Football, fame and food poisoning for adventurer Klein

Sebastian Klein has reached Malaysia on his epic journey from Munich to Bangkok, and the finishing line is now just a matter of weeks away. After more than 20,000 km of riding, the adventurer is currently enjoying the hospitality of a family-run guesthouse – located ten meters away from an idyllic beach in the Pulau Pinang region of the country.

Sebastian Klein’s F 800 GS underneath ‘The Rock’ in Nepal

Sebastian has travelled a long way since setting off from Bavaria six months ago – in more ways than one. The young adventurer has managed to squeeze in a lifetime of experiences in just a few short months. Now, with his third service stop behind him, 'Sepp' is on the home stretch and will arrive in Bangkok in two months time, no doubt to a hero's welcome.

But between now and then, there are still 7,000 km of challenging riding to complete. However, over the past month Sepp has received adequate training for what lays ahead, in the form of a very difficult few weeks in India.

"Since leaving northern India I've been very busy," admits Sepp. "Because I spent a lot of time in Nepal and the north of the country, I had to travel south fairly quickly to ensure that I had enough time in Chennai to organize the shipment of my bike to Malaysia. I had roughly 4,000 km to travel, which meant I was covering almost 500 km a day. As a result, there was not much time for sightseeing. For the first time during the trip, I was under pressure to reach a destination.

"This leg of the journey was particularly tiring, not only because I had to cover quite large distances each day, but because I fell ill for three days. I think I had food poisoning and I wasn't feeling well at all," he continues.

Food poisoning and fatigue were just two of the problems that Sepp faced travelling south through India. As expected, poor road conditions meant that, at times, riding became hazardous. "The traffic in India is terrible!" he says. "On two occasions I came very close to being knocked off my bike. Because there are so many different types of vehicles and road users – from cows and rickshaws to bicycles and buses – there isn’t much room and speeds vary dramatically. I quickly realized that if I were to arrive in Chennai on time, I would have to stick to major roads, rather than travelling off-road as I wanted."

Sebastian being interviewed by a local TV channel close to Calcutta

With Chennai in the distance and time ticking away, Sepp had no choice but to avoid minor roads. Although this meant that he overlooked his initial intention to ride off-road wherever possible, he knew that there were bigger challenges facing him and his bike when he reached Malaysia. And to do that, he had to make it to Chennai in time to complete the customs process in order for his precious cargo – the F 800 GS that has been his companion since leaving Munich – to be allowed to travel on to Malaysia. After several days of hard riding he reached Chennai on the eastern coast of India.

"It was a great relief to arrive in Chennai, but there was more frustration to come," he says. "Because I had to get special clearance for the bike, I had to wait for five days before being allowed to ship my bike to Malaysia. There was very little to do but to play football with the locals and wait for news. As soon as I got the news I had been waiting for, the bike was loaded onto the ship and I then took a plane to Kuala Lumpur. It was a relief to arrive in Malaysia after all the waiting, and Kuala Lumpur is a fantastic, vibrant city. After the hustle and bustle of India, it was good to arrive somewhere that didn't seem to have as many people."

After arriving safely in Malaysia, Sebastian treated himself to tickets to the penultimate round of the MotoGP season in Sepang. But he explains that what was supposed to be a leisurely break quickly turned into a weekend of work!

"I travelled to watch the MotoGP round in Sepang and it turned out to be very fortuitous," says Sepp. "I went to see qualifying on Saturday and stumbled across a BMW Motorrad trade stand. I started chatting to the guys there and they said they were really disappointed that their F 800 GS had not made it through customs in time to be at the event. I then explained that I had an F 800 GS with me that they could use, so they were really happy! They quickly organized a display, so I spent a lot of time talking to the crowds, who were all really interested in the trip and all the equipment I had with me. There were even some people there who had read about my trip on the internet. They asked for my autograph which was a bit strange!"

With BMW Motorrad Malaysia Manager Fazli Shukor at the MotoGP race in Sepang

Although a reluctant star, Sebastian admits to being pleased that his journey is being so well documented. However, this wasn't the first time he has had a brush with fame on the trip. "While I was in Chennai an article came out in the Indian press about my trip, along with a photograph of me," he explains. "Within ten minutes of telling the shop keeper that it was me, the whole street came out and crowded around shouting: 'he's the guy from the newspaper!' which was really surprising!"

With the majority of the journey now behind him, only a few more countries lay in wait for Sebastian. The next stop for the intrepid adventurer is the wilderness of Cambodia – an experience he is relishing. "I can’t wait to get to Cambodia and do some serious off-road riding. It'll be a great test for the F 800 GS, which has so far managed to deal with every environment I have ridden in. The country is still fairly wild and there aren't many tourists there so it will provide a great opportunity to discover it on my own," he concludes.

For more information about Sebastian Klein’s Munich to Bangkok trip, please visit his www.seppotage.com website, which features a regular blog and satellite tracking information.