1st annivesary for the lost Hope

I would like to take this opportunity for my platoon mate, Adrain Low for his continuous contribution for our round the world trip. He also advertise greatly to his friends about our trip. Thank you Adrain!

Also my biking buddies: Sam Leong, Jiawei n Michelle, Junhua, Patrick, Uncle lim, Ah Siong, Ah Tong and Mike. other than sponsoring me a GPS, they had helped me in many logistic way. this time they gather some money and give it to us as a piece of encouragement. This trip would not be made possibel with a group of trustworthy friends that are willing to backup. Thanks buddies!!!



Just one year ago, 25 October 2007, I had lost my bike, also known as Hope.

Hope was the last new Africa Twin in Singapore and i bought it about 3 years ago to prepare for the trip. I had lots of modification done to him and just on that fatal day, it was stolen in Malaysia, Machap R&R while i was having a meal less than 20 minutes.

I lost my Hope.

I wanted to let everybody in the world to see Hope.

He is gone. Why is Malaysia full of crap and theft?! Its a Hope that money can't buy back.

Till today, i still moan for the lost Hope, even I'm riding on Hope Too. I couldn't get over it.

It has been a year. The Malaysian Police had not given me any news. LTA Singapore sent me a letter last month (after 11 months from the incident) that they are aware of the stolen vehicle reported. There is no news about it. what could be the possiblities?

1) The culprit stole the bike, put down the bike into parts and sell the parts to Singapore, Indonesia or Thailand. Singapore will be the largest market for big bike while Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia big bikers would be lesser in numbers.
2) Same as idea number 1 but the culprit sold the whole bike off instead of tearing the bike apart.
3) The culprit just wanted to steal the item in my box and ride the bike in the village. Hopefully this is the case as it is very noticable for a big bike to appear in a small village.

On my way back to Singapore along this round the world trip, i would personally go to these places to search for my lost Hope, that include Indonesia.

No body would understand how i feel.
Have you planned for a biggest trip of your life and your bike was stolen before the trip?!

I seek help from fellow Singaporean bikers to keep a look out for me during the 3 nation ride but it seems that i have no reply from any of them. whats the point of the 3 nation ride? to show off? to save the children?
i would rather see the 3 nation ride as a friendship ride and a event to bring bikers group from the 3 nation closer. also able to help one another in times of trouble.

sorry friends. there isn't much adventure during this month after Bolivia. We are enjoying the hospitality of the friends in brazil. We are enjoying life here rather to ride to the extreme to set some stupid records. I do not enjoy the ride with this current bike, also known as Hope Too.

http://singaporedream-rtw.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-bike-is-stolen-on-25-oct-2007.html

Lets have a minute of silence for my lost Hope before i show you my life in Brazil.
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Just rumors for the time being, but it seems that Honda is going to revive Africa Twin project. The picture is just an hypotesis and article says that the bike is ready even thou it will not be shown neither at Intermot nor in EICMA in Milan.Main technical datas are included in the article: motor V-twin 1200 cc, front wheel with 21" rim, rear wheel 18" (sounds good for enduro). Weight is expected to be quite low, with steel frame with components in alluminium alloy.Let's wait and hope.
http://www.infomotori.com/honda_africa_twin_1200_23691_1.html






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d7O7JdED1w

More pictures to come!

At Felipe's farm. we enjoy the sheeps, dog and grass!

one of the process to 'bake' the coffee beans. not using gas but natural wood to heat up the stove. this man opened the oven which is more than 200 degrees celcius and he threw a log into it to maintain the tempreture.

first time creating a pizza at a friend's new home, baking the pizza with the traditional way.

again, we were invited to a high school for presentation of our trip. the students were nice and crazy, just like me when i was their age. how i wished that i was not the one standing in front but the one sitting and shouting. they are real nice to be with. after the presentation, its the end of the school session for them. some left but many stayed behind and took picture with me. i hope i can help them relize their dream.









guess what, this boy with the brown t-shirt, he asked me where i came from. i told him 'Cingapura'.
i asked him: 'do u know where is Cingapura?'
he is looking so close to the map, pointing his finger around it for 2 minutes.
then he replied: ' is it asia? '
i said yes.
he zoomed closer and move his fingers around the map hoping to see a big piece of land that is written with 'Cingapura' until Felipe hinted him. he was really happy to find it but was surprised when he could only see the word 'Cingapura' and couldn't figure out where is that country.













