7 years is a long time. It’s enough time to have 7 babies, watch a World Cup, European Cup and the Olympics at least once and just enough time to experience the seven year itch. Ah yes, the seven year itch, the proverbial tendency to move on to newer things in relationships. While the years roll by, Kruzer hung on, adapted and changed even, just to soothe the itch of its riders. It is a testimony to all riders that we lasted this long.

This year, Kruzer moves offshore for the first time ever to celebrate its 7th anniversary in a foreign land. But yet, some things remain constant. Like the bikes and the roar of motorbikes navigating its way through the meandering twists, turns and dips and climbs of Fraser’s Hill. Or the ever curious monkeys who would raid your apartments if you are foolish enough to leave a window open. It is apt that we should celebrate our 7 years in a home, away from home. One we never fail to visit year after year.

With new tires, loaded boxes and a promise of good company, this weekend is more than a union of old friends and forging new acquaintances. It is where an unforgettable experience beckons..

Happy 7th anniversary to all Kruzers!

10:00am - We met up first at GP Esso, before moving off to our first food destination for brunch, or what some would say – Brunch.

Curry Noodle Yong Tau Foo

As there were dark clouds looming in the sky, we decided to move on to our next destination. Unfortunately, it started raining after a few minutes, but stopped as we rode away from the dark skies.

Kruzer at a pineapple plantation

Isaac then brought us to our next destination where we had to pass through a pineapple plantation. There, we stopped to have a look-see.

Bikes parked along the road. Loving the fluffy clouds and greenery!

Kenneth checks out the sweet fruits

Lionel happily enjoying the sweet fruit

R.E.S means Ride - Eat - Shop

The Kruzer ladies also took this chance to shop for fruits. Well, RES can mean Ride, Eat, and Shop right?

Lionel taking forty winks

Moving on to our next destination, the skies started to pour again. This time however, we weren’t able to ride out of the rain. So, Isaac brought us to Puteri Harbour to take shelter and to chill at the cafe.

Sadly, the cafe was closed for renovation. So, we ended up bumming around and chit-chatting while waiting for the rain to stop.

After 2 hours or so, the rain finally simmered down and we decided to have an early dinner since some of us had to go back earlier. Isaac then brought us to a nearby coffee-shop where we had Sze Char, soups, Soft Shell Crabs and Salted Egg Crabs.

Tasty Salted Egg Crabs

In addition to being a relatively quiet venue for dinner, this coffee-shop serves good food with big portions, and best of all, it is really affordable i.e. 2 crabs only cost RM 70.00+ !

Well, I’m sure we wouldn’t wait till the next RES to come back here for their food again.

Despite the wet ride home, it was a slow and easy outing where we got to mingle around with each other and our new friend. Thank you Kruzer for a crabbilicious outing!

That was when I woke up, turned off my alarm, and headed downstairs to get my morning joe.

However, the actual breakfast time was 10:00am, which means that I could either catch more sleep, or bum around and chit chat with the folks who are awake. Well, I chose the latter.

Breakfast Buffet. Kruzer Style.

Soon, it was time for breakfast. Thank you, Isaac for cooking such a sumptuous spread of food!

A local orang asli bidding us farewell

Kruzers off to Fraser's

Before heading home, Isaac decided to bring us to Fraser’s Hill; a well-loved destination by Kruzer because of it’s cool weather, awesome scenic view, and most importantly, where fond memories belong.

Splendid view on the way up Fraser's Hill

Enjoying a siesta on the couch

4:00 pm. It was time to leave for home. Going downhill from Fraser’s, I managed to steal a shot of the breathtaking view.

The breathtaking view down Fraser's Hill

Goodbye Fraser's Hill. See you very soon!

Dinner at a quiet local coffee-shop

..

By the time we finally arrived home, it was the wee hours of the morning. Despite our exhaustion, I must say that unlike other trips, this one was a smooth and slow ride for us. Needless to say, dear and I enjoyed ourselves (as usual), and thank Kruzer for the wonderful experience in the Shed. Till the next ride!

29th October took longer than expected to arrive. I guess I wanted a getaway and a road trip so badly that the growing excitement in me made it feel like time was crawling by.

Regardless, the day finally arrived and at 5:00am, our adventure begins..

Kruzers meeting up at GP Esso

As usual, the group met up at GP Esso at 5:00am and after a short session of chanter and banter, we moved off to our first destination…

Breakfast at 777

Breakfast! What best to start a road trip than to be satiated with a warm bowl of wanton noodles, and be refreshed with a cuppa joe?

Beautiful colors in the sky

Just when we were almost done with breakfast, the sky was starting to lighten up. So in order to catch the sunrise, we quickly suit up and left for our next destination.

