Previously on "Two Up and Overloaded":
Marisa: We rode our KTM 250 Adventure motorcycle on what may just be the greatest beach ride of our lives.
East Malaysia has been turning out to be a dream destination, and we were about to complete our goal of riding from one tip of the island of Borneo to another. This is a 1300 kilometer route stretching across the top of the world's third-largest island after Greenland and New Guinea.
And we were about to reach the tip of Borneo where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea. But little did we know that the most surprising and unexpected part of it all was going to be getting back to our lodgings that night on a road that everyone warned us not to take.
Intro: Hey everyone! Nice to have you here. We are Tim, and Marisa Notier. I ride in the front. And I’m in the rear. We travel the world and we pack too much gear. Oh, all the places we’ll go! Through rain and through sleet and through mud and through snow. Oh, all the things we’ll see! We’ve been to a country or two. Or three! Oh, all the fun we’ve had! To have you along, would make us real glad. So give us a like, and hit subscribe to join us along our epic ride.
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[Tip of Borneo - Malaysia]
Marisa: So this was it! This was the Tip of Borneo that we had been trying to get to for so long, riding along the entire northern coast of Borneo and seeing all these incredible things along the way. And finally, we were at the highest point of Borneo that we could get to.
Tim: There it is!
And there was a little globe of the earth. Who would have thought? And it showed where we were compared to everywhere else. And we got on the motorcycle, and we went around the world a bunch of times. We fully navigated the globe.
Marisa: Yes! Like, many times.
Tim: Maybe the quickest ever. Guinness, we’ll call you.
We rode around it, and it was really beautiful.
Marisa: We are at the Tip of Borneo, the most northern point that you can go to! And they have this wonderful monument that they've built here as a marker to commemorate this point. Look here, it says, "The Tip of Borneo." And here they have the map of Borneo. Look at the whole Island. Borneo is the third-largest island on earth. It is massive.
We started way down here. We made our way all the way up to Pontianak, and then we headed into the Malaysian side to Kuching. That's where we got our current motorcycle, and we have been riding her all the way across into Brunei, across both sides of Brunei, into the other part of Malaysia called Sabah. And now, I can't even reach it, we're at that tip! That, way up there, is where we're at. It's amazing, such a long journey that we've taken across the island, tip to tip, south to north, all the way up there. And look at this view!
Wow! This is the meeting of two oceans. We have the South China Sea on this side, and on the other side is the Sulu Sea. And actually, although I don't see a difference between the two oceans, there is a bit of a difference when you're further down the coast between the roughness of the South China Sea. It also can be a bit muddier. And the Sulu Sea is a lot more Caribbean, a lot more turquoise, a lot more placid. Just incredible to be standing here at this juncture between the two oceans. Right here in front of me is the very, very tip. Look at that!
Wow!
Here is the separation point between the South China Sea over there and the Sulu Sea over there. Do you see a difference? I don't. But it's still pretty awesome.
Tim: And we didn't quite know how beautiful it was until we launched the drone. And that was a good, amazing view.
Marisa: It's like this rocky piece of land jutting into the ocean, these rocks just sticking up to this final point right where the South China Sea meets the Sulu Sea.
Borneo is a huge island, so this was a small but impressive feat for us to go all the way from Kilometer 0 to this Tip of Borneo. The island of Borneo, being the third-largest island on earth, it's twice the size of Germany. I mean, it's big.
Tim: So yeah, we enjoyed our little time on the very northernmost tip. I'm glad we accomplished that. A big shout out to Lee, our buddy. He had shown us some pictures of him all the way up there, and yeah, it was just really exciting to be able to have done the beginning of that tip with him and reaching a landmark point and being able to share the excitement with him all the way back down and in Kuching.
Marisa: And so we headed off from there, and the sun was setting, so we knew it was about time to be getting back to our little beachside cabin.
Oh my goodness…
Tim: Oh my, oh my, oh my. An absolutely successful day in the books.
Marisa: Yeah.
And we thought we're just going to go back the way Google Maps showed us.
Tim: Faithful Google Maps, never led us astray so far.
Marisa: And we kind of figured that maybe since this is a different road, this could be the one that we had been warned not to take. But we're adventurers, you know? And we felt like this bike was very capable. How bad could it be?
Tim: And the little KTM 250 is really capable. And it's light and nimble and it bounces over things. And this wasn't the most difficult terrain we've ever been on. But it cut through some palm oil plantations. It was just really pretty, and it was like the first time we've actually
tasted a lot of dirt, if you will. And it was some muddy sections, and it was just a good old time.
