Bandar Seri Begawan - More than 200 Harley Davidson motorbike enthusiasts who are currently embarking on a nine-day journey covering a distance of 1,873km across Borneo were welcomed to Brunei at a luncheon yesterday.

At hand to welcome the Harley owners from around the region to the Waterfront in the capital were the Minister of Industry and Primary Resources (MIPR), Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Utama Dato Seri Setia Awg Hj Yahya bin Begawan Mudim Dato Paduka Hj Bakar along with senior officials from MIPR and Brunei Tourism.

Yesterday was the fifth day of their journey in the Second South East Asia Harley Owners Group (SEAHOG) Rally 2012, which was launched in the neighbouring Malaysian state of Sarawak on November 15. The bikers entered Brunei through the Sungai Tujoh Checkpoint in the Belait District yesterday after crossing scenic roads of Borneo, with stopovers at main towns, cultural villages and tourist destinations.

Brunei is playing host as a stop-over country for the rally for the first time since the rally's inception in 2010, and this is made possible by Harley Owners Group Brunei (HOGB) Chapter with cooperation from Brunei Tourism.

After the luncheon, Pehin Dato Awg Hj Yahya was also presented with a memento from SEAHOG and HOGB Chapter by Pg Musa bin Pg Jaafar, General Manager of Harley Davidson Brunei. This was followed by a group photo of all the participants.

The rally participants were later taken on a tour of Kampong Ayer and were given the opportunity to experience scenic rides around Bandar Seri Begawan before paying a visit to the Harley Davidson Dealership in Kg Lambak. They were also treated to a grand welcome dinner last night, and spent the night at the Centrepoint Hotel in Gadong before heading down to Bintulu today. They will leave Bintulu the next day to ride back to Kuching, covering a distance of almost 600km to end the rally.

The SEAHOG Rally was formulated by the Harley Davidson Motor Company in the USA in 2008. They suggested the five neighbouring Harley Owners Group Chapters in the region to jointly organise a rally together, which consist of Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Thailand.

The first SEAHOG Rally was successfully completed in 2010, where participants rode from Singapore, throughout peninsular Malaysia and finally ending in Krabi, Thailand.

--Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin