A: where you all wanna go and eat?

B: Errr, don’t know. Anything..

C: Someplace with air-con leh…

D: ya, anything…

A: Arrgghhh!!!

OR this incident at Batu Pahat:

A: Are we going to climb up the stairs to the viewpoint?

B: Errr, anything…

A: nah, we stay here and cool down..

Rest: ok..

Ten minutes later of staring at monkeys under the shadow of a tree in a deserted carpark,

A: ehh, wanna go where to eat?

B: Errr, don’t know. Anything..

C: Someplace with air-con leh…

D: ya, anything…

A: Arrgghhh!!!

With absolutely no plans (well maybe Isaac knew we wanted to head to Pontian and Batu Pahat), no idea where we’re heading (again, except maybe Isaac), no inkling of what to have for breakfast, lunch and whatever, we just rode.

With just a rough idea on where to get lost and explore some dirt tracks, we not only burned rubber, we burned time, shed a couple of kilos from the unrelenting heat and put it back on in a spacious air-conditioned place with beers, cokes and life’s little luxuries…

Morning at GP Esso and already the rains cleared and bikers go out

RS at Pontian: A Seaside Kopitiam

all 6 musketeers Breakfast at RS in Pontian

(Left: 1/3 of Tony, terence happily slurping mee goreng, isaac examining scriptures on his paper dosai, joe waiting for his “special” order mee goreng, yours truly blowing my mee and a windswept chow)

Delicious maggi goreng with a teh tarik

Paper dosai and spit filled teh tarik

some kampong near batu pahat (tracks may not be reflected in some GPS maps)

you know the heat is getting to terence when he does this

All these food for 60RM + airconditioning to boot!

cutting the pyramid down to size!

A well deserved dessert

and a deserving beer!

I dare say, we met our objectives for this trip: Ride (yeah!) Eat (Hell yeah!) Slack (no doubt abt it). Something about this trip reminds me of those books we used to read; where you could make your choices on which way the story goes by choosing the next page you want to read. Uncertainty is certainly fun, once in a while….

Till the next ride to Cape Silk,

kenny

The day started real early today with the riders meeting at 4am. Although a trip to Tasik Chini will not take more than 6 hours, it was important that all arrived on time and be properly briefed and prepared for the ride. The trip is also made much more interesting and challenging with several new riders and a fellow photographer from Clubsnap (a local photography forum) following us for the trip. With all the basics of group riding and the route we’re taking done and dusted, off we head into the darkness of the NS highway with 11 bikes and a car..

First stop at Yong Peng

Yaohui                                                                                        Andy

Tasik Chini is Malaysia’s second largest natural lake with a sad story to tell. Once brimming with Sacred Lotuses (Nelumbo Nucifera), the 12 smaller lakes of Tasik Chini supported numerous Orang Asli settlements with a healthy fish catch and some tourist money. As we strive for balance in life, it is interesting to see in nature the seasonal rising and falling of water levels working in perfect harmony to keep the lotuses germinating and growing back to cover the lake’s surface every season.

Alas, as lotuses continued to bloom and the tourists came, the state government dammed up the lake in 1995 in an attempt to attract more tourists in the dry season where the lotuses traditionally die and allow for germination to occur. They have unwittingly caused a chain reaction of tree deaths and fish depopulation. The balance was disrupted. Although the dam was removed five years later, the damage was done and it would need many more years before the lotuses will be in full bloom and the brown waters become clear again..

Tasik Chini in the morning

As Kruzer have always been on tours which contribute to nature, it is befitting that we visited Rajan Jones once again. A champion for the lake and the native Orang Asli, Rajan operates a guesthouse amid an Orang Asli village and pays them for jobs such as looking for new trekking routes and bringing his guests out for boat trips. You will be assured to know that the money you spent on the tour stays in the village.

Rajan lighting up his lamp for dinner

Orang Asli boiling water for our tea

Orang Asli having fun by the pool

A few petrol stops, a beer stocking trip and breakfast later, we arrived in good spirits at Rajan’s Guesthouse at about 10am. By now, the unrelenting sun was peering down on us and we need our shower! But first, a walk to Rajan’s Café was on the cards as the rooms were just vacated and you know it needs to be cleaned if you saw a frog lying on your pillow. Realizing that time was short and we needed to start the scheduled trek soon, we changed and got ready for the walk. But first, a one hour, sun drenched bumpy ride to the trek start point.

the bumpy ride to the trek

Looking at the flimsy bridge we just crossed

Trekking to the waterfalls

Terapai Waterfalls was a new site which was discovered by the local Orang Asli recently when they were searching for new treks for us. Although the waterfall looked ordinary at first sight, the site was so untouched that even the fishes come up to you and nibble the dead skin off you! We were just getting sunburned without knowing it as we tried our best to scoop up the fishes and the occasional shrimp with huge pinchers. Ahh, the innocence of boys catching fishes with their bare hands…

Spa-ing

Picking up leeches for lunch

The only reason we climbed out of the water was the look of impending rain and the hot drinks. As the rain drops created a cacophony of noise in the rainforest, we trudged along, hoping to walk fast enough so that the dreaded leeches don’t have the time to latch on. But as we neared the lorry pick up point, one of the most unforgettable and dreadful things to happen started as Shamen and Mei got stung by a yellow flying insect. What happened in the next 20 minutes was probably a life changing experience for Shamen as he battled a severe allergic reaction to the sting while Mei endured strong localized pain in her arm, apart from a mentally torturous time watching Shamen lose his consciousness. As he sat in the front seat of the lorry unconscious, Rosli massaged and pounded him for a good half an hour until he came back to life…and endured a one hour bumpy drive to the clinic. As I helplessly watch from the lorry’s rear, Rosli massaged and coaxed Shamen back to breathing properly and gaining consciousness again in the lorry. All I could do was grip the wooden plank by the side of the lorry tightly, praying that my strength is passed on to Rosli as he attempted to stimulate his vital points.

It is through the higher powers up there (and Dr Rosli, of course!) that decided that Shamen could recover miraculously. Although physically weakened by the ordeal, Shamen’s condition stabilized and was sent back to our rooms for him to rest. As much as he was physically burned out, we were all equally relieved and grateful that he is still with us. The feeling of helplessness is still very strong and I was glad that Isaac felt the same way too. There was no way we would allow this to happen again and vowed to check the first aid for such matters. We were just glad this lesson was not permanently paid for…

Dinner time!

Food at Rajan’s has always been great. It is not the presentation or rarity of food that attracts us, but rather, the simple home cooked fare that his wife whips up for us whenever we are there reminds me of the wonderful food my mum cooks in her greasy kitchen. The dinner was made even better after I came back from sending food up to Shamen and Mei! I would think that I’m the first human being in the world to have a bunch of bananas as my birthday cake, such was the crazy creative ideas the Kruzers can come up with…and to top it all up, it came filled with 29 candles. My sincere thanks to all!

banana cake for monkey’s birthday

The simple but yummy fare

With dinner behind us, there was only one thing left to do in such a quiet, secluded place: beer and chit-chat. As we talked the night away, the night got noisier with snores, occasional laughter and the loud whispering of leaves as the winds of the early morning blew….

A day of riding awaits as we got ready to move off at noon. Breakfast was again simple but satisfying but this year, we got no demonstration of the fire making skills of Rajan Jones nor a boat ride around Chini. He does seem a little more tired than we last saw him two years ago. Age and the deteriorating state of Tasik Chini must have taken its toll on him. At least I know he’s still providing odd jobs for the Orang Aslis. He has been their guardian angel for the past two decades.

