At breakfast this morning, up on the top floor restaurant – included in the 120RMB bed fee – we came across Peter and Geoff, Australians from Melbourne who are also joining the expedition.
For a few hours we sorted stuff our into the car – for example, removing the heavy clothes for cold weather from our backpacks and storing them in the car so we don’t have to lug them into the hotels. Apparently in Bangkok we are staying at the Marriott…..
Jacob bought some new boots from Thomas’s Explorer shop, pretty much like a Mountain Designs or Kathmandu store with specialist hiking and climbing gear for sale, and outdoors gear. I bought a microfibre towel, in case the ones at the Marriott aren’t to my liking….. 🙂
One city Shopping mall, next to our three month old E.City Hotel
We buddied up with the Melbournians for the rest of the day, and found our way to the local supermarket. It’s very visible from the hotel, like the fuel station, but also like the fuel station, it takes quite a negotiation of the road system to get their. Unfortunately the hotel exit (four star hotel) goes past the rubbish collection depot, which permeates ones senses, all of them for a short while whilst driving past. We get used to the interesting mix of such things in KL.
Jacob and I bought drinking water, the others bought their goodies and we met at a Korean restaurant for lunch. Large bowl of tasty rice, beef, veggies for 25RMB – about A$8. Good value indeed. Again, the language barrier is present, but worked around and all works out fine.
After a bit of arranging we drove to Port Klang and met 1$ and his wife Alina. 1$ had arranged the receival of the shipping for my car, and Alina was the Russian ground contact who helped us with our letters of invitation for getting into Russia.
The port area has a completely different character to the modern clean areas around One City hotel, or central KL. This was outside 1$’s office.
And this is my first dash cam video upload. No, I wasn’t thinking id use this bit of footage when I was frustrated about the situation regarding tyres.
1$ was particularly impressed by the power of our GTurbo powered Landcruiser. He commented that on one long hill on his normal route into KL, he would always have to drop back to 4th gear, sometimes 3rd. The GTurbo pulled the car up the hill effortlessly in 5th, such is the advantage of a well designed turbocharger and correct fuel and tuning setup. Thanks to Graeme from GTurbo who sponsored the Landcruiser for this trip.
What he was not so impressed with was the AT, or All Terrain, tyres that shod our Landcruiser. He described the bad conditions on the Road of Bones to Magadan with river crossings, roads washed away and other conditions that are new to us. Whilst these tyres would have been okay for the Australian conditions they are marginal in these conditions.
We visited a tyre shop of his recommendation and found the Chinese owner very happy to help us out, but he couldn’t provide the large 285/75/16 tyres in Mud Tyre tread pattern until tomorrow late in the day. And they were going to cost well over 600RMB each. So 6 of them was a pretty major outlay. I am really reluctant to reduce the tyre to the more standard 265/70/16 as fitted to the other vehicles as it reduces the rolling diameter by some 2 inches and means the engine revs more for the same road speed. Even now, I could do another gear to change into for highway cruising, so taking it back to standard would be hard to contemplate.
In the end I have decided to keep the tyres as we have them. I might get some changed around so the best rubber is on the road, and the situation can be reassessed in Nanjing or Dalian by Brian when he arrives there.
1$ will also arrange for a two way radio – the ones they use in Malaysia are different to the UHF we use in Australia. And our lack of long range fuel tank was news to him too. Not sure how that will impact things on the latter stages of the trip in remote Mongolia, but there is always the opportunity to carry it on the roof rack if really needed. He would have liked a high lift jack point on the front of the car too… Sigh, I wish these things could have been conveyed to us, or addressed by us months ago, not the day before the trip departs.
Anyway, it is what it is. Tomorrow is our last day of finalising things before departure. It will all happen, somehow.
Edit later:
Tonight we found an Indian Malaysian 24 hour restaurant the One City complex, but away from the highly glitzy and Westernised section in the photo’s above. Thomas suggested this was a good place to go, and indeed it was. Despite confusion caused by our total lack of Indian, or Malaysian, and the waiters total lack of English, we both had a great meal of… um what was it?
🙂 Of Course I knew what it was.
It was fried rice with chicken, they called it Nasi Goring. That was an Indian word I knew, so we had two of those. No menu to point at, just gesticulations. A thumb to the mouth is drink. Fingers to the mouth are for food. Iced tea, water, Nasi Goring. Good sized serve. 17 RMB. Not each. Total. Nice – 🙂
The waiters shyly came to ask us questions, no doubt drawing the short straw on who would have a go at English. State, Country??? Easy to answer, and with a smile, everyone is happy.
And the night manager came over to chat to us, in fairly good English. He asked Jacob for some Aussie money to remember us by. A $20 note was produced and viewed, but quickly put away. Later Jacob took back a $2 coin, and the manager was keen to have him as a friend on Facebook.
And so an evenings entertainment was had for all concerned.
And as Jacob mentioned on the way to dinner. This feels like a safe place. Not only around One City with the plentiful uniformed guards that blow whistles to gain attention and salute visitors with a smile, but all over. There are no hagglers, only seen one beggar, and even in the port area where we created an interest, but never negative attention.