West Malaysia loop ride
Friends riding motorcycles around the West Malaysia peninsular in search of the next great adventure. Join us as we discover new people, places and experiences!
2014 Day 2 – Kuala Terengganu
Day two.
Waking up in the morning after a good night’s sleep is really nice. What made it nicer was that I woke up to a completely different environment. One that is quiet, cool and peaceful. I slept soundly and comfortably. The room was of a good size and the air conditioning worked very well too!
I was definitely hungry. I could not wait to have breakfast. In fact, I have waited for an entire year to be back in this part of the country so I can look for a good Nasi Dagang breakfast!
We decided to go out in more relaxing gear since we will only be riding for short distances within Kuala Terengganu today. We also decided to go out with fewer bikes.
Tony was giving Paul a ride this morning.
Paul snapped a picture of me riding.
Snap snap snap!!!
Thumbs up…can’t wait to get to the breakfast place!
Finally made it to Warung Pak Po!
We were actually looking around for nice places to eat. Our usual routine is to ride around looking for places that looked good and had a good ambience. Warung Pak Po certainly looked the part!
Nasi Kunyit with Rendang and Super Chili Padi Sambal
I could not find Nasi Dagang here though so I settled for the Nasi Kunyit (Tumerik Rice) instead. It came with Rendang and this super spicy chili padi sambal sauce. It was VERY yummy. For some reason, local food always tastes yummier when traveling!
We also had some toasted corn buns. Not quite what we were expecting but they tasted pretty good…and SWEET!
Everything wolfed down fast!
Next stop was the beautiful Crystal Mosque. We saw this mosque from afar a year ago when we were passing through and simply had to return to take another look. It was glistening in the midday sun and looked spectacular from a distance.
The road leading to it was promising…
Finally!!!
The Crystal Mosque!!!
I love the symmetry here…
Look at all those beautiful domes…
A fuller perspective…
Gotta get a group photo in!
Some of gang looked a little worn out after walking around the mosque in the hot sun.
Or maybe they were not…
Whatever the case, it was soon time to head out for some lunch! We were at this particular shop before and remembered the owner catches his own fish for the dishes that he makes. So we tried to find the shop again…
And find it we did!
Look at the hungry faces!
No wonder the hungry faces…just look at that food!
Even the kitty cat knows this is the place for local fresh seafood…
And the man himself…
After lunch, we decided to head to Pulau Duyong, like the last time, to see if we have better luck looking for the boat builders. We could not find them the last time we were there…but hey…never give up!
And found them we did! These folks build boats the traditional way…unfortunately…it must be lunch time…or siesta time…or something…because there was nobody inside working…and nobody around who could show us the place. It was still good to see a boat that was on construction though.
So what to do on a hot sunny day? Well…we had the perfect solution!
We hit the beach!
It was a pristine beach…and quiet too!
Tony…going for a dip or just for a photo?
Have a break…but where is the Kit Kat?
After this we headed back to get some rest at the guest house before going out for dinner. We decided to try and look for the place that was recommeded by our host. Apparently it was near the airport and getting there required traveling on the perimeter road.
I had to stop along the narrow perimeter road in order to capture this beautiful sunset with my phone! Not sharp…but who cares?
Who do you think is the hungriest of them all?
A superb dinner…and look at that superb Kerabu Ikan Bilis on the bottom right corner!!!
We got back to the guest house after dinner and called it a night…because tomorrow would be a special morning!
2014 Day 1 – Singapore to Kuala Terengganu
It has been a hectic year. A fruitful year. A refreshing year. A crazy year. What this all amounted to is that this blog has not been updated for close to a year after the trip has been made. It is the latest it has ever taken for an update. But as they say, better late than never. So here goes!
This year’s ride was very different from the previous ones in that every single person on the ride has been on the ride before. Tony was with me for the innaugural ride, Chris was with me for the last three rides, Eric was with me for the last two, and Paul was with me for the last one. So it would be a ride with friends who were already familiar with the way the ride goes, focusing on exploration, adventure and fun!
The first day of the ride is always exciting. The anticipation of it all meant a late night and an early morning. I was up early this morning getting myself ready. It would be an epic ride and I could not wait to get started.
The ride from Pasir Ris to Woodlands was quick. The crisp morning air was cool and light. It was going to be a beautiful morning!
I cannot remember now who arrived at the meeting place first but it wasn’t too long before everyone got there. The gang was excited and chatty as always. There is always something to talk about when a group of motorcycling friends get together. The excitement of the ride mounted as the night transitioned into dawn. It was time to push off!
The route on this day took us northwards along Route 3. While we have traveled on this route many times before, I always felt a thrill riding up this !old familiar route because it signifies the start of a grand adventure. The road was relatively empty and almost devoid of traffic which just made the ride that much more pleasurable!
The road was almost empty…fun fun fun!!!
Having fun with my own shadow.
Some parts of this route is long and straight.
We arrived at Jemaluang before too long and it was time to stop for breakfast!
We had breakfast at Heng Fatt Kedai Kopi at Jemaluang. This is a ver simple and traditional coffee shop in Malaysia and they serve a simple but hearty Wan Ton Noodle dish.
We journeyed on past Mersing and headed towards the small town of Rompin. The road opened up and we enjoyed the beautiful countryside.
Wide open country is really beautiful.
A beautiful and quiet beach at Air Papan.
Look at the bunch of superheroes.
Chris looks like a HK movie star in this picture.
Many crab holes on this beach. Love the texture of this weathered log!
We had the entire beach to ourselves!
We had these giant trees as guards for our bikes.
It is an open sea out there.
Here I am preparing the mount for my GoPro (Photography by Chris)
Time to ride! (Photography by Chris)
The road up north from here towards the town of Pekan can get rather hot in the late morning and early afternoon. The best thing to do is to find quiet places for water breaks. We decided to stop at a petrol station somewhere along the way to cool off.
Having a water break at the petrol station.
We were in the middle of nowhere really (Photography by Chris)
Always good for a funny photograph. (Photography by Chris)
We made it to Pekan before too long…and just in time too for a spot of lunch! We had a fantastic lunch at this food truck by the sea called Cendol Saleem Maju. They served simple Cendol with Pulut and a very delicious Rojak Mee with Fried Chicken!
Parked beside the food truck.
Super ice cold Cendol with Pulut (Glutinous rice)
Rojak Mee with Fried Chicken…TO DIE FOR!!!
My usual “And one for Facebook” We-fie!
We were all well and truly satisfied with lunch and continued riding up towards our final destination for the day. It got really really really hot after Kuantan…as usual. That is one HOT town with lots of traffic lights!
Traffic light stop picture from my trusty mirror
Yet another traffic light stop picture in Kuantan
It was so hot we had to make another water break stop at Chendor!
Limau Ais…a real thirst quencher!
HOT HOT HOT!!!
Nothing beats an ice cream stick…at Dungun!
The road opened up nicely after that and we enjoyed a nice ride all the way up to Kuala Terengganu.
This place reminds me a little of pictures I saw of the outskirts of Dubai…doesn’t it?
We got to our home for the night eventually. We would be here for two nights altogether. The place was called Bara Impiana, located at Tok Jembal near to the airport and the KT Golf Resort. I was pleasantly surprised when I got there. Most homestays are modest places. This one was not quite so modest!
The Bara Impiana at Kuala Terengganu
We had more than enough space in the porch for our bikes!
The place was a real delight. There was enough room for bikes, enough room for socialising, plenty of hot water for showering, comfortable beds, more than enough power outlets for charging our many devices. It was clean and spacious, with a very nicely manicured lawn too!
We decided to go somewhere nearby for a relaxing dinner.
All in all, it was a good day of riding with fun roads, great scenery and delicious food!