Today’s route was to be slightly altered so as to allow some playtime on the beach. That said, the twisties we had on the return leg was all I could ask for after 4 barren months of straight, mind numbing expressways. As they say, pictures paint a thousand words. And this will surely save me some….

Kruzers by the beach

Heading on to the beach!

the fine soft sand

Sean picked up his bike before we posed for pictures can rush to help him

chillin’ by the beach

Tracks

A fine dinner spread of fish and meat at Kluang topped off a particularly warm ride. We were all only too glad that it’s a Sunday the next day….

In the final analysis, it was an enjoyable weekend. All I remembered for the next day (Sunday), was the aches, pains, sunburns and the god damned tiredness..and after checking around on Monday, I’m glad to report I wasn’t the only one. And we all agreed on one thing: this trip certainly taught everyone of us a little something new..

Till the next ride!

all pics are taken by Racheal, Jocelyne, Timothy, Isaac and Mei

No one would have figured such a place even existed after passing through an Orang Asli village residing near the end of a housing estate. A dirt track of about 50m on the left after the village would have dissuaded many to believe there was even anything of modern civility in the vicinity.

and this leads to……

The entrance of Sekeping – A view from the inside

With extensive research, Club President and Chief Guide, Isaac Chan, managed to herd us through quickly and allow us to get fully absorbed into the peculiarity of Sekeping Serendah. Sekeping Serendah literally translates into “A Piece of Serendah” and there’s no place in Singapore or even Malaysia that we’ve been which exposes us in nature in such luxurious comfort.

Our Glass Shed – there are 2 in Sekeping Serendah

Designed by a Malaysian architect and inspired by Australia’s Israel House, Sekeping Serendah’s proudest and the most visually pleasing structure has to be the Glass Sheds. With books describing it as a “glorified tent”, the Glass House, as I personally prefer to call it, is an amalgamation of timber, steel sheet cladding and lots of glass. With sunlight peeking through the tree canopy and the glass exterior, inhabitants are virtually assured of adequate natural reading lights.

The living room where the whir of the overhead fans lull u to sleep

Sleeping in the canopy – the closest thing to living in a tree house

Our au naturel toilet

food! pic taken from the bedroom above

Besides the glass sheds, there is also a timber shed and two mud sheds (or more like huts!). Unlike the Glass House, these sheds are air-conditioned and aesthetically pleasing from the outside. It is regretful to say that this author plonked his butt in his Glass House and refused to bulge, except to the swimming pool. Perhaps those who stayed in the other sheds would comment?

The swimming pool was also a good reprieve from the afternoon humidity. Natural spring waters from the nearby hills are pumped and filtered to supply the cool crystal clear water in the swimming pool. It was befitting that the monkeys from Kruzer would be splashing around in these waters, playing catch.

oh yes – the monkeys in full swing

The surroundings are inherently peaceful and there did not seem to be any staff around, although we are aware that they are there any time we require any help. It is this hands-off approach that appeals to us as we went about lounging around in the Glass House and preparing our arty looking bbq pit for the night. The dinner that was served was average but the setting in which we ate our dinner was really an experience. Old doors are recycled as table and are held by wires strung to the ceiling. Eating on the table is like eating on a ship as the door sways gently in the light breeze.

The barely enough dinner

our floating table

our fantastic barbeque

the Glass Shed at night

With a whole night of eating and merry-making, the night simply faded into obscurity as eyelids drooped and the stars twinkled overhead…

The ride back for the next day was going to be exhilarating as we planned to head to Fraser’s Hill for lunch before heading back to Singapore. With the adrenaline pumping twisities less than a hundred kilometres away, we couldn’t miss it for the world and we haven’t even considered the high speed corners of Karak Highway.

There’s been a while since Kruzers went to a new place but as our footprints gets bigger and bigger in Malaysia, it becomes harder and harder to seek out fresh places to stay or ride. But on this account, it does seem that treasures still abound in the nooks and crannies of Malaysia.

Till the next ride,

Kruzer

Oh what the memories that great ride brought me. I can literally feel the oil lubricating in my innards and chugging along ever so smoothly. When can I ever feel like that again…

By the time that thought exited my headlamps, I felt that little drag on my butt. The panniers are really loaded this time round. I wonder where we’re going for the weekend for him so many things. It’s also a little unusual for him to come down early to prepare me for the ride. Heck, I didn’t even visit my doctor, Rosli for my usual pre-ride checkup.

Just as the night started to turn chilly, I got woken up. The weight is really adding by now and there are even tents this time round! Ken and Rach aren’t wearing their heavily armoured jackets this time round, so i’m pretty sure we’re not going to ride around much. I wonder if we going through the mess we did last month at Tangkak. That’ll be really cool and with all these weight, Ken got to hoping the ground’s dry! Oh boy oh boy, the excitement is keeping me purring. Ken must be happy with the purrs too because I can see his grin as he pulls his throttle on the AYE. On to GP!

We were a little late and the bunch of guys are there already. My bros, the TDMers and AT, were all grinning while the STs were looking nervous. There are also 2 Rav4s there, one is a familiar hot car while the other is a macho sleek black one. Looks like we’re preparing to rough it out today!

Being well placed to hear the brief, we finally confirm the destination! We’ll be camping beside the summit road. I remember it all too well for the rain and low temperatures the last time we were there in August! It will be great to go back and get all dirty again!

The ride there was fast and we wasted no time in reaching Tangkak. As the humans have loaded up on their fuel, we all have a great chat. After hearing what some of us went through last month, the AT (we call him ah pek – for obvious reasons) was especially excited as all his previous owners have never done this before. Shogun (the grey TDM with Jap looking stickers) was also pumped up. He’s one of the lightest this time round and expecting a frolicking good time. As for me, I really don’t know whether I want the rains to come or not.

After the humans loaded up on their fuel, it was our turn and off we headed for the tracks! It’s so much simpler now after we have gained experience points riding these roads. The dry tracks also helped a great deal. They didn’t seem so soaked that I wonder if it ever rained the few days before.

We got up early and after a few unsteady scares, we were up at our camp site. The morning mist had cleared but the tranquility of the place still clouded the place with mystery. After some planning and movements of how we are to spend our night, the riders started picking their spot and pitching their shelter. It is quite amusing watching them going around, busy as ants, just to make themselves comfortable.

But once the tents, hammocks, chairs and even tables are out, everyone plonked down and enjoyed the fruits of their labour. So far, everyone is great…except Chowy, the white ST. His nervousness finally took hold of him and he tilted to the right while parking. He was so stiff when he fell that his box broke a brick into 2! His mirror ain’t too lucky though…

As the afternoon sun came out, there still wasn’t any signs of extreme heat. The chilly weather up here just feels too good to be true and there isn’t any hint of rain even. By now, some of the humans are readying themselves as they prepare to head up to the summit. According to them, with such clear weather, there’s a good possiblity the view up there would be good! damn, wish there was a road leading up there!

I bet they must be wishing the same thing because when they finally re-appeared a couple of hours later, the faces were hanging like dogs. I wonder what made them so tired…maybe something like this:

The dinner must have been the highlight of the night as the preparations for it seem so elaborate and bags of food keep coming out from the cars. You can sense the cars are also having a relaxing time, dragging in the clean, unpolluted air when they were chugging their way up and now nestled in a cool spot.

As the sun set, the smoke went up as the bbq pit crackled to life. The strong aroma of roasted chicken filled the chilly air of Gunung Ledang as mushroom soup were served and the salad rice was tossed. There was even an air of festivities as paper lanterns were lit in the dark!

