West Malaysia loop ride

Day six – Kuala Tahan to Melaka

My day started early. For some reason I was wide awake before the sun came up. I decided against trying to get back to sleep. Instead, I went for a walk around the compound of the hotel. Walking around in the wee hours of morning brought out a very different side of the place.

Eventually the rest of the gang got up as well. We got some breakfast, checked out, crossed the river and gathered our things around there.

We had to leave our stuff there and walk to the car park to get our bikes. The car park is located about 300 metres away. It was not easy walking in our gear with boots on and all but at least we did not need to carry all of our stuff with us as we walked. We loaded up our bikes and then Eric announced to me that he was low on fuel! So we had to go look for fuel…apparent he really did not have much left and we were now worried if he had enough to even get to the next station!

Asking around we realised the nearest station was about 40–50km away at Padang Piol. So we kept our fingers crossed and started off! As we rode out on this road we were enjoying ourselves really. It was a nice and easy ride. It was really quite fun as the heat of the day has not hit yet. We went along quite smoothly until we came upon a lady who seemed to be stranded by the side of the road in a tiny little car with her two young children. So we stopped to help out.

The first thing to do is to get her car and her little family to a safe spot that is out of the sun. Sounds like a simple thing but with the damage on the tire it took a bit of effort! Eventually we could do a better assessment of the situation. It seems that her rear right tire was completely delaminated! There was a long strip that was flapping about…and while the tire remained inflated…you could not drive along at any reasonable speed without damaging the tire well and the body work! They did have a spare so we set off to try and get the tire replaced. Unfortunately, this car had one of those security tire nuts and the socket for that security nut was nowhere to be found! We thought the next alternative solution was to cut out the piece of rubber that delaminated so at least you could drive the car slowly to the service station. Unfortunately, no amount of cutting and sawing would cut the piece of rubber off as it was steel belted! ARGH!!! Very frustrating! In the end she called around and found someone who would help her out. At that point we gave the family whatever water and snacks we had so they would not dehydrate nor starve and had to ride off. We still have the problem of Eric’s petrol running out!

We got to Padang Piol and filled up eventually and started riding south towards Temerloh! The ride itself was uneventful now and we made swift progress! At Temerloh, we parked along the river and went for lunch at what is now one of my favourite places for a fish meal! This place is called Kedai Makan Pak Usop and they specialise in a local Malay dish here called Gulai Ikan Patin. This fish (Ikan Patin) is a deep river fish that has the best balance of firmness and juiciness…lean and fat…flavour and texture that I have ever tasted. It has got to be one of my very favourites! And the way they make the Gulai Ikan Patin here is with a local fruit that we call the King of Fruits…yes…the Durian. They make it in an exquisite soup that is simply magical! You HAVE to give this a try…it is a MUST try!

Lunch here is simply special. I just need the fish and the herbs with the Tempoyak and I would be a very happy man! Go try it!

When lunch was over we started making our way down to Melaka. We were prepared for the long ride as usual. What we were NOT prepared for was the HEAT! Did you realise reading this now for so many days that I did not mention rain other than that one time when we were heading to Georgetown? Well, that is because there was absolutely NO rain! It was just heat, heat and more heat! This is not a rant really…I just wanted to be very clear about how much heat we have been experiencing in this ride. It was really quite unprecedented. Chris had one of those thermometers that you can hook up to the bike and it would read the ambient temperature. Most people think that temperatures in Malaysia range from 25C to 35C. What people forget to factor in is the heat the road absorbs and then reflects, the heat from the vehicles next to you and the heat coming from your engine. When taken together the effects can result in a much higher temperature…our highest ever recorded temperature was at a traffic junction in Negri Sembilan registering at a whopping 55C!!! The thermometer went bust after that…hahaha!!!

The ride to Melaka was relatively easy outside of the heat. We got there eventually and started to head out to look for some dinner.

Here we are walking along outside the house deciding what to have…see how dark and red my face has become!

One should never miss the experience of Jonker Walk in the evening…

Chris wanted to get some pineapple tarts…

I was feeling so hot we needed a beer at the Geographer’s Cafe

We also decided to order some of this for supper!

After that it was really back to the house and shower and have supper and sleep. I was feeling quite feverish and exhausted too! Time for bed!