West Malaysia loop ride

It was really nice to have a good shower at night and clean up after a long day of riding. Somehow, the sleep is also better. We decided to start early since we would have to ride up to the Cameron Highlands as we wanted to arrive before nightfall. So breakfast was fixed for 8am. I woke up this morning to this view just outside my window and was floored by a sense of awe.

What amazed me was that it was pitch dark last night…and it was a scene to behold this morning. I decided to take my time and watch the sunrise. I have always enjoyed a good sunrise. I remember waking up extra early many times, especially when on holiday, just so I could watch the sun rise on a foreign place. The sunrise always held a special place in my heart. I was not disappointed!

I kept vigil at my window until the sun finally popped over the top of the distant mountains. That was worth the wait!

Breakfast was the usual hotel buffet spread. They served quite a number of different things but the one that caught my fancy this morning was the Nasi Lemak. So I arranged a plate for myself.

I was hungrier than I thought I would be given that we had such a late dinner the night before…so after wolfing down the Nasi Lemak, I had some toast and coffee…and then I was ready for the new day of riding! The ride today will be about 300km, the shortest so far, and will take us through the states of Perak and back into Pahang. While the journey is short, it will include many ascents and descents on curvy roads with tight corners. I was really looking forward to it!

The folks at the Banding Lakeside Inn really liked motorcycle groups for some reason. They were out in full force when we were preparing to leave and wanted to take some pictures for their website. We obliged and arranged the bikes so that a useful photograph can be taken. While waiting for some of the riders to be ready with their bikes, I took the opportunity to test ride Karl’s scooter. I had never ridden a scooter before till that point and was curious how it would handle, especially in the tighter turns and steeper inclines that we would encounter on the highlands. I found that his scooter was not lacking in power…but was a little difficult to control, especially on a turn. Karl commented that there was a rattling sound that was present this morning that was not there earlier. So we spent some time investigating this sound.

We eventually found the problem. The rear wheel on a bike is usually secured by a bolt that runs through the axel with a nut at the end to ensure that it remains steady, and to ensure that the wheel bearing does not fall off. We discovered this morning that Karl’s scooter was missing the nut and the sleeve that covers the bearings were rattling loose!

While we did come prepared with a rather well-equipped toolbox, this was no ordinary nut. So we had to decide at that point if we should ride on to the next town or get a tow truck. We eventually decided that it would be impossible for the nut to have fallen off just the night before, given the fact that the sleeve which was loose did not fall off as it was blocked by that grey bracket on the right. That means Karl was riding this bike without a nut for quite awhile! AMAZING!!! So we decided the best thing to do was to ride to Gerik and see if we can get this fixed while we get SA’s bike a change of motor oil since it was a single cylinder bike.

The ride turned out to be a very pleasant one with long sweeping bends…nothing too challenging…just a lot of fun!

We were riding at a lower speed now that we were alerted to the situation with Karl’s wheel nut. All of a sudden, I saw a new member in our gang in my rear view mirror! Can you spot him?

As usual, I sped ahead at one point so I could take pictures of the individual bikes as they rode pass. I did not realize that I would be captured on camera as well!

Looking at this picture made me realize why the folks were looking at me from their cars as they drove pass. Hahaha!!!

We eventually arrived in the town of Gerik which is located at one end of Route 4. I searched the shops on both sides of the road and eventually found a motorcycle repair shop. I was hoping they could change SA’s motor oil…and get Karl’s wheel nut replaced.

The oil change was done relatively quickly. Unfortunately, they did not carry a nut suitable for Karl’s bike as it was too big. We were advised to look for it in a shop that services cars. So I went up the road with Karl in search for such a shop. We did find one eventually…unfortunately, they did not have a suitable nut as well! The person in the shop assured us that there was a much bigger motorcycle shop in the heart of town and that we should proceed there instead.

We eventually found the place and it was quite a big motorcycle shop…especially for a small town like Gerik!

