Dirt biking in Malaysia - December 2008

After a mountain biking trip in Yuzhno that did not allow us to cover as far as we planned, a trip on dirt bike in Malaysia was planned before departing Yuzhno.

The day was a Sunday, and we agreed it is time to take the bikes off road. Breakfast was part of the plan, so we arrived 1 hour before the trip start to have our meal. It was about 830am when we arrived.

Everyone arrived around 945 and we were told to take the bikes for a spin to make sure they are in good condition. Alex, the shop owner gave us some protective gears, e.g. riding boots, knee/elbow guards, gloves and we took the bikes for a shakedown.


Here are the monsters.


Our first stop was at the Shell station, to fill up the tanks. Everyone took this opportunity to fill up their system with some 100plus or RedBull during this time.


Yours truly posting for a shot with his bike.

Trial #1, to cross this small river on planks. Good balancing skills and balls required to acomplish this first task, especially for beginners. Ok, I didn't manage to pass this.

A short break after our first 15 minutes of ride.

Some pointers on how to handle the bike going in and out of muddy waters.

The bikes...

Getting ready for some more action.

The lack of pictures for the later part of the trip explains the difficulty levels and weather conditions. We went through hilly slopes, muddy waters, palm oil estate dirt tracks and crossing some drains we never thought possible.

We arrived back at our starting point at around 5pm, exhausted, wasted, dirty, breathless, bruised, but glad we made it back and most importantly, made the trip happen.

Yuzhno - Autumn 2008 - Mountain biking in Yuzhno

It was 18th October and still a sunny autumn day in Yuzhno, so a few of us Malaysian flers decided to do some off-road mountain biking to enjoy the fresh air around Yuzhno. We had hoped to try our will power to reach Chekov peak, a 25-30km trail.

As usual, we went to bed early and got up on time, gathered in Yubileinaya hotel, about 15 minutes walk to where we should pick up our rental bikes. As you can see from the above picture, these guys looked pretty energized.

Part of the trail we followed.

Another picture of the trail.


Again.

It was about 15 minutes before we decide to take our first break, and the subsequent ones were about 5-10 minutes interval.

This helped us conclude that we brought the wrong tools for the job.

And the little tiny narrow seat didn't helped us much.

Our fire starter + burner.

Found a nice stream about 1 hour later, and everyone thought the view was much better than Chekov peak, so took a break and enjoyed our lunch there. Managed to cook some sausages and bacons. Also, we brought some fresh scallops but had to leave them for the bears due to some *#@&% reason.

A picture taken after our meal and before we proceed downhill.

Russian Metro stations ...

After my first trip to Moscow, I regretted not having taken any serious pictures of the legendary metro stations of this unique mega city. So in my recent trip, I've decided not to let any station go without a snap.

Enjoy...

Yuzhno - May 2008 - Leaving Yuzhno again..

Yes, this is at least the fifth time I am leaving Yuzhno, same old sh*t, but I'm gonna post some pictures again.


Leaving Yuzhno on the 8th of May, this is the airport serving domestic and international flights. You'll find that you need 3-5 times longer here for everything you need to do in the airport.


An aerial view of Yuzhno city when not covered in snow.


Another view.


Some Asiana business class meal, hope they pay me something someday for all these free publicity.


Dessert


This is what I usually enjoyed most among all.


Mushroom with fish dish + rice.


Some fruits and crackers + cheese to finish off the eating frenzy.

Yuzhno - May 2008 - Russian Circus.. for kids

It was a few days before I was scheduled to leave the island, a colleagues spoke about a Russian circus in town. Not having experienced any Russian circus, I quickly agreed with he suggested visiting one. It was a nice experience, but we left before the show ends, as we were hungry and discovered that the intended audience are kids.

Here's some pictures of them... captured with a simple point'n'shoot camera.


Before the light goes off.