Are we ready???
As the time for departure draws nearer, it is also time to take care of the little things to ensure that the adventure is not filled with avoidable problems. Some would argue that an adventure is not much of an adventure without problems and I would agree with that. However, I think problems resulting from our own neglect does not an adventure make. So it is a good idea to see what we can reasonably avoid through good preparation…so we can focus our energy on more interesting and fun challenges while on the road.
Bikes
It goes without saying (or maybe it goes with saying) that with bikes, the best thing to do is to get a good service a week or two before the start of the trip. Fresh oil can only make the bike feel better under load. Plus changing out parts that are worn means the bike will perform better too! Check for worn plugs, brake pads, discs, tires, chain, filters, gaskets, cables and other usual suspects. Replace anything that does is not performing optimally. Adjust tensions, suspensions, pressures, together with a check on the state of the battery. Also check that there are no loose nuts, bolts and other fasteners. Simple checks like this can make the difference between a trouble-free or a troublesome ride.
Gear
Many people ride motorcycles in this part of the world without donning the proper gear. While this is certainly a personal choice, the best thing to do when going on a long journey is to think safety first. We are all familiar with what happens when human skin comes in contact with tarmac…the tarmac wins, hands down. While there are people with skins thicker than the thickest leather available, most people have skins thinner than a piece of A4 printing paper. This means it will tear at the slightest brush against tarmac, rocks, and other rough substances. On a journey like this one, a proper jacket, riding pants, boots, gloves and helmet will be required. Making sure we have the right gear makes any incident less painful and debilitating. A good set of gear goes a long way.
Equipment
No matter how well we maintain our motorcycles, unforeseen problems can happen while traveling on a long journey. Road condition, weather, other road users and our own state of mind can contribute to these problems. Fasteners can vibrate loose, slips and knocks can put a well adjusted attachment off, or rain could get into the most unlikely of places and cause havoc. It is a good idea then to have the right equipment on hand for minor adjustments, repairs and maintenance when the need arises. The simplest way to ensure everyone has access to tools and equipment is to share. Just ensure that everyone has any unique tools required for their bike! Other than the usual tools, also look at common items that may need replacing like bulbs, plugs, cables, tubes and tyre repair kits. If there are bikes with limited petrol range, a jerry can for extra petrol and a siphon would be good to have on hand!
First aid
One of the things about traveling in remote places is being prepared for emergency first aid. It is best to have someone qualified for this. Better still, have two, just in case. It goes without saying (interesting that I am using that phrase for the second time in this post) that the group should have a well stocked first aid kit or two. A basic kit should include sterile gauze, dressing gauze, compression bandages, triangle bandages, disinfecting solutions, surgical gloves, forceps, scissors, plasters, Panadol, Po Chai pills, Tiger balm, tape and a collection of plasters at a minimum. This is, by no means, a comprehensive list of items. A kit should be fit for purpose so you might need other items for other activities.
Insurance
This is the last ditch backup should every possible precaution and action already taken not prevent a major issue during the trip. When the bike simply refuses to be fixed and needs to be towed back, or should there be injury that cannot be resolved through simple first aid or local medical care, then a reputable travel insurance (possibly with a rider – nice pun here – that includes motorcycles) is the best way to prevent major roadblocks in getting back home quickly for repairs, and possibly, medical attention. This is also the best way to pay off any liabilities incurred through the incident. Being adequately insured for each trip is not only good sense, it is absolutely vital.
Contacts
A motorcycle trip is a very enjoyable experience for the riders. There is a sense of freedom, adventure and camaraderie. However, the folks at home are usually more than a little worried. Technology allows for daily updates home to relief some of this worry. It is vital, then, that folks at home are kept informed of what is happening should there be an incident. Having a list of emergency contact numbers for every rider becomes important for this purpose. A list of contacts for services that might be required during the trip including motorcycle towing businesses, emergency response services, hotel/accommodation hotlines and other services would be useful to have.
So…are we ready?
Slight change…but very much ON!!!
As is always the case, it is easy to declare that the ride is on but takes a lot of time and effort to search for interesting routes and locations. As of now, there will be a slight change to dates because we want to explore each of the locations more fully. So we will now be extending the ride by one day and it will be on 25-31 March. How exciting this all is getting!
Stay tuned for the route!
WMLR2014 is ON!!!
Now that we are in 2014, I am very happy to note that the latest WMLR is confirmed! I have been asked by several people on dates and stuff…some even started preparing for the ride already!
So the ride will start on 25 March 2014 (Tuesday) and end 30 March 2014 (Sunday). The more gung ho riders can get straight back into the mix on Monday while the others can take a few extra days to…rest…relax…recover…whatever floats your boat I guess.
Thats all for now. Planning is officially underway…come back in another week to see the route and what we have in store!
2013 Day 6 – Muar to Singapore
Day six. The last day of the WMLR2013 came much quicker than I liked. We decided to start the day a little later as we had a late night. However, everyone was up earlier than the originally planned time of 9am. This would be our first opportunity to look at Muar in daylight since we arrived after dark. The home stay looked a little different in the day time too!
We decided to walk into town and explore the place a little before we headed out. I did have a little difficulty getting that gate properly locked!
Photography by Chris
I looked up several possible breakfast options and decided on a shop that specialised in Hainanese Chicken Rice balls. I had always thought you could only find Chicken Rice balls in Melaka so was pleasantly surprised to read about this shop in Muar. So we started off on our two kilometre morning walk towards our breakfast destination.
The walk into town was an easy one and it certainly helped that the roads were arranged in a strange pattern…but a pattern nonetheless. We walked along a residential area and came across a school. This was a Sunday but there were people in the school for some reason. Perhaps they were getting ready for some kind of camp? I just found this collection of school bags very appealing.
Paul is really into flora and is really good at spotting all sorts of little flowers and plants. I must have caught the bug…NOT…but I really did like the way this plant is clinging on to the fence.
This Hindu Temple also caught my eye. I really liked the vibrant colours!
Just look at the intricate patterns on this heavy wooden door!
I could not resist taking a peek inside…these temples have always been very fascinating for me. This one looks quite “Chinese” I thought.
I was also very interested to know the history of this abandoned house…I wonder why it was abandoned.
It was even more interesting that this house was so close by…just look at the contrast! The photo bomb was well timed too…hahaha!
One of the things that always caught my eye in Malaysia was the street signs. I never did find out what this one meant. Does anyone know? I am referring to the polka-dot shaped one of course.
We walked pass this big white house that had a lot of purple highlights. It looked like some kind of store front.
As it turned out, it was a tea store…looked like a bubble tea store to me!
Of course, how could I resist taking pictures of these traffic policemen on their motorcycles?
There were many grand old buildings in Muar. This one, for example, was called the “Sultan Abu Bakar Building”. I wonder what it is used for…
…then there is this building which houses the Courts of Muar…
…even the Police Station was a grand old building!
We eventually arrived at our destination just to find that it was closed! Oh well…at least there was a colourful which made for a pretty backdrop for a group picture.
We continued walking on in the hope of finding another spot for breakfast and passed this building along the way. This one was built way back in 1909!
We were getting hungry by now and was almost desperate for some food. Thankfully, we found this place on an adjacent street with a street vendor right outside preparing Fish Ball Noodles!
So we went in and found ourselves a table and ordered our food. I cannot remember who ordered the Fish Ball Noodles…but they did look pretty good!
Somebody else ordered Wanton Noodles which looked pretty yummy too.
Me? I had Chicken Curry Noodles which was absolutely fabulous!
After all that fantastic food, we decided to walk back to the home stay so we could get ready and push off before it got too hot. On the way back, I was captivated by the features of this part of Muar town.