Riding through the morning fog

But what we’ve experienced wasn’t only the warm and bright rays of the rising sun. We had to ride through a cloud of morning fog, which really got some Kruzers excited because it feels as though we are in a cold country.

Kruzers showing some Kindness

In about one and a half hours, we arrived at our first petrol stop – Pagoh R&R. There, a few Kruzers lend a hand to a group of locals who had trouble with their vehicle. Kudos to the helpful bunch of abled-bodied men!

The Kruzer Krowd

The second stretch of the journey was quite tiring was some, due to the post-breakfast fatigue and the morning sun. Regardless, we managed to arrive at our Seremban R&R safely, and even managed to gather everyone for a quick group photo before moving off!

A sumptuous spread of meat, fish, and vegetables. *burp*

Before we arrived at our final destination, we stopped by a local Bak Kut Teh restaurant for lunch.

Grocery shopping at local Giant Hypermart

After which, we made our way to the local supermarket to get some groceries for tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast.

Welcome To Sekeping Serendah

Since our final destination was 30 to 40km away, it didn’t take long before we finally arrived.

Bikes at rest

The Glass Shed

Despite being enclaved in a thick foliage of trees and nature, I quickly spotted our Glass Shed from a distance. And like a child in wonderment, I headed over our Glass Shed excitedly.

Simplistic and minimalist, I quickly fell in love with the interior designs, and how ingenious some of the furniture concept were. One of the favorite things I also like about the Glass Shed is their sleeping quarters upstairs, which really makes me feel as though I’m living amongst the trees when I plonk onto bed.

Generally, I love how this place embodies tranquility and serenity. Truly, it’s the sort of place where you can escape from the hustle and bustle of life, and the cares of this world.

Following the red brick road

After unpacking our stuffs, my partner and I decided to have a look-see at our surroundings..

The Timber Shed

.. and check out the Timber Shed where some of the Kruzers were staying.

The Pool of Serenity

Having no technological connections on our phones, we decided to spend the hot and lazy afternoon dipping in the pool. Ahhhhh… 

Kruzers enjoying a splash

Prepping for Halloween

Halloween night at The Shed

Chef Chan & Chew at work

Kruzers chilling out

With a sumptuous spread of home made hand burgers, dapper, and booze, our shed was filled with the sweet aroma of food that’s accompanied with lively chatter. Indeed, nothing beats being in the company of good friends, food, and alcohol. Cheers!

I laid awake for a while before sitting up. It was quiet all around. No sound of laughter, chatter, or birds chirping. Just complete silence.

I unzipped my tent window and saw what’s left of our dining area last night:

Remnants of last night

As you can see from the above, the sky was still a little dark and the ground was still wet from last night’s rain and this morning’s dew.

I turned my head to the right and noticed some orange and blue hues in the distance. Thinking that I might catch the sunrise, I quickly walked to the Bridge area and waited. Unfortunately, I didn’t get what I was waiting for. But it’s alright. At least I’ve got a snapshot of what might have been a gorgeous sunrise.

The morning light

In an hour or so, the sky was fully lit. Some of us who woke up earlier started preparing breakfast.

Rachel cooking scrambled eggs. Yum!

Like the early birds which catches the worm, the early Kruzers get to enjoy a sumptuous breakfast of eggs, maggie mee, tea, and coffee.

The early birds for breakfast

After packing up and clearing the camping site, we finally moved off at 11:00am thereabouts.

The winding roads to the exit

12:00 pm – Arriving at our first stop in the outskirts of Malacca for a drink or two.

At the outskirts of Malacca

02:20 pm – Kruzers arriving at a Petrol Station to refuel.

Quenching the thirsty motorcycles

03:00 pm – Isaac led us through the coastal roads and finally brought us somewhere along the beach to enjoy the sea breeze.

Kruzers by the coast

Kenny making himself at home while enjoying the breezy afternoon by the sea

Kenny knows how to relax on a breezy and sunny afternoon

Stevie by the sea

05:45 pm – We decided to have an early dinner at our favorite hangout in Malacca: Cliff’s Sunset Retreat

With the lovely weather, great ambience, gentle breeze, some of us quickly made ourselves at home by removing our motorcycle boots, and changing out of our touring pants into comfy shorts.

It didn’t take long before our dinner arrived. Here’s Jocelyne with her Chicken Maryland – an absolutely must try!

Food does make one happy

My Salmon Fillet arrived much later. Apart from being a tad dry and overcooked in the centre portion, the rest of the salmon was pretty soft and tasty

My tasty dinner

If not for the dark clouds looming at the distance, we would have stayed longer at Cliff’s. That said, we suited up and moved off for home at about 8pm. Even at that time, I was surprised to catch a glimpse of sunset on our way back!

