Riding with Trevor and Chenty for the past six weeks has been enormously rewarding for me…
Not only have I made life-long friends, but I have also been able to share some amazing experiences and visited places with them that I would otherwise have done alone… On so many occasions in the past, I have wished that I had somebody to share what I was seeing and experience the thrill of achievement with…
For what seemed like the longest time, I was able to do this with them…
I think we became so used to each other’s company, that riding, living and traveling together seemed the most natural thing to do…
Trevor and Chenty Wilson... Better traveling companions ye shall not find....!!
Trevor and I are “cut from similar cloth”, have many of the same likes and dislikes, and Chenty often served as the “voice of reason” to me…
It was only very recently that I began to think about our parting, and the separate trails we would soon be taking…
We had drifted through most of South East Asia together, visiting Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Malaysia and very recently, Singapore, together… We had covered more than 5 000 km on our bikes, drifting leisurely between destinations, and often stopping for a few days to enjoy what we were doing, reveling in our freedom to do what we wanted and when we wanted…
We even had similar wardrobes it would seem...!!
We seemed to always agree on our next destination, almost as if we had planned our routes together long ago…
From our chance meeting in Syria in mid December, we seemed to connect in a way that only good friends do, and I will remain forever grateful to the Gods of Travel that brought us together…
It is difficult to describe the bond that has grown between us…
Trevor and I share many of the same traits, such as the steely will to get things done no matter the hurdles we have to overcome; the brashness and confidence to go places and do things that most would describe as “high adventure”, while in Chenty I shared the quieter and gentler side of myself, (if you believe I have such a thing…!!) the side I seldom get to show…
Chenty and her boys... We took quite a bit of looking after...!!
Being with these two wonderful people gave me an equilibrium that I have seldom experienced on my journey so far… My journey so far has been a roller-coaster of either, exhilaration at full throttle, or melancholy and loneliness for me…
Since meeting my friends in Pakxe, Laos, I seemed to have found a mental balance somehow… Whenever my mood took a dip, Chenty would be there with a few pearls of her special brand of wisdom to pick me up again…
Trevor would just be the rock we could all lean on… And with his size, he can take a lot of leaning…!!
Our desires to ride around the world were made for different reasons, but in coming together to ride this part of the world, we shared a common purpose: To ride together and discover places that we had both dreamed about visiting, and to do so with as open a mind and with as much humour as possible…
For the most part, I think we managed to achieve just that… I certainly found an outlet and a seemingly willing audience for my wise-cracking, and those very rare bouts of mischief that I sometimes indulge in…!!
While most of our experiences were shared off the bike, the riding together was the key to staying together, and luckily, Trevor and I share very similar riding styles…
We ride at similar speeds, and do not stop at every 7-Eleven we pass…!! Ha-ha…!! (My last dig at Willi… Promise…!!)
Getting ready to ride the twistys in Penang...
Once we set our destination for the day, we went at it with gusto, sometimes eliciting comments from Chenty such as, “you boys were riding too fast today”… Apart from Trevor almost kissing the back of a truck on the road to Songkhla, we hardly put a wheel wrong…
With the addition of Philip to our little group, the dynamics of our relationship hardly changed, which says a lot for how close we had become by then…
Philip slotted right in, taking public transport between the places we visited and usually meeting up with us again with the minimum of hassle or fuss… He also became the perfect “partner in crime”, and together we shared many a laugh, and one particular bender in Kuala Lumpur which saw us put away 18 beers in a mere three hours, and stagger home just a few hours before the sun came up… And that’s all I have to say about that particular outing…!! Although I do remember climbing up a ladder to assist some workmen on the balcony of a 7-Eleven, at about 4.00 am… My reasons for doing so remain unclear, although I think it had something to do with a “Safety Inspection”…
Getting lubed up for the evening's festivities...
