West Malaysia loop ride

Day one.

This is the sixth year that we are doing the ride. I do not know what it is about this ride as even now, after doing it so many times before, I still felt a sense of excitement when I think about the ride. Perhaps there is really something very special about going on a motorcycle adventure that kept the excitement. Or maybe it felt exciting because we are going to experience different places. Or perhaps it was because there were new riders joining. Whatever the reason, I felt very excited!

I woke up early way before dawn. I felt immediately a great rush. To get ready and head out the door. Get to the bike and ride off to meet the guys. First day jitters hit me as usual. Did I forget something? Did I leave a light on? Would everything turn out right? So many questions popped into my head at the exact moment I stepped out the door. Funny how these questions arise even after answering them the first few times. Well, questions or not, it was time to go…and so I did!

I met up with Randy first as he lived close by. Randy rides a KTM 1190 Adventure. It was a monster of a bike and accelerates like a rocket. It was a tall bike…and with the panniers (side boxes for the non-bikers) installed…it was also a wide bike. I am, in a way, very glad that I did not ride that bike because that bike would get me into a lot of trouble. In a way, it was a hooligan kind of bike. But enough about the bike for now. We had an adventure to begin and begin it we shall!

So we rode off at a brisk pace towards the rendezvous point at Mandai Lake Road. The roads were quite clear this time of the morning. We met Anthony and Chris along the way too. We were the first to arrive and waited for the others. Eric showed up moments later and a catch up conversation was in full swing. It felt strange that LPG has yet to show up as he was usually quite prompt. He did show up eventually and we all got ready to push off after a short brief on the immediate leg of the ride.

For some reason, LPG dropped his bike right when we when about to head off. It proved to be too heavy for him to lift the bike up by himself as it was fully loaded up with luggage. A few of us helped him right the bike and then we pushed off for real.

The immigration and customs clearance on both the Singapore and Malaysia sides were smooth at this time of the day. We were soon gathered at the Shell station to fuel up and head north. Strangely, LPG a was missing yet again. It was puzzling until I received a phone call form him indicating that he took a wrong turn. He eventually found his way to the station, fuelled up and was ready to go.

Waiting eagerly to move off…

The road out from Johor Bahru is always a little hectic because of traffic. But it soon thinned out as the road opened up. The view in the morning is quite spectacular. Coupled with the cool morning air…it was a great feeling when the wind hits the face.

Our plan was to get to Jemaluang for breakfast. We were riding at a good pace and eventually passed Kiang Kee. For a brief moment I thought about stopping but soon brushed it off as the place was crowded as usual…on a Wednesday morning!

The shop at Jemaluang was a familiar favourite. Not that the food was the best. In fact, the noodles there was nowhere near what you can get in many other places. But the place fills me with a sense of nostalgia. It always felt like I was stepping back into the coffe shop of my childhood years. I swear this place never changed through the years and they probably still used the same furniture from then they first started business…and that was probably a time before I could walk!

All parked by the shop

My favourite simple kampung wanton noodles

Nostalgic coffee shop at Jemaluang

All the food is gone

With our stomachs satisfied, we made our way to Mersing where we stopped for Chris to get a local SIM card for his phone. I parked my bike beside this old style barber shop. The barber was cutting somebody’s hair while we waited outside for Chris. He eventually stepped out for a cigarette and we struck up a conversation. He told me he was born and raised in Mersing and saw how the town grew from then till now. How cool is that!

Small side road at Mersing

The old style barber shop at Mersing

The friendly barber

Our next destination was meant to be a beach near Pantai Lanjut. I found the place eventually and decided to recce the trail onto the beach. Unfortunately, the sand was too fine for the bikes to get through. I had a more than interesting time doing my recce and was thankful I did not drop my bike. We eventually took our break by the side of Sungai Rompin.

The quiet Sungai Rompin

Relaxing by the river

Look at me!!! (Photo by Chris)

Now look at that bike!!! (Photo by Chris)

The perfect spot to fix that bike (Photo by Chris)

We probably lingered a little too long at Sungai Rompin because as we rode out it started to drizzle. That meant stopping again for the guys to put on rain gear…so we decided to stop for lunch instead. We had a local Malay lunch and I ordered Nasi Berlauk with some sambal paru and ulam. It was very yummy!

All parked at our lunch spot (Photo by Randy)

We love these kinds of spots for a meal (Photo by Randy)

Can’t wait to tuck in (Photo by Randy)

I just LOVE this unpretentious and simple delicious yummy food!

LPG mentioned to me during lunch that he was running low on fuel. That meant we could go towards our intended direction to Muadzam Shah which was around 50km away, or back track towards Kuala Rompin 20km away. We decided to head forward. Everyone was worried during this short leg because of his fuel situation and were relieved when we got there. We stopped at the very first station there so he could fill up.