The next morning brought about a nice warmth and a beautiful sunrise. Peeking through the mist, the sunrays added a golden glow to the campsite.

With much time on our hands, the humans started cooking whatever they had and you could tell they were having a good time.

With just about half an hour before we were scheduled to leave, everyone took their time to keep the tents and clear up the rubbish and it was just as well! That’s because a few moments before we were to leave, the heavens poured and heavy mist started moving in!

By now, the STs were feeling really nervous again but I had a sneaky suspicion that the TDMs and AT were rubbing their hands in glee! I certainly was!

But the route down was a little disappointing compared to the thrills and spills of the previous month. (See this) Back then, the ground was flooded with torrential rains from morning to the late afternoon when we left. The result was a sliding mud track. Heck, my wheels were so heavy with gunk, I couldn’t feel them, let alone kenny.

But today’s ride was more relaxing. Maybe the weight of my butt made sure the contact with the ground was good, but we were all able to make it out good. So good that the TDMs were flying on the trails. The STs didn’t fare too well though, Chowy went vegetarian for a while while Archie (blue ST) went rock climbing and lost his balance. They really look relieved at the sight of tarmac!

Back to the usual feel of the oh so sweet tarmac, we had a good time flicking mud all over the road while we headed to Pagoh for a well deserved lunch. Chowy was struggling with his “ear” that broke but otherwise, it was all fine as we finished a trip that ended before the sun had even set!

Now, I wonder if kenny is going to wash me up soon or let the rains in Singapore wash me up…..

Till the next ride,

bluey

P.S: Refer to our forums for the whole list of photos! there’re just too many to show here!

The best time of the week for most people and with a good reason why! For me, Friday nights after work are the best for chilling out since you can play and make merry with nary a care in the world since you have Saturday and Sunday. So Saturday should really be a great day to stretch your legs, have a carefree breakfast and unwind from the week………………………………….and so we thought.

The things we expected were delivered: food and shoot but not this!

With delusions of having cool wind in your face ride and an exciting shoot in mind, I gave up Friday night to have an early night. After all, I’m so looking forward to having a relaxing ride with stops in between to find out more about my new camera. So, while the day started rather well (largely because of breakfast! thanks to chow’s lousy alarm clock), the ominous cumulonimbus clouds up north doesn’t bode well. Out came the raincoats and onward, we headed to Tangkak, the town near to Mount Ophir, where we intended to visit for a little nature walk.

The rains were a big disappointment. I mean, if you had bothered to suit up and gotten ready to rumble, you would have loved to thrash it all out with a full blown class 5 thunderstorm or something like that. What we got was just a little wind that probably was only able to lift skirts up an inch and rain that would have tickled the hairs on my legs. So much for the bad ass clouds.

We reached Tangkak at approximately 1030hrs, just less than 2 hours from the time we set off from breakfast. We proceeded to have lunch. Yeah – this trip is certainly living up to to the “Eat” tag. The beef noodles were yummy. These are things you would probably have problems finding in Singapore. I wonder who said Singapore is a gastronomical paradise. An amalgation of michelin 5 star-ers don’t make Singapore a so called “makan” paradise.

The people here don’t need stars. They only need the 牛 sign.

With our stomachs filled to the max and cameras itching to catch some wildlife, we continued on our way. And things started to get a little more…….interesting.

The turnoff from the highway

The turnoff to the park ranger’s office was conspicuous enough all thanks to the red laterite trail. While some were getting concerned about the ground conditions, most of us were beaming. Beaming because our bum is going to get itself a big workout with the potholes, mud and crappy roads. The last time I experienced this was in the mountainous roads of Northern Thailand where roads were not maintained.

Isaac’s bike was the most ill suited for these roads and so were some of the bigger road bikes and they were clearly struggling in the mud banks and potholes. In fact, Isaac got so worried about the conditions of the roads that he called the park ranger down to lead us up, just in case we got into worse roads in the wrong direction. And by now, the rains threatened again. For real!

By the time we reached the ranger’s office, it was pouring…and we got news that the start point for the trek is a further 8 kilometres away. After ditching the helmets and registering our names with the rangers, we climbed with our bikes further with rain pelting into our eyes.

rangers registering our names, tangkak dam

By the time we started our climb, we were already cold and wet. What happened in the next one and half hours was pure agony. for the knees that is. We’ll leave it to the pictures here.

yea, it’s that steep for a relaxing climb….

Back down, we took a couple of pictures and washed ourselves up.

Looking back, we shouldn’t have because the next hour was even worse than the climb. The rains wrecked havoc on the trails we came in by and the potholes were all filled with water and no indication of its depth. It was no longer riding, it was gliding……

all these culminated into chow’s glorious fall..

All that junk is not gg to come off easy…

We just had to settle for dinner at Tangkak cos we were all tired, wet, hungry and have feet heavily laden in mud. time check: 1900hrs.  It would be another 2 hours before we got our HUGELY deserved dinner but we couldn’t.

Ride.Eat.Shoot? It was only probably true in the morning but one thing you will learn if you travel frequently is not to expect things. There’s a big reason why many of us felt this was one of the best trips they’ve ever gone through. That’s because all plans went out the window at 1100hrs: adventure at its very best.

Korny Kenny

I remembered the first time I ascended Mt Ophir some 22 years back. There were just 2 of us, driven with audacity of being young and foolish. With much trial and error on the track, we finally made it to the summit after 10 hours. Adding to the foolish and ignorance, we camped right at the summit, oblivious to the fact that we could have been blown away by strong gust of winds or even struck by lighting. And we even brought really thick ropes measuring no less the an inch in diameter. We were ridiculed by climbers from a local adventure club on us intending to haul up an elephant with the rope! But we all learn from our ignorance. In the same year in 1986, I ascended a total of 4 times. Since then, I have ascended a total of 14 times.

I was told by a local that going up to the summit is like a love affair. Once you have been up, you’ll always crave to go again and again. Whether there is any truth in it or not, it sure was for me. No matter how much I regret during every climb mid way asking myself why am I doing this, I still do it. And so now is no different. I was adamant about reaching the summit after 2 failed attempts in 2002 and 2004. My last ascend to the summit was in 1999. I have always known there is a road leading up to the telecom transmission station but never got the chance to try as I just could not find information on it. So after much research, I finally stumbled upon someone’s blog indicating the route up. This was my opportunity to reach the summit after some 8 years.

I have to admit I almost gave up after some difficulty on the road. This time its not a matter of fitness but more the conditions of the road. Riding a 350kg bike with flat car tires is by no mean an easy feat on uneven roads. The fear of my rear tires digging into the mud crept into my mind. My selfishness made me ignore the possibility of fellow members not being able to go through the bad road conditions. I told myself, if I my heavy old lady can make it, the rest could. I guess we are all selfish at some point, I am no different.

The adventure began with finally arriving at the entrance which lead to the ranger’s office. As expected, red laterite roads. This was easy although I knew its going to get bad if it rains. So we proceeded on and soon enough we came across the beginning of our trials on muddy roads. This was my first time on these roads and every inch was a new experience.

After crossing our first hurdle, I decided to call the ranger to check if its going to get worse. He was not very clear about it but I guess its difficult to describe. He however sent a guide to assist us in. And so after some time a guide arrived and guided us to the ranger’s office. With his light weight bike, it was a breeze but not for me and my clumsy quarter toner! We proceeded on, taking some chances along the way and riding with half clutch most of the time.

This is when bumpy course comes into play. It was a mix feeling between being like a kid on these roads just bashing through and like an adult ensuring safety. And so this went on for about 3-4 km but it seems never ending! Finally we arrived at the ranger’s office. Here we saw the dam that I never knew existed!

After a short rest, we registered at the ranger’s office as required before proceeding. After registering, we were ready to proceed to the start point of the trek up to the summit. This stretch of road was much better as it is maintained by Telekom Malaysia. We stopped mid-way to take some shots as the view was quite inviting. Soon after we continued our ride up. After a few twists, we finally reached the campsite and parking grounds. We parked and shoot again! Well we have to sell the trip!

Then its time for the main objective, reaching the summit. Thus we began our ascend. It was rather a mild ascend as it was not steep. The trek felt short because it was filled with surprises of the surrounding vegetation. They all looked like mega-bonsai with interesting orchids and pitcher plants. Then we reach the segment where we needed to use our four limbs. A combination of ropes, roots and even aluminium ladders aided our ascend. We finally reached the summit after 1 hour and 20 mins. As I reached the summit, something was just amiss and did not feel right. I did not feel the same as I did when I was at the summit 8 years back.

Those of us who has been up here before concluded that its because we did not go through the pains of trekking from the base which would have been a grueling 7-8 hours. But nevertheless I was very happy to have made it up to the summit. Its like longing for someone and finally being with the person. So we enjoyed the moment whilst at the summit. Unfortunately, the summit was covered with clouds thus we could not enjoy the view from the summit. After some moments of rekindling the past, we headed back down. Upon reaching our bikes we proceeded to a water point where we washed up. The running water was cold and refreshing.

Reaching back to the ranger’s office we parked our bikes and took more pictures. But the mist was getting thicker and thus was not conducive for shoots. Now the dreadful moment of having to go through the bad roads again has arrived. Not having much choice as the daylight is fast coming to an end, we rode down. The first few kilometers were fine, then came the muddy patches. Due to the rain, now the patches were filled with water disabling us to gauge the ground conditions. Being the first bike I had no choice but to proceed. With much care, I went through ditch after ditch but my luck ran out. The old lady slipped and tipped on its side. With aid from Tony and Kenny, I got back on track and rode on.

All of us took some sort of spill except for Tony. After several muddy patches and unknown ditches, we all pulled through with mud on our bikes as well as on our boots. We were all happy to have cleared the muddy roads and finally come to paved roads. Failing to come across any car wash as we had hoped, we settled for a self wash at a petrol kiosk. Then a meal that all have been waiting for since 11am, dinner!

We were rather cautious about ordering seafood as the cost can be unpredictable. To our amazement, the bill came up to only RM138 for the 10 of us! So we happily paid and made our journey home after a long and taxing adventure!

In the end I think although we had gone through one of the most difficult trips, it was one of the most rewarding in terms of experience and adventure. And so, we are extending it to our members in September! So if you are up to it, join us for our September Kruzer Kamp II …… for Ride, Experience and Slack.

But first: Breakfast!

Coffee Time baby yeah!

You don’t ride with an empty stomach – so said a wise motorcycling sage. Dim Sum, Kolo Mee and Wanton Mee

Only a quick 2 hours away from the 2^nd Link, Tanjung Sutera (Silk Bay in Malay) is really a hidden gem in all sense of the word. With its entrance right beside a little plantation road, it’s nestled in the quaint corner of Sedili Besar, away from the jetty where fishermen launched their boats in search for the day’s catch.

Yup. We’re near the tip of the d*ck.

It’s also only about 80km away north of Desaru, with the road (Hwy 95) that line up next to the shoreline looking out to the South China Sea. Riders looking for a yummy dinner can head on down to Kg. Sungei Rengit to savour the ever so popular lobsters.

No lobsters? check out the chickens!

A hike by the beach was still almost 3 hours away, so after a light lunch, a dip into the pool seemed the most natural thing to do in the sweltering heat! With a panoramic view of the sky and sea, all the pool lacked was a poolside bar.

The pool with dark skies looming!

This is how relaxing should be like – The Leong Way

This is what life is all about.

Making do with beer by the poolside, by now, everyone had dipped into the pool or at least get themselves a nice burn on the skin. Ironically, the heavy clouds had slowly gathered and when it was time to go for a walk along the beach, it poured like a pent up bladder on full flow.

Still, we wouldn’t have minded since the pool would be much diluted. Indeed, the only complaint about the whole place is the excessive amount of chlorine in that pool, enough explanation for much of the bloodshot eyes around.

Painful eyes and big breaths….

While some headed back to the rooms to grab some shut eye, a group of us finally managed to set off an hour from the intended time and the walk did not disappoint at all.

The rock formations along the shore are truly captivating. Picking your steps, one would have to take care not to get your feet wedged between the sharp rocks and its many protrusions.

The solid rocks also caused many pools of water to be trapped during a low tide and it’s actually common to see fishes trapped in these pools when the tides withdraw suddenly!

Looking for trapped fishes, crabs and other dumb crustaceans…..

Group Pic!

Before long, some eagled eyed ones among us started noticing the colourful sea shells embedded in the sand, which started to really slow us down since everyone wants to have a share of their favourite seashells. Some of the shells have been left with the waves for so long that they have well rounded edges and some of the shells have exposed sides, allowing us a peek into the intricate designs of Mother Nature.

The shells are so worn, they exposed their internals…

While the girls and some boys were picking shells, the boys were skimming stones! What childhood fun!

Before long, the itches on the foot started to get worse. Even in movement, sand flies managed to squeeze in a bite or two that is to become worse in the coming days.

The shore ends but the gruelling walk begins…

When the walk was finally over, it would have been almost 3 hours later! And that included a highly demoralizing walk back to our resort, after realising that our planned transport back wasn’t available. In fact, when some of us came back to the resort again, we took a quick wash and jumped right into the pool for the chlorine to eat away at the itchy sand fly bites and cool us straight down to the pre-walk relaxed mode.

The beachwalkers couldn’t resist…

waiting for dinner..grrhh

Dinner was heavily anticipated. Growling stomachs at the thought of a night of barbequed food beckons and with a 3 hour walk, we felt the primal urge to gorge. The food wasn’t overly fantastic but gorged we did. But even then, we had to stop the staff from BBQ some more food when we couldn’t carry on any further! They had bought so much food that could have fed twice our numbers!

The queue starts but as they soon find out, they were unable to outeat what was indented!

and Joanna is proud of her food….

With the chilly night (all thanks to the heavy downpour earlier in the afternoon) and our sore legs propped up on the chair, the muscles started to get into a rhythmic vibe lulling us to a blissful night of snores. Then….we realised we still have a couple of beers left to finish. Excited at the prospect of an even better night’s sleep, we adjourned to a little wooden shelter with tatami-like mats and a wooden table set in the centre.

Chilly night and good company…

In a night of friendly chatter, Ivan, a friend of Isaac’s who drove and joined Kruzers for the first time asked a simple yet hard to answer question.

“How do you guys spend so much time on your bike and yet don’t feel so tired? What makes you want to do so many hours on the road?”

Simple yet I’m stumped. There are just so many things that click but I find it so hard to answer.

Thoughts went fleeting from answer to answer: Maybe it’s the ride. The feeling of wind in the face is just so darn relaxing. A pretty way to unwind in the weekend.

Or maybe it’s the company. Lousy jokes, drinking buddies, clowns masquerading as riders all combine to induce the type of crazy laughter you would probably never experience in the past week in the office.

Or perhaps, it could be the reflective and meditative mood when cruising down the roads as it clears the crowded mind. I mean, have you ever experienced an “eureka” moment to a problem that may have been plaguing you for weeks? I know I have, and the time spent reflecting on the bike liberates me from the daily drudgery of life’s little problems if I were to stay in Singapore for that weekend.

Or perhaps….

Before I thought any further, the beer came….and that was all I remember of the night…

The last scene before the night ends……

****************************************************************************************************************

Morning passed too and being too tired, I stole a couple more minutes of sleep before realising we better got going for breakfast. We got an organic farm to visit today!

After a hearty breakfast and bidding adieu to the resort owners, we headed straight to Kluang for an organic break. But things aren’t so simple when we got a hungry durian crazy leader leading the pack.

All of different shapes and sizes!

The Zenxin Organic Farm serves a variety of produces which are organically grown. But to me, it’s got a really huge restaurant space for us to fill up our stomachs and rest the tired spirits after the ride. Besides serving a variety of fruit juices, their star attraction has got to be the dragon fruit juices and products.

Even the fly knows what’s good for him

The dragon fruit farm!

And its many inhabitants!

Undoubtedly, organically grown as half of their farm is devoted to the dragon fruit. The restaurant also serves up quite a surprising range of cooked food and we had our fill before continuing on that last stretch back to Singapore.

Rushy and Bikies at ZenXin Organic Farm

The rain had failed to dampen the spirits as we got back to GP Esso, with the sun still out! Another Kruzer first…..

In all, the resort stay was one real relaxing ride. Apart from escaping the heat of the city, we had beach walks, long dips in the pool, long chats and a recharged mind for the rest of the week….

Till the next Ride,

Kenny

We all may find out – there are certain things that stick with you for life. Fun of riding is something sticks to me.

Since very young I already started! Not riding a motorbike but riding a bicycle. I remember it’s during my kindergarden time, after a Sunday family lunch at my grandma’s home. I silently pushed out my auntie’s bicycle with my itchy hands and tried hard to ride on it. The bike is even taller than me, but surprisingly I managed to balance myself and moved around. I found it was super exciting! And the interest started rolling and rolling from there.

Kruzer’s Lake 2 Lake trip is really fulfilling the interest thoroughly because it has a lot of riding. As the 2 wheels keep spinning through the 3 days’ journey, I was enriched with many riding experiences, enjoyed nice scenery and places. Of course the fun of riding together as a group will never get you bored, no matter you on the road or at rest.

like bandits entering a cowboy town in a western movie!

The Trip started midnight as usual and we had a smooth journey on NSH for the first stretch. Not much traffic except for few buses and trunks. The night were still young and fresh for us. There were 2 other sg riders tagged along with us to enjoy the companion of the pack in the night.

The front group traveled quite fast and reached exit 214 first. We stopped here to wait for everyone to catch up, just in case someone miss the turn and shoot up straight to KL. It happened once indeed that some rider overshoot here… and go roundings in KL.

We reached NKVE Petronas for breakfast and take some rest to top up our stamina. And we found this MEGA Big Mac that make you say “WAhh~”.

MEGA Mac for you !

Actually, it cures your hunger for sure but it doesn’t work to keep you awake. On the contrary, the after-meal-symptom and your bio-clock can simply give you a sweet dream easily.

Sleep Not ?

No worries, if you feel bad and miss the bed, take a Berocca and it will get you ready for anything afterward. Believe me or laugh, it was said that it can help to release energy from the MEGA Big Mac in my tummy Anyway, the best thing in the world to keep you awake is getting enough sleep!!! I sure had my mins of sweet dreams also.

Recharging … Zzzz zz…

After a long break, it’s time to get up and continue our journey on the highway. The next stop will be Tapah and finally Simpang Pulai Exit where we will embark on a different type of road – with corners and latitude changes.

Simpang Pulai to Gua Musang

After 9 hrs in total, we left at 12 midnight and now was 9am, soggy numbness crept into your butt and toes. We made our first stopover at this place with a great view.

Some huddled on the bike, some lay on ground, and some posed for the camera and some stretched out to climb up high and take some good photos.

Men of pride

Happiest lady

Climbing up

Spider in flower

Nice Road from Simpang Pulai to Gua Musang

Despite I am riding a heavy chopper, the lure of adventure can’t be resisted. After some easy swinging left and right on the corners, I started to find the rhythm of the road. Lead bikes were controlling the safety speed and warn you any hazard in advance but I can feel the speed was slowly picking up. Yah man! The ‘little devil’ came out and told you that the corners have a lot of fun and it’s thrilling. It’s ok to unleash your steel horse and let it run wildly.

Now, I could felt the relief of the Heart-Pounding feeling when I do the corners. The feeling that you might have endured also when you go up and down Fraser’s hill for the first time… All thanks to Kruzer‘s organized trips which provided me so many opportunities to learn from those experienced riders and practice in a protected way. I can feel the progress through all the accumulated riding experiences that I’ve done with kruzers.

I do had some “leap of faith” incident happened, but after that it taught me some taboo lessons in my heart. Today, my ride and I are still intact and alive, but we all better don’t pray on our luck every time. It’s good to take the thrilling pleasure with managed risk.

Now I started to know when I should not speed up, how fast and how low I can go on a bend and when it’s ready to widely open your throttle… *Grin*

IT’s time to enjoy it, and what can I say? “Shoik !”

hydroponic-farms-on-cameron-highlands

The twisties leaded us through Cameron highland, it’s near lunch time and here we had our second stopover – Green View Garden. Things you could do here like taking a seat to enjoy the cool air, ordering some food and drinks. Walking around the green house to see how strawberry grows.

Fresh Stewberry cake

Green house

Growth of strewberry

This break given us an energy boost, to complete the last stretch of the day one route, one of the best part.

Road to kenyir

Long bend

Nice scenary road

Here we are! We arrived at Lake Kenyir resort around 3pm plus. Awaiting us were nice chalet rooms, and an infinite swimming pool overviewing the lake.

tired-but-happy-rosli

 Max and I headed to our room and I took a hot shower first. While Max is showering, I simply went flat on the huge bed; It just a blink, and I fall asleep so quickly. Forget the swimming pool we didn’t, after a short rest and shared a bottle of beer in the room, we headed to the pooool!

Beautiful sunset at Tasik Kenyir

The night started, there was buffet dinner provided and we munched in enough food for sure. Live music came from the band upstairs, a lady was singing with a decent and charming voice, I seated in the chair and imaging I had the ‘kruzified’ belly, I think I am still far away from the standard though I eat like a dog sometime.

Calling it a day after dinner? Not yet for those beer lovers! There is saying says “Live today like there is not tomorrow”, it’s only few hours more, we would fully lived today 24 hrs! So let’s do it! We decided to complete the day at the “Bar”, where my room 147 was. After half of the drinking session, Max went to bed and gone in 60 seconds. Though we were talking and laughing beside, he could soundly sleep with snore. Pretty fast, our 24-hr mission completed and all the beers cleared out. We all headed back to bed for a sweet dream.

Day 2. A clear day.

elephant on the lake

I believe our bikes also had a good night of rest. I went to the carpark to check out our bikes after breakfast.

Taking a walk in the resort trails on the way to the carpark, you could have some wild life encounters. When I was passing near Peter’s chalet, a squirrel bumped into my eye. I took out my camera quietly and grabbed some photos.

Looking up in the tree branches, there were few black and white color birds flying and singing around, I moved closer slowly and stayed still hoping they won’t bother about my appearance. Interestingly, I found one having a cricket in the mouth.