Felipe's mother (left) and mother-in-law











to all friends around the world, please save your family and yourself:

Most experts agree there is no way to identify a problem gambler. However, it is important for each patron to know the warning signs. These signs include but are not limited to:

A person gambles longer than planned
A person gambles until their last dollar is gone
A person has lost sleep due to their gambling
A person has used their income or savings to gamble while letting bills go unpaid
A person has been unsuccessful in their attempts to stop gambling
A person borrows money to finance their gambling
A person breaks the law, or considers breaking the law to finance their gambling
A person feels depressed or suicidal because of gambling losses
A person feels remorseful after gambling
A person gambles to obtain money to meet their financial obligations
According to psychiatric professionals, if a person suffers from five or more of these symptoms they may be suffering from a gambling problem.

Sao Joao Da Boa Vista

Coffee packing.

classroom presentation.

Hope Too, in workshop with the mechnic and at Simone's home with the mechnic

coffee grading where he had to sip 10 spoonful of coffee per sample. guess how many sample he has everyday?

it's time where we left Sao Paulo. Simone helped us to call everyone for help due to the bike. we would like to thank here for all the trouble. she is here also for holiday and yet she took the trouble helping us to plan everything. this is how a Brazilian kindness that we are hard to forget in our life. why would someone that doesn't know us where we came from another world, would helped us in this way?

yes, Hope Too had bad fuel in Brazil. very low octone and dirty quality at about S$2.00 per liter. causing lots of dirt to the cabrator. along the way from Bolivia to Sao Paulo, we wish to get there fast as the battary (installed at Pakistan) is not working well. Upon reaching Simone's mother home, she (her mother) also helped us to call the newspaper reporter, drove to the local honda dealer to ask for sponsorship for us. she is about 73 years old. the marketing director require an email for any request but after sending the email, we waited a few days, until now, there isnt any response. i decided to walk into the honda workshop to enquire about the battery price. we didnt speak good portuguese but thanks to the internet, there are lots of translation online. i just wanted to buy the original battery which cost about S$70.00 in Singapore but they quoted me S$600.00 for one! thanks mann.

luckily with Simone's referral, we got to know Philipe and went to another workshop. that street has about 30 motorbike dealers and workshop side by side. Motoracer was the one we went to. i check the battery price before going to Motoracer, most shop sold at S$250.00++ but motoracer quoted me $20.00 lesser. not because it is S$20.00 lesser but to ensure that we have to know the market price. the mechnic checked everything for me, re-wire Hope Too's battery, cleaned the carbrator. i asked the boss how much was the workmanship and he did not charged me a single cent for that! as a support for our trip and as a biker himself, he only charged me for the cost price of the battery! what a place, full of warmness! http://www.motoracer.com.br/

happily riding back to simone's home, Sam noticed that the overflow pipe was FLOWING with petrol! again, not devasted but it makes me angry. Hope never give me such problems but Hope Too always had! i couldnt ride back to the workshop again where the petrol is flowing everywhere when i start the engine. the next day i took out the fuel tank and check but everything is in order. Simone call up the workshop again and in a few hours time, the mechnic rode to our place and retify the problem! free of charge again! of cause we give him a token of apprciation but such 'on the door' motorbike service, i had never had before!

we went to a school and share with them our journey as Philipe's sister in law is teaching in the school. the children were impressed and motivated with our journey and pictures.

Simone's mother. 73. living alone but lived her life now as a busy woman. She helped the needys to cut hair, not alone but by organizing and participating in all the charity work. this is one of her younger days when she go to the children's home. in asia, a woman at 73 would......would not do such troublesome work or dirty work.

she is someone that we look up to. the disabled that they attended to, i may not have the patience to take care of them.

