Six Malaysians Travel To China On 'Kapcais'

BUKIT KAYU HITAM (Kedah, Malaysia), Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Armed with strong determination, six young Malaysians from northern state Kedah successfully completed a 6,000-km roundtrip from Alor Setar (the state's capital) to China in 10 days - using 'kapcais' (low-powered motorcycles). Aidil Ezrul, 33; Muhamad Arham Jaafar, 27; Zulkefly Hashim, 28; Azmawy Awang, 28; Muhammad Afif Bakhtiar, 24, and his wife, Nor Hafizah Asmal, 23, began their journey using Honda EX5 motorcycles on Feb 5. Muhammad Afif said the six of them were happy to end the expedition without experiencing any untoward incident, and in fact, they cherished the memories of their trip. He said they left from Alor Setar to Thailand, into Laos, and finally reached Boten, (the border area between Laos and China) before turning back, facing some minor issues such as low temperatures of about 7 degrees celcius in China, and being tired after riding for a long time. "We also needed to get accustomed to the dialect of the people in Laos and China, besides facing some difficulty in finding halal food, but we were fortunate as there were a few Muslim restaurants selling halal food," he told reporters at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Complex, Monday. He said the tour was only planned at the beginning of the month, and after discussing, they chose to leave on Feb 5. "We did not prepare much (for the trip), because what was most important was the condition of the motorcycle, however, it was not a huge concern to us as some of us work as motorcycle mechanics, so we know the capabilities of our motorcycles. "In terms of the capital, each of us carried US$724.67 (RM3,000) for refueling, food and shelter, but we only used half of the money," he said. Earlier, State Religious, Siamese Community Affairs, Public Works, Tourism and Heritage Committee chairman Mohd Rawi Abd Hamid welcomed the six riders who arrived at the Bukit Kayu Hitam Immigration Complex at 5.20pm. "I'm proud of their high spirit and for daring to venture into other countries using only 'kapcais' and not high-powered motorcycles. In addition to that, they are also promoting Discover Kedah 2016, via 'motor tourism'," he said. Meanhile, Muhammad Afif said the group was planning to make a trip to Vietnam next year. --BERNAMA