Walking though a path totally covered up by trees, something with red and blue wings flied from behind and stopped on a tree trunk. It was a really strange kind of insect with a weird shape. I stopped, camera in hand, moved forward, the insect inched away and hided at another side of the trunk. Then, I squat down trying to avoid moving into its direct sight, hehe, it works, the insect stay there. Closer and closer, I am able to take a clear photo of it. Looking at the photo, the red top is not the head, nose maybe, the 2 eyes is at the middle part. Until today, I still don’t know its name.

Wondering here and there too long in the resort trails, 10 minutes left to a boat ride at 11:30am, I rushed back to the chalet to pack up my stuff and checkout the room.

 getting-on-board

Lake Kenyir is a man-made lake where the natural water way is blocked and a large area of tropical rain forest was submerged underwater. The tour guide Mr. showed us around some lakeside places where the resort was built on. And the most interesting thing sight will be the dead tree area.

Our chalet

Dead tree area

Day 2’s riding was much relaxing, 300km+ only. From Lake Kenyir, we shot up north and reached Pantai Penarik,a quiet, orderly little fishing village where a long line of untouched golden beach stretched out on the east coast of tennegaru. we had a short rest to enjoy the gentle sea breeze and open ocean views.

Photos at beach

Moved on, we rode to highway 4 leading to Gerik. Highway 4 is parallel to thai boarder, and some huge limestone boudlers reminds me the thai road.

Photos at Tunnel

Passing through Gerik Highway, we reached Lake Temenggor, the second lake on our trip. Bikes lined up on the long bridge, we shared the open view of the lake, you can also feel how the bridge bonuced up and down when heavy vehicles passing by; We made a longer stop just beside the lake and take a rest before sunset. Not a clear sky before the night, so we didn’t have a nice sunset view over the lake but taking a seat beside the water, refill something into you body and chit chat, is some kinda of pleasure to enjoy the large amount of water beside which gives you a peaceful and easy feeling.

The night arrived with a little dizzling, it’s getting dark, if I remember correctly we passed through a newly paved twisty road, where the road surface is dark and the surroundings is dark! The darkness was absorbing my highlight. I turned on my foglight and kept a further distiance with the front rider, it felt better. I could see Julius in front of me also on the high beam when going over a bend. Slowly we reached the town area and and there are some street light showing the way, after a while we arrived at our resting place. Sorry that i forgot the places name:), what interested me was some beer and dinner followed by a nice and sound sleep.

Day 3 – We embaked on the way back to singapore.

Stopped at a waterfall along the way for a chill up but there are military execrises around the waterfull area, so we couldn’t go in deep. Isaac and Kenny were chilling up in the water and planning for the route, Joycelyne was telling storys to Rosli’s to drive away his bored-ness.

After some twisties, we jumped onto the highway, the steel horses started to roar, there were a little jam at some part, we cleared the highway part pretty easily.

Awaiting for us was a dinner place call Herbal Restaurant, they serve quite different main courses with very nice hebal soups. a lot of hebal products to buy also.

It’s the last stretch to home after dinner at herbal restaurant … soon we reached GP esso, 1,800 km in total. Some kind of iron-butt challenge. well I like it very much, cos beside the gathering and activities during the trip, the desire of riding was very well satisfied…

The morning mist came early today. Shaking off the sleep in the eyes, I began to feel the cool chill of the air surrounding the lake. With such cold temperatures, it was understandable that the usual cacophony of whining insects was muted this morning. I have always enjoyed mornings such as this. I particularly enjoy watching the trees quiver in the ripples caused by the fishes surfacing to take a peek at what we’re doing. As the surface calms again, the enormity of the lake becomes ever so apparent.

After quenching our thirst and frolicking around for a while, it was time for food. We got together and trudged off in the increasing humid air across the road. As usual, the leader leads us to somewhere he’s been raving about recently and we made haste to get there before the heat gets to us. Then, as far as my eye can see, a flickering light shines my way as I cross the road. Ignoring such callous disregard for our way of life, we trudged on, determined to fill up our hungry stomachs…

- the malaysian cow based in Kelantan

“These bleeding cows really own the road.” I sighed more to myself than my pillion as I slowed to a crawl just in case another one of these cows decide to dash across the road to get their daily dose of greens. It was Day 2 into our ride travelling from Singapore (South) to Lake Kenyir (East Malaysia) in Terengganu and then to Lake Temenggor (West) in Perak and it was stifling hot! I bet you’re wondering “Why this theme for the ride?” Well, besides enjoying the great natural beauty of Malaysia, we also wanted to burn some rubbers in the wonderful twisties at Simpang Pulai and the Gerik Highway, of course!

The night before, the info tag tells us to endure a gruelling fifteen hours on the roads for the first day, something that the regulars were pretty familiar with. But unknown to the masses, the organisers were particularly worried about the condition of the riders as we needed to make haste to reach our first destination in good time – always a concern when dealing with large groups. Special attention was paid to the riders who have not experienced such long hours on the roads before and I’m sure they were grateful for the advice the steel butters gave so willingly days before the ride.

As with any clubs, there is always the danger of over-enthusiastic members signing up and realising that they’re not prepared for it midway through the ride, especially the newer riders. Not very safe, me thinks…and something I’m glad the club addressed.

Tasik Kenyir is situated in the state of Terengganu, with the waters just north of the Taman Negara National Park. Well known for its tranquil waters, sport fishing and collection of close to 340 islands, South East Asia’s largest man-made lake has much to offer for people itching to leave the hustle and bustle of city life.

Being situated near the mountainous regions of Malaysia’s interior, the roads leading to Tasik Kenyir is captivating, to say the least. Exiting at Simpang Pulai from the North-South highway, the throttle just became heavier as the sight of the first corner entered my visor. That is not to say the ride to the Tapah R&R was without incident.

Of all people in the group, Rosli, our resident mechanic’s tire valve picked the most fortunate time to blow up; in the petrol station. The cracked up faces of the riders belie a huge sigh of relief. If the tire valve blew up halfway while riding, the look of the totally flat tire wouldn’t be so hilarious to us anymore. Blessed with such luck and a slight tinge of irony (it just had to be Rosli!), the main group left for breakfast somewhere near Cameron Highlands while Rosli, me and another rider headed to Tapah town to look for a tire valve.

The Malaysian mechanics watch in awe as Rosli took the few simple tools they have and set to do his work on his tire. It wasn’t fun prying the tire out to stick the blown valve in, but hey, as long as we get moving to the twisties soon, I don’t hear any complains!

Fixing up the valve!

The new roads to Gua Musang consist of large sweeping bends with the roads opening up to 2 lanes at times. From the oh so cool air at Simpang Pulai to the picturesque scenery en-route to Gua Musang, avid riders would be delighted with scrapping foot pegs and making the money you spent on tyres worth it, utilising every inch of thread you can possibly find. The crowd were whooping and grinning after the nice ride but I’m pretty sure some would never expect how the next stretch of roads will be like!

One of the wonderful twisties

Route 8 from Gua Musang to Kuala Krai is straightforward enough, being a major transport route to the cities up north. A right turn out of Route 8 heading east brought us through a FELDA (Federal Land Development Authority) plot of land reserved for oil palm plantations. For the uninitiated, FELDA routes are notoriously unkempt as these roads are only usually open to the loads of trucks picking up Malaysia’s precious cargo. Trawling through gravel and sand, you could almost hear the nervousness of the riders as they negotiate their way out of the sticky, or more accurately, slippery situations. What’s worse was the road block of sand and gravel, forcing us to carefully tread through a route of only about half a metre wide, with a drop of almost 2 metres down one side and an imposing lump of gravel and soil on the other! Hit your box on the gravel and down 2 metres u go on the other side!

don’t look down! don’t look down!