There was also a hospital for the poor women, where they give birth to babies. the mothers there had no money to do their hair because of their financial statues so Simone's mother had organized a salon in the hospital to give the new mothers a new look and confidence after giving birth. every women deserved to be pretty regardless of $, espically after giving birth where they felt so tired. i'm really touched about what her mother was doing.

S 21deg 58.294'

W 046deg 46.547'

Activities in Sao Paulo

thanks to Cedar, worked in Coca cola, she got invitation from a local club by the name of History. History was having their opening ceromany and we drank caipirinha (famous brazilian cocktail) and beer, on the house!see what Shindawa chainsaw can do...



an old photo we found at Simone's house.


Mauricu just handed me a badge from his vest just because i said that it's nice. i just got to know him less than 10 minutes!



One of the common faces we can see in brazil, not the one on the left but the senior biker with the leather jacket.

Carolina! Bad girl bad girl... guess how old is she... you will be surprised!



Hope Too was inhaling too much sand and dust during our 'Euduro Bolivia'.

Hope Too had his battery fault again. Can't start. Sohail at Pakistan had changed the terminal to a smaller one. I threw away the original terminal connector and cable. now the battery is weak and it couldn't start. 2 of the spoke from the rear wheel had broken, because i tried to tighten them.

Trying to look for a good bike shop to nurse Hope Too.

anyway, we were invited to a biker's weekly gathering. they are cruzer guys from a international group of Mansonry. They told me it's an international group. the chairman presented both of us 2 very special badges where ordinary members even didn 't have. Sam and I were touched thou we speak lousy Portugese. many RTW bikers chose to skip Brazil because it may be out of the way from the north, hearing that it is dangerous, because it is not so popular blah blah blah but they had missed the people here!

well... now no bike to travel but we are very lucky that Simone and her mother had let us stay at their house. How can we repay them???

ugly singaporeans, the world is reading this now.

http://sg.news.yahoo.com/cna/20081005/tap-263-mp-meets-serangoon-gardens-resid-231650b.html

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_286434.html

refer to the news above, in my very personal opinion, i could feel... feel the goods and bads.

those resident at serangoon garden, singapore, that complaint about this issue now felt:
1) UNSAFE. Because...
a)they think that foreign workers bring problem to the society.
b)they think that foreign workers are dirty and low class.
c)they think that buy having a dorm at the area, it had brought down the property value of their houses. making serangoon garden a low class place to stay.

so, some leaders from the area had survey the project, ensuring the resident that most of the workers come from the manufacturing industry, instead of construction. so high percent is female. WHAT DOES THIS MEANS???!!! does it means more male construction foreign workers would create fear to the resident?!

BUT, the building of the dorm in Serangoon Gardens will make some business bloom! example, food stalls, provision shop and transportations.

why do we still have a kind of 'racist' towards foreign workers?

hey, there are many singaporeans working overseas like in Australia. i agree that those singaporean working in australia is mostly professionals but do u know some of the aussies hate chinese there? does that means that the resident in australia must move the singaporeans away were we are foreign workers?

i felt that singaporeans had a different look towards dark looking construction workers. u can imagine how is it like when a few workers gather under a void deck having a chat then someone walked pass and lodge a complaint to the police, fearing that they will create trouble. can u imagine we have traveled to their country and how i feel?

for those that think that dark looking construction workers in singapore will create fear in your life, GET LOST!!! you should travel to their country. are you sick or you have some dieases that looking at them makes you scared, thinking that they will rape you or rob you? they are just like me, born by a mother, have blood and soul. give a thought: how many % of crime is done by the dark looking workers as compared to the % of singaporeans. touch your heart when answering that or are you just worried about the value and statues of your property?

