This ride had taken place over a month ago - Saturday, 19th Dec 2020 to be exact. In the past it would only take me at most one week sometimes, but usually I would be writing about the ride the same day or the next day if I was too tired (mind and body) to write. I guess, with little fresh approach to write about a particular ride outing, it may have contributed to my enthusiasm in writing. Plus I am nowhere close to being a writer! So, writer's block does not apply. hahahahahahaha....
The last recorded ride together with Zack was on 5th September (Kenduri AjiKTM) and on 8th August, when I was running-in the X-Adv. But, during the Kuala Selangor ride in October, Zack could not join. So, obviously we were looking for windows to ride again. Not that easy with the PKPB and end-of-year. And when we finally set for ride date, I had some challenges to overcome... alas...
In our bigger group, SBM, some members were planning to ride circumnavigating the peninsular using mopeds. I obviously do not own any suitable kapcai - except maybe the SYM VTS 200, not a kapcai per se, but acceptable for the ride's purpose. But the SYM is being used by my son-in-law for work. Thus, I decided to buy another bike, a used kapcai! How you might ask that has anything to do with this ride? Well, after looking at few ads, I narrowed down to an eight-month old Honda RS150R that looked decent enough. So, an appointment was set which happened to coincide with this ride's timing! And that was the only day the owner was available. He lives in Lukut, thus we set to meet somewhere around there. But he later set to meet up at Sepang, which in a way works well for me to continue with the ride and at the same time meet up with him to view and deal on the bike. How? well, I was almost 90% set on buying that RS150, provided the actual bike is "like new" and without any issues.
Now back to the planned ride. When I arrived at our regular rv point, at Shell RnR Dengkil Southbound, they were already there. I have already alerted Mzac and Zack about viewing and almost certain that I would buy the kapcai. I thought today it would only be the three of us, but apparently Waq would also be joining... thus we waited for him as he was running a bit later that the set RV time.
We were in no hurry though, as it would take less than an hour to get to Sepang Town from this place. When Waq arrived, we had a bit of time still to catch up as it has been about a year since we (me & Mzac) met him or went for a ride together. Zack would have met him regularly since they are colleagues at work.
We arrived at the agreed meeting point with the RS150 seller, but he went to the rest area just besides this Shell station in Sepang...
We got there (Rest Area at Sepang Town, just besides Shell station) at almost the same time, around 9.30am. And the rest, as they say is history. I bought another bike. Adie (my SiL) rode the bike back, while the four of us (Zack, Mzak, Waq & I) continued with our ride for the day…
Deal Made.... :-)
We were undecided on our destination. Though I suggested we do the Sepang-Lukut route, the others were a bit apprehensive as Lukut/Seremban had become a Covid-19 red zone. Waq suggested we go to Kafe Cikgu in Kampung Kundang Tanjong Sepat.
So we headed out towards Morib – a route that I’ve not ridden for many years. Back in the day when I was with the Fireblade, I would frequent the small bike shop, Polly Motor (Lau Tanjong Sepat) for service and what nots. But that was a long time ago…..
There are variety of foods served. Tasty as well. I was not really paying attention to the menu, but Zack & Mzac was adamant to revisit for the other options that they could not try that day for obvious reasons (i.e. there’s only so much one can eat on a meal!). We chatted for quite a while there… and the owner was rather friendly, coming to greet us and checking on us few times. This place apparently is a popular haunt for cyclist. Groups of them came and go, one group after another. In fact, even by the time we were leaving, some were still coming despite it was already past 11:00am.
Roti Arab with Mutton… delicious!“Lempeng Kelapa dengan kambing… slurpppppp”
Waq pun makan lempeng…
Their Nasi Lemak was also delicious! Mzac had this one…
It was already past twelve noon when we left for home. From there, we took the Banting route, and exit into SKVE after the town. Waq’s home is somewhere in Sijangkang, thus we parted ways as we turned into the highway. Mzac and I exited at Bandar Saujana Putra while Zack continued on… I guess everyone headed home, but I made a stop at AjiiKTM’s bikeshop at Putra Heights. This is somewhat a regular thing to do (sop by AjiKTM’s shop) whenever a ride passes by Putra Heights..
Called Idrus whom later came to service his Kymco400 in preparation for RPM
Looks like there’s much to be done…
Upon knowing that some of us were at the shop, DocZul whom happened to be nearby also came over…
DocZul’s MotoGuzzi V7…..
This has been another good day, especially when I got to accomplish a number of things – probably the more notable one was the deal on my new (but used) kapcai! Another one for the history book… my history book
As always, Mzac’s signature selfie before leaving his home for a ride…
This ride took place on Saturday, 19-December-2020.
And while the 3rd wave of Covid-19 is haunting us...
Sabah & Klang Valley were put in CMCO starting 14-Oct for two weeks, and extended for another two weeks until 9-Nov. Movements are restricted, especially for districts and areas identified as red zones (more than 40 cases). Roadblocks into and out of these areas were put in place.