And we did realize that this was the road that he had warned us about when we initially came to the cabin. But he must have thought we were in some kind of car or something. Because yeah, cars and this road would not have been as compatible as the KTM 250 Adventure.
I was having a really fun time. And the sun was setting, and usually we don't off-road during sunset because that is not the best place to be. But this was just a short little section.
Marisa: Yeah, it looked pretty short on the map, but actually it was going on a very, very long time. And as we continued on the road, at first, it had been so easy and just nice and flat and beautiful views and forest and everything. But as we continued, it got narrower and narrower and muddier and muddier.
Tim: Yeah.
The little KTM 250 Adventure was ripping along these little dirt roads.
Marisa: Yeah. It was a fun little ride. But I didn't know if it was going to get worse. It was getting definitely muddier and muddier. But thankfully, you were doing an awesome job, the bike was doing an awesome job, and the sun hadn't set yet, and so we still had daylight to see what was ahead of us. And it just seemed like, hey, this road is really, really fun!
Tim: This is exciting! Edge of the seat stuff!
Back road Borneo!
Marisa: Yeah. This is definitely the most off-road we've done in Borneo.
Tim: Gotcha. You alright?
Marisa: Yeah.
Tim: And we definitely are going to tribute this road, this section, this video to our good buddies over at Emmaus Moto Tours.
Marisa: Emmaus Moto Tours takes you on BDRs, the Backcountry Discovery Routes in the United States. They are fabulous roads. You get to go with a guide who knows everything about that section of road that you'll be going on and fellow riders, so it's just a great time.
Tim: You'll be on a bike that's a little bigger than the KTM 250 Adventure, possibly. But all in good fun, amazing places. We love seeing beautiful places of the world, and they love showing off beautiful places of the world. So, if those two interests meet up, be sure to check out EmmausMotoTours.com.
Marisa: That's EMMAUSmototours.com.
Tim: That's what I think you're supposed to do.
But we made it through the thick of it, and returned back on a familiar road. And we went over our little familiar bridge. And we saw the little familiar puppies on the side of the road and a bunch of children waving us down.
Hello! How are you?
Our hotel room had yet another magnificent view to a beautiful sunset.
Marisa: Home sweet home.
Tim: Oh, that dog got a fish.
Marisa: Wow.
Gorgeous, gorgeous. What a fabulous end to a fabulous day. And we had had so many adventures, but to end it with that final little bit of off-road was an adventure in and of itself. It
was so much fun.
Tim: This is true.
And then Marisa ate squid cooked within its own black ink.
Marisa: Oh! Okay, I had never had squid ink dish or a meal made out of the squid ink. I'd had squid but not the ink itself with the squid. And at this beach place, they just give you the catch of the day, and they cook it up in an incredible way with all the wonderful spices and smells.
And poor Tim here doesn't like fish or seafood.
Tim: Not only do I not like to consume it, but watching people eat it is disgusting, you know? It's like you're ruining my appetite. Marisa enjoyed it very much, and we still have to call out to our good friend Udey that was a magical host and a very awesome person. But my hatred for seafood is not his fault.
And it's a very great place to stay, so don't let any of this be a reflection upon him. But what Marisa ate was... Foul!
Marisa: Fabulous!
Tim: So gross.
Marisa: No, no, no, no. And to be fair, Tim doesn't like that, and he didn't have any.
Tim: Nope.
Marisa: So let me tell you what it was like. It was perhaps one of the best meals of my life, seriously. It didn't look all that great because it's that black inkiness. But wow, one bite of that and I was in heaven!
Tim: I'm just going to sit here and shake my head.
Marisa: Overall, a great ending to a great day.
Tim: A very great day.
Marisa: Next time, we literally dive into the history of the island of Borneo by discovering the life that is hidden in a World War II crater created when the Japanese bombed this stretch of coastline.
Tim: But all that is in our next episode.
Marisa: That's right, and I hope you liked this video. If you did, please give us a big thumbs up and hit the subscribe button below. And we'll be seeing you next time.
Tim: Stay safe, everybody.
Marisa: And if you would like to join our Patreon, it can be as little as $1 a month, and you get all these great things: our videos ahead of time, early access, ad-free, some exclusive clips, plus a postcard sent to you from wherever we are in the world.
Tim: This is true. So, a little 2 Up and Overloaded pledge drive, join the journey, get yourself some weird postcards from us all around the world, and know that you're helping contribute to getting us to some exotic places. And this episode was brought to you by viewers like you.
Marisa: See you next time.
Tim: Stay safe, everybody.
Marisa: Bye!
Tim: Peace.
