missing my v max .....

I can't help occasionally wondering who is riding the Yamaha V Max 1200 that I used to ride for 5 years (prior to my getting a Yamaha FJR 1300). Surprisingly I don't have many pictures riding it :(

 This was what the bike looked like when I first bought it. After about a year , I decided to put a little bit of color into it ......

Amazing how a bit of red could turn a masculine bike into a sexier version :) I didn't meet anyone riding a V Max when I was riding it though .....

Handling of the V Max was much more difficult as compared to the FJR . I had to really think of where and how to park - which was practically everyday almost.... Riding on the highway was fine but I found that it wasn't very smooth when cornering .... one of the reasons why I switched to the FJR.

Only on the weekends do I get to ride with friends. But other motorists have been generally kind in that they would allow me to pass even when the traffic is heavy - perhaps they felt sorry for this poor soul riding in the scorching sun or in the pouring rain :)

Fa Polo

walking down memory lane .......

I don’t know how or what I did back in those days  .... but before I knew it I was bundled off to Tunku Kurshiah College in Seremban where I spent my adolescent years ie from 1972 – 1978. I hated being there and was always counting the days for when I’d be out in the world ......

This hall was where we had our weekly assembly, concerts, prayers, badminton matches, table tennis matches, folk dancing lessons, singing/dancing competitions, mock elections, showing of movies ...... etc etc etc

Orchid  dormitory on the first floor of Mahsuri building was the first dormitory I set foot in. In those days we had double deckers – I always preferred the upper bunk as it provided me more privacy (to me at least)

In the five years I was in Mahsuri block, I must’ve gone up and down these stairs countless times. Nothing much has changed except the lounge looks very  'frilled' up.

This washing area has been tiled and cleaned up – but it didn’t have the homely atmosphere I remember .... We used to have lockers where our goodies were stored.

"Come Mahsurians Up Mahsurian

Let's keep our flag flying up high

Victory is our destination

That's a fact we can't deny

So let us all get together

Don't be sorry if you lose

Let's be joyful it'll be better

So no forward we must push

Come Mahsurians That's the spirit

That's the spirit we must keep

Never be shy to take defeat

Rise again and take the lead "

Lyrics of this song was provided by Cik Mahiran our physical education teacher cum warden cum confidante to many students back then. She still listens to our yakkaty yakking patiently on facebook :)  Mrs Ho, Miss Vicky, Mr Ng, Pn Rokiah, Ustazah Asmah are other teachers that comes to mind.

I hated having to set tables for the seniors but loved to stay back for extra food at this dining hall – I had a very healthy appetite due to numerous sports activities I indulged in. Despite all the food  consumed, I was still one of the smallest/shortest then...... Today, I believe I have overtaken many in the ‘height’ department :)

This is the center of the square school block. I didn’t think I’d miss being here, but I sure do. My kids think it’s like in the Harry Porter movie ...... ha ha ....

   

The tennis court was my favorite place. I spent most of my free time either reading behind the tennis wall or simply hitting the wall alone as not many would sparr with me back then .... Representing the college and Negri Sembilan state was the highlight of my tennis involvement.  

Other sports I represented either TKC or Mahsuri House were volley ball, netball and  table tennis. In athletics, I always excelled in marathons.

  This was the first time I’d visited TKC after leaving it in 1978 in the middle of lower six – my brother had me transferred to Kajang High School where my family wanted me to be in ‘arts stream’ (in order to do ‘law’) .At that time TKC only catered for science stream. I was interested in Engineering but we don’t argue with our elders in those days -  guess life had other things in store for me ......

I told my kids that this ‘prison’ was more than home could ever have  been to me. It taught me how to be independent,  to fight/work hard to get what I want, to be resourceful, to solve problems instead of pondering on it endlessly , juggle my preferences and to turn enemies into friends .....

Now.... I am proud to have been an inmate of this ‘prison’

I love you Tunku Kurshiah College ..........