And that caused concerns for DocZul whom have planned (and pre-book accommodations) for another “pusing Malaya” ride to make up for the inability of DocAmin to join on our first trip over a month ago. The dates set was 29-Oct to 1-Nov, taking advantage of Maulidur holiday on Thursday 29th.After much deliberations, on the day before “the day”, we agreed to go ahead with the ride. Despite the PKPB (Perintah Kawalan Pergerakan Bersyarat) that restrict movement out of Selangor except for allowed working folks. Anyway…
1st RV at Caltex Elite
My strategy was, if stopped at any roadblock, I would then turn back and go home. Alhamdulillah there was no roadblock at (entry to Elite hiway) Seafield toll plaza. Actually there was one, but on the exit side. Note: we were not stopped as well when we rode through the checkpoint when coming back on Sunday.
Now, there were some confusions on the RV timing. I suggested for RV at Seremban toll between 8:00 to 9:00am (to cushion any delays due to roadblocks and such), but DocAzmi and Hussein interpreted the timing for the three of us (from Shah Alam) to meet up at at Caltex off USJ on the Elite hiway. Anyway that was cleared up and we were all at that 1st RV place by 8:30am.
Me with Hussein & newly-met DocAzmi
When we got to the RV place with DocZul – Seremban toll gate – he was not there. Browsing through the WhatsApp messages after failing to get him on the call, I thought he was waiting at a nearby Caltex station (along Seremban-Kuala Klawang Road). So we hurried there; but he wasn’t there either. Few minutes later DocZul called, just arriving at the toll area… hahaha… Another confusion!
Friendly station staff/owner..The Four Exploriders ready to roll!
Exploriders?
I know. There’s no such word in the English dictionary. But for all purposes and intent, “exploriders” should summaries who and what we are for now. The three guys sort of said that they were into exploring new things, or unique places and maybe unfamiliar experiences… And these as they put it, is best done through riding. Not any rides mind you. Epic and extended days of rides.
DocZul, Hussein and DocAzmi are apparently riding buddies whom have been doing epic rides (domestically) for quite sometime already (more than 8 years I think) . I’ve known DocZul through SBM (the now defunct bike forum) and has ridden together in a group on many ride occasions. But those were short rides – halfday kind of rides. Those were the times when he was riding Honda 954 and I would be on my R1. The other two guys, Hussein and DocAzmi, would be my new acquaintances…
Day 1, Thursday 29-Oct-2020. From Seremban, our route would be to Karak via Kuala Klawang then to Kuala Lipis via Sertik-Mempaga route.
The Kuala Klawang stretch is quite a familiar route for us (I would think). So everyone seemed quite comfortable in negotiating the twists and turns of this popular route among riders. What is more important, the ride brought smiles to everyone….
Late breakfast at Kampung Kampai, Kuala Klawang – warung Roti Boom Tempayan
Yupp.. this was our first makan stop on this trip. And this would be the most memorable one I think. And it may be because of the photo below.. :-)
How the cicak got into Hussein’s milo ais, none of us saw or knew… Hihihi…
Well, that was that. Hussein did get a replacement for his cicak-swimming pool milo ais. And we all had a good laugh about it. Another thing to remember about this place was: as we were getting onto our bikes, a pakcik greeted us with this phrase “satu ada? satu? satu?” We could not figure out what he meant initially. But Hussein did caught up on it… The fella was asking for one ringgit! When given, he was very happy. As it turned out, he was having done mental health issues…. May Allah ease things for him….
So we pushed on after spending a bit more time than needed at that stall. After filling our tummies, we headed out towards Karak… the ride was normal.. And if any bikers would know, the Kuala Klawang-Karak route offers quite an excitable riding experience. Just as we were warmed up to the twists and turns, we found ourselves already arriving in Karak.
Refuelling & breather at Petron Karak Town…
After a short break at this station, we heed on towards Sungai Dua to do the Sertik-Mempaga route. It has been a very long time since I last ride on this route – more than 5 years if I recall correctly. There are some improvements on the road conditions, but not much considering the years…
At Jalan Felda Mempaga-Klaujunction… leading to Hulu Kecok..Quite an exhilarating route this one, especially the Hulu Kecok to Benta stretch.
DocZul has set the route to be as "rural" as possible. Thus we found ourselves riding through kampungs and with more than we could ask for twisties... good bends for honing our riding skills, I must say!
The route took us to Benta roundabout on the Raub-Gua Musang main road. From Benta roundabout, it was the regular Bentong-Gua Musang road. Not as busy as we expected despite the extended weekend - (today is Maulid holiday) if you were to take one day off on Friday, like we do.
It was already close to 2:30pm when we made our stop in Kuala Lipis, looking for that “0”milestone.
On the flip side of the milestone…
It was already about 3:00pm when we stopped for lunch…. Well originally for just coconut shake… but the stall owner was kind enough to offer rice with “kijang masak & patin tempoyak ” – on the house! (story was, he catered for a lunch function, and there were leftovers) while I skipped having rice plus all those for lunch that day, the guys said it was delicious!