I do like looking into back-alleys…
And for some reason, some parts of a run down shop house looked rather appealing to my eye.
There was another Hindu Temple across the street with carvings like this on many of the columns. Looks like fish pattern, no?
We turned a corner and all of a sudden saw this street vendor and I simply HAD to stop, order and take some pictures.
This vendor was making Dorayaki with red beans AND the big Apam Balik that I really liked! I had time to take lots of photos as there was a bit of a queue.
Just in case anyone was wondering, these shots were not taken from a travel brochure…i went in real close…close enough for the guy to look at me with a careful glance! Hahaha!!!
Photography by Paul
It took quite awhile for our order to be ready…and Eric, obviously, found a suitable distraction for himself!
We used to see this kind of “Mamak” shops everywhere but they have almost all disappeared. So it was really nice to still be able to see one in Muar!
We walked pass these chevrons on the way to this part of town and tried to take a photo but it did not turn out right. So we had to have another try. I think it worked out quite well.
Along the way back, we saw another grand old house. This time with a very lush garden too!
We got back to the home stay soon after this and started to get prepared for the final leg back. It was also very nice to get a shower after that long walk! We were all packed and ready to go slightly after noon. Not too bad at all!
Our route for today would be a relaxing 260 kilometres taking us towards the east first, and then towards to south. We would be going through places like Yong Peng, Paloh, Kluang, Renggam, Layang Layang, Pekan Nanas, and eventually, the rest stop at Gelang Patah. Here is a map of our route for the day.
We took this last leg nice and easy, going at a relaxing steady pace towards Yong Peng. There, we headed onto the J16 route which has some fantastic bends coupled with elevation changes…perfect for motorcycles! We had spoken at length the night before and compared notes on how we can negotiate the corners more smoothly and this was the perfect practice ground. We stopped slightly after the town of Paloh for a water break.
It was not much of a water break for me as the cap of my water bottle came loose in my rear box and I lost almost three quarters of the water. To top if off, the water completely soaked through the paper that the Appam Balik was wrapped in! Fortunately, I was able to save a few small pieces so it did not all go to waste!
We headed south towards the town of Kluang after this and decided it was a good time to stop for some coffee and snacks. So we went to the popular Kluang Rail Coffee place for our break.
I had wanted to come to this place every since our first ride in 2010. In fact, I did come here two years in a row but they were always closed…now I know why.
Yup…we kept coming here on Thursday mornings as we used to start our adventures on Thursdays! I wonder why I never saw this sign? Whatever the case, I was glad we managed to get here even though it was really crowded. My favourites, as usual, are eggs and toast!
It was really a very simple operation…
The very best thing, of course, is that we could park our bikes right next to where we were sitting!
We stayed here for quite awhile before pushing off. This would be the very last stretch for the WMLR2013 and we took it at a good pace. There were still some fantastic roads before we get to our final destination. Along the way, there were the beautiful tree covered stretch of road at Renggam, the plantations at Layang Layang, the old familiar favourite Jalan Sawah, and that final route of J4 that would take us to the rest stop at Gelang Patah right before the immigration checkpoint.
We would be remiss not to have a final drink at the completion of our journey together…and I thought it would be nice to document our drinks (for some strange reason)…
What is obvious here is that we were not all that young. I remember thinking that only older people drink hot beverages. There I was ordering my usual “Kopi-O-Kosong” (Black Coffee with no Sugar). I guess I must be one of the “older” people that day. Heck…I was the oldest of the bunch in this adventure!
We gathered our bikes after drinks to take our traditional group picture. I put my mini-tripod to good use (finally) and managed to get a nice shot of the gang…albeit after many failed attempts! So there you go…the gang…after six days and 2178 kilometres together…adventure complete!
Posted with Blogsy2013 Day 5 – Semanggol (Taiping) to Muar
Day five has come in the blink of an eye and we now have two days left in this adventure. I cannot help but feel a sense of desperation and dread that it will all be over soon. Then again, live moves on and it is a lot more important to savour the current moment to the full than worry and dread about what will come next. So let’s get on with it!
I decided last night that I would wake up early to catch the sunrise this morning at the lake. I love watching the dawn of a brand new day unfolding right in front of me to a beautiful backdrop. So I got up while it was still dark and made my way out to the lakeside. It was drizzling lightly when I got there but I was not going to let some water get in the way of capturing the spectacle of dawn. I set my camera on the deck of the jetty and tried taking some long exposures of the pre-dawn scene. I love how the entire sky is filled with a magical light that the eye cannot see. It took a bit of experimenting before I managed to get a picture in a good enough focus and exposure. I just love those colours and it makes me feel like I am in a completely different planet. Just look at the colour of that sky!
Chris came along to join me at the jetty and we chatted as usual. The drizzle got a little more intense as we chatted so we decided to move into the sheltered patio of the coffeehouse right next to the jetty. Time flew by quickly and before long the light from the slowly rising sun began to fill the sky with a palette of cool and warm hues that is too beautiful to adequately describe in words.
The rest of the gang showed up shortly after and we were all just enjoying the scene. Obviously, I had to have one for Facebook even though we all were not fully awake!
It was time for breakfast! The coffeehouse served the usual spread of breakfast dishes that you would find in a resort. Some local fare, some continental options and some American favourites. I went with my usual selection of Nasi Lemak followed by some porridge, before rounding off with a yummy slice of toast with butter and sugar as dessert. This filled me up nicely and I am ready to face whatever the day throws at me.
Our route today will be a long one. We will travel a little more than 500 kilometres touching five states (Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Johor) to Muar. That is quite a long way so we will be breaking from tradition and taking the North South Highway for the most part of the journey to shorten the total travel time. This works well too since there are some really nice stretches along this northern part of the highway.
Since we came all this way to Taiping and we have heard so much about this town, we decided we should explore it a little before departing. One of the places we all wanted to see was Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill). So we changed into our riding gear and headed out. Our first stop, though, was the petrol station just outside the Laketown area. This little petrol station is quite special…can you spot why?
Well, other than the fact that it is nestled in a rich landscape of a plantation, this station still uses old style pumps! I have not seen this for awhile and was really blown away! On closer inspection, I found that it was not all that old since the display was digital but I was still happy to see that the pumps jut out from the sides and not the front like so many that we see today.
This petrol station is also special for another reason because Big V had a major milestone here…he has run for 60,000 kilometres!
I remember that Big V had run less than 44,000 kilometres when I got him back in May 2012. How time flies…and this also shows how much I enjoy riding with Big V. We travelled 16,000 kilometres in less than a year! We rode out towards Maxwell Hill after filling up and enjoyed the relaxing Kampung Road (Village Road) in the early morning. I am glad that Chris took some video footage of this part of the journey with his GoPro. Here it is for your enjoyment!
We were greeted by a lush landscape of expansive green fields and beautiful tree-lined roads after a short ride of about 20 minutes. I knew then that we must be close to our first destination…and after a few turns…we were greeted by a sign that said “Selamat Datang ke Bukit Larut”, which means, Welcome to Maxwell Hill. Unfortunately, this sign was accompanied by another that said “No Entry for Unauthorised Vehicles”. This meant we had to hike up the hill instead of ride up the hill. Since we were already here, we decided to hike up and see what this place had to offer.
We parked our bikes the best we could in this very public place and started looking for ways to lighten our load. I did not want to repeat my hiking experience back in Pulau Pinang in 2010 carrying a big and heavy bag! So we tried to pack as much as we could into our boxes. Unfortunately, we did not all have boxes so I ended up my helmet in Chris’ box, Eric’s jacket, Paul’s jacket, Paul’s back protector, my own jacket, my tank bag and my overnight bag all packed into my three boxes. Not bad eh? It felt great to have accomplished this major feat…and then it was time for the next…our hike!
