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21 Jul 2018
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There are 2 ways to get to Kota Kinabalu which is by ferry (you need to take 2) or ride.... Ride of course.
 Screen Shot 2018-07-06 at 20.29.36 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Screen Shot 2018-07-21 at 10.54.32 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Today we have 321 km to go to Kota Kinabalu, but we have 4 border crossings to navigate. We have to exit Brunei, enter Malaysian Sarawak again, enter the Brunei enclave, enter Sarawak a third time, and then enter Malaysian Sabah. This means in total we have 10 passport stamps in the last 3 days.
 Screen Shot 2018-07-13 at 17.46.19 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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24 Jul 2018
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Then we headed north to Kota Kinabalu, but has to stop after 58 km at the Sabah Malaysia crossing for our final exit from Sarawak Malaysia and entry to Sabah Malaysia stamp. Each state here has internal borders, except the peninsula which is the federal zone.
 FILE0994 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 FILE1022 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Sabah Border by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Last edited by saralou; 28 Jul 2018 at 22:43.
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6 Aug 2018
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It is super hot and humid today in Brunei and Malaysia and may be the worst we have had recently. It makes you pretty irritable when you are riding all suited up and with all the borders.
 FILE1085 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We pushed on the 151 km to Kota Kinabalu and had little traffic until the last 25 km. We made for BMW as they said they have a shipping service. As usual all talk no action. They use a service that “no longer uses air” and the boat by container takes 2 weeks. They also do not have palates as the bikes come from KL on an airline skid and are not crated.
 FILE1093 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We then headed back to the airport and to MASkargo. We had contacted then over a month ago and they had said just to show up here about this date and they would ship the bikes…real story is the boss screwed up and did not make the booking and the flights are now all full and the next plane for us to KL is in 3 weeks time. The receptionist was helpful enough to give us some other names.
We called another cargo air service at Raya Air and headed over there. They arranged for a shipping agent from Capricorn airfreight to meet with us. Super helpful ladies. They are trying hard to get us sorted. This means sourcing or fabricating palates if we want the bikes to go to KLIA and on from there and putting us on the wait list for cargo. They also said that if they reserve an entire air cargo palate space we can get the bikes on the plane at the earliest in 10 days time! This means we have to call around and try to get palates, but this is unlikely as you do not need a palate to and from KL, but we think we need the bikes on palates since they can not leave KL without one. Shipping is such a horror.
After much negotiating the new plan is in place. The bikes fly domestically and to the Subang cargo airport 60 km from Kl international. The issue of clearing the carnet, which we had wanted done here will have to be done in KL. The issue of the palates, which will need to be fabricated we will leave for KL as well. The usual shipping of bikes from Borneo to KL is roll on so crates and palates are impossible to come by.
In the end we have decided to roll on and send the bikes domestically to Subang airport and pick the bikes up and ride them to KLIA. So done this way it seems they will fly in 6 days time to KL.
This all took about 24 hours to sort out and we can now can drop the bikes off tomorrow at Raya Air (without storage charges) and then we need to find something to do for the next week.
We are happy we use HSBC for banking and that there is a branch 1 block away from our hotel. This way we could get the encashment we need for the shipping without spending a day or 2 trying to get money from the ATM with its daily limit. The bank transfer only took about 2 hours to arrange.
 KK Borneo Malaysia by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We finally had a break in the rain just as we left the back so we could ride the 7 km over to KKIA 2 and to Raya air and drop the bikes at the shipping warehouse. Here we sorted our some of the gear we wanted to ship, removed any liquids and aerosols, and secured the gear. The agent Christine met us there, drove us back to the city, and even bought us lunch.
 Screen Shot 2018-07-28 at 16.49.14 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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6 Aug 2018
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It is very hot here and we are a bit burnt out mentally and physically so instead of organizing excursions or a big adventure by air or 6 hour bus to see more wildlife we hung out in the air con in the mall and went out to explore only after dark. Got to like a Gin and Tonic like this! Is any alcohol Halal???
 IMG_3117 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3122 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We did take a GRAB over to the Low Kawi Wildlife park to see the pygmy elephants on one day as well.
 KK Borneo Malaysia-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We tried out a few local places for food, but the next place was a real Italian restaurant 2 blocks form the hotel. The night markets are packed with people. There are a huge number of seafood places and one night we went all out at “Welcome”.
 IMG_0972 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3130 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-6 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KK Borneo Malaysia-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3131 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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6 Aug 2018
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The shipping saga continues…Air China quote is Pivot rate and is 24,000 $ for 2 bikes KL to JFK…no. Next was 18,000 $ if we ride them to Singapore (plus its 400 each for TVIP and insurance)….no. Back to Maskargo that will ship them to Frankfurt for 25 Ringet a kg. Then we need to pick them up and ride them to Air Canada (this means getting a green card and help from MotoCamp Bulgaria again = 200$). Ac has a flat rate to ship to Montreal.
The plan now is that we will fly from KK to KLIA July 17 and the bikes fly the same day to Subang 60 km away, but actually nearer to KL city. We will be able to pick them up July 18. We are booked into a hotel at KLIA near the cargo terminal. We will drop the bikes at Maskarco July 19. Orvar used them this week and all went easily. They strapped the bike to a metal air cargo sheet, “measured” it very loosely and very much in his favor for the rate to Amsterdam.
We will fly to Frankfurt July 21. The bikes will fly from KlIA to Amsterdam July 20 and then they are trucked to Swiss air cargo (same price as fly only to Amsterdam according to MAs) and arrive July 22 at 5 am. The say we can pick them up here after customs clearance formalities and then we will either ride them the 10 km to Air Canada cargo to drop them off or we will have some time on our hands in Germany until we have a flight for the bikes to Montreal.
Either way we luckily have Ivo from Motocamp Bulgaria to help us out. He bought our green card insurance today for us. We have no choice but to spend the 120 Euros for the minimum coverage as we don’t have a flight and even if we did the fees for an agent to bond the bikes and truck them the 10 km is actually more expensive. This way we have the safety net incase for Air Canada flights we have a delay. We have sent in the shipping request and the request to the company that issues the dangerous goods certificate, but have had no reply after 4 days! (Later we found she mistook our request for a date at the end of September and when we called she immediately gave us the date we requested).
 IMG_3154 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Finally after killing a week its July 17 and the bikes fly from KK to Subang KL. We had a photo from the shipping agent of the bikes lashed to the cargo palate…It looks like they could withstand a crash!
 IMG-20180712-WA00050011 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG-20180712-WA00030011 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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7 Aug 2018
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We got a GRAB to the KK airport for the 2.5 hour flight. This was a bit turbulent, but otherwise uneventful.
 KK Borneo Malaysia-10 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Screen Shot 2018-07-21 at 10.56.13 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We arrived to KLIA 2 and walked to the nearby TUNE 2 hotel where was had some lunch and then got the shuttle to TUNE acropolis at the cargo terminal (1/3 the price of the first Tune). We are booked here 3 night and then will swap to TUNE 2 at the terminal 2 as we have to be at the airport terminal 1 at 6 am on July 21. We confirmed the bikes arrived in Subang today and we can pick them up tomorrow morning. This is a 50 km trip (65Ringette) to Subang from KLIA.
The first step today was to walk 200 m over to the Day Pass office to get a pass for the secure customs and shipping area. We are doing this now so we do not have to do it later all suited up in the heat. You have to hand in your drivers license and get a wrist band and a plastic card on a lanyard.
 KL Malaysia by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
From here we got a GRAB for the ride 50 km to Raya air at Subang Airport. This was a bit of a challenge as all the drivers are at the main KLIA terminal, which as the crow flies is not far, but takes about 20 min to get from there to us around the secure zone. The first driver said “ he had 2 flat tires” after we had waited 20 min for him. He wanted us to cancel him, but if we did that it would be very hard to get another driver. He eventually cancelled on us and we had to wait 20 more minutes for another ride. So far the day is not going that well.
When you get to Raya you report to security, hand over your passport, and get a day pass to allow access to the secure site. We were directed to walk 150 m over to the warehouse and report to “24 hour” pick up doorway. Here thru the cage we could see the bikes on a palate on a dolly.
 KL Malaysia-2 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
The guys here were very nice and set the palate and dolly up with a ramp. They un-lashed the huge number of straps and helped us wheel the bikes off. We just had to unstrap the suitcase with the riding gear and helmets and change. By then they had done all the paperwork and had time for a photo op. We were in and out in about 45 min.
 KL Malaysia-3 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-4 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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7 Aug 2018
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From here we retraced our route 50 km back to the cargo terminal with a stop for 3 l of gas each. This way we have enough to get back, ride the few km in Germany and get out of the airport in Montreal.