"Kolej Tunku Kurshiah
Kolej ulung di negra Malaysia
Kami pelajar bersumpah
Akan teguh patuh memeliharanya
Kolej Tunku Kurshiah
Kolej mulia berjasa
Muga-muga Tuhan memberi rahmatnya
Sentosa Kolej Tunku Kurshiah"

Fatimah Ahmad known as Chu to all my TKC sisters is now Fatimah Ahmad De Polo. 

To most bikers today, I am simply Fa Polo .....

LONG SOLO RIDE AFTER LONG BREAK....

On Sunday May 8, 2011 I got up early and couldn't contain my excitement at deciding to ride to Penang alone...... Well, alone because Ricardo had other arrangements with his friends and none of my friends responded to my 'text' sent a day earlier - asking if they'd like to ride with me up north...

I still have aches in some parts of my arm but I'm just gonna ignore it and vrooooooommmm offfff - a month and a half of being idle is more than I can take.... :)


The feel the sound and the glide of my bike was refreshing indeed - as I was riding, my mind thought of Bro Hadi who had come all the way from Indonesia and have already been a week in Penang. I looked forward to seeing him who was here because his little girl Charity, 6 months old was having stomach digestion problems. His wife Lilis was also here with him at Lam Wah Ee specialist Center Penang.

When I fuelded up at Bukit Gantang, I called Azliena - she will join me at Juru petrol kiosk and we would both ride to see Bro Hadi. While waiting for Azliena to arrive, made friends with a few bikers who were heading off to Cameron Highlands. They asked me to join them but I declined as my priority was seeing Bro Hadi.

Azliena and I found Lam Wah Ee Specialist Center and just as we were about to go up to the wards, Bro Hadi 'found' us at the lobby!! Seemingly Charity had been discharged and they were about to go to the Traders' Hotel. After meeting Charity and Lilis, we accompanied them to the hotel. 













Once they had checked in, we took them to a coffee shop of Azliena's choice for lunch. It was very cosey and we yakkaty yakked till a cab came for Bro Hadi and family to take them back to the hotel again.

Azliena and I decided to take the ferry back to the mainland instead of using the bridge. We almost didn't make it as it was full to the brimm. But the other bikers were so sweet, they made way for us and we just about managed to squeeze in..... it was fun....


Then we waited for Wirda to join us at Mc Donald's. It sure was nice catching up after so long..... After having a drink Azliena and Wirda decided to take me to Pak Su's shop in Changkat Jering. I was game for anything.



At Pak Su's shop we all had something to eat. Time flies when you're in good company - before I knew it, it was 6.30pm!!! Wow time to go indeed....

So Azliena and Wirda rode off north and I rode off south.....


I reached home tired but happy - mysteriously all my aches had gone - the ride had been therapeutic and I'm glad I defied well meaning advise to stay off the bike for another week or two....... :)

Fa Polo
Sunday
April 8, 2011

The road to recovery.....

It's been more than a month and a half since I've taken my FJR for a spin. For a person who rides on an almost daily basis, that sure is a long  long miserable time...

When I fell in Tarutung on the 6th day of the North Sumatera Malindo Tour in March 2011, I fractured the small of my back. I was avoiding a car that was going at a dead slow pace and simultaneously hitting a patch of sand. I survived four days of riding (before returning home) on daily double dose of pain killers. 

But I suspect my beloved other half may have unintentionally aggravated the fracture when he gave me such a bear hug after 10 days of being away from each other :) For 2 weeks I couldn't sleep nor eat well due to the excruciating pain despite my going to a specialist center and feeling poorer from it :( . So from my normal weight of 47kg I went down to 42 - I looked so gaunt it was terrifying.

Next course of action was to go to a traditional masseuse..... it helped but the pain in my arm persisted. But the traditional medicine she gave me helped build my appetite and within a month I gained my lost 5 kg and some more.... My cheeks look filled in  and my clothes didn't fall off me like they used to...