That was the good news…the bad news was…they did not have a suitable nut either! Sigh. After a few calls to our mechanics back in Singapore, we decided to look for a replacement nut at a hardware shop instead. By the way, Alex and Karl were speaking with this uncle who drove the truck that you see in the right of the picture. He was transporting new bikes to this shop and they were bringing the bikes down by hand! Without any winches…or ramps! Guess what they were chatting about when I took this picture? Well, Alex was looking for a pair of sunglasses as it was rather glaring that day…and this uncle was wearing a pair that you could put on over your prescription glasses! What a strange place to chat about sunglasses!

We headed off to look for the hardware shop since we did not have any luck here…and we eventually found an auto parts supply shop.

This shop – Ban Lee Leong – was started by the current owner’s grandfather. It has been around for many decades over three generations! The owner (Ah Peng) was a super helpful fella. Not only did he help to measure the bolt to find a suitable nut, he lent us a brand new spanner so we could tighten the nut! If you need auto supplies when you are around the area, be sure to look him up!

So now that we found the nut, we realized we were had to move the grey bracket so that we could screw it onto the bolt. That meant we had to remove some very stubborn bolts to get this small repair job completed.

A small group of people stopped to see what was happening. It was all quite a scene! What made the replacement a little more difficult was the fact that the bracket was HOT!!! Eventually, we got it sorted out…and Karl bought that brand new spanner from Ah Peng. Way to go!!!

I started looking around the place while Karl was testing the bike out with the nut in place. The shops were generally constructed out of wood given the age…not something we see much anymore here in Singapore.

We continued on our journey soon after this as we had already been delayed for more than an hour! Our next stop would be for lunch at Kuala Kangsar. The ride towards Kuala Kangsar was a rather hot one…so I stopped the gang after crossing a river for a water break. This bridge looked huge with really elaborate street lamps!

We parked our bikes at the rest stop here right beside the lake…under the much welcome shade of some trees.

It was a really warm day and I remembered finishing an entire bottle of mineral water here…and still feel hot! But you know…a hot day is much better than a wet and rainy day! We eventually arrived at Kuala Kangsar and found a shop that served lunch fare.

Make a guess what I ordered for my lunch???

Can you figure this one out? It is a dry curry chicken hor fun dish with Yong Tau Fu! I enjoyed this very much though some of the others preferred the food at Gua Musang. Hahaha!!! The keen eye would have spotted a hot drink on a hot day…I ordered that because Mr Alex said earlier that a hot drink was better on a hot day…I was keen to try out his theory…but the results were inconclusive. Hahaha!!!

There was a shop selling spectacles and sunglasses just next door and some of the gang went over to look for that specific pair that the truck driving uncle was wearing. Eventually, Alex, Karl and SA bought one each!!! Wow!!! They were so thrilled with their little find too! We headed off after that towards the town of Batu Gajah. We stopped again after a long ride through some nice curvy plantation roads for another water break near a huge road sign. In reality…we had to stop because I wasn’t sure if we were heading in the right direction…but don’t tell anyone that! Hahaha!!!

It started to drizzle soon after this junction and I stopped so people could decide to put on rain gear. I decided to ride without as it was still rather warm…however, I did put the rain cover on my tank bag and stowed away my camera. Fortunately for me…the rain only lasted one minute. Yup…ONE minute. So I had a nice and cool ride…while the rest…well…let’s just say they were very happy the next stop was not too far away!

Batu Gajah was a mining town. An English gentleman used to run a mining company way back in the early 1900s and decided he would build himself a home here. He got married and had a son. He decided then that he would extend his home…which was a mansion at that time…into a castle. This was originally named Kellas House after his home town…but eventually was known as Kellie’s Castle as his name was William Kellie Smith. It was quite an impressive looking structure…though it was left unfinished due to a personal tragedy.

Kellie’s Castle is a tourist attraction today and there were quite a number of tourists while we were visiting. Fortunately, there was ample parking space for our bikes!

