increased performance, I could not feel any visible increase in power.
I am especially happy that the engine temperature remains within the manufacturer's specs when going uphill. This is a direct result of topping up the silicone oil in the viscous hub of the fan hub assembly. Most Landcruisers will keep to normal engine temperatures with the standard clutch fan. No need to change to a 4 layer radiator or a larger fan. Just top up the silicone oil and all will be okay.
I tested the tyre pressures on the Highway yesterday. I found that 30psi when cold, which is about 32psi when hot suits just fine. Anything lower feels slugish and anything higher feels too hard on the bumps.
I will probably start packing today. Don't want to miss any items. Next week, I'll send the LC to Panjang's workshop for a complete servicing. This time I'm determined to have a 100% mechanical fault free drive there & back.       

Fishing Offshore

The Hatteras 77C Sports Fisherman

Cockpit of the Hatteras 77C

Soon to be a reality in Singapore. Stay tuned.....

Chermin Fishing Season again

Tiger Cat alongside RSYC after a day of fishing off Pulau Salu

She has been laid up far too long. High & dry parked next to the new Boat Shed at RSYC. Now fitted with a Ray Marine Chartplotter complete with digital radar, sounder and auto-pilot, she is ready to make longer journeys to Pulau Aur and even to Phuket. Her twin Yamaha 150s are an excellent match and she cruises easily at 26 knots sipping only 60 litres of fuel every hour. With her 910 litre capacity, she has a range of 390 nautical miles. Good to reach Penang without having to refuel. Not bad for a small boat. Next project, cockpit awnings and a much needed anchor windlass. In the meanwhile, I'll need to go fishing more often to justify the expenditure.  

Preparing the Landcruiser for Everest Trip

Safe & Sound parked Derek's home in JB, Great neighbours Sara & Tamu

All ready for the 15,000km round trip to Everest base camp

31/10.5 inch wheels on 15X8.5" rims with a 1.5" lift

It has been an absolute joy to prepare the old Land Cruiser for the journey up to Everest base Camp, via Tibet. I managed to link up with a pioneer member of the Johor 4X4 club (Jeep Nation). Everyone calls him by his nick name; "Panjang" @Mr Wong. Panjang operates a 4X4 workshop at 175 Jalan Seroja 39, Johor Jaya. Tel: 07-3518002. I found his advise to be practical and honest and his knowledge of 4X4s is remarkable.

A Malaysian Land Cruiser at a fraction of the cost of the S'pore COE

Perhaps the only thing left to install is the snorkel, roof rack, Vhf radio, and maybe a new set of front seats. I was thinking of getting used Mercedes seats. They seem to be the most comfortable option for long jouneys.  

I felt the Bull Bar was a must because of heavy animal traffic in Tibet.
Better safe than sorry. 

Money Pouch Stolen 22 June 2012

It has been a very very long while since I had any personal possession taken from me. Yesterday was a different experience. I was McDonald's Lucky Plaza at B1. I left my pouch slung on the chair. Inside was my wallet, passport, MP4 player & about $1,500 in cash. When we had finished, I left McD. Less than 3 mins later I realised what had happened. I ran back, only to find my pouch missing. A young lady, actually saw a youth in his 20s come in the side door, take the pouch & leave. His action was so smooth that she assumed he had to be the owner. The thief took the pouch to the B1 Gents, emptied all the cash and dumped the pouch into the bin next to the toilet. Whilst I was reporting the incident to the security dept & watching the video footage, the toilet cleaner, a China national returned my pouch to the security. He had found it whilst emptying the bin. I was glad to have my stuff back, even with all the cash gone.
Perhaps it was just a one-off unfortunate incident. However according to the Security guards, the B1 McDonald's is the venue of a syndicate that has been preying on careless individuals such as me for some time now. They had even reported the matter to the police more than once. I do admit that I have been careless with my belongings. I alone am to blame.
The reverse seems to happen to me more often. Whilst in Bali, I left my pouch in the gents.I returned many minutes later & received it back intact from a smiling toilet cleaner. My son left his wallet containing $350 at a recent IT expo. A 23 year old youth living in Sembawang brought it back all the way to our doorstep, following the address on my son's Nric. The gentleman refused to accept any reward, so I drove him back to Sembawang. When he found the wallet, he called his mother. She said to return it immediately.
I will not allow this incident to get the better of me. Overall people in Singapore are honest and civic minded. A few bad hats cannot change this fact. They only block the sunshine for a few fleeting moments.      
   

Shortage of professional Pleasure Craft Captains

Recently, a friend of mine got inspired to slow down his work routine and pick up on enjoying the fruits of his labour. Being an ardunt boater & fisherman, he naturally decided that it was time to buy a boat for the whole family to spend quantity and quality time together. As he was pretty well to do, he decided to upsize his choice of boats to an 80 foot passage maker. Boy! was he excited. He called boat dealers, checked the choices available and finally decided on exactly what he wanted. Before, I got wind of his selection, he had already placed the order, paid the deposit and was working on the heaps of options available to fit up the boat for long range cruising and fishing.
Then a shocking revelation came to mind. How was he going to drive the boat, berth it and maintain it is ship shape condition. It hadn't dawned on him that an 80 fotter is a mighty big craft, far larger than the runabouts he had been used to. Where and how in the world was  he going to hire a captain to help take care of the boat. Where does he begin. Questions came fast & furious. Buying a 80 fotter was a whole new ball game, one that needs lots of preparations, especially in Singapore, where the boating professionals are not in ready stock yet......      

