So I did this a few weeks ago...

[nik.hisham]

A coupl'a weekends ago, the wife and I decided to go spend some quality time together. Just us two and the FJR. 3 days. And twisty roads.

Here's a bunch of pictures from the trip.

We started on a Friday morning. Helped the missus with her helmet.

One for the road..

This is a place we stopped for breakfast

After breakfast, and while waiting for the food to go down, I thought I'd show you what my camera looks like.

Its wearing the 17-40mm F4L lens in this shot.

Before getting back on the bike, I decided to check the forecast as the day was getting gloomy. Not good, this.

This was where my wife grew up. Small hut in a little village. She's come a long way...

Small hut or no, they still got satellite TV...

Some paddy fields along the way..

We also stopped at my wife's favorite uncle's place in another village about an hour north..

A peek at the inside of his humble home..

This is their first great grandson

And the proud parents

As we headed off, we hit the town of Lumut, a harbor that is famous with the local tourists

We finally reached our hotel and this was the mileage for the day..

Our room

My wife had a go at angry birds while waiting for me to get dressed for dinner...

That's it for day 1. Will post day two soon...

 

[TriggerT]

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a darn nice hotel room to stay in at the end of a hot, and I am sure humid day.

 

[MajBach]

Awesome! Just awesome!

Couple of off-topic questions, with the exception of the obvious B&W and sepia, how are you manipulating the colours in your pics? The outdoor scenic shots seem to have a real bleached or odd contrast to them. Is this intentional? Starting with the one of the iPhone/gas tank. Clearly you were trying to bring out the reflection of the sky on the tank (how did you manage to focus a foot and infinity?), but the colours seem pale but by design; especially the last one with the video game.

 

[Tyler]

That's it for day 1. Will post day two soon...

Was just wondering what you were up to, Nik! Great pics as usual... looking forward to the next installment!! B)

 

[wheatonFJR]

Thanks for sharing Nik.

Great photo story. I feel like I have a friend thousands of miles away...if you two are ever in Wheaton...

....ride away quickly. It's hundreds of miles to curvy roads. Love to take you two...and your family out to breakfast sometime though.

Have a fun trip!

 

[beemerdons]

That's it for day 1. Will post day two soon...

Was just wondering what you were up to, Nik! Great pics as usual... looking forward to the next installment!! B)

+1, Gunny; Oh Malaysia Mon, it looks so groovy Mon I just want to go! I usually sing this James Taylor song about Mexico, but Malaysia is definitely on Papa Chuy Viejo's Bucket List!

 

[redtail]

Another great ride report! I'm also looking forward to the next part of the story!

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great stuff Nik. As always, the pics are awesome!

Standing by for part 2...

--G

 

[dcarver]

Nik, I always relish to read and look, I mean study, your ride reports. The 'humble home' to me looks luxurious, lived in, warm, HOME. Your eye through camera lens is excellent. After viewing, my wanderlust is always on 11 out of 10. Very much looking forward to more!

 

[Tyler]

Nik, I always relish to read and look, I mean study, your ride reports. The 'humble home' to me looks luxurious, lived in, warm, HOME. Your eye through camera lens is excellent. After viewing, my wanderlust is always on 11 out of 10. Very much looking forward to more!

Well, crap... Don said it way better than I did... B)

 

[beemerdons]

Nik, I always relish to read and look, I mean study, your ride reports. The 'humble home' to me looks luxurious, lived in, warm, HOME. Your eye through camera lens is excellent. After viewing, my wanderlust is always on 11 out of 10. Very much looking forward to more!

Well, crap... Don said it way better than I did... B)

Carver, you are such a friggin' "Teacher's Pet!"

But hey, do you want to ride Malaysia in 2014? My ride dance card is completely full with NAFO/CFR/Alaska in 2012 and European Alps in 2013, but I would jump at the chance to ride Malaysia in 2014 with an FJR Forum Group. We would have an outstanding Tour Guide in our Nik and I am sure he can point us to bike rental agencies!

https://www.tourism.gov.my/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia Hey Nik, do you know anything about this bike rental agency? https://www.ridemalaysia.com.my/

 

[rogdeb]

Thanks Nik :clapping: .. Deb and I always love your RR's and great pics :clapping:

Question from Deb ---- what was breakfast? It looked tasty.

 

[madmike2]

Nik, I always relish to read and look, I mean study, your ride reports. The 'humble home' to me looks luxurious, lived in, warm, HOME. Your eye through camera lens is excellent. After viewing, my wanderlust is always on 11 out of 10. Very much looking forward to more!

Yes, me too!

I love the "family" center around which the ride is based. Very cool!

Question: Why do you have what appears to be a license number on the front fender? Local law?

 

[nik.hisham]

Hi all. thanks for looking at my pics and thanks for the compliments. You guys always make me feel welcome with your kind words, and humor too.

Nice pics. Thanks for sharing. Looks like a darn nice hotel room to stay in at the end of a hot, and I am sure humid day.

@TriggerT Yup - this hotel is really nice. Its on an island in a man made lake. Lots of outdoors and nature type things to do at this place...

Awesome! Just awesome!