Sunset on the way home

Arriving back at GP Esso at 10:45pm, we mingled around for a little while before bidding farewell to the rest of the Kruzers.

For both my partner and I, this camping trip was truly an experience which we truly enjoyed, and will definitely want to experience again in the near future. Thank you Kruzer (and Isaac), for making this trip a memorable and enjoyable one for us!

Ad.ven.ture (noun) : An unusual and exciting, typically hazardous experience or activity.
Taken from the inbuilt dictionary in my macbook.

With roads filled with potholes and gravel, and being sandy at some stretches, the word ADVENTURE is truly befitting.

Which is why my partner gave me the concerned look when I nudged him to go. It wasn’t because he was un-adventurous. Rather, he was worried that Scarlet (his Honda STX 1300) would be too heavy to manhandle in such treacherous terrain.

So we decided to use Stevie (my Honda VSE 400). Then again, logistics would be a major issue because Stevie has got only a top box, which was barely sufficient for 2 sleeping bags, clothes, and other smaller items. As for the rest of the camping stuff like stools, mass tins, solid fuel, food etc, we thought hard about how we were going to transport it to Mount Ophir.

As the camping trip approaches, we still haven’t figured out how to settle our camping stuff. Dampened by space constraints, we almost pulled out from the camping trip if not for the generosity of a fellow Kruzer, who allowed us to put our camping stuff on his bike. (Thank you Teo!)

And with that, our camping trip unfolds..

Checking Tire Pressure

04:15 am – As usual, Lionel brought us to the nearby petrol station to check the bike’s tire pressure.Notice the big black bag on the floor? That’s our camping stuff which I swear that it weighed about 20kg or something.

05:00 am – Met up the rest of the Kruzers at the usual meet-up point – GP Esso. Note the Yellow GS, with our camping stuff on top.

05:20 am - Had a short briefing about the trip before moving off at 05:30 am

Meeting up at GP Esso

07:30 am – We arrived at Pagoh R&R for our first refuel. Noticed that Stevie’s fuel consumption dropped significantly: from 22 – 24 km/l to 15 km/l.

Pagoh R&R

08:20 am - Arrived at Tangkat town to fill our tummies before heading up to Mount Ophir.

The Breakfast Bunch

09:07 am – Here’s us traveling through the trunk roads to Mount Ophir. Thank God for the pleasant weather.

Through The Trunk Roads..

09:09 am - The tarmac road soon disappears and we soon found ourselves traveling on the rugged roads, filled with sand and gravel.

Kruzer Goes Off Road

09:16 am – So far, the journey has been manageable. Here’s my rider, giving a relieved look inside his helmet. At this juncture, we were so glad to have brought Stevie on this trip instead of Scarlet.

Lionel gives a relief smile

09:30 am – Just when we thought that the roads couldn’t get worse with inclines and more loose gravel, we saw a vehicle coming down the same path we were on! Wait a minute? SO THIS IS A TWO WAY ROAD?

It's A Two Way Road!

09:33 am – The roads just gets worse from here along. With steep slopes, sharp hairpin loops, uneven gravel road .. I had to keep my camera and focus on the roads (and pray!)

Where does this lead to?

We finally made it to the camping site after an arduous journey up Mount Ophir! Special thanks to my rider who brought us up safely. Phew!

Visitor Centre at Mount Ophir

While Isaac and Jocelyne were doing some registration at the Visitor Centre, I roamed around and took some pictures of the beautiful scenery.

The Bridge with a view

A breathtaking view of the green plains below. Ahhh, what an idyllic and surreal place.

The view from Mount Ophir

Meet Joshua, Veronica, and Cherie (from left to right) – our 3 new friends joined us for this trip.

Our 3 new friends

Our camp site is just beside the beautiful dam. Love the peaceful and paradisal surroundings!

Kruzer By The Dam

Motorcycle Parking Area

Laundry Area

Dining Area

Meanwhile, we started pitching our tents. I of course, was busy taking pictures as usual. The perfect excuse.

Pitching Our Tents

Lionel, feeling a sense of accomplishment after pitching our tent.

(If you are interested, our tent can be bought at Carrefour or Giant for just SGD $55.00. It’s a 4 man tent, which gives lots of extra space for us to put our barang barang inside)

A Sense of Accomplishment

Brunch In The Making

Just when I thought that having Maggie Mee in the wild is a luxury in itself, our Kruzer friends surprised us with Curry Maggie Mee. Ha!

Cook A Pot Of Curry

Disconnected from technology and society, we could only keep ourselves entertained and busy with jokes, story-telling, food and drinks..

Story-telling by Kenny

Isaac prys open a coconut

Isaac makes a hot cup Tea Tarik

Surrounded with nature and lush foliage, it’s common to find animals and insects which we don’t usually get to see. For example:

Poor little scorpion which lost its tail

This little grub which we found before throwing in one of the wood pieces

This mysterious stick insect which sneaked behind us..

With so much time in our hands and no technology to keep me company during my spare time, I could only do what I do best besides eating – SLEEPING!

Relaxing and enjoying the view in my tent

Meanwhile, the rest of the bunch were busy (and having fun) gathering wood for the improvised kitchen stove.

Displaying teamwork in breaking the wood

Our makeshift kitchen stove. Kudos to the creative thinking of Isaac and other fellow Kruzers!

What used to be a bench..

Joshua helps out in the "kitchen"

Soon, it started to rain and I quickly went back to my tent to hide. But I’m surprised that the rest of them continued with their activities (such as eating corn) in the rain!

Spotted one of the corn-y people at my tent window

It didn’t take long before the rain got heavier. Most of us went back to our tents but a handful of helpful men braved the rain and accompanied Chef Isaac to prepare dinner.

Kenny and Isaac carrying the cooked food to the sheltered area

Our delicious dinner, cooked by Isaac with the help of Lionel, Kenny, and Teo. Thank you guys, for persevering in the rain just so that we can fill our stomachs with this delicious meal for dinner.

Delicious Chicken and Pasta for dinner

Finally, the rain stopped just before dusk and I decided to take some snapshot of the scenery, and you know, digest those protein and carbohydrates from dinner.

Idyllic and serene scenery

The night hit us sooner than I thought. Shortly after dinner (and the photo-taking session after the rain), we were engulfed with darkness.

Regardless, we continued to mingle around with damper, alcohol and tea, causing the night to be filled with laughter, booze, and the sweet aroma of Teh Tarik.

My caffeine fix to keep me warm in the cold night

Time check – 11:00pm. With the cool temperature and the alcohol in some of our stomachs, we retreated to our tents to sleep.

If I could sum up the camping experience of day one into a sentence for my partner and I, it would be “We made it!” And by that, I mean I’m glad we made it to Mount Ophir and survived a day with nature, its creatures, and the absence of technology. Woohoo!

Thus, Kruzer organized a Day Ride to an undisclosed location where Kruzers had the best durians of their lives:

Best Durians Ever!

Like those Indiana Jones movie where the journey to seek treasure is filled with traps and danger, Kruzer’s journey to fabulous durians was filled with steep incline, gravel, and sand.

The killer slope that made many hearts skip several beats

Isaac Conquers The Incline

Kruzers showing teamwork by pushing Richard's Harley out

Lionel's STX is up next.. *heart palpitations*

But pictures just don’t do justice to those brave Kruzers who conquered the steep and challenging incline. So here are some videos to show how tough it really is:

Joey goes up the hill..

.. followed by Richard..

It's easy peasy for Andre..

And here’s a video to sum up the whole ride:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awzBAbbfDeYa

As Farber, Barry J quotes: “There is no reward in life without risk” . The Kruzers had a huge bunch of tasty, creamy, sweet durians which made every sweat and heart palpitations worth it!

Sharon & Jeffrey enjoying the durians

Beer for the alcoholics

Jocelyne shows how good the durians are

Not forgetting some coconuts to cool ourselves down

The Kruzer Bunch that made it!

And to sum up this trip, here’s what some Kruzers have to say:

Fortunately, traffic wasn’t as bad as the previous day when we were headed to The Royale Bintang Hotel from Morib.

As we travelled out of the city area, the roads started winding into some trunk roads with an amazing view of the mountains.

Winding further up some twisties, we finally arrived at Haven Restaurant @ The Lookout Point.

Sitting on top of one the highest point of Kuala Lumpur surrounded by thriving and lush green tropical rainforest, Haven has a magnificent panoramic view of Kuala Lumpur that explodes your visual senses at first sight. Simply breathtaking!

Satiated from a heavy lunch, we moved off for Singapore. But instead of the planned route home, Isaac led us to another route – one which arose the interest of many Kruzers because of its twisties.

After a few twisties, Lionel felt that something was amiss. The bike wasn’t able to lean as much as it used to and immediately, he stopped by the side of the road to inspect his tires.

True to his fears, there was a tiny puncture on his rear tire sidewall. Fortunately he had a tire repair kit with him and hence, swiftly attended to the puncture. Kenneth was also kind enough to lend us his electric pump, which is a lifesaver because within minutes, the tire was pumped with sufficient air and we were good to go!