Whatever the boat, a good Sea Captain is essential for safety at sea

All geared up & no place to go in Singapore's waters

Explore. Dream. Discover. 7 July 2012

A friend of mine just suffered a stroke. As with most cases it came suddently and turned the whole family routine topsy turvy. It is during these times that I am reminded again to live life to the fullest in the here & now before its too. Unfortunately for Jack, it's a little too late. Though I wish him well, I know he will never be the same Jack every again.

Twently year from now, you will be more disapointed by the things you didn't do than the ones you did. So throw off the bow lines. Sail from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. - Mark Twain  

Finding Shangri-La by Road

Dawn at Meili Mountains - 6,700mtrs

6 May 2012, we finally made it to Shangri-La Tibet, after spending months planing the trip with my cycling kakis. I had read James Hilton's novel titled "Lost Horizon" and also saw the movie version many years ago. It intrigued me to know of such a mystical place on earth. yet I knew it was too good to be true, especially in the 21st century.
When we finally arrived at Shangri-La, formerly known as Diqing, our guide, Tuden quickly told us that Shangri-La lies inside each person's heart. I knew by the tone of his voice, that he had his fair share of encounters with disillusioned tourists who fell under the spell of James Hilton's novel. It was a good thing I had done quite a bit of research and had lowered my expections before the trip.
In the end, I must say I throughly enjoyed my visit, because of the exceptional hospitatlity from the staff of Songtsam Lodges, who showed us the rustic but simple lives of true-blooded Tibetans when we visited their homes, rather than spend time in the new town of Shangri-La. It was facinating to know that they still lived much the same as their ancestors did a century ago. The dedication they gave to their families, the village and their monks is with the deepest sincerity & love for their people & culture. I wish the Tibetans continued bliss in their Shangri-La.

 Prayer Flags at 4,300 mtrs enroute to Meili Mountains

 Wearing the cowboy hats helped shield us from the blazing sun.  

 At Songtsam Lodge, Shangri-La

 Horse riding at Shangri-La with the local farmers

 The road to Deqin along a 200km stretch of trecherous mountaineous terrain

prone to rock slides   

Our 3 charming ladies at Lijiang Old Town

Fishing at Sabah 27-30 April 2012

We fished off Kota Kinabalu, Sabah from 27-30 April onboard a 68 foot traditional wooden boat. The sea was mirror calm & the water simply lovely. Fishing for Rubys was at 200m depths. Should have brought the electric reels; bad mistake. Manual reeling is no fun when just checking bait. Most of us used 50lb braided with minimum 300m of line. Definately not sufficient for Sabah. I would recommend 80lb braided with at least 600m of line on electric reels. The action was immediate every time we anchored at a new spot. But it faded away after 5 to 8 strikes. Then it's off to a new nearby spot again for a repeat of the action. We used apollo rigs in the day and rangongs at night. Strangely, night fishing wasn't productive at all for all 3 nights. The best fishing occurred in the early morning. That was the only period when everyone caught fish continually. By early afternoon, the action would have halved and eventually die off after twilight. One thing we were really disapointed with was the lack of good service. If it was a charter boat at Tg Pinang, Indonesia, the service by the crew would have been fantastic. Sadly, the crew onboard this boat were only interested in catching their own fish. And I must say, they were very good at that indeed. We practically did everything on our own, except the cooking & piloting of the vessel. Although, we laughed it off & put that to a different culture, I felt the crew could have done better. In any case, the fishing overall was satisfactory. I suppose going there once every couple of years would be good enough. I still prefer the fishing charters run by the Indonesians off Tg Pinang & Batam.            

WF with one of many Angkolis

Tony with a 9kg Amber Jack caught at 120m

 

Raimi with an 8.5kg Amber Jack

Ramesh with his first Angkoli caught at 98m

Jeffrey with the smallest fish he caught so far

WF with the first Ruby Red Snapper

A very nice eating Grouper

A 16kg Kaotoon caught on sardines

Adrian with a very scally fish, nick named, Durian

Enjoying the next 6 months transforming the Landcruiser

They say, there's no such thing as an old Landcruiser, only old Landcruiser drivers.
I am amazed at the abundance of aftermarket parts & accessories, one can get for a Landcruiser. The more I read about it on the web, the more I reliaze just how little I actually know. Well, the next couple of months will be fun for sure, transforming the 20 year old Cruiser to an expedition ready machine.

  

On Thursday 26 April, I will leave for Kota Kinabalu to fish onboard the Seven Stars Fishing Charter Boat. It will be my first real taste of fishing in KK. The organiser Jeffrey Chan, tells me KK is home to the famous Ruby Red Snappers. I've never seen one before let alone caught one on my line. Well, the seas are flat calm again this time of the year, during the transition from the NE to the SW Monsoon. I look forward to tight lines & screaming reels once again.

A photo I took off a website - Fishing at KK

Fishing North of Horsburgh Lighthouse

I went fishing again on Good Friday. Should have been in church, but found it too hard to pass up on a fishing trip to the wrecks north of Horsburgh. Checked windguru.com and was relieved that the weather would be flat calm. I had enough of rough seas during my youth. I much prefer soft breezes and flat water nowadays.

We set sail onboard a friend's 36 foot Grady at 9am. Although fully loaded, with 1,400 ltres of fuel, water and provisions for 3 days, we still managed to get the Grady to cruise at a decent 28 knots, burning 186 ltres of fuel an hour. In a short two hours, we were past Horsburgh. Then followed 3 glorious days of exciting fishing. The fish we targeted were not big, but they came fast & furious. The main bait was NTUC sotong. It's a popular belief that only kelong sotong works. Well apparently the fish at our spot don't mind the NTUC packaged ones either. The first night's highlight, 2 large Cobias, about 10 kg each.  

In all we caught over 100 fish, mostly small table sized for eating

Thelargest fish caughtm a 12 kg Cobia