Couple of off-topic questions, with the exception of the obvious B&W and sepia, how are you manipulating the colours in your pics? The outdoor scenic shots seem to have a real bleached or odd contrast to them. Is this intentional? Starting with the one of the iPhone/gas tank. Clearly you were trying to bring out the reflection of the sky on the tank (how did you manage to focus a foot and infinity?), but the colours seem pale but by design; especially the last one with the video game.

@MajBach - Thanks. I use adobe lightroom for all my post processing. I just play around with the vibrancy and saturation settings - basically up the vibrancy and reduce saturation.

Carver, you are such a friggin' "Teacher's Pet!"

But hey, do you want to ride Malaysia in 2014? My ride dance card is completely full with NAFO/CFR/Alaska in 2012 and European Alps in 2013, but I would jump at the chance to ride Malaysia in 2014 with an FJR Forum Group. We would have an outstanding Tour Guide in our Nik and I am sure he can point us to bike rental agencies!

https://www.tourism.gov.my/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia Hey Nik, do you know anything about this bike rental agency? https://www.ridemalaysia.com.my/

@Beemerdons - I sure do. They are based in KL and do tour around the peninsular Malaysia. I often ride with their tour groups and do some photography for them. In fact, most of the pictures you see on their website are mine. They are great guys to ride with

Thanks Nik :clapping: .. Deb and I always love your RR's and great pics :clapping:

Question from Deb ---- what was breakfast? It looked tasty.

Hi Rogdeb! Thanks for the kind words. The breakfast in called 'roti canai'. You might know it as prata bread?

Yes, me too!

I love the "family" center around which the ride is based. Very cool!

Question: Why do you have what appears to be a license number on the front fender? Local law?

Hi Mike. Thanks. Yup, here, the law says you must have your license plates on the front and back of your vehicle.

 

[nik.hisham]

Day 2.

Woke up bright and early the next day and went to check on the bike.

Hotel breakfast. Only so-so.

Notice the Malaysian flags all over the place. It was our independence day so you'll see these flags everywhere..

Our view during breakfast.

We decided to have a walkabout after the food settled.

The SO taking a whiff of the cinnamon tree. She said it didn't smell anything like cinnamon.

I've had these daytona shorties since the day I bought the bike. Really comfy. Excellent for riding. And really good for long walks too. But they've taken lots of abuse and starting to feel old. Gonna need a new pair soon.

We packed up and got this parting shot in front of the resort entrance.

This area is known for wild elephants roaming around. Quite common to see them very early in the morning or late evenings. No such luck this time. The elephant sign will have to do...

Along the way, we crossed a mountain range and had views like this... minus the ***** with the stupid pose.

We came across this cave and stopped to have a look.

A view of the inside. Not really big. Very cooling, damp and there was a strong smell of urine in the air, presumably from bats.

Continued our journey and hit this small but busy town.

The stalls on the right sell knockoffs of every brand you can think of.

As good as the original - only USD 7 - and you can still haggle.

It was noon by this time, and my cousin was getting married in my hometown, which was less than an hour away, so we decided to do the right thing and gate crash.

Its not everyday a big bike rolls up to a wedding in a small town. Everyone wants a photo with the bike.

All the relatives that you meet only at weddings

Typical Malay wedding. After exchanging vows, the newlyweds sit on this "pelamin" or stage and the relatives will sprinkle flowers and 'stuff' (I actually don't know what other stuff they sprinkle even though I went through the same ceremony 16 years ago, but it smells really nice)

As a sign of respect, the bride will kiss the hand of her mother-in-law.

We took our photo with the newlyweds. My cousin is the pretty bride.

After the ceremony on the 'pelamin', bride and groom adjourn to lunch with the guests.

We had a long journey ahead of us to our next stop, so we said our good byes. I did want this shot before leaving. This is the very house I was born in 40 years ago. It's got lots of wonderful memories for me. Its too old and unsafe to stay in and will be torn down very soon.

So we left the wedding and was on our way. Saw these fishing boats along a bridge and took this shot.

Reached our destination for the night - a cozy chalet on the beach. It was already dark when we arrived..

And our total mileage for the trip so far.

So that's day 2. Will put up the final day soon.

As always, thanks for looking.

 

[madmike2]

Elephant Crossing!?!?!?

And we complain about deer and moose. :dntknw:

Crashing your family's wedding: Priceless! It sounds more like you are the hero returning...

I assume the fishing boats are leaned over because they're sitting on the mud at low tide?

Very cool ride report. Good therapy time for you and your bride.

 

[rogdeb]

My eyes have just been attacked by color, color, color :clapping: .. Great stuff Nik :yahoo:

And 95 deg @ 8.07pm -- toasty

 

[Willie]

Great photos. the colors are spectacular and I don't think I have seen such a shiny black FJR. Mine is the same color, well I guess I would have to say it is the same hue. Again great pics

Willie

 

[nik.hisham]

Thanks Mike. Yes, elephants. They like to hang around on the roads in the middle of the night to keep themselves warm. The locals don't encourage riding after dark ;p .

The boats? The one in front was listing because it was partially under water. The one behind was still afloat.

Nik.

Elephant Crossing!?!?!?

And we complain about deer and moose. :dntknw:

Crashing your family's wedding: Priceless! It sounds more like you are the hero returning...

I assume the fishing boats are leaned over because they're sitting on the mud at low tide?

Very cool ride report. Good therapy time for you and your bride.