Riding through more twisties, another Kruzer and his pillion had a fall at one of the corners. Thankfully, they escaped with only superficial wounds and abrasions because they were fully geared with armored jackets and pants.

Indeed, this incident serves as a timely reminder to all, that wearing proper gears are important. In fact, always dress for the fall and not for the ride!

Despite the series of unfortunate events, we were still able to grab some dinner at a local town in Bukit Indah before heading back to Singapore.

With a puncture and a fall, you might have thought that our moods were dampened thereafter. On the contrary, we were able to laugh and chat over the dinner table, and more importantly, ride home safely.

Though the return leg might be a bittersweet experience for some, I truly believed that we still enjoyed ourselves as well as the company of each other throughout this trip.

Thank you Kruzer, for sharing 2 new destinations to us. I’m already looking forward to the next ride with you guys!

Awake and refreshed, I stepped out into the balcony and was able to catch a glimpse of the moon disappearing into the upper stratosphere. Too bad it was short of a sunrise. Else it would be perfecto!

In keeping with its passion, Kruzer organized a 3D2N trip over the long Good Friday weekend to a new destination at Morib on the first day, followed by a familiar destination (for some) to The Curve at Damansara the second day.

As the distance to Morib wasn’t that far (355km), we gathered at GP Esso at 6:00am, had a short briefing, before moving off at 7:00am.

As we will not be stopping for breakfast, we had to fuel our tummies with whatever we could find in the GP Esso Mart before moving off. Being a small eater, I had bread, which clearly pales in comparison with a packet of chicken that a fellow Kruzer bought.

The good thing about riding at dawn is the joy of watching the orange ball of light ascend from the horizon, slowly lighting up the sky with its soft, gentle sun rays. Certainly adds to the enjoyment of the ride as a rider, or pillion.

But our ride was shortly interrupted when we were stopped by the local police for ummm.. going a little faster than we should.

As you can see from the grin from a Kruzer from the above picture, this little incident is not going to spoil our moods for this trip.

After one refuel stop, we finally arrived at a local eatery named The Windmill Station, which is located at Seremban for brunch.

The Windmill Station
48 & 50, Jalan Melaka Raya 13,
Taman Melaka Raya, 75000 Melaka.
Phone: +606 286 0178
Fax: +606 288 3199

As the sun rose to its place in the sky, we needed something healthy and cold to cool us down. Some of us ordered a Giant sized jug of fruit juice, but we didn’t know that the jugs were THAT HUGE.

Hitting back on the roads, we soon arrived at Morib. But before heading straight to the hotel, Isaac – our dear Kruzer president – led us to a spot by the beach to let the sea breeze ruffle our hairs as we rested.

Here, we also had a glimpse of Golden Palm Tree Resort – A spectacular five star over water villa resort that stretches out nearly one kilometre into the sea facing the sheltered waters of the straits of Malacca.

Before our hairs could smell like sea salt from all the sea breeze we’ve been getting, we headed to our destination at Impian Morib Resort.

For a 6 year old resort, I was pleasantly surprised at its upkeep. It’s exteriors still look new and the rooms are really clean by my standards (except for a dead cockroach that SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME when I first checked in).

In fact, I usually don’t go barefoot in my hotel /resort room because mom taught me so. But this time, it felt as clean as my own bedroom, which made me really comfortable and happy.

Soaked in our perspiration while riding to Morib earlier in the day, the first thing we could think of after checking into our rooms was to jump into the pool.

There, we not only lazed around (and in) the pool, but got to enjoy some local Kruzer talent as they created their own advertisements out of a Kamen Rider Mask and a Mini Fan in a shape of a Milkbottle.

Check out their video here. Thank you Jo for the video!

Before we know it, dusk was approaching and our tummies were rumbling. So we met up at the lobby at 6:45pm before heading out for dinner.

Upon arrival at Golden Sea Chinese Restaurant, we were welcomed with a beautiful sunset across the horizon. Ahhh.. isn’t it spectacular?

We then ordered several dishes for dinner – Hotplate Tofu, Banana Chicken, Fried Beansprout with salty fish.. and more.

Frankly, the standard of the food wasn’t that great. Most of the folks sitting that were in the same table as I am agreed that the food has a subtle muddy taste. Personally, I’m not too keen in returning here for another meal.

Before heading back to the hotel, Isaac led us to a local minimart so that we could get some beers, drinks, and grubs.

We then met up in our own groups in various rooms to chill, and enjoy a night of laughter, chatter, booze, and chips before heading back to bed.