 Screen Shot 2018-08-30 at 22.21.53 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We arrived to the customs security gate at KLIA and said we were going to Maskargo (no one asked for our pass  ) The first step here is to go to the customs office ahead and to the left. You park here and then walk over to the 6 story building to the right. We of course arrived at 1230 and they are closed 12-2 for lunch….
At 2 we went up to the 6 th floor (there is no signage in English and multiple offices are along a long hallway). When you exit the elevator turn down the hall and the office you want is the first on the right. The counter is about half way down the room and the desk has a “Carnet” sign above it and you speak to the officer here. They look at your carnet, copy your passport, and give you a huge ledger book. You take this back to the customs office across the parking lot for a carnet stamp and “vehicle visual inspection”. They signed and stamped the carnet, but did not even come out to look at the bikes. In fact they could not even see we had bikes from their office!
 IMG_3146 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3140 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3151 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3149 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Last edited by saralou; 31 Aug 2018 at 04:25.
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7 Aug 2018
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Then it was back to the 6 th floor. The officer here then takes the ledger and carnet to the first floor for another stamp. All that took nearly 2 hours. From here you ride 500 m to enter another secure area for the cargo docks where Mas is located.
 IMG_3148 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3150 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 IMG_3153 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We rode to the Maskargo export acceptance office, which is thru security down to the very end of the road turn right, ride to then end again and go right again and then go 200 m to the Core 1 door.
 IMG_3159 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
Just inside here is the office you want. Long story short this was a 2 hour nightmare. First the office guy says “by the way did they tell you that the bike has to be crated to Frankfurt for the truck”. Recap we had explicitly discussed this with Maskargo sales re price and options and were assured that price was the same to Frankfurt and that no crate was needed.
Orvar went last week and this was the case so we were feeling confident. He had a very loose measurement of the bike and the cost was 6050R. Here they measured and told us it would be 9000R for the 800 and 7000R for the 650 plus 1000R per bike to crate! Long discussion about all the issues including their mistake on quote and the fact that Orvar’s bike, which is bigger than Sara’s went for 6050. Much discussion among the staff…bottom line take panniers off and wind screens, crate here for 750 R each…total 14000 R. Still more than our quote, but we have no choice now.
It is now almost 5 pm and we have had the crate guys over to look at the bikes. They will store them in their warehouse overnight as they can not leave this zone off carnet. They were nice enough to give us a ride back tot he hotel as well. Tomorrow we have to meet them at 2 for the set up and strapping.
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7 Aug 2018
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Well of course we show up at the warehouse at 145 and no one else does until 230. The assistant then tells us the boss is on the phone for us and wants us to ride the bikes back to Maskargo so they can do the packing there (of course). The truck with the palates arrived and we followed him over the 500 m to Mas. Here we parked and then waited until 315 when the guy finally arrived with a second helper. That said the palates were amazing.
 KL Malaysia-5 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
They riveted the hold points on where Dan wanted and then strapped the bikes, helped us wrap the baggage and then they wrapped the bike, covered it in plastic sheet and then wrapped it again. They look shrink wrapped. He had decided to give us a 25 % discount on his packing service and that was very nice. We then went into the Maskargo office while the bikes were sent to the scales. Final bill was 1000 R less than the quote per bike YEAH!
 KL Malaysia-7 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-8 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-9 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-11 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-12 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-15 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 KL Malaysia-16 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
We were finally out of there just after 530 and walked the km back to the hotel.
 IMG_3208 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
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12 Aug 2018
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Today is Thursday and the bikes will fly tomorrow after noon at 3 to Baku Azerbaijan and then onto Amsterdam by the late afternoon Saturday. They are then transferred to a truck for the 456 km drive to Swiss Air cargo in Frankfurt by 5 am Sunday. We will be able to pick them up there (pay the port fees) and unwrap the mummies.
 Screen Shot 2018-07-21 at 10.58.40 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Screen Shot 2018-07-21 at 10.58.08 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
 Screen Shot 2018-07-21 at 11.00.08 by Sara & Daniel Pedersen, on Flickr
It is only 10 km ride to the Air Canada Cargo. Our friend Wolfgang shipped his bike from there Today! He says it was easy and under an hour. Just ride up, push the bike onto a palate, take off luggage for xray while team straps bike, put luggage back on, pay and leave!
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12 Aug 2018
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Check the RAW segments; Grant, your HU host is on every month!
Episodes below to listen to while you, err, pretend to do something or other...