I even resorted to a Chinese Traditional Practioner. He did the tradional physiotherapy plus Chinese medication. The first time I felt relieved somewhat. But the second visit wasn't what I expected - the pain in my arm and back became worse. So I stopped going.

Then I caught hold of my nephew who practices Prolotherapy - it's so difficult to get him as he is always globe trotting. I had to catch him at his house instead of at his center. He gave me 7 jabs in 7 points that hurt the most. That was on Friday May 6, 2011. By May 7 I felt so much better and stronger that I went for a test ride on my bike. I managed to go for a ride to Kota Damansara. I even visited my grandaughter and my son there.

I asked Emma if she would like to ride to Penang with me to visit Pak Hadi Edwanto who had come to Penang since Wednesday May 4. Initially she was game but decided to wait for Pak Hadi to come to Kuala Lumpur on Monday May 9 instead.

I felt sad. Pak Hadi had been so hospitable when we were touring the North of Sumatera. I really wanted to see his wife and baby before they leave for Labuhan Batu. It was the least I could do under the circumstances.

Azliena on her GTR 1400 and Wirda on her PC 900

So I decided that I would ride to Penang alone. I would wait for Azliena ,a female biker friend who rides the Kawasaki GTR 1400, at Juru. She would take me to see Pak Hadi at the Specialist center where his 6 months old baby girl was undergoing treatment for stomach ailment. We would after that wait for Wirda, another female biker friend who rides a Honda Pacific Coast 900).

Yahoo..... though I still have pains in some parts in my left arm and shoulder area, I was pretty set on riding up North on Sunday May 8, 2011!!! Of course Ricardo gave me his blessing - not without a lot of "don't forget this and don't forget that"  plus a lot of reminders. Most important, he didn't say 'NO'

Fa Polo

May 9, 2011

Lanun Bikerz' Contribution in the SPECIAL RIDE FOR SPECIAL STUDENTS APRIL 23, 2011

Saturday Apr 23, 2011 was a special day - at least for some special kids (deaf, mute, blind, autistic, slow learners etc etc etc) in the Klang Valley.

Dataran Merdeka was filled with people as early as 7am. Ricardo and I only just got up at that time and practically flew over to the venue. We were there by 7.30am despite the traffic coming to a standstill at Bukit Aman to make way for a marathon event.

 

Hundreds of bikes / bikers and some super cars rose to the occasion - in making the day fun and memorable. The whole preparation took more than a month - meeting after meeting between the sponsors, organizers,authorities, bikers plus relevant other parties involved.

 

Lanun Bikerz were in charge of the security and Ricardo 

was excited to be marshaling. I had to manage the Lanun Bikerz' booth as I still couldn't ride my bike. The fracture in the small of my back is almost healed but my right arm doesn't have the strength needed to control my FJR yet.

The day started off with aerobics exercise and progressed into various activities. Some went to all the booths to see what was in store for them and some were taken for a ride on the bikes and super cars - some watched stunts done by the Puchong Bikers - they will surely remember this day for a long time..... they were beaming from ear to ear.

 
 

Lanun Bikerz intended to get the crowd/public to 

take pictures with our Lanun mascots for a donation of RM5.00  - the proceeds of which will be given to the special students' fund. We didn't think it would be such a hit!!! The special students and the public queued up to take their pictures - the kids especially were thrilled to be on or around the bike. Despite the heat, we were taking pictures right up until 1pm!!!

When everyone couldn't take the heat anymore we all trooped to the roofed stage - Lanun Bikerz got the public to dance along up till 2 pm - everyone was happily participating though it was way past lunch time.....

only 1/4 of the Lanun Bikerz present

Ricardo sent me home and then went off with the other Lanun Bikerz to another charity function in Johor Bahru coming back only on Sunday night.....

Bless the Lanun Bikerz and their untiring effort to give to the community apart from having a good time riding and making merry ....