With Philip sitting up behind Trevor on Big Red, and Chenty perched behind me on the Big Fella, we were able to take rides together in Ban Krut, Phuket, Koh Lanta and on Penang Island… It was great fun, for me anyway, although I think Chenty might have had a few nervous moments…!! I especially enjoyed being able to talk to her while we were riding, sharing the things we saw… It made me wish that I had somebody to share my journey with all over again…
But all good things must at some stage come to an end as they say, and after visiting Singapore together, and watching Phil’s train slide out of Lavender station on its way to the airport, where he would take a flight back to Canada, I realized that within days, I would be saying goodbye to Trevor and Chenty as well…
That was all I could think about on the bus back to Johor Bahru…
The following day, they arrived back from Singapore too, having stayed there an extra day to see if they could fly themselves and the bike out of Singapore, rather than have to ride back to Kuala Lumpur… After a fruitless search for freight agents willing to assist, Trevor had finally given up on the idea, and headed back to Malaysia…
We gathered in the basement of Rory’s condo, bustling about getting all their gear secured onto their bike… They were heading back to Kuala Lumpur to arrange their flight to Perth in Australia, while I would be staying behind to find a boat to take me and the Big Fella across to Java in Indonesia…
I felt an enormous upwelling of emotion as we said our awkward goodbyes… After a huge bear hug from Trevor, and a long hug from Chenty that I did not want to end, I stood back to let them take their leave, my vision blurring…
Goodbyes and big hugs... Love these guys...!!
Just then, the heavens opened and monsoon-like rain fell over Johor Bahru… It came down in sheets, filling the gutters and drains in minutes…
We stood watching it fall, while Rory finally managed to sweet-talk them into staying another night, and minutes later we were out in his car, on our way to have lunch at a Korean restaurant nearby…
Later, Trevor and I sat in Rory’s office trying to make contact with freight agents in KL, while Chenty took a nap upstairs…
In the evening, Rory, ever the most gracious of hosts, took us to a Chinese restaurant on the eastern edge of Johor Bahru… It was a large open air affair, built out on a platform over the waters that separated Malaysia from Singapore… We shared an amazing meal, then went home to watch the DVD of my 2008 ride to Dar-es-Salaam and back to South Africa…
It was almost 2.00 am before we finally went to bed, and 9.00am before Trevor and Chenty finally surfaced, having forgotten to set their alarm for an early morning departure…!!
It was a public holiday in Malaysia, so they were not going to get any replies from the airlines anyway, so no harm was done…
We enjoyed a final breakfast together, consisting of Rory’s homemade yoghurt and muesli, then made our way downstairs for another go at leaving…!!
The emotion I had felt the previous day had abated somewhat, and our parting was far more relaxed as it would have been the day before… I was grateful for the extra day we had spent quietly together, and was able to say goodbye without allowing my tear ducts to come into play…
Another round of hugs, and as always, final bits of advice from Chenty… Something about not eating too many sweets, I think…!!
Then they were gone, up the ramp and out into the street… The last I saw of them was as they rode back past Rory and I, their hands raised in farewell…
I am going to miss my friends….very much…
Off to Kuala Lumpur and on to Australia... Farewell until we meet again...
Thanks for the great times Guys…
You shone light where there might otherwise have been darkness…
See you on Saltspring in 2012…
GB
©GBWT 2011
Trevor and Chenty will remain a part of you forever. The six weeks you guys spent together, sharing adventures, meals, living arrangements etc, was all part of your personal journey. We are happy that they came into your life when they did, you guys will keep in touch on a daily basis and we know that you will definitely see them again. Be safe and take care.
Love and Hugs,
Dad, Mom and me
P.S. We are still wiping away our tears, so can only imagine how blurred your vision must have been.
It was a somber ride up to KL for us, hotter than hell, and something seemed to be missing, oh yeh it was Ronnie! Neither of us spoke much, we were just thinking about all the laughs we’d had together and how much we would miss you and your humour. There is something very special about traveling with another rider, especially when the other rider could be a duplicate of you and thinks so much alike… Don’t worry Big Fella, we will be right behind you (or in front) as you finish your world tour and we will be there at the finish line in Canada before you return home (unless of course you decide to stay !!).
You will never be alone again !
Keep the shiny side up! I know Phil had a great time with you and i honestly think that he wouldn’t have laughed as much without you being around… You were like a couple of school kids most days…!! it was fun to see.
love yah Big Fella
PS Rory ratted you out – you bought chocolates again!