After a successful event last year, it was time for the Harley Owners Group Sabah Chapter, also known as HOG, to have another rally around Sabah.
Last year, HOG collaborated with a five-star resort in Kota Kinabalu and raised RM71,433 for charity through the auction of a 105th anniversary special edition Harley (the “Ultra Classic Electra Glide”), a lady’s leather jacket, a man’s leather jacket, a custom-printed T-shirt, two special pewter plaques and a Harley Davidson staff shirt during a charity dinner at the resort.
Proceeds of the auction will be donated to two local charity organizations namely Seri Mengasih Centre and Beringgis Children’s Home and to “Care For Children” a corporate social responsibility programme supported by the Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts group.
It was interesting to hear when Choo Kai Mun, the president of HOG Sabah Chapter, said that the rally was not only meant for members of HOG to get together but also to play their role in corporate social responsibility and give something back to the community.
“As Harley-Davidson owners we also rally to discover new rides, make new friends, and visit with old friends. We laugh, we party, and we find new adventures. When motorcyclists are welcomed by a biker friendly area we know we have a unique opportunity to be a part of a special motorcycle rally experience,” Choo added.
This year, the nine-day 6th Malaysia National HOG Rally commenced from 16 to 24 May and brought together hundreds of Harley Davidson owners and enthusiast from all over Malaysia, Australia, Brunei, France, Indonesia, Macau, Singapore, Thailand and the United States of America. I would say that this year the HOG rally is living the bikers’ dreams - travelling the road less travelled where adventure looming around every bend and plethora of roads from Tawau, Semporna, Lahad Datu, Sandakan, Ranau, Kudat, Kota Belud to Kota Kinabalu.
The first day in Tawau was only for registration as well as briefing of the rules and regulations for the bikers. Numerous type of Harley Davidson bikes that you have never seen before were on display and each one of them had to be refueled and gone through the safety inspection followed by a welcome dinner hosted by the Tawau Town Council at Marco Polo Hotel.
It was an early start the next day, breakfast as early as 7:00 am. At 8:00 am, most of the bikers were festooned in memorabilia consisting of patches and badges sewn or pinned onto venerable leather jerkins and traditional biker wear, were getting ready for the flag off at Tawau Town Council. In groups, the bikers roared out of Tawau with their “thunderous rides” and rode along roads fringed by palm oil estates to Semporna where they had a transfer by fast boats to Mabul Island for lunch and check-in. After a long ride, the bikers spent the whole day in Mabul with just lazying around, swimming, snorkeling and even scuba dive at Sipadan, rated to be the world’s top five diving spots.
Since they had to spend two days in Mabul, the bikers took the opportunity to visit the sea gypsies - the Bajaus, in their temporary quarters on the island. HOG has also been actively involved in conserving the the environment. On the second day in Mabul, bikers who are also qualified divers took the live corals they found on land and planted them on the ocean bed. A commemorative plaque stated “HOG International has laid this bed of corals in its efforts for conservation of our seas” was securely placed on the bed of corals. This effort and activity was the first ever done by any bikers group and those corals will be monitored and maintained by the Malaysian Fisheries Department.
Another early morning on 19 May when the bikers had to rise at dawn and had breakfast at 6:00 am in order to catch the boat transfer to semporna at 7:00 am and then headed off to Sukau where they got on a river cruise down the Kinabatangan River to spot wildlife in their natural habitat. The cruise itself was an adventure as the cruise had to overtake river debris like logs, crocodiles and even dead bodies (yaiks!). Kinabatangan River is well known among the villagers because they managed to capture a huge crocodile that had feasted on six villagers a while ago. Well, you definitely do not want to fall into that river ever! At noon, the bikers stopped by at a riverside restaurant for lunch while enjoying the nature.
The following day, the bikers had to go through a long and winding road to the Borneo Rainforest Consevatory in Ranau. Sabah has the oldest rainforest that is more than million years old ... so back to Mother Nature again! Getting on a canopy walk at the Borneo Rainforest Conservatory enabled everyone to have a closer look of the oldest trees and a glimpse of Mount Kinabalu. Around 12:30 noon, the bikers group arrived at Kampung Luanti in Ranau, a place famous for “fish massage” among the locals as well as tourists. Everyone got into the stream where a school of fish would “attack” - biting or sucking on dried skins off the human bodies. I must say that those who are very ticklish may want to think twice before getting this infamous fish massage.
The villagers around were amazed when a group of bikers wearing black leather jackets on big motorbikes riding past them. Even when these bikers had lunch with the villagers, you can see that everyone was whispering and smiling – it was a rare experience for the villagers to be visited by a big group of bikers.
On the way to Kota Kinabalu, these bikers just could not resist to stop at the town of Nabalu for some photography sessions and they were lucky enough that they got a clear view of Mount Kinabalu in the background. That evening the bikers called it a day at a resort in the city... time to re-energize and relax the cramped muscles.
After breakfast the next day, everyone had their gear on and was ready to hit the road – next destination was the tip of Borneo, Simpang Mengayau. Some part of the roads were gravel which made the journey a bit slow. However, they finally arrived at the tip of Borneo after three hours which was not too bad. A quick group photography session and they had to start moving to Kota Belud, the town of “Cowboys of the East” (The Bajau horsemen). The most interesting thing about a Bajau horseman is his horse or rather pony. It has its own costume and is more gaily dressed than the rider. Some of the bikers had the opportunity to ride on a horse and also water buffalo – a great experience for those who come from outside of Malaysia. On the way back to the city, they had a spectacular view of the Borneo sunset from the highland.
The next morning, the bikers roared out of the resort to the Monsopiad Cultural Village located in the district of Penampang, about 20 minutes away from the city. It is the only cultural village in Sabah built to commemorate the legendary Kadazan and head-hunter warrior – Monsopiad. A visit to the House of Skulls where more than 42 skulls are hung from the ceiling was one of the attractions in the village. The bikers decided to have their lunch at the cultural village while being entertained by live traditional dance performance. Then, they returned to the resort to freshen up and rest before they rode on their bikes again to the city council (Dewan Bandaraya Kota Kinabalu) that evening for dinner. The locals were welcomed to join in the bike games under floodlights simultaneously whilst the bikers enjoying their ‘tucker’... indeed a not-to-be-missed by the locals as they learned how to handle the bike, pick it up, take corners and much much more.
On the eight day, the bikers hit the road to Kiulu right after breakfast. It was a day for a white-water rafting adventure and trust me these bikers are not the faint-hearted kinds at all! After almost three hours of rafting along the rapid river, everyone finally reached the other end of the river...and a barbeque lunch was a perfect ending. Once reached the city, they headed to the port to arrange for shipments of their bikes then returned to the resort for a farewell dinner hosted by the Sabah Tourism Board.
After eight exhilarating days biking around Sabah, it was finally the end of the 6th HOG Rally! The HOG brothers and sisters reluctantly had to say goodbye to each other but took the friendships and memories home with them. For Harley Davidson fans who plan to join the group will have a year to polish and improvise their bikes for the next rally in May 2010.
Remarks:
This editorial is also published in the following:
* http://www.etravelblackboard.com/showarticle.asp?id=93377
This editorial is also published in the following:
* http://www.etravelblackboard.com/showarticle.asp?id=93377
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