I decided to stay out while the rest ventured into the castle…someone had to watch over the bikes, no? Hahaha!!! So here are two of the gang…all set to explore this magnificent structure.

I had the opportunity to take a number of photographs while waiting for them. I saw quite a number of people taking pictures at this sign.

The gang was busy looking around outside the structure and taking pictures…here are some by SA.

Here is one of the wing.

You cannot really have a castle without a tower!

After what seemed like an eternity…the gang entered the castle proper…

…for quite a long…long time…and I got bored. So…I took pictures of how I setup my GoPro Hero camera.

This simple camera is quite the little powerhouse! In fact, many of the pictures on this trip were taken with this humble looking gadget. To top it off…it does not even come with a display!

One of the other visitors was attracted by the Shadow and requested for permission to take a picture with it…so I said…OK!

The gang eventually re-emerged and we headed off to our final fuel stop before pushing up towards the Cameron Highlands. By now, the gang had their rain gear stowed safely since it was such a pleasant day. Of course…it started to rain…HEAVILY!!! Thankfully, the ride was a short one and we did not get too wet! We all put on our rain gear…again…at the petrol station and got ready to move out as the rain subsided. At this point, the zipper on my jacket decided to fail on me…sigh…just as we were getting into cold territory too!

Fortunately, it was just the zipper at the end of my right sleeve. After confirming my directions with one of the very knowledgeable and friendly pump attendants, we headed off towards Simpang Pulai.

It was a good thing I spoke with the attendant as his directions were very clear. Turn left at the first traffic light, then turn right towards Simpang Pulai (away from Pengkalan), and then head straight up towards the highlands…and take another right when you are on top towards Tanah Rata. I usually get worried when instructions included so many turns but was relieved when I saw this sign a few kilometers after the first left turn. His instructions were not only clear…but accurate. Woohoo!!!

The journey up to the highlands would be a mere hundred kilometers. Not exceptionally long by any standard. However, it would be a hundred kilometers of bends, corners, inclines and declines! It was excellent for riding!!! I just love mountain roads!

My shadow got longer as we rode up higher and as the sun got lower.

I would challenge anyone to tell me this is not riding heaven!

It was time for a break about an hour into the this ride and I chose this clearing which afforded a nice view of the Titiwangsa mountain range. You can see the road leading up to this point from the other hill.

It was a nice, safe and relaxing place to stop our bikes for a breather before the final push.

We were caught momentarily in traffic when we continued on after the break…

…but that just provided for extra fun riding!

It got progressively darker and colder as we continued towards our final destination for the day…and it was dark by the time we got to the town of Tanah Rata.

The guest house that we were putting up in – The Eight Mentigi – was new. It was setup just eight months ago. So there were no signs on the main road for us to follow. A search on Google Maps showed the guest house located in a place with no roads. So I explored one road after another…until I saw this…

The street to the right was paved…the one to the left was not. I took a guess that since Google Maps did not register a road…it must be somewhere along that unpaved street…and eventually I found the place about 50m in. We parked our bikes, locked our bags in one of the rooms, and promptly headed out for a much deserved steamboat dinner!

It was really interesting too to see so many police vehicles…including these fantastic VFR800 bikes parked on the street outside! It seems the Sultan of Pahang was going to visit the highlands on Sunday (27 Feb) for a game of golf!

We found this steamboat place just two minutes walk away for steamboat.

Since we were all cold, tired and hungry, I ordered us a feast!

It was great to have a steamboat dinner in a cold night! We took a stroll after dinner in town and chanced upon this…and you know you have stumbled on a major tourist spot whenever you spot this!!!

After a nice stroll…and a spot of shopping for sweaters, we headed back to our guest house for a much needed wash and rest. Unfortunately, the water pressure in my room was very low…and the water was cold! So I had to shower in Alex’s bathroom. Thank goodness he was still awake! Still…I had a good shower…and then fell asleep while downloading my photographs onto the notebook. Oh well…so much for blogging!