Maxwell Hill felt familiar to me. Perhaps I had been here before as a kid…but I suspect it is because this hike was up a paved road and it reminded me of Bukit Timah Hill back in Singapore. The one thing that is different between the two is that it was a 1.2 kilometre hike up Bukit Timah Hill…and a whopping 13 kilometres! That is one order of magnitude further! We did not know this at the start, of course, so we hiked with ernest!
Chris and Eric went a lot fast than Paul and I. Perhaps it is because of the age difference? But I suspect it had more to do with the fact that we enjoyed the natural surroundings more and stopped frequently to admire the flora…and it was not easy getting a simple shot like this right too!
I was also very attracted to the beautiful combination of curvy road and lush greenery…with a carpet of fallen leaves that reminded me of autumn in Falls Lake (Raleigh, North Carolina)!
I found it physically impossible not to be captivated by the beautifully rich colours of the foliage.
To top if off, there was also a small waterfall…of sorts…that we explored.
Photography by Paul
Chris and Eric must have gotten a little bored up ahead and started to take some creative pictures. Here is just one sample of their creativity…hahaha!!!
Photography by Eric
Having hiked for quite awhile and realising that we were nowhere near the top of the hill (it is 13 kilometers folks!), we decided it was time to head back down. We had a little refreshment at the coffee shop at the foot of the hill, then headed back to the resort to pack up and check out. I took the opportunity to get a refreshing shower before checking out as I worked up quite a sweat with that hike!
It was really nice to get out onto the highway and ride at a good pace. What made it even nicer was the scenery and the fact that we would be riding through the tunnel just outside of Ipoh. There were also many rock outcrops along the way which I could not capture with my camera. What I did get was a shot of the tunnel just before we entered.
Nothing quite beat a video to get a visual experience of a place. Thankfully, Chris managed to get some video footage of the ride through the Ipoh Tunnel on his GoPro. So here it is for your viewing pleasure.
Our first leg would take us to our lunch spot which is at Tanjong Tualang. I came across this place from a television program just a couple weeks before the start of the WMLR2013 so I felt it is a place that we had to try. Apparently, Tanjong Tualang was famous for “Dai Tau Har” (which means Big Headed Prawn in Cantonese). I could not wait to get there as it was way past lunch time. So I was glad that we eventually found the sleepy town…and the restaurant that we would patronise. You can already see two of them side-by-side in this picture. We went to the one on the right.
We ordered a few dishes which all tasted great to me! The star of the show, however, must be the prawns!
Looks yummy eh? But seriously…look at the size of those heads!
Then there was this interesting tofu dish that was served with a garnish of century eggs and pickled ginger. The tofu looked ordinary…but boy do they taste fantastic! The skin is light and crispy…and the inside is warm and soft and tasty! Dang…I am feeling hungry as I write this!
We gobbled up all that delicious food and headed over to this little shop for some refreshments.
Looks like a shop selling fruits on the outside…but look…there are tables on the inside for ice-cold refreshments. Just look at the menu behind Eric! Oh…and if you were wondering why Paul was looking at the camera at that angle…apparently that was his “better looking” side…hahaha!!!
It was getting a little late and we still had a lot of distance to cover so we pushed off. It started to rain quite heavily along the way and we had to pull over so the rest could get their rain gear on. I do enjoy these little stops!
The rest of the journey was pretty much the usual highway fare with the exception of a few notable incidents.
- We had many episodes of heavy rain. On and off, here and there, over and over. Which tired us out quite a bit.
- The stretch along the E35 is terrible for motorcycles as we could not get through the toll gantries. Motorcycles needed to use the dedicated motorcycle lands which require quite a big detour. Cars along this stretch of highway were more reckless than usual. Several came really close.
- Paul’s bike was indicating an engine problem. Turned out that it was engine oil running low. So we exited at Ayer Keroh so he could get a top up.
- We were very late getting into Muar. Thankfully I finally managed to get hold of the home stay to let them know we would be very much later than our originally planned 7pm.
We exited the highway at the Tangkak turnoff and headed towards Muar…and dinner! It was already 8pm by that time and I was happy to finally get to the river. Traffic was really heavy in Muar town after crossing the river (which is quite normal). We eventually found the dinner spot that served two items that I was craving for.
This place was the bus terminal really. There are some stalls there just behind the terminal right next to the river. The scenery was nothing spectacular on this side of the river…but this was what we saw on the other side…how pretty is that!!!
This particular stall was introduced to me when I took the Marshalling course last year. I remember my first time vividly and could not wait to taste the food again! Here we are…tired…hungry…and generally impatient for the food to arrive.
The dish that I was craving for was Mee Bandung. I do not really know the origins of this dish but I think it originated in Bandung, Indonesia. I do not know if this was how they made it there. It definitely is not how it is made in Singapore. Whatever the case, all that mattered to me was that it was the best tasting Mee Bandung I have ever had! Just look at it!
This is one of the few places that I would order a second helping…and I did…and I polished both off completely…to the very last drop! Yummy!!!
Now that we were nicely satisfied with dinner, it was time to head for our home stay. Unfortunately, it was more of a wild goose chase. We turned around and around trying to look for it. The GPS brought me to the wrong place…correct road…different house number. We tried going up and down the road. Each time getting close but never finding the actual house number. The owner was not able to assist on the phone and we finally decided to meet back at the dinner place so he could bring us there. And when we got there…we found that the house was not even on the road that was given! It was on a turnoff…and it was not even the house at the corner! So if you are looking for a home stay in Muar and decide to settle on this one (Jia Jia Home Stay), contact me and I will get you better directions. What really got to me was that he insisted other people could find the place. What the hell!!??? Shouldn’t he just put this little detail in his contact page?
Still, the place itself was pleasant. A big seventies styled, double-storey, semi-detached house with ample parking space and air-conditioned rooms. Enough bathrooms with hot water for good showers…and a living area downstairs to gather around.
We booked the entire second floor for ourselves so we had one bedroom each…and some of these bedrooms were huge! I had a terrible shock when I decided to take my shower as the water pressure was terrible! It was a mere trickle…much like that morning in Dunggun. Turned out the water pump was not switched on! The water pressure was fantastic once that was on. Yes!
We got ourselves some beers from the 7-Eleven store nearby and gathered at the living area with old movies, beer, pictures and videos from the day to keep ourselves occupied till late into the night. I think we went to bed close to 3am that night!
All in all…another fantastic day on the WMLR2013!
2013 Day 4 – Kuala Krai to Taiping
After a wonderful day of rest, we were all very excited about getting on the road and exploring more of this beautiful country. So much so that we all woke up really early to get ready and pack up for the journey. How early? Well, the gang were already downstairs warming up their bikes when I got down to prepare my bike at 7am! I had communicated with the owner of the guest house on our planned 7:30am departure time so we had ample time for any last minute preparations.
Sya came over to meet us and we had a nice chat before getting the details and loose ends tied up. At that point, we moved the bikes out, locked up the guest house and were ready to set off. Sya offered to lead us to a good place for a local breakfast fare called Nasi Dagang. I remember having this dish last year for breakfast somewhere at Machang. So off we went and soon we arrived at this stall right across the road from the park.
Ordering was an interesting affair as Sya was familiar with the stall proprietors. So we ordered through her which made it all very easy.
They were very busy serving with all the orders pouring in. It seems many people do takeaway orders. This stall not only serves the food, they also serve the drinks from the kitchen at the back.
Most of us ordered the same dish because that was the star of the show…as you can see.
And in case anyone thinks Sya just sat there and watched us eat…well…she had the same dish actually which just came after we took this picture. So what exactly is this Nasi Dagang dish and why is it the star of the show? Let me first show you how this dish looks.