'oh, you are staying at the XYZ estate? where the foreign workers also stayed there?'

do you know that they need to pay the blood sucking agent lots of $ to come singapore to work? then if there is no work in singapore they are in debt. some employers treat them good, some treat them bad but what about the society in singapore? how do we look at them? your new houses, your new garden, your new road and ,,..... without them who is going to do this? do you expect a singaporean, averaging educated, would sweat in the sun, wearing dirty clothings and do life theatening job? they are life! they must be respected. the news report i that i have viewed really make me sick!

sorry if you feel the opposite.

our house maid, came from indonesia, came from philipines, they had family. they had sick mother and father too but why are they selling their time to take care of our family? why?

many think that... oh... these worker come to singapore, worked for a few years and when they go back to their country and they will be like a king. come on... wake up! times are different. check it out how much they have to pay for the debt. check out how 'home sick' are they. check out all! if a singaporean goes to england to work, earning english pound and the people says: when this guy go back singapore, he will be like a king... how will you feel???

sick!

they are like you and me. they didn't have a choice. not everybody have determination and faith can do what they want. like if im born in a poor country, even i have determination and faith, i don't think i can ride the world. i'm just lucky, lucky to be borned in singapore. i have the choice to do what i wanted to do.

dear friends, lets not be sick like those singaporeans that i have mention. if you do not like what i have said, i'm sorry. i'm frank. i do not write anything on the blog just to make you happy.

do you know that singapore is still backwards? we still have to fill in the column about what race we belong to. are we racist? some of the country that we have traveled, when they are applying for job, the company leave out the name and race for the application form.

intresting?

we, the citizen of singapore. pledge ourselves be one united nation. REGARDLESS OF RACE, LANGUAGE OR RELIGEN, to built a democratic society, base on justise and equality. so as to achive happiness, prosperity and progress for our nation!

note... fellow singaporeans. lets stick to this, the pledge that we always put our right fist on the chest and everymorning we input in our mind. my spelling may not be correct but i know what am i typing. stop acting like a '1st class' citizen. we are still not 1st in the world. F1 doesn't mean anything for us to the world. we are like morocco (africa), did the race on the street. knowing to speak english doesn't mean you are educated, high class or you can travel the world by speaking english. wake up my dear, wake up.

i hate those singaporean that travel to malaysia, feeling that malaysia is dirty, malaysia is a lower class place than singapore. i hate it.

now the world is reading this blog, i hope to make singapore proud.

thank you for your time.

intresting brazilian landscape products

wood deckingswood decking with plastic module fix at the bottom. allowing to fix with other pieces of deckings.curly cactus?aloe vera with thorns??another picture of 'curly cactus'.Brazilian pine bark. the workers in the pine forest uses hand to scrape off the bark from the tree.the pine bark in 60 liters packet. cheaper than the australian ones.

we are invited by Simone's brother to his son's birthday.

Simone's family.
the local newspaper reporter interviewed us.
Hope Too spoke was broken. can't move now. the battary was faulty now. luckily we are stationed at Simone's house. Waiting for help.


a typical brazilian style of serving food. the waiter come with the roasted meat and cut on our plate.

we went to a mobile market.

the mobile market changes location everyday.

food!

this year, Brazil celebrates 100 years of history for Japanese immigrants. Lots of Japanese migrated to Brazil for agriculture work during that time. Thus, other than the Negro looking, european looking, native looking, Brazil also has asian looking people. i think brazil has the most type of people all over the world. years passed and the races married to each other and has mixed look.

all of them speak portuguese. the younger generation has lost contact with their motherland thus they had not learned their mother tongue. we felt 'camoflaged' in brazil because we looked like the japanese community here.

due to the many type of faces of people in brazil, the passport of Brazil has made valuable to the black market.

this coming sunday is Sao Paulo election. wao... they are very advanced. the candidates has 'advertisment' thro television. i believe they are the first in the world to use electronic voting system. unlike singapore, the candidates had to set up a 'stage' to give speech to the public in the open field, like 'ge-tai'. singapore is still sticking to the paper style of voting.

Lina! Simone's mother in law from Italy.