Fa Polo
Saturday
April 23, 2011

Sweet Torture : Malindo Sumut Tour 11 - 20 Mar , 2011

When Che Gu Mat called to ask sometime in January if I was interested to join him ride in North Sumatera , Indonesia, I must say I was intrigued. I was tired of all the makan-makan, wedding and charity rides in Malaysia and Thailand. The thought of participating in an off road event made it interesting as I’ve never in my life done that.

  I will be riding with people I've never met before - that in itself was a challenge.  Two days before departure, we met at a restaurant in Gombak. At the end of the meeting, I still couldnt remember the names of all my team mates nor the places we will be riding to.


Friday, Mar 11, 2011 :

At the airport, I remember leaving for Medan with Che Gu Mat and  spouse, Dahlan and spouse, Kamarudin, Emma and Rush. 


Anyway, from Polonia International Airport, Medan we all trouped over across the road to a Petronas Petrol Station – I felt like I was in Malaysia. Many bikers were already waiting for us there since 3 pm!!. 

One guy was walking using his hands even – I was touched at their perseverance. Our bikes finally came at about 7pm. When I rode it, I thought I was gonna crash into something – it was so light – the brakes and clutch     didn’t seem ok but I daren't say  anything when the bike is sponsored???  

 
Many Djarum Black Bikers were waiting for us when we arrived at the Garuda Plaza hotel. After sorting out our rooming arrangements, we went up to put our things. Emma and I will be sharing rooms throughout the tour - I couldnt have asked for a better room mate. We seem to have a lot in common :)

At dinner, we met Wak Gaul , Edy & Julie who would be our guide/out rider and medical team throughout the ride. 5 bikers took 2 days to ride out to Medan to meet us and extend their invitation to visit Acheh. Many came from Tebing Tinggi - 2 hours ride from Medan.

 We were then taken on a ride round Medan – some of us threw cautions to the winds and rode 'helmetless' – we had a very easy going ride, before calling it a night.

Saturday, Mar 12, 2011 :

After breakfast, we rode to Djarum Black Office where we met up with Pak Hadi. Traffic was heavy but we made it without losing anyone... 

 
After all the introduction and speeches of course we had a photography session.

 On the way to Bajaj Dealer’s shop my bike stalled twice. It was sweltering hot and Idris the mechanic demonstrated how to use a bike with a clutch. I assured him my bike back home has a similar clutch. I could imagine his frustration but I was sure he couldnt imagine mine .... 

Though my bike had been fixed, the key was no where to be found. So I ended up a pillion on Djoko’s bike. Djoko was the Marshall who would be taking us around town that night. It took us forever to have dinner – I wasn’t in the mood to eat by the time it was ready. 

After dinner we were brought to the  ‘headquarters’ – a place where bikers from all over Sumatera get together – regardless of which club they come from. They took all the trouble to provide us refreshment and more food – we couldn’t do justice after just having had dinner!! Luckily, the local bikers who came in droves to see us, gobbled up on our behalf. We headed back to the hotel after picture taking sessions were over. It was way after midnight,  but everyone was excited and stayed in the lobby to look at pictures taken and upload them in the internet.

 Sunday, Mar 13, 2011

Emma and I had an early breakfast as we were heading off to Brastagi. After briefing and picture taking, we started our journey. Traffic was murder!! We managed to ride in our group and after riding along roads winding uphill and some pretty bad patches, we arrived at Greenhill. 

We stopped for a breather. Then we continued further uphill and stopped to buy/eat grilled and roasted corns. My bike couldn’t start . Idris fixed a wire that came off – probably from all the jolts!! 

While waiting, I had roasted corn . Many busses passed by and I was wishing I could climb up on them like the locals were doing.