What is really special, to me, is the rice. This rice tasted a little glutinous and rich. It is not just plain steamed rice. I also taste a little brown rice flavour in it…and probably some simple spices. I am not able to decide if there is coconut involved but there may be. Whatever it is, it is DELICIOUS!!! The Curry Ayam Kampung (or Village Chicken Curry) is also very yummy. The chicken is tender and juicy, the gravy is thick and tasty. All in all, it was a FANTASTIC breakfast! What can possibly top this???
Well, what topped it was that it was Sya’s treat!
We had a good time eating and chatting away at this little stall. Before long, the patrons at the table beside ours left. I turned around and found a little boy with his father sitting there waiting for their takeaway order. We had a little chat and I simply had to take a picture of the cute little boy.
Soon, it was time to suit up and get going. I heard the sound of a fire engine and looked up as I was getting ready. I do not know why but I really like fire engines!
Our route for today would be a relatively long one of around 400 kilometres. We will be crossing over the peninsular to get to the western side.
Our route will take us south followed by a large U-turn up north as I wanted to explore the location the railway officer recommended. Then we will head west before making another large U-turn towards Taiping. The weather was cool at this time of the day and we rode along at a nice and relaxed pace. Everyone was clearly enjoying the ride and the scenery that we passed through. There was hardly any traffic and the road was almost all ours!
I decided to drop back and take a picture of the gang riding in front of me.
It was not long before we turned onto Route 66. I started looking out for a suitable spot for some pictures and decided to stop at this particular mile stone exactly 10 kilometres from Dabong.
The gang can get a little crazy now and then with pictures…here is one example.
Of course…one for Facebook!
When nature calls…the best thing to do is to answer the call!
This road was really quiet that morning…
…and of course someone had to take a picture of me taking a picture!
Photography by Paul
I guess we picked the right place to stop because we found the road to Gua Ikan shortly after this stop. Riding in I was not quite sure what to expect as I had not researched this place and our only sources of information were a random person I met at the railway station and Sya. But I should not have worried…just look at the view from where we parked our bikes!
There were two huge rock outcrops there. This one behind our bikes and another one to the right of this picture which you cannot see. We parked right next to a bridge so Chris and I decided we would cross that and explore the side of this rock outcrop. Here is the view from across the bridge.
There was really just a small path towards the side of the rock outcrop. So we followed that path to see where it would lead us.
This path eventually disappeared and we had to walk through the dense undergrowth…which ended here.
This looked a little daunting to explore without lights…so we decided it was better to head back out. I really do like some of the plants though…just look at how lush this is!
I realized that this stream must start from somewhere…duh…probably in that cave!
So we decided to explore the main cave. It was HUGE!
Here’s a section of one of the cave walls…complete with some local art masterpieces.
Chris was, obviously, quite smitten by this cave. You can also clearly see the stream running inside!
We did get a Lord of the Rings moment here in this cave. Remember the scene where they were in the caves of Moria and how they heard the sound of creatures getting louder and all that? Well, the monkeys were making their howling noises and those got louder and more urgent for awhile…before moving away and dying down. I wondered then if we were in for a “fight of flight” moment! Still…I really liked this place! This was what I saw as we turned around to head out.
Remember that bridge? Well, here is how it looks like walking out from the cave. Pretty eh?
While we enjoyed the quiet and serenity of Gua Ikan, it was time for us to move on. So we pushed off towards the next stop – Gunung Stong. I took this picture of Gunung Stong in 2011 when we rode through Route 66.
And we did stop by Gunung Stong in 2012. However, I did not join the rest in the climb up to the Jelawang Waterfall. So I really wanted to revisit this place and climb up this time round. Here is a nice description of Gunung Stong:
One of the main attractions at the state park is Gunung Stong (1,422 meters), a dome-shaped granite complex more than 500 million years old. Here, the seven-tiered Stong Waterfalls, reputed to be the highest in Southeast Asia, drops from a height of about 990 metres. Reaching the peak of the falls takes two hours of trekking for about one kilometre on steep inclines of between 60 to 90 degrees.
Source: KB Backpackers website
I was greeted by a familiar sight on our way in.
We parked our bikes at the main parking area at the park as usual.
Photography by Eric
It was starting to get a little warm as it was around half past 11 so we started our hike up with Chris leading the way since he went up last year. I realized then, actually two out of the three of us who were hiking up realized, that we were not particularly fit as we soon felt a little breathless. This was just at the cemented sections of the hike!!! We did miss a turn and had to back track to the right path…but we eventually got to the foot of the falls. It was nice to finally see the water!
There was a suspension bridge here to cross over to the other side…Paul had to get on it…and I was happy to just stand on solid ground to take his picture!
We eventually had to move from the cemented sections to the steeper and more demanding sections. Man it was getting steep…thank goodness there are some steps!
And then it got A LOT steeper…
…and I was getting tired…
Photography by Paul
…but our fireman was still going strong!
BUT I persevered and we eventually found the foot of the Jelawang Waterfall…and it was SPECTACULAR!!!
Can you see the clouds at the top of the picture? I have to climb all the way there one day…when I am fitter! We stopped here for quite awhile (for me to catch my breath) and took lots of pictures.
Chris captured a picture of me doing some professional photography…
Photography by Chris
…and this was what I was trying to photograph…had to improvise as it was really bright and I did not have any ND filters with me!
In case you thought I was the only one taking pictures in a “professional” way…
Chris got it right I think…just relax and enjoy the scene…which we all finally decided to do.
Again, it was time to head down as it was getting late. So down we go…with Chris leading the way again.
This section was especially fun…especially with Chris’ fun poses!
Going down was actually a little easier on the respiratory system but harder on the other parts of the body…especially my right knee which was hurting a little! So I was really glad when we got down and had a chance to refresh ourselves with a cold drink while the sun was at its peak. This kitty cat seemed to agree!
From here, we headed up north to Jeli for our last petrol stop before heading onto one of the best mountain roads Malaysia had to offer – Route 4. This is no ordinary petrol station…it is rather big because this is where most of the trucks have their stop before heading up the mountain road. As you can see from this next shot from Chris’ GoPro, this is like a frontier style petrol station.
Photography by Chris
Now this road – Route 4 – is the best road in the world in my opinion. There are sweeping bends, elevation changes and some fast straights. Perfect for a ride that is both relaxing and invigorating! I was not surprised that Chris chose to mount up his GoPro for this section of the ride…only thing is…it made him look a bit like Tinky Winky.
See the resemblance?
Anyway, back to this best road…I had made arrangements with the gang to get some pictures of them riding pass. So I went ahead and put a gap between us, got off my bike, got my camera out, put it on the right setting, push the shutter for a test shot…and my battery died! Oh well…I guess no shots for now. So we headed to the meeting up point at the Titiwangsa rest stop.
This is the third visit to the Titiwangsa rest stop for me and the view continues to take my breath away.
I parked Marley right at the edge of that foot path when I was here the first time. I wanted to do the same with Big V. Obviously it called for a lot more courage and assistance! So thanks to Chris for helping me out so I could take pictures like these!
I just love this view…and I am sure Big V appreciates it as well.
I took a picture like this the first time I was here…and now I have the same picture with Big V! Well, it is not quite the same picture given I have “grown”.
Look at how close Big V is parked to the edge!
Big V always attracted attention given his stature and good looks. No different here! These kids wanted to get a picture with him.
And this father and son wanted a picture as well.
Heck…even Chris wanted a picture!
I had to get a picture of Big V by himself of course!
This particular rest stop had always been one of my favourite. Still, it was soon time for us to push on as we were getting hungry as we were past lunch time! I made sure to change to a fresh set of batteries…then put a gap between me and the gang…got off the bike…setup the camera…did a test shot…and then fired off these few when they came riding pass.
