West Malaysia loop ride

Day five.

Morning at the 8 Mentigi is quiet for sure. Perfect for some solitude and reflection. I woke up earlier today and decided to read the book that I brought along with me. I was re-reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I read this book many years before but felt compelled to read it again. There is always a reason when things like this happen. Maktub!

These couches were very inviting…especially when one is wrapped up in a light blanket! This was where I was reading my book. (Photography by Chris)

It was getting brighter ourside… (Photography by Chris)

The bikes had a layer of dew on them…all over them. (Photography by Chris)

Gotta love morning light! (Photography by Chris)

There were cheery daisies everywhere…I think they’re daisies… (Photography by Chris)

We headed out and the first order of business was to get some breakfast! Gotta fill the tummy for the morning ride down the much anticipated road.

Parked beside Restoran Fong Lam at Ringlet for breakfast!

I wonder if everyone was awake…

Whatever the case…I was definitely ready for my breakfast! Look at that hearty noodles and yong tau foo soup!

When breakfast and all the toilet rituals were over, we started heading down that road leading from Ringlet to Raub. We were full of anticipation…at least I was…and boy did it turn out to be one hell of a road!

There were villages dotting the hillside.

And lots of construction going on as well…looked like they were building a tunnel of some sort…

We also came across a helicopter that was about to take off from the launchpad! Tony wanted a picture taken…so I obliged.

It was a gem of a road. Downhill. Fast sweepers. Man!

They just kept coming! One sweet one after another!

I could not believe how fun this road was turning out to be. Just look at that!

We had to eventually stop for a break…as usual… (Photography by Chris)

The road eventually leveled out and straightened somewhat.

From the bottom of the mountain to Raub was more like a plantation road. Small. Flat. Fairly straight. But man…the memory of the earlier road was fresh on everyone’s mind when we stopped for lunch in Raub.

We ate at a coffeeshop there. Nothing very special about this place except that I chose to order curry noodles! (Photography by Chris)

After lunch, we rode up towards Fraser’s Hill. The roads got a little more interesting at this point.

It started to wind a little again…getting interesting…

Very interesting indeed!

In fact, the bends got tighter and tighter, wetter and wetter, until it started to pour as we started on our journey down on the other side! It was wet and slippery…but still fun!

We eventually made our way towards Rawang. It was a slow ride once we got into urban roads with many traffic lights and heavier traffic. At some point, we were quite lost. We finally found the place after a few calls with our host.

Riding up into the Rainforest Retreat at Rawang was quite the experience…especially when we got onto the large flat area where we could park our bikes.

A bit of a challenge for the Goldwing I think… (Photography by Chris)

But this view made it all worthwhile! (Photography by Chris)

Tony doing the special kungfu moves to prevent monkeys from meddling with the bikes…not that there were any monkeys there… (Photography by Chris)

Just take a look at the space!!! So much space! Woohoo!!! (Photography by Chris)

This is the main house where we will be staying. There is a deck upstairs for BBQ and stuff. Inside is a very comfortable place with a couple bedrooms and a nice living area. (Photography by Chris)

There is a pond directly in front of the living area and this is how it looks like from the deck. Gotta love it! (Photography by Chris)

We tried out hand at fishing as there were fish in the pond and explored the area a little bit. But mostly we just did some simple housekeeping with clothes to be washed, notes to be written and books to be read.

A couple of the guys went out to get some food and we had our dinner on the deck. The food was simple and basic Malaysian fare with noodles and rice and stuff. However, it soon proved to be quite a challenge having dinner on the open deck as it started to rain…and in these parts…when it rains…it pours! But the place is oh so luscious and beautiful in the rain!

As the sun was going down and the rain poured, the place took on a different personality. One that is all the more inviting and cosy in my opinion!

Anyway, back to the story, we went inside with our food and had a great time.

We all sat around the coffee table for coffee after dinner and chatted through the night. It was a very nice evening too.

Incidentally, I also finished re-reading my book here. Well, time for bed as tomorrow will be a very fun day indeed!