West Malaysia loop ride

Day four – Georgetown to Kuala Tahan

*As I did not take any notes…the following account is my best effort from memory…enjoy!

Today would be the beginning of a very unique adventure…we were going to Taman Negara!!! I had wanted to visit this national park for a long time now…I could not wait!!!

We got out of the hotel early…without taking breakfast even. We quickly filled up the bikes and headed for the newer and longer bridge in the south of the island. Getting there was quite a hassle as the traffic was AWFUL! We did eventually make it there though…and when we got on the bridge…we could not see where it ended! It was one of the longest bridges I had ever been on…24 kilometres in fact! We rode for maybe twenty minutes before getting to the end of that bridge!

Once we got onto the mainland at Seberang Perai, we headed southwards. We eventually got hungry and started looking for breakfast around Taiping.

After breakfast, it was to be a short blast down the North South Highway towards Tapah. So I told the gang they could power on ahead and we meet after turning out at Tapah. Unfortunately…when I turned out at Tapah with Ariff…I could not see Chris nor Eric there. I went up and down the road and still could not find them. So I eventually decided we should stop and have a nice cold refreshing drink while I called them.

I had a nagging feeling that they turned out at the Tapah R&R and not at Tapah as instructed. So I called Chris and sure enough they were at the R&R. So we decided they would turn back and we would wait. They did eventually turn up and stopped for a drink as well as it was really hot!

The plan to stop at Tapah was because were needed to cross over the mountains to get to the central spine of the range as that is where Taman Negara was. We would be riding up to Cameron Highlands till we get to Ringlet, then down the other side towards Jerantut. So it was that Ariff would start, followed by Chris and Eric, followed by me, and we would meet at Ringlet.

The road up was terrible. Lots of cars and trucks and busses. Lots of pot holes. Lots of sand. All of these things took away the pleasure of the nice bends and corners. But I pushed forward and upward and eventually we all got to Ringlet at about the same time. We parked out bikes and headed into a shop for some lunch.

Even though it was a very hot day, we felt instantly cool inside the shop up here at Ringlet. I suppose the elevation really did make a difference! Anyway…it was soon time to head down towards the central spine so off we went! The way down was beautifully smooth. The roads were wide and the weather was good for quite a distance. Then it got hot…and hotter…and HOTTER still…and eventually it go so hot there was no way we could carry on and stopped at an R&R. That place was remote…and hot…there was a shop there that sold drinks in a fridge…which immediately turned warm when you take them out! Then it is more hot roads…that were really beautiful…and curvy…so it is like i’m happy and i’m not and i’m happy again.

Eventually we got to the bottom of the mountain and onto plantation roads…we were getting a bit tired then so I decided we would have one last stop before we pushed till the end.

We pushed forward not long after this and eventually made the turn from route 8 onto the plantation road that would lead us to Kuala Tahan. I told the gang that I would ride on ahead and that they should ride at their own pace. It was really a plantation road with almost zero vehicles and should be an easy ride. So I rode on ahead and soon was riding on my own…enjoying myself tremendously.

The road, while narrow, was nice and winding…no sudden turns or bends…just nice sweeping ones with long straights here and there. Really pleasant and enjoyable. I rode on for about 20–30 minutes before stopping to wait for the rest to show up.

When I checked my phone I realised Chris was trying to reach me. So I called back…but there was no signal. At that point I decided to backtrack a little so I could get some signal and eventually called him back. It was then that I was told that someone had a fall. Fortunately he was fine and they were helping him with the on-site bike repairs. They did not need me to head back so I rode ahead a bit and found a safe place to stop to wait.

After waiting for about 20 minutes they showed up. The fallen bike looked a little worse for wear but still very serviceable. We rode on towards Kuala Tahan and eventually got there, found parking and walked with all of our stuff down to the jetty and took a boat across to the resort.

I got us all checked in and we had time to get a shower and dinner before the night jungle trek would begin.

It was night jungle trek time after dinner. It was really dark so I could not take any real pictures. We walked along the boardwalk into the jungle for about an hour and a half before heading back to the hotel. The guide was informative but because our group was so large it was hard to hear him from behind. I did get to see some scorpions in their holes which was really cool!

That is it for day four…I can’t wait for day five!