We got to the lunch spot soon enough. It was another familiar place (Banding Lakeside Inn) but this time round was crowded as they had a corporate event going on. We made our way to the main restaurant, ordered our food and then went straight out to that balcony for the fantastic view of the Banding Lake!
I’ll never get tired of this view!
This boat was joining some other boats on this side of the lake to pick up some of the corporate event participants for a cruise of some sort.
And off they go!!!
We pushed on soon after lunch as we still had quite a distance to cover before we got to our next stop at Taiping. So we headed off. The ride was relatively uneventful other than a few encounters with the cooling rain. Here is a quick time lapse of a part of this journey.
We stopped when we got to Taiping and found a place to stop so I could get the directions on my GPS. Everyone was quite happy to stop after that long leg!
I thought we only had a few kilometres to go to our hotel. Unfortunately, it seems I was misled because it was actually not in Taiping but in Semanggol, which was about 25-30 kilometres away! So away we went…along with the heavy late afternoon rush hour Taiping traffic. The ride out to Semanggol was mainly through the streets of Taiping…but eventually we got to some really nice roads indeed!
We finally arrived at the Bukit Merah Laketown Resort just as the sun was going down. Our rooms were on the top floor (I think it was the third storey) and they were quite spacious…and probably the best equipped room in this entire trip so far! So we took our time to refresh ourselves and get ready for dinner. It was really good to have a solid hot water shower and SO MUCH SPACE to air out all my gear!
Dinner was going to be at the nearby shop at the Laketown itself. We settled on a place offering 24-hour Penang Nasi Kandar. Apparently this shop uses the “original recipe”…whatever that meant.
As usual, we cannot do without a shot for Facebook while waiting for dinner to be ready.
Here is our chef getting one of the dishes ready…I think it was the Maggi Goreng.
Of course we had to have some fish curry and the usual “Nasi Kandar” stuff. I was really quite hungry by the time all of our food arrived…so no food pictures this time round…but here is another picture for Facebook that at least shows a few dishes.
As usual, we had a good time eating and chatting away. Then it was time to get back to the resort. We walked around a little just so we could orient ourselves and locate the place that would be serving breakfast. Along the way, we found out why this place was called “Laketown”…there was a HUGE lake right next to the resort. Too bad it was dark so I could not really get a picture for you.
Anyway, a few of us chatted late into the night just because we could. All in all, it was a fantastic day of riding and adventure!
2013 Day 3 – Kuala Krai
After two days of riding long distances, we now have a chance to explore the town of Kuala Krai and her surroundings. This would be our rest day so we can start out fresh on our next leg as well. I have been looking forward to exploring this area a bit more…especially the river and the railway.
We started the day early as usual and decided to head into town for some seriously local breakfast. It wasn’t too long before we scouted out a place that looked promising.
After parking our bikes, we headed to find a table and made our way to where the food is.
As usual, the local breakfast is a good and generous variety of dishes accompanied with rice.
It was definitely simple food…but yummy food. I spied this very interesting looking rice dish that was a rich blue colour and could not resist ordering it. It was Nasi Kerabu, a North Eastern Malaysian speciality.
Just look at the fantastic dish! There is rice and a combination of raw sprouts, chili, herbs and that granulated mix of fish, shallots, ginger, coconut and sugar! A strange mix to the uninitiated…but a super delicious mix it was! I added the fried chicken and egg…I like my proteins!
As usual, a picture for Facebook before we tucked in.
One drink is never enough for our merry gang…so here is Eric enjoying his second!
The first order of business after breakfast was to search for the river cruise to Dabong that I read so much about. After extensive searching online, I found a telephone number and proceeded to make the call. I made many calls but they were all in vain. There was nobody there to answer the phone. So we decided in the end to do a physical search by riding to where the river was.
It was not too difficult to find the river. It as not too difficult as well to find the boatmen once we saw the boat houses.
Photography by Chris
What proved to be difficult was making a U-turn with our big heavy bikes along that very narrow path which ended in a dead end.
Photography by Chris
We attracted a lot of attention in the process of making the U-turn…attention that did not help our negotiations with the boatmen for taking us along the river. I began to think that it was a big mistake bringing our big bikes down that path. It would have been a lot easier to negotiate the price to a more meaningful amount if we had walked down there instead. We eventually decided they were asking for way too much to bring us along the river. It was just a river taxi service and they wanted to charge us all our arms and legs!
Photography by Chris
At that point, we decided to see if there were boats in other places that we could find. So we rode along the small roads that meandeared along the river. It turned out to be a very relaxing ride. Too bad we did not find any other places where there were boatmen! We did manage to find some time to take some pictures though.
Photography by Chris
There was even time for this one of Chris!
Photography by Eric
I decided then that I should give that place one last try so we started heading back. Along the way we got distracted (actually I got distracted) by a very unexpected sight!
While this should not be an unfamiliar sight to people living in Malaysia and Singapore, it came as a surprise because it was the end of April…and Thaipusam was already over in January! Still, I was not going to miss the opportunity to take some closer pictures of this colourful procession. I rode forward to find a suitable spot and waited until they walked pass. The first person that I simply had to photograph was this man.
He had so many sharp pins on his body weighed down by those objects…and that huge double-ended fork pierced through both of his cheeks! I think he enjoyed my attention because he stopped abruptly and gave me a little bit of a show. How cool is that!
Then came this group of drummers providing a continuous stream of infectious rhythms to cheer the kavadi carriers on. They were an energetic and youthful bunch of boys and had pretty good rhythm too!
I had thought that this was the end of the procession…but what came after was a little more spectacular. See this man? He has even more sharp objects pierced all over his body…and many of those on his back had long strings attached to them! I sure hope nobody steps on those!
It looked like he was pulling something along…but what he was pulling was a complete surprise to me as I have never seen anything quite like this!
Yes…there is a man there pulling those strings…and he did pull them very tightly! Now I sure hope he does not trip! Can you imagine what would happen if he did?
I turned around to head back to my bike as this was the end of the procession of people and I saw this bunch of boys huddled around Big V. I guess he has a real presence and they were certainly drawn in by his stature and good looks!
This proved to be a very nice distraction in the end. It was getting late so I hustled back to the river with the rest of the gang. I went down this set of stairs and found a little jetty there and there was this boat coming into let someone off. I thought this was my chance.
So as he came to shore, I asked if he would take us to Dabong and back and how much he would charge. The kicker is that he told me to negotiate with the same people that we spoke with earlier! Oh well…so much for the river cruise!
In case you were wondering, this is a really big river and is completely yellow that day. The cruise up river would bring us all the way to Dabong and there are a lot of wild life along the way so it would have been a perfect outing for the gang if we managed to do it. I guess I need to do more research so we can actually do something like this with a guide the next time round.
To make myself feel like this return trip was not a waste of time, I took this picture!
It was late morning by the time we were done with the river cruise idea. So we wanted to head over to the railway station to try the train ride on the jungle railway instead. One of the good things about this jetty that we were at is that the Police Station – and it sure looked like the main police station in this town – was right next to it which really gave a sense of security when parking our bikes. I do not know what Eric was doing but here is a picture of him with Big V.
Photography by Chris
In any case, we decided to push off and I got onto my bike all ready to move. Paul, however, had some problems and looked a little perplexed on his bike which was right in front of mine. I decided to go over and see what the matter was. Thinking that I had my side stand down, I started putting Big V down on his left side. Unfortunately, I was wrong…the side stand was NOT down. Now, even with the side panniers off and a practically empty top box, Big V proved to be too heavy for me to keep from going down. So down he went and he broke his fall with the bonnet of the little Perodua Kelisa that was parked next to him…right in front of the biggest police station in town.