We had lunch at a tourist spot before checking in at the Brastagi Hotel. I actually rode on a pretty horse named Zoe. She knew I could ride but the owner didn’t so when Zoe and I cantered off the poor guy was worried in case I took off with his precious horse :)  Lunch wasn’t ready even after my horse riding escapade. It was way past 4pm by the time we had lunch!! So it was a relief when we finally checked into Enasti Hotel.

Emma and I  were wondering why our room had no air conditioning nor fan. When we voiced our concern, everyone had a good laugh at us!! The place is colder than Genting Highlands, a heater would be more appropriate, ha ha and ha…..

Again my bike had to be checked as it had to be pushed to start. Poor Idris couldn’t rest that evening. All of us had a snooze. When Emma and I got up, others had gone to eat durians. Burn, Rush,  and  Kamar were left behind too. We stuck together and from then we were the ‘haluan kiri’ 

After dinner, we were told that Nor York and her group were stranded on the way to Brastagi. Haluan Kiri decided to follow the rescue pick up. It was such a hilarious ride in the back of the pick up. The seat that Emma, Rush and Kamar were sitting on collapsed twice!! We laughed till tears rolled down our faces… Upon reaching  Nor’s group, we found out that they had gotten a truck to drive their bikes to Enasti Hotel. So it was a wasted trip after all.... In view of that, Haluan Kiri decided to go look for a Karaoke Place. We were taken to one –  the place was so badly managed that we didn’t even get the drinks we ordered nor sing the songs requested. What a disappointment that was – but we had a good laugh again on the way back to our hotel.

Monday, Mar 14, 2011 :

While riding out of Enasti hotel Brastagi to have breakfast, we lost our out rider – due to the heavy traffic. The 7 of us went round and round 3 times looking for the other bikers. Finally, after more than an hour of going round the mulberry bush, we decided to have breakfast cum lunch at a Minang/Padang restaurant.   

Eventually we caught up with the others on the road to Prapat. The road to Danau toba was bad – some stretches were extremely muddy with large holes and heavy traffic. My bike stalled twice – I panicked because everyone else left me and Idris was struggling to get the bike started and couldn’t. I had to help him push it to the side before he managed to get it started again. 

The view near Danau Toba Lake was spectacular .I  couldn’t appreciate much as going up and down hill required my full attention. 

We rode on to Permatang Purba to see the Palace of Raja Batak Purba.  The Batak King’s palace is still being preserved and we took pictures of the very primitive but interesting  abode of people before our time….I was appalled at the dingy and tiny mating room the King used as compared to his massive palace to keep his 12 wives!!  Ha... ha... eat your hearts out modern people!!

From Permatang Purba we rode to Siantar where the Black Djarum staff treated us to lunch before taking us to their office. We didn’t stay long as we needed to reach Prapat before nightfall. After all the speeches, picture taking and souvenir giving ended, we left.

But 10 minutes after riding, the rain started. Those who brought raincoats stayed dry but I was soaked to the knickers by the time we reached Prapat Hotel. It was after 7pm and we were too tired to go out for dinner. My bike had to be pushed to start at every stop made – it was very frustrating for me. It was tiring for Idris for sure!!

 That night we were too tired to go anywhere or do anything else - we just " lepak lepak" and 'borak-borak" till lights out....

Tuesday, Mar 15, 2011 

We  left for Samosir Island. We had to board a ferry. While waiting for the ferry to fill up and move, we had fun watching the young divers dive to catch coins thrown into the sea water. While the ferry was moving we were busy taking pictures and making noise like nobody’s business. I managed to climb on the roof of a bus and coaxed Emma to climb up too. We posed for some pictures of course!!  

 The ride around Samosir Island was so breathtaking – the steam from the volcano can be seen so clearly and the ride was very therapeutic, for me at least. 

We went to the Batak Museum and watched them do a traditional dance for the audience. Mohdi and I participated in the dance before we all gave some donation and then headed back to the ferry. The journey back via ferry was rather boring as the novelty had gone and we were all tired and hungry. 

