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Dr. Gregory Frazier Rides Malaysia Photo Gallery

Upon entering Peninsular Malaysia, also known as West Malaysia, Immigration and Customs requirements were quickly finished with a “Welcome” said in English by the officials.

Dr. Frazier returns to the far east for a ride on his trusty Kawasaki KMX200 in Malaysia and attempts to not get eaten by man eating pythons. Read the full story in Dr. Frazier Rides Malaysia

A special “toll free” lane on the left around toll stations was for motorcycles only.

The highway signs were easy to read throughout Malaysia. I traveled without a GPS, only a paper map purchased at a gas station.

The far left side of the road was generally used by motorcycles only.

Managing a little off-road riding on the beach was free and fun.

A snake about two meters long crossed the road in front of me reminding me I was a visitor to its home, the jungle. Pictured here was a large lizard debating whether to enter to green home of Mr. Snake or stay on the pavement with me.

Modern gas stations were common and many were self-service, accepting my USA issued ATM card within seconds at the pump.

Small motorcycles had the carrying basket mounted below the handlebars and between the legs versus Thai-style across the border where the basket was mounted below the headlight over the front fender.

This nicely detailed custom Honda was a daily rider for the proud owner.

This JUGUH chopper was a 175 cc Modenas motorcycle manufactured in Malaysia.

For a wheel chair, this sidecar was also the family vehicle with multiple uses in mind. It was also used as a delivery vehicle for packages around the city.

While small displacement motorcycles were the majority in Malaysia, I could have purchased this used 250 cc Suzuki for $1,000.00 USD.

This custom paint job on this chopper was a nice tribute to the American Indian, a popular motif and model throughout Malaysia.

A “ready-for-restoration” motorcycle on a street in Georgetown reflected a history of a hard life.

When I saw this Aprilia I wondered whether it really was an Aprilia.

It did not take much to guess who sponsored this motorcycle and rider, or maybe he wished Coke did.

A friendly motorcyclist wanted me to take this photograph of him.

These pictured tourists have “stupid” stamped on them for no shoes, no pants and no smarts. Look how the “local” motorcyclist behind them was dressed in comparison.

A collection of police motorcycles got my attention when I saw they were “big” bikes, not the usual small displacement models.

The police motorcycles, like this Kawasaki, were big displacement models, clearly used for speed and muscle.

More big displacement police motorcycles were found in the parking lot at a police station. The police rode their small motorcycles to work and used the big bike for their job.

Motorcycle friendly public parking on the street was marked for Motorcycles Only.

Another motorcycle friendly parking area in a congested part of a major city implied a positive public awareness for the eco-friendly use of motorcycles versus automobiles to commute.

My “fat” Kawasaki found street parking easily.

Local motorcyclists know to stop in the shade when at a stop light. The temperature was about 90 degrees on this day in the “cool” season.

This motorcycle dealership had both new and used motorcycles, all expensive imports, and most small displacement in size.

This was a typical used motorcycle dealership and repair shop.

In a country where rental motorcycles are supposed to be non-existent, this business had several for rent, obviously targeting tourists.

If I wanted to rent a small motorcycle, this was typical of what was available on the island of Penang, in the city of Georgetown.

This rental Honda Dream was likely not “Made in Japan.”

An option to a taxi in the city of Melaka was one of these trishaws. The local residents avoided them due to high cost as they were for use by tourists.

I was drawn to this trishaw peddle taxi by the BMW-like roundel on the lower front. The owner liked the BMW T-shirt I was wearing that day from Bob’s BMW in Jessup, Maryland, and offered to peddle me around town for the day in exchange for the T-shirt.

Well away from any big city, this small town hotel rented a clean room with two beds for $25.00 per night.

$30.00 per night rented a clean air-conditioned bungalow on this quiet lake on the east coast of West Malaysia, on the South China Sea.

This resort hotel cost $50.00 per night, and included a swimming pool with free breakfast, not a bad value when compared to paying $250.00 a night for the same quality in California or Mexico. My motorcycle had a 24-hour armed guard watching over it.

A typical “squatter” toilet was still prevalent throughout Malaysia, although not in “westernized” tourist facilities.

If a measure of the quality of life was the globalization of American fast food, Malaysia reflected high standing with both McDonalds and Burger King present.

Something I had not seen in America was motorcycle “McDelivery” service as pictured here.

An inexpensive place to purchase lunch or meals was the typical outdoor or public market.

Market congestion in the public market usually tapered off as the day got hotter. Most shopping was done by mid-afternoon.

Behind the booth in a public market selling fresh chickens I found these two workers chopping off chicken heads. Very little of the food sold in the public markets was frozen or pre-packaged.

Laundry was nearly always washed in a machine, and then dried in the sun, so usually took a day. In the monsoon season this owner said business was tough because often the sun was not seen for days at a time, just clouds and rain.

Rather than carry a laptop computer, an option for cyber junkies were the numerous and inexpensive Internet cafes, this one charging $1.00 USD per hour for high speed and an air- conditioned environment.

One of the attractions in Malaysia was the unique and numerous temples, like this scenic one located on the edge of a small lake.

This Hindu temple was open to the public. I had to leave my motorcycle boots at the entrance because, like in other temples, footwear was not allowed inside. My boots dwarfed the flip flops and sandals next to them, but I worried not about anyone stealing them. Motorcycle boots were not in demand in this hot, humid part of the world, especially my well worn ones.

An obvious Chinese influence was reflected in this temple.

On Chinese New Year one prayed for happiness and good luck by buying and burning incense sticks at the local Chinese temple. My one stick took two hours to burn.

Playing a bit of a tourist I visited the Petronas Tower in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, once the “tallest building in the world.” Even though to me it looked like two buildings, the connecting bridge made it “one” building, as did the joint base.

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building in Kuala Lumpur houses the High Court of Malaysia, picturesque enough for this photograph but not enough for me to park my motorcycle and take a tour. I spent an hour watching motorcycles drive by.

A quiet time for reflection was captured without the lady catching me. We later talked at length about life in Malaysia versus life ½ a world away in the USA.

The Cameron Highlands were cool and a welcome get-away from the heat of the lower elevation levels and bustle of the cities. Mysteriously missing since 1967, some say Jim Thompson was buried in these rolling hills while others say he was living in the trees. I believe a snake ate him.

This was typical of the numerous tea plantations found in and around the central mountain ranges of Peninsular Malaysia.

Here I enjoyed a free tourist attraction, but frowned while thinking of the snakes in the surrounding lush jungle.