Surprisingly, this route is marked T156 on the GPS and is scheduled to perform its role linking the west and eastern portions of northern Malaysia until a larger highway is completed. Before long, we hit the half built highway. Skirting Tasik Kenyir with the dark, new tarmac, coupled with a darkening sky and the still waters of Kenyir on your right, riding through this region makes you feel as though you were riding through an European mountain pass in summer.

Riding by the lake – A surreal experience

Skirting Tasik Kenyir

Finally, after the long hours, we reached our destination. We’re just so excited to bring the whole bunch of guys over since our last recce. The whole spread and variety of bread is something you don’t get every day, especially in a place like this. Before long, a shadow loomed over us. “Man, it’s going to rain. Never had that for some time already.” I thought. Then I saw fear in the eyes of those around me. The feared one!! Then, it bolted!…and a stone sank to the murky depths…

- through the eyes of Felip the Fish, resident of Tasik Kenyir

“Wah lau! I almost whacked that toman’s head!” I yelled as I grabbed another stone, hoping to strike it and make it groggy enough for me to take a picture. “Don’t be stupid la. How to knock out a fish like that.” came my girlfriend’s unflattering comment, revealing once again my extreme stupidity, as I dejectedly walked back into our room as she admired the scenery from the balcony.

Tony, the other fisherman

Relocation of elephants also take place in the lush reserve of Tasik Kenyir. These saved elephants are probably caught causing mischief in areas that can be as far away as Selangor and brought up to the reserve as part of conservation efforts.

Tasik Kenyir Resort and Spa is the only resort on the mainland, albeit a very comfortable and quiet resort. The accommodations in Kenyir are a mix of boathouses and resorts spread throughout the 340 islands in Tasik Kenyir itself. Serious anglers rent boathouses to go for fishing expeditions for a few days in a row, doing practically everything on the boat while city slickers lounge around in the balconies of their resort, absorbing the peace of nature. It is quite hard to imagine that the islands were once hilltops and highlands before humans starting flooding the place for a dam.

The vanishing pool is a prime attraction of the resort, offering a vast panoramic of the lake.

Nonetheless, we were grateful for the serenity and peacefulness of the place. You could throw your troubles into the waters of Kenyir and it’ll probably stick there for the rest of its miserable life while you get on with yours.

A blissful sight to end the day with.

The next day

The next morning was something of a rush. Beer went down well the night before but got so stuck in the head and refused to carry me out of bed. While I can vaguely hear the camera clicking in the balcony, I chose to bury my head below the pillow until I remembered that we’re supposed to be in the pool early in the morning!!

The first thing you see when you wake up……

It was also decided that we go for a short boat ride to better appreciate the area we were staying in. We would have loved to go for their numerous waterfalls, of which the Lasir Waterfall is reputed to be the most beautiful. This would have been a beautiful sight for the locals after an ardous climb up before they dammed up the place.

All aboard as we climbed in…..

The crazy bunch enduring the heat under the heavy clothes…and a lustful julius eyes Cy’s butt

The tips of once mighty trees are the only ones embracing the warm sunshine. The surprising thing is that the timber that are at least 5 metres from the surface is still strong and European submariners come down once every few months in their submersible to log them!

Today’s ride was delayed due to the boat ride but we are looking forward to it as we’ll be riding through some of Malaysia’s most scenic routes, Route 4 or more affectionately known as the Gerik Highway. Indeed, some of my best riding memories in Malaysia came from this highway; where else could you say you saw a wild elephant by the side of the road!

And since we’re so close to the east coast, we snaked our way out and had lunch in the quiet outskirts of Kuala Terengganu. The beach is surprisingly quiet, perhaps the road works nearby dampening people’s will to come, but it was more likely the weather. The weather so far had been unbearingly hot. The humidity and heat makes me wish we were on the move more…..

Enjoying the hardly breezy breeze…as much as there was cloud cover, the heat was stifling!

The ride to Jeli is to ride to the head of the Titiwangsa range in Malaysia, or what trekking aficionados call the “Roof of Malaya”. It, according to my all time favourite information website Wikipedia, forms the backbone to the Malaysian interior and is the source of seven of Peninsula Malaysia’s highest peaks above 2000 metres, including Gunung Korbu (Malaysia’s 2^nd highest peak – a mere 3 metres shorter) and Gunung Brinchang of the immensely popular Cameron Highlands. Unsurprisingly, this range is home to some of the oldest tropical rainforest in the world. We are indeed lucky to be still able to enjoy its natural wonders and we hope it would be much of the same 100 years down the road.

Besides the primary rainforest, we get to enjoy roads just like the Monaco Grand Prix!

As the sky darkens, so did the worry levels as it would probably mean riding in pitch black conditions around twisty trunk roads. We had enjoyed too much during the day and eaten into our itinerary.

at least we had a stunning view of Tasik Banding before it all turned dark!

Riding through Pulau Banding and the equally immense Tasik Temenggor, we headed on, riding almost 2 hours at night to Lenggong to dinner and a well deserved dinner and rest.

Foodd!!!!!! and Beeeerrr!!!

The 3^rd Day

The weather was equally unrelenting, even on the third day. By now, rashes are forming on my legs as the heat continued to wreck havoc to our body systems. It was really a joy to then head on to a waterfall nearby to dip those heated legs into some cool waters after a hearty breakfast.

Killing the heaty rash!

The time to head on back to Singapore was nigh and while I was raring to get back onto the roads to get some air circulation in, thoughts of files of work sicken me.

At least, we had a good dinner at an air-conditioned restaurant that sells herbal tea and other health stuff near Pagoh.

The lads and their pillions were also stoning out by now, giddy with euphoria from the ride, nauseous with a stuffed belly and at least for me, cringing at the thought of emails the next day. I should get a lake house soon…at Tasik Kenyir….and my thoughts wander.

That piece of property would be nice….

Or maybe I should get an MC tomorrow. I sure hope my boss don’t read this…….

Kenny P the monkey

]]> http://www.kruzer.sg/2008/05/lake-to-lake/feed/ 0 http://www.kruzer.sg/2008/01/kruzer-bukit-fraser/ http://www.kruzer.sg/2008/01/kruzer-bukit-fraser/#comments Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:23:12 +0000 Kenny http://www.kruzer.org.sg/cms/?p=11 26 – 27 Jan 2008
by Kenny

It is always challenging to write about a ride that has been an annual fixture. The child-like enthusiasm and excitement of going on a new riding experience would tend to be lost on jaded riders who has “been there, done that” and writers, like yours truly, would be scratching their heads thinking of new ways to write old stuff.

And yet, Fraser Hill has always been a top draw for Kruzer members, old and new. Statistics have shown (Yes! We keep statistics!) that the annual pilgrimage to Fraser Hill have been drawing the most number of people every year and the 2008 edition showed no signs of buckling the trend. Glancing at the participant list at the meet-up point at Gelang Patah Esso, Johor, I counted a total of 64 people, 34 bikes and 5 cars!

Safety Briefing

Which leaves me wondering: “What is the draw in riding to Fraser Hill?”
Perhaps, it’s the treacherous, adrenaline pumping twisties snaking round the contours of the hill. Or it could be the security of having an experienced team of organisers taking care of the participants’ needs, on and off the road. Whatever their reason for joining may be, it will stay true to a core Kruzer motto: There will be a new experience for all.