There will always be rain…even on a short 20km stretch

Followed by the hot hot sun

I have never had a good experience with this station. The last time I pumped here I was low enough on fuel for it to be worrying and one of the attendants refused to let me pump. I had to make quite a bit of fuss before the station supervisor relented. This time round, the station was crowded enough that one set of pumps ran out of fuel. So the rest of us pumped at the next station…which was bigger…better…takes credit cards…and less than 5km away! This should give you a better idea how worried we were for LPG!

We rode on heading northeast and crossed Sungai Pahang before turning west along the river. River side roads are very special, very similar to ocean side roads, they present spectacular views of the water at certain spots and can be absolutely spectacular. This road was also a little narrower than most and curves with the winds of the river. You can already imagine how wonderful it is to ride on!

There is always a pondok when we need a break! (Photo by Chris)

Look at that beautiful road! (Photo by Chris)

Eventually we made a right turn to head up north on Route 64. The surrounding started to slowly change to what we were more used to…that of plantations. The road was still very pleasant and we were having a good ride. Out of nowhere we ran into a rather large temple with a huge compound. Of course we had to make a stop and look at this rather interesting place. It turned out to be a famous Indian temple called the Sri Marathandavar Aalayam Temple.

The Sri Marathandavar Aalayam Temple

One interesting feature of this temple is the tree that you see in the picture. This tree is sacred. The history is that about 116 years ago when the Kuantan-Jerantut road was being constructed, a Ruthratsham tree was cut to make way for the road and workers noticed that blood flowed out from the cut on the tree. It is believed that a religious old man, a Murugar devotee, planted a Vel at the base of that tree and started worshipping there. What started as a very small shrine is now a huge and grand temple with many coming from far and wide for the Thaipusam and other important religious festivals for Lord Muruga.

See how the temple was build around the giant tree

This gives you a better sense of scale (Photo by Chris)

It is hard not to notice a temple of this size in the middle of a small village road

Parked the bikes along this row of shops

Before too long, we found ourselves in the company of heavier traffic. We have arrived at Jerantut, one of the bigger towns in Pahang. The GPS guided us with precision and aplomb right up to a place where the road it wanted us to take did not exist. I guess the person who marked the address had a sense of adventure too!

A call to the host quickly resolved the situation. We had to wait for her at one of the petrol stations. It was a really really hot day so we welcomed the shade while we waited.

This must be the I’m feeling hot but happy face (Photo by Chris)

More hot but happy faces (Photo by Chris)

Why this fella still all suited up and sitting on bike? (Photo by Chris)

The host showed up in about 10 minutes and led us towards the house. We rode through an interesting assortment of shops, followed by a housing estate and we were eventually confronted by what was touted to be a home stay with “homely rooms”. I take that to mean the place was homely and had the trappings and comforts of home.

Homely rooms indeed…hmmm…

I suppose like many things, home looks and feels very different to different people. Our host obviously had a more evolved sense of home than we did because she was seemingly unfazed by what was presented: on-going construction, sandy front porch, dusty floors, cracking doors, toilet seat covers that was secured with only one bolt and nut as the other side did not align with the bowl, and most interestingly, home is where the folks working on the construction sleeps.

Interesting definition of homeliness…so messy…

What a mess man…geez… (Photo by Randy)

Seriously folks…what kind of homestay is this? (Photo by Randy)

Every corner is messed up… (Photo by Randy)

O.M.F.G. (Photo by Randy)

Perhaps having a bed in the living room is their definition of homely…

The further you stand, the homelier this place looks

Chris certainly felt at home enough to want to help out

To be fair, this place was very convenient and central in Jerantut. We could find lots of food, convenience stores and even a full fledged mega mart just five minutes away on foot. Oh yes…the air conditioning in the room worked well too.

We decided to walk out for dinner as soon as possible to avoid this homely place as much as we could and settled on a promising restaurant called the Tokyo Restaurant that served Chinese cuisine specialising in fresh water river fish of the region. The food was absolutely delicious and satisfying. So much so that we all forgot about our homely place and were, once again, in the happiest of moods.

Ordering food…just say yes to everything (Photo by Chris)

New styles for social interaction (Photo by Chris)

Steamed frogs legs in Chinese herbal style – most succulent frogs legs ever!

Stewed lamb in claypot – so tender you would not believe!

Can’t go wrong with the four heavenly kings

One for Facebook before we tuck in

Yummy Tiger prawns with a yummy dry sauce

The absolute best steamed Patin Fish you can have…EVER…

We walked around the area after dinner, convinced that it was exactly the kind of exercise one needs after a good meal. No, a great meal. No again, as it was really a fantastic meal!

We wandered into a department store for awhile and look what I found!!!

Old style flasks aplenty at the department store outside

Soon it was time to head back to the homely place and call it a night. It was definitely a fabulous day one. Fun roads, good food and great friends. Not many experiences can top that!

Day 1: 511km