In addition to the fabulous hawker food, one of my hopes for living in Penang was to get to ride a motorcycle.
The narrow streets are lined with too much to see and take in as you drive by in a car, and parking on a whim is arduous since you will likely end up blocks away after searching diligently for a legal parking space.
However, the opportunistic driving habits of the residents lent for interesting albeit treacherous ride on a motorbike. Add to the fact that one of our colleagues met with a spectacular accident on his motorbike shortly before we arrived. Right then, my dream of getting a bike evaporated.
After about year, we learned to make sense of the would be madness on the streets, and we observed an unusually few number of motorbike accidents. And so, the notion of acquiring a bike for me surfaced, and to prove the good faith, I bought my helmet.
I was willing to ride a little moped like the Honda C70s tooling around at just 40km/h flat out. I knew how to make that work, but of course I would prefer a Honda Wave 125 or better yet a racy Yamaha LC135 or the ultimate--Modenas Jaguh 175cc cruiser. That's the kind of cruiser bike I fell in love with in Nicaragua years ago--a Honda CB350.
But buying a bike was not that simple, especially when you are busy. I was too slow picking up an almost mint Honda EX5 110cc from a missionary who had to leave quickly. The price was low as a result, and the bike even had a rear Givi helmet box.
Then this semester, I discovered that many of my colleagues leaving had bikes that I liked, especially one who rode a bright red Jaguh. That was the bike I wanted.
But he was not certain that he wanted to sell it, but he assured me that I was the first to have asked about it. Some weeks later, as I found out that almost everyone of the bike riding colleagues either had other plans for their bikes, I found out that the red Jaguh had been previously promised to a local staff member from our school. Of course he deserved that bike more since he commuted from the mainland an hour away, and on a little EX5 at the time.
Disappointed, all of my leads were exhausted, but still no bike. I let it go in principle, but I was very honest with God--I still wanted a bike, and that red one too.
Then, just before spring break, that local staff person approached me to see if I still wanted the red bike he just bought! He said that oddly enough, the seat on that bike proved too hard for a long ride such as his, and he preferred to seek a cruiser like a Virago or Sym VTS200. Elated, I accepted his offer and transferred the bike to my name just as spring break 2013 began.
~ Shien Yahweh Jireh "The Lord provides"