As an organiser of any rides, safety is of paramount importance and this ride to Fraser Hill is no different. Given the countless corners and twisties, the visual of a drop down the hill into what seems like a bottomless pit does not appeal at all but remain a possibility. A safety brief for our members is a necessity, even for our more experienced members. Experience may breed complacency and it is always better to remind than to review what had gone wrong.

After the pre-ride briefing by our trip manager and a hilarious demonstration of hand-signs by one of our members, the engines fired up and their thunderous idling pierced the cool morning air at 0130hrs. Time to move out!

Handsign Demonstration by Resident Clown

Fraser is approximately 400km from Singapore and is easily accessible from the North-South Highway, exiting from the Rawang exit. However, in my five years travelling with Kruzer, I have only used that way once. The search for alternative entries, routes and scenery is a never-ending quest for the club and this year, it is no different…

Cutting through KL in the wee hours of the morning, we entered Route 68, running parallel to the Karak Highway. Used mainly by the locals to get around paying toll fees, we managed to squeeze in another 50km worth of twisties! This really is a good place to warm up the tires for Fraser’s hairpins.

Stop Along Highway 68

As the early morning sun warms the body and the heavy fog lifts off the great tree canopies, picturesque overhead views of Bukit Tinggi and the Karak Highway begins to reveal itself. You wouldn’t want to speed too much here, as the lane is generally smaller than the average trunk roads you find elsewhere in Malaysia. Besides enjoying the ride and scenery, you could also take time to practise on your finesse in cornering at a slower speed as the corners are tighter than the ones leading to Fraser’s from Bentong.

We took the opportunity for a well deserved stop at a hot spring along Route 68 (N3 24.591 E101 53.484) and it was just as well as one of the cars experienced a problem further back with the accelerator. You sense the motorcycling gods must be looking down at you when the only 4 wheeler mechanic member in our group, happens to be travelling right behind the downed car! A quick diagnosis later, the stranded party moved off in a matter of minutes, leaving little signs of trouble at all.

The hot springs wasn’t exactly very warm and the murky waters really put people off entering the waters. It make things worse, the tiled floor of the hot springs was lined with slimy algae!

Just how some of the locals manage to dip in and swim baffles me. I guess it’s fine to dip your legs in, but diving into the hot cesspool takes the cake. With the poor quality of the springs, it was little wonder we left after half an hour of rest and begin the much anticipated climb to Fraser’s Hill.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like if the famous “South Buona Vista 99 turns” in Singapore just kept going and going? The 30.3km from Tranum to the top of Fraser Hill is a series of never ending twisties, hairpins and drops that simply keeps your adrenaline pumping and the altitude climbing. The view as one speeds skywards also astounds the first timers. Giant treetops disappearing below, barrier–free corners, a lifting fog and a general lack of vehicles all contribute to a ride with a close affinity to nature.

As you ascend, you may notice a subtle change in the surrounding temperatures, especially if it had rained the night before. Of course, with blood pumping through the veins at a higher rate, most wouldn’t have felt a thing!

A quaint feature I love about Fraser Hill was the final 8km climb to the town itself, called “The Gap”. Until recently, the route up to Fraser had only been a single lane of tarmac winding up the steep slopes. Timings for vehicles were set and enforced for vehicles moving up or down. If you were to miss it, you would have to wait an hour until the coast is clear. Alas, the modernity and pace of life has caught up with Fraser Hill and an alternative route was set for the ascent while the old one was marked for descent. With a resigned hush, we know too well that the newly prosperous urbanites of the country just cannot afford to relax and wait, even in their holidays.

As luck would have favoured it, a landslide rendered the new route impassable and the road timing system of the good old days was resumed.

Moving up The Gap is such a breeze and joy. Designed and built by the British back in 1919, the banking of the road feels really right and whether you are climbing or rolling down, the ride is just as smooth.

The same cannot be said of the new road. Landslides aside, the new road was also poorly designed where a left corner can possibly have a right bank, causing us some difficulties in not getting our foot pegs scratched.

By the time we were up at Silver Park Resort, we would be on the roads for close to 12 hours. Although coupled with plenty of rest stops along the way, the lethargy was beginning to catch up and the soft beds in Silver Park resorts were beckoning.

A barbeque dinner was next but that can wait till sunset comes….

A cool chill woke me up. Stretching and peering from the balcony, an arrangement of heavy clouds, a red sun, misty surroundings and a gentle cool breeze created one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve experienced in Fraser Hill. As a stream of sunray peeked in through the clouds, it bathed the houses and mountain ranges in fiery red before it retired for the night. A minute later, dusk had fallen. Time for dinner!

Although dinner is meant to be a barbeque, it’s mostly the staff at work bbq-ing. Kruzers were in charge of eating it and eat, we did! Before the food was able to be transferred to the serving plates, the slabs of meat and fishes were snapped up by members, laying ambushes from the grill to the buffet line.

Fraser Hill is particularly popular among bird watchers and nature buffs. More often than naught, you will see people milling around the town with their binoculars or massive cameras, ready for the perfect photo opportunity. As a result, nightlife is non-existent in Fraser Hill and members were free to hold their own events and chatting sessions. It is also usually an opportunity to get to know new members better and share road stories. A few beers also don’t hurt very much and pretty much well deserved!

As we are scheduled to leave Fraser at 2pm in the afternoon, many rode around, exploring the nooks and crannies of Fraser’s Hill. Although small, Fraser Hill offers many nature and hiking trails. For those seeking gastronomical delights, well, you won’t find much here, except the very popular Ramli burger kiosk and the occasional durian sellers. Otherwise, you could warm your bones with a cup of warm coffee in the town centre or at the paddock.

As the time draws near to leave, I can sense the excitement of some of the older members. We will be leaving via Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB) and out to the NS highway to head straight back to Singapore. For the uninitiated, the route down from Fraser to KKB (Route 55) consists of very fast twisties and wider roads, quite unlike the hairpins and extreme corners of the previous day.

Indeed, an hour later, you can almost see the silly grins behind the helmets as the riders trickle in at the foot of Fraser’s Hill to regroup. With the corners gone, we made haste to return and have dinner at Gelang Patah to round off the trip.

However, it was not to be for some as one of the bikes had an electrical problem along the North South highway. With several experienced members leading the way, the main body headed back to Singapore while some remained to fix up the bike. It is a testament to the organisers’ patience when it turned out to be a 2 hour long repair and many possibilities were readied for the worst case scenario, that is, a tow back to Singapore from Alor Gajah. Fortunately, Kruzer resident mechanic, Rosli, managed to figure out the problem in the darkening hours, did some repairs and got all back safe and sound.

With the conclusion of another ride, credit must be given to the riders for preparing themselves physically and mentally for such a ride. Big group riding is fundamentally different from a single rider or small group riding. With the enthusiasm, safety awareness of the riders and the senior riders encouraging the touring novices along, it is no wonder we don’t have to fish anyone out from that bottomless pit!

Limping on its way back, the sick bike and its minders hooked up with some of the guys having a well deserved dinner-turned-supper, tucked away at a little corner in Gelang Patah town. Laughter and chatter filled the quiet, chilled air of the late night as we reminisce the days that past and those that are to come. As it turns out, it wasn’t too hard to write about this trip. The people in the trip made it easy for me and this spoke a lot of what Kruzer really are. A family.

PS: Kruzer have embarked on another adventure in a cave in Ipoh at end March! Stay tuned….