After a little commotion, the owner of the little Kelisa showed up to inspect the damage. She was a very nice lady and I felt genuinely bad about the dent on her bonnet. In the end, I agreed to compensate her so she can get it knocked back out and we moved on. The good news here was that there were no signs of any scratch or dent on Big V. Go figure!
We got to the railway station and parked our bikes outside. There was no real way to secure the bikes but Kuala Krai felt safe enough.
Photography by Chris
There were many vehicles in the parking area that morning! In any case, we inspected the railway schedule and saw that we had a total of 10 minutes to get our tickets in order to make the train. So we lined up and was fourth in line. Unfortunately, a slow paced sleepy town is made up of slow paced sleepy service personnel. They were not rude or anything…just very relaxed. To the point where we saw the train pull in while we were still second in line.
By the time we were at the service window, the train started pulling away to our dismay! Thank goodness the ticketing person told us the train was just switching tracks as another train was approaching to go up north. Phew! So we managed to get our round trip tickets to Gua Musang and still had time to look around the station. Here is our commuter train on the second track.
I always liked the signs in a railway station…
…especial these signs that tell you where you were and what the up and down stream terminal stations would be.
Anybody knows what this little locomotive is meant for?
Before long, the express train pulled into the station. This was a much longer train compared to our little commuter. Too bad I do not have a picture of it but I think you get the idea. I had the opportunity to speak with one of the railway officers who told me we should ride our bikes to Dabong and look out for Gua Ikan along the way. I filed it in my mind as a place we will explore tomorrow!
Eventually, it was time for the express to move off. The Station Master waved his green flag and soon the express started pulling out of the station.
As we crossed over the tracks to our train, I took the opportunity to take a shot that I had always wanted to.
It always amazes me how a train can accelerate and stop so reliably when the only contact with the track were these metallic wheels! Our train started moving off and I positioned myself at one of the doors so I could look outside unimpeded by windows. I just love looking out!
This looked like a building that could have been the old railway station. After all, it was right next to the one we were at! I really liked how nature has slowly taken over.
Here is a picture of what I could see from where I stood…right at the door of the train. Can you see now why this is called the jungle railway?
Tracks always need some kind of maintenance I suppose.
I thought I would experiment a little and see if I could give you a sense of the speed of the train…because it really was going quite fast!
We stopped at all the stations in between…even the tiny ones like this and I just love it!
This being a diesel powered locomotive, I had to be careful when the train accelerates if I wanted to avoid being surrounded by diesel fumes. But I gotta say the fumes do look dramatic!
We went on quite a number of bridges…some of them look like this. It looked like it is possible to walk on this along with the train!
I enjoy looking at the canopy of the forest and how there would be a lone tall tree sticking out now and then. I could not resist taking a picture of this one with that beautifully rich blue sky!
And if you thought that earlier station was small…you will be bowled over with this one!
I was not kidding about enjoying the canopy and trees sticking out…
I was not really able to take a shot of the rivers we passed by because the train was moving so quickly and I kept getting blocked by the metallic trusses of the bridges. So I prepared myself and made my best effort to bring you this…it was more a stream than a river though.
I saw this little boy walking along the platform at one of the stations and called out to him. I love his smile!
It was a really hot day…the cabins of our train were air-conditioned…but I still preferred standing by the open door because I could see everything…like Paul sticking out at the door on the other end of the carriage!
Since we were stopped, I decided to run over and take a picture of him now that I had the opportunity.
We also passed through quite a number of tunnels as we made our way around the mountains. I like how mysterious these tunnels look!
It amazes me how simple things that we take for granted can be used to decorate and make a place more lively!
Going to get onto another bridge…this one looked like the one at the Rail Mall on Upper Bukit Timah Road back in Singapore!
We were passing through some plantations and I saw this lady having a relaxing afternoon snack!
Everybody likes railway bridges…well…maybe not everybody…but I do. I was trying to get a good picture of one. This one was my best attempt.
Or maybe this one…I cannot quite decide…
It was late afternoon by the time we got back to the Kuala Krai station and we were all a little tired. So we stopped by a shop for some snacks before heading back to the guest house for a shower before dinner. I saw this on my mirror as we turned off the main road to our guest house. I had to stop to take a picture.
We took our time with our showers and had a good rest. I packed in a little game of darts too while waiting for the rest to get ready. Eventually, we decided to head to a place that was closer to our guest house for dinner. I saw this row of shops the night before and thought it might be a good place to try especially since I remember the aroma of barbeque as we passed by last night!
Hey…I just realized Big V is as tall as that Kelisa! Wow!!! Anyway, there would be no barbeque tonight. This place served traditional Malay style dishes with different rice dishes which looked yummy to me!
As usual, one for Facebook!
I had to take another one for Facebook when the food arrived…this looked so much better!
You would think we must have tried everything there is to try on the traditional Malay menu by now…but you would be wrong! We had a few interesting dishes tonight that we never had before. One was the Rojak Mee…and the other was the Sup Gearbox. Yup…we had Gearbox Soup for dinner! Can you spot them?
I am sure you would agree with me that with such a magnificent spread, it would not be difficult for us to be completely filled up…and you would be right! This was a fantastic way to end a fantastic day in Kuala Krai!
2013 Day 2 – Dunggun to Kuala Krai
It was still dark when I woke up this morning. It was very still and the room was filled with the persistent hum of the air conditioner. My watch read 5:35am…my alarm did not have a chance to ring yet! Oh well, time to get ready for the spectacle.
Getting ready in any other place would have been a simple affair. Switch on the heater, brush my teeth, take a quick shower, change into the day’s clothes and off I go. Things were a little different here as the shower was so weak in the morning all I was getting was a consistent drip. The water was hot…but there was no way I could really shower with this. So I had to take a cold shower…brrrr…still…it was invigorating.
My room mate, Paul, did not want to witness the spectacle so I went out by myself at 6am. There was a group of school kids having a camp here and they were in the prayer room for their morning prayers. I made my way through the darkness crossing the bridge towards the beach head. Then it was time to wait for it to happen. I did not have to wait long as the sky started glowing faintly…but I was a little disappointed with the huge and shapeless cloud cover stretching out from the horizon.
Regardless, I still enjoyed watching the colours of dawn as it unfolded before me like an ever evolving work of art. Even the water was touched by the warm colours!
I was joined by Chris before long and we heard the sound of a little motor boat. They passed us as they made their way to wherever it was they were going.
The magic of dawn lasted only for a short while and before long it was time to head back to the chalet to get ready for breakfast. The way back was nothing like earlier…it was BRIGHT!
Just in case you were wondering…the ants will see it this way.
Anyway, we rode out towards the town area and found a place that served some local food for breakfast. We had Roti Canai (the Malaysia equivalent for Roti Prata) and I opted for some Mee Goreng. I always prefer a big breakfast to set the tone for the day. For some, though, a big meal may lead to this.
We decided to explore the area before heading out since we had a pretty short ride to our next destination. I remember reading about a town dearby called Bukit Besi which used to be a thriving iron mining community. Apparently, the old mines are no longer active but one could still see the equipment that were used in the past lying around. That sounded good so away we went!
The road there was pleasant, some bends, blue sky, few clouds, relatively cool temperature…perfect. See how the cloud mirrorred the road?
I spotted a lake beside the road and simply had to stop to take a closer look. For your benefit, I climbed over the road barrier and scaled down the 15m slope just so I could get right up to the lake side for this picture.
On my way back up I saw this delicate structure!
Photographs are deceptive as usual…you cannot really see the slope as it is compressed with the perspective of the lens…still…a beautiful lake…and a good bunch of riding buddies!