We had lunch at PosIndonesia’s restaurant. It was the best lunch for me as I hadn’t been eating well since being on the ride tour. My bike was acting up on me as usual and everyone left me and Idris behind again. By the time the bike could start, I rushed to catch up with everyone else only to take the wrong way. The hotel was merely 100 meters away from where we lunched….. 

We had a meeting that night and slept early as we had to leave before 7am for Labuhan Batu. 

Wednesday, Mar 16, 2011

The road was extremely windy with sudden bad stretches. I was worried as my rear brakes weren’t functioning. At Tarutung, you could see the ravines and I must’ve lost focus for a split second and before I knew it I was sprawled on the road. My knees , shoulder and body hurt. The world was spinning as I got up. Everyone stopped at a clearing and it took more than an hour to repair my bike. The petrol pipe leaked due to the fall and the exhaust had to be tightened using steel wires. Budi of Djarum Black rode my bike and I sat in the car that was driven by Topan since we left Medan. In the car all I could think of was “what a waste” – that was the most challenging stretch and I missed it!!! 

After the tunnel, I decided to continue riding. We stopped for lunch somewhere near Sibolga. On the way to Sidempuan, Ustad’s bike had a puncture. Emma, Cik Gu Mat, Ustad , Khalid and I waited by the road side for more than an hour. The owner of the house where we parked our bikes took pity on us and offered us plain water. My kness, arm and body hurt like crazy but I wasn’t telling.

We reached Sidempuan at about 8 pm. It rained and I skidded again trying to avoid a car. I was pretty sure everyone was fed up of me by then.

At Sidempuan, Haluan Kiri took rooms near each other. We went for dinner. I pillioned on Kamar’s bike and Emma pillioned on Rush’s bike. Dinner wasn’t very good but can do. 

That night, while others were still talking or riding around town, I was suffering in pain. Julie gave me 2 injections, massaged all my black and blue knees, arm, shoulder and ribs. She practically put me to bed. I was so grateful to her ministrations.  This picture of my knees was taken 1 week after incident. Imagine the actual color on the 1st day! If Ricardo had seen, I'd never be allowed to ride again.......;)

Thursday, Mar 17 2011:  
I wasn’t feeling as much pain as I did the day before. The pain killers Julie gave me was fantastic. After taking pictures at Sidempuan's hotel and a brief stop at Sidempuan’s Djarum Black office, we rode on to Labuhan Batu.

Again Ustad’s tire punctured. Emma, Khalid, Cik Gu Mat and I waited at a junction of a palm oil estate. We even bought ice creams. The wait was more than an hour. We went ahead to have lunch 50km from Labuhan Batu. The others caught up with us and after lunch we were escorted by many Black Djarum riders to their office. 

After that we were brought to the place where we had to sleep. Emma and I were stricken when we were told to share a room with 3 other pillion riders as there weren't enough rooms to go round. But in the end we managed to get a room to ourselves.

It was an extremely humbling experience for all of us I must say. There wasn’t enough water to bathe. There were no bedsheets nor pillow slips nor blankets/comforters. But we were much obliged as it was the best our host could provide us.

That night, my bike was being thoroughly repaired by Idris and Dian, the owner of the bike I have been riding.

Dinner was a grand affair. A stage was especially set up for us. Many bikers from all over Labuhan Batu came to greet us. We sang, we danced and we made many friends that night. I even got 50,000 rupiah from the manager of Djarum Black, Pak Baharum for doing the Batak Dance – eat your heart out people ;)

When we came back from dinner I tested my bike but it still couldn’t start – oh dear.... am I going to have to push it at every stop again????.  So I went to bed while others had a meeting.  Julie gave me 2 jabs and tended to my swollen knees and bruises again some time that night.