2020 Edition of Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook.
"Ultimate global guide for red-blooded bikers planning overseas exploration. Covers choice & preparation of best bike, shipping overseas, baggage design, riding techniques, travel health, visas, documentation, safety and useful addresses." Recommended. (Grant)
Ripcord Rescue Travel Insurance™ combines into a single integrated program the best evacuation and rescue with the premier travel insurance coverages designed for adventurers.
Led by special operations veterans, Stanford Medicine affiliated physicians, paramedics and other travel experts, Ripcord is perfect for adventure seekers, climbers, skiers, sports enthusiasts, hunters, international travelers, humanitarian efforts, expeditions and more.
Ripcord travel protection is now available for ALL nationalities, and travel is covered on motorcycles of all sizes!
What others say about HU...
"This site is the BIBLE for international bike travelers." Greg, Australia
"Thank you! The web site, The travels, The insight, The inspiration, Everything, just thanks." Colin, UK
"My friend and I are planning a trip from Singapore to England... We found (the HU) site invaluable as an aid to planning and have based a lot of our purchases (bikes, riding gear, etc.) on what we have learned from this site." Phil, Australia
"I for one always had an adventurous spirit, but you and Susan lit the fire for my trip and I'll be forever grateful for what you two do to inspire others to just do it." Brent, USA
"Your website is a mecca of valuable information and the (video) series is informative, entertaining, and inspiring!" Jennifer, Canada
"Your worldwide organisation and events are the Go To places to for all serious touring and aspiring touring bikers." Trevor, South Africa
"This is the answer to all my questions." Haydn, Australia
"Keep going the excellent work you are doing for Horizons Unlimited - I love it!" Thomas, Germany
Lots more comments here!
Diaries of a compulsive traveller
by Graham Field
Book, eBook, Audiobook
"A compelling, honest, inspiring and entertaining writing style with a built-in feel-good factor" Get them NOW from the authors' website and Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk.
Back Road Map Books and Backroad GPS Maps for all of Canada - a must have!
New to Horizons Unlimited?
New to motorcycle travelling? New to the HU site? Confused? Too many options? It's really very simple - just 4 easy steps!
Horizons Unlimited was founded in 1997 by Grant and Susan Johnson following their journey around the world on a BMW R80G/S.
Read more about Grant & Susan's story
Membership - help keep us going!
Horizons Unlimited is not a big multi-national company, just two people who love motorcycle travel and have grown what started as a hobby in 1997 into a full time job (usually 8-10 hours per day and 7 days a week) and a labour of love. To keep it going and a roof over our heads, we run events all over the world with the help of volunteers; we sell inspirational and informative DVDs; we have a few selected advertisers; and we make a small amount from memberships.
You don't have to be a Member to come to an HU meeting, access the website, or ask questions on the HUBB. What you get for your membership contribution is our sincere gratitude, good karma and knowing that you're helping to keep the motorcycle travel dream alive. Contributing Members and Gold Members do get additional features on the HUBB. Here's a list of all the Member benefits on the HUBB.
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helps answer the question - Why Go? Inspirational stories by veteran travellers Greg Frazier (5 times RTW), Peter and Kay Forwood (193 countries), Tiffany Coates (Mongolia Mayhem) and Rene Cormier (University of Gravel Roads).
Get Ready! covers planning, paperwork, medical and many other topics! "Inspirational and Awesome!" See the trailer here!
What stuff do I need - riding gear, clothing, camping gear, first aid kit, tires, maps and GPS? What don't I need? How do I pack it all in? Lots of opinions from over 150 travellers!
break down language barriers, overcome culture shock, ship the bike and deal with breakdowns and emergencies."Just makes me want to pack up and go!" See the trailer here!
Grant demystifies the black art of Tire Changing and Repair to help you STAY on the road! "Very informative and practical." See the trailer here!
Ladies on the Loose! For the first time ever, a motorcycle travel DVD made for women, by women! These intrepid women share their tips to help you plan your own motorcycle adventure. They also answer the women-only questions, and entertain you with amazing tales from the road! Presented by Lois Pryce, veteran solo traveller through South America and Africa and author of 'Lois on the Loose', and 'Red Tape and White Knuckles.'
Cotton or synth sweat-wicking t-shirts with the cool Horizons Unlimited graphic on the front and a snappy slogan (changing every year) on the back.
Show your route on your panniers. Great conversation starter when you meet people on the road!
Motorcycle and travel books to inspire and inform you!
The definitive guide to planning your motorcycle adventure! This insanely ambitious 2-year project has produced an informative and entertaining 5-part, 18 hour video series. "The ultimate round the world rider's how-to!" MCN UK.
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