We arrived at Bukit Besi before too long. It was a small, quiet and deserted town. There is no real sign of any iron mining now. In fact, we struggled to even find a mine anywhere. We looped around a couple times and I eventually decided I needed to ask someone where that mine was. Unfortunately, nobody seemed to know either. One lady did tell me that I should follow this muddy track that all the trucks are going on if I wanted to get to the mines. Unfortunately, we had a Super Four, a Fazer and an RT in the group and those are not exactly bikes made for muddy tracks. So I decided to go in and explore a little just to see if I was on the right track. It was sandy, muddy, gravelly and dusty all combined together. I did not get to the end as it would be impossible for my buddies to get there…and I was not too eager for a repeat performance of laying Big V on his side!
I found the gang waiting for me under a small little tree outside as it was starting to get hot. We decided that Bukit Besi was a non-starter today and that we should head on to the next place. I remembered reading about a tunnel that was used to transport the iron ore from Bukit Besi out to the coast and thought we could give that a try. Everyone agreed so we headed out towards Kampung Che Lijah where the end of the tunnel is. After some wrong turns, we eventually found the tunnel!
As you can see, this tunnel is tucked away quite nicely. Here is a closer look.
We rode through the tunnel since it was conducive for motorcycles and were a little disappointed that it took all of ten seconds. Hahaha! Well, at least we found something!
It was time to get back to the guest house, pack up and start heading north towards Kuala Terengganu. We did want to get there for lunch…and hopefully…find the place where they still built boats in a traditional style. Before going much further, here is the route for today.
The ride up was a short and relaxing one…until we got into Kuala Terengganu. The sun was at its highest point and those traffic light stops were gruelling! They did provide for some photo opportunities though.
That was a picture of our sweeper Chris. I hardly get to see him close enough for a photograph when we are riding as he is always at the back so it was good to catch him here. I heard Paul calling out to me at this point as he said “take a picture of me”. So here is (yet another) one of Paul…hahaha!!!
The combination of heat and hunger made me decide it was time for a lunch stop. It was not easy to find a place as I had no knowledge where good food can be found and this is a large capital city. However, luck was on our side as I just happened to choose to stop in front of this unpretentious shop along Jalan Hiliran at Chabang Tiga…I think.
What is so special about this place? Well, the owner of the shop goes out to sea with his boat every morning to fish. His catch will then be cooked fresh every day and served in this shop. We did not know this until we saw many pictures of him with all sorts of fish on his boat hung along the walls. One of the other patrons I spoke with told us the story. Wow!!! Unfortunately, none of us chose fish that day…I guess I should have asked around before we picked our food! Still…it was super yummy!!!
After lunch, we headed over to Pulau Duyong to look for boat builders. Things looked very promising when we got there. Pulau Duyong is a small island so it would be easy to ride around the entire island. If there was a boat builder here we would likely find it. Except we did not. We circled the island and all we could find were residences and some big boat yards. Tried asking some locals when we stopped because of the heat but even they did not know. Good thing we picked a nice place to stop as there was a beautiful view of the crystal mosque across the estuary.
In case you were wondering, the structure on the left is the crystal mosque while the one on the right looked like a palace of sorts. Not really sure as we did not explore much on that side. Given our failure to spot a boat builder, we decided to push off and head towards Kuala Krai.
While the journey itself would be a relatively short one, we had to contend with the weather which was very hot and dry at times, and hot and wet at others. This meant we had to stop to put on our rain gear now and then.
It got pretty unbearable after awhile and I decided we needed to take a break. So we stopped at this place called Wisma Peladang Setiu (at Setiu) and had some ice cold drinks! It is nice to be able to park right next to where we were sitting.
They served some drinks with interesting colours too…no, we did not order any of those. We ordered the usual stuff.
We stopped here for quite awhile and chatted about lots of different things. One of the gang decided to be a hero and was riding today without his gloves…can you guess who?
This place was very pleasant as a rest stop but it was eventually time to push on. We did want to get to Kuala Krai before dark. So we pushed off and continued along our journey. I do not know why but I felt really sleepy for some reason so I had to pull off again not long after just to ensure that I could keep awake!
We stopped here only for about 15-20 minutes so I could rest a little. As you can see, there is precious little space available for any kind of rest. While I would rather nobody see what I did, Chris made sure everybody did. I guess this was the best I could do…and no…I was not praying to the Fazer…hahaha!!!
Photography by Chris
Happily, the rest of the journey was nice and smooth…except for the two idiotic drivers driving towards us, overtaking and cutting into our lane. People like this are crazy and irresponsible. What could be so urgent as to risk so many lives? In any case, we eventually arrived at Kuala Krai while the sun was still shining strongly! I needed to stop so I could contact the owner of the next guest house so decided to stop at the park.
We arranged to meet at one of the petrol stations. However, I think I might have got us to the wrong one. Eventually, she decided to come get us rather than hazard me getting us even more lost! Paul had to move his bike while we waited…this is how you move a big bike.
Things look a lot better after the move is done. We waited here for her to arrive. So stylo!!!
We eventually met up with Sya and she let us all the way to the cosy and comfortable Casa de Familia home stay. This place was setup to house a medium to large sized family and they mostly cater to wedding parties. There are four bedrooms with air conditioning, three bathrooms with heaters, a generous living area with satellite television and even games! What a fantastic setup! The porch easily accommodated the bikes too!
We took our time to settle down and decided to ride into town for dinner later. There was also supposed to be a pasar malam (night market) that night! Riding out at night was cool and pleasant. We went out on two bikes only. I was the pillion on Chris’ bike. I am not used to being a pillion but I was happy I did not have to ride that night. I can’t say Chris felt the same though…hahaha!!!
Photography by Paul
We found a place called Jade Garden Seafood and had dinner there. I wonder if this one is associated with the other Jade Gardens around like the one at Sungai Rengit? Anyway, we were all hungry and were waiting impatiently to get our order taken.
It is very interesting how they take orders here. The lady sits at the table with us and takes our order as if we were all having a chat. This is not the only place where this happens. Maybe it is a north eastern Malaysia thing?
Photography by Paul
I took a few pictures of the group while we were waiting for food. In case anyone was wondering…here is how I look when I take a picture…hahaha!!!
Photography by Paul
The “drinks” arrived first as usual and they’re served in a very unique way. The little cups are immersed in hot water. I wonder why they do it this way? Having said that, I am glad that they still do it this way as I remember seeing my uncles manage the cups when I was a boy. Now it is my turn to handle the cups…but boy are they HOT!!!
Dinner arrived soon after. As usual, here is a quick look at what we had. Let me assure you that they were all super yummy!!!
Funny thing about having a group dinner these days…we have to wait till everyone had a chance to photograph the food. While I like to take my food pictures one dish at a time, Paul likes to do his this way.
We absolutely needed some time to walk around after such a satisfying dinner. So we crossed the road and headed into the pasar malam.
I like walking around these pasar malams. There are so many different things to see!
I wonder what it would be like to ride one of these on a WMLR trip…hmmm…
This boy was busy frying chicken wings and they looked yummy to me. Too bad I already had a lot for dinner!
Paul managed to find himself some socks that he badly needed too!
I like how the smoke from the satay sticks made this picture so much more dramatic…his expression was pretty classic too!
I was wondering what these little things were and started talking to the propreitor. He told me they were little Kaya Dorayakis. What an interesting combination! I ordered a whole lot for our supper snack and chatted with him more. I found out that he used to work in Singapore and lived in Johor Bahru back in 1985!
It was eventually time to head back. We bought a few beers from the restaurant and went back to the guest house. In case you were wondering, Paul was the pillion on Eric’s bike that night.