Friday, Mar 18, 2011

Emma told me that everyone didn’t want me to ride as I’d fallen twice. I felt sad/bad because despite my bike giving me problems from day one, I bore with the situation as best I could.  Anyway, Emma must’ve told them how I felt. Che Gu  Mat offered to exchange bikes  as the starter had been changed. So I rode on without creating a scene though I wished my Lanunbikerz group was with me instead of this one. Lanunbikerz would have made sure the bike I got was a good one instead of making me feel like I was hampering everyone every time the bike wouldn’t start. 

After a courtesy stop at Pak Hadi's shop Benteng Motor we pushed off towards Tebing Tinggi.

We stopped at Tanjung Balai for lunch and the police there gave us an overwhelming welcome. It seemed that we were ‘kidnapped’ as we had no intention of stopping there. But we didn’t want to appear ungrateful so we left as soon as we could and managed not to be kidnapped into stopping at Kisaran. The traffic to Tebing tinggi was horrendous. We were given a red carpet welcome at Tebing Tinggi by the founder of North Sumatera Bikers.

After checking into the hotel and freshening up, we had dinner at CFC – similar to our KFC. That was for me the best dinner in a long time!! After dinner, haluan kiri went to a karaoke place. It was disastrous again but at least Rush and Burn managed to sing a few songs. Kamar, Emma and I were for the most part observers.

 Saturday, Mar 19, 2011

The ride to Medan from Tebing Tinggi was boring. We Left the hotel though it was raining. Along the way we had to stop as the rain pelted heavier. When the rain let up we continued our ride monotonously. We arrived at the last hotel we were to stay that night just after noon. After securing our rooms, we all went our own different ways. Emma and I went to wash our hair and did facial at a nearby salon. In the middle of it, the lights blacked out. Only my right hand nails got varnished. My hair was blown in the hotel room – the salon girl followed me with the dryer and all her pins!!

As I was waiting to go for dinner, I saw someone who looked like “Safwan” (a Lanun biker) so I called out his name and lo and behold….. it WAS Safwan in person. In fact Ayu his other half was with him too. Fancy meeting him in Medan of all places!!. They were on holiday with their parents. I told Safwan about my tumble at Tarutung but Che Gu Mat made an unbecoming  joke out of it instead .....

Almost everyone had something to say at our last dinner together. I didn’t want to say much. I couldn’t wait to go home. After dinner, many Medan bikers came to give certificates and stickers and to take pictures.  We ended up talking away till the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday , Mar 20, 2011

Emma and I took our time packing our laundered clothing. We even had our jackets and pants cleaned. We weren’t planning to go anywhere but ended up following Ustad Radzi and Khalid, to the ‘market’. I’m not a shopper by nature but I followed just the same. Ustad Radzi and Khalid were going back on the earlier flight so the rush to shop for their spouses and kids.

When we got back to the hotel, I realized my wedding band was missing. My heart stopped for a while. What would Ricardo say when I get back with bruises and aches and a missing wedding band?? Oh no…. Then I remembered that the lights blacked out just as I was being manicured. So I rushed back to that salon and when the owner showed me my wedding band I gave her such a big hug of gratitude….Phew…!!

The rest of the day was spent with Emma, Kamar and Burn . Rush had to go to Jakarta for a meeting. Emma and Kamar wanted to go along with him but couldn’t get their tickets changed at the last minute.

Waiting to get to the airport was an endless picture taking session. I was glad to finally get to the airport. It was a relief to eventually land on the Malaysian runaway. The airport  was so welcoming…. After collecting my new bag that I'd bought just to stuff my helmet into, bade my goodbyes to Emma and Burn that were still walking side by side with me. The sight of Ricardo and my kids was the best sight in a long time…. I’ve missed them so. Missed everything in Malaysia….

I’ve had the adventure that I wanted. It will remain a good part of motor biking. The hospitality, kindness and sincerity of many Indonesians I’d met over the 10 days there will remain in my memory bank for a long , long time. I have hundreds of pictures to smile over in days when I can no longer ride…. 

Fa Polo  

Malindo Sumut Tour

11 - 20 Mar , 2011