I only had “air kelapa” and a couple banana fritters
We left Kuala Lipis around 3:30 and rode non-stop to Gua Musang, arriving at 5:00 just in time (fuel depletion-wise) for a refuel, and another breather + toilet duties.
Also a quick photo stop at the now famous “Masjid Buluh”
From there, we had another 67km to reach our final destination for the day – Gunung Stong Resort. Taking the Gua Musang-Jelawang road (route D29), it would take about one hour with a federal speed. However it took us a bit longer as we had to stop at Kampung Meranto when heavy rain/thunderstorm greeted us.
Waited the rain out for about 20 minutes here
It was already near dark (around 6.40) when we checked in at the resort. Our plan to take a dip in the river was a “no go” due to the rapid water flow.
Looks nice in photo… But that building is not fit for stay… under repair
So, this “exclusive” resort was taken over by the current operator about two years back. As shared by the father-son entrepreneurs, it was in a desolated and rundown state when they took possession of the property. They have spent few hundred thousand Ringgit to do the place up… But from what we see, lots more needed doing.
The towkay (operator) Haji YahyaBeds blankets towels hot shower shampoo shower gel provided… All clean… The chalet itself can do with a makeover… Still, quite a good accommodation
Now dinner. This place do not have a restaurant. So, we had to go out for meals. Fortunately the son is also a biker. And all bikers are brothers! Hahahaha… He offered and took us out in his car to a restaurant nearby…
Yazil Elham – the resort manager.Kedai Umi Pokok Cheree, Jelawang.
Got back to the resort and everyone hit the sack almost immediately – at least for me lahh! While slipping into deep rest, I swear I heard DocAzmi and Hussein talking about…. err can’t remember… But I am certain DocZul was on his mobile playing games!
End of Day 1. Total time, from 8:30am at Caltex Elite USJ to 6:30pm Stong Hill Resort. Total mileage – not so sure… Hahaha but if per Google map, about 485km. Not too shabby ehhh… :-)
Till next time Stong Hill…
Day 2, Friday 30-Oct. The initial plan was to go to Kota Bharu. But somehow I managed to talk everyone out of it seeing that it’s a Friday and I know from experience many places (of interest) would be closed. Furthermore, we had planned to perform Friday prayer at a not so crowded masjid, which would be away from big towns. Also, I wanted to stop by Hospital Kuala Krai to visit my Dotter there….
So we left Stong around 10:20 and made a quick photopose at Dabong Train Station, which by the way has gone viral in the past months. Not sure why, but many Instagrammers are visiting this place… Google it.
The Jelawang to Sungai Sam (and Junction to the main road of Gua Musang-Kuala Krai) was most exhilarating and unpredictable at the same time. With short blind corners and corners with uphill ascend, even the hati kering riders would get their hati basah woooo… Anyway, too bad I didn’t have any action cam mounted. e stopped for, again a late breakfast somewhere along the Dabong route. It was not a great one, but okay lah to garner energy.
Reached Hospital Kuala Krai around noon…
It was a very quick visit with dotter, whom was on duty that day. She could not spend longer time even if she wanted to. Plus we were also on a tight schedule. Friday time is early during this period – 12.54pm. So we really to be at a masjid we’ll before that.
They hide out at the nurses’ hostel while I visit…DocAzmi giving some advice to my dotter..
When we left the hospital, it was already 12:20pm. We decided to find a masjid in Kuala Krai town as the clock was already at 12:35 when we arrived at the town’s t-junction.
Masjid Annur Guchil, Kuala Krai.
The AJK there were really welcoming us that day. Alhamdulillah… We were given a room to change and to keep our things (safely). Helmets jackets and boots… We would definitely solat with a peace of mind… Jazakallahu..
Earlier in the morning, the plan for today was to reach Besut, my home town before Friday prayer. And I’ve asked my kakak ipar to prepare lunch. But we underestimated the time it took to reach Kuala Krai from Stong. So, my abang left a message that lunch was waiting (around 2:30)… Maybe he thought we had a change of plans and head straight to Kenyir, our final destination for the day.
At Caltex Jertih, Besut.
We arrived Jertih at around 2:45pm. Again, timing was right as our fuel tanks were at one bar. After a quick refill, we headed to my kampung, which was about 10 minutes away…
It was really a lunch stop at my brother’s. And the stop was quite brief. The good thing is, my mom’s (and childhood) home is just next door. So I was able to visit my mom as well…. In less than an hour we were again on our way… But to their surprise, I made another unannounced stop to visit my in-laws 5km away…
Forty minutes later, we were on our way to Kenyir. Stopping only to buy some titbits along the way, we arrived Kenyir around 6:30pm.
DocZul bought Maggi, which we did not eat at all and was taken home by Hussein.Lawit Lodge Hotel – View from room.
There were nothing much to do here. Later we learned that this ten rooms establishment has only two rooms for rent. The other eight rooms are being occupied by staff of the local authority (KETENGAH). Last activity for day, went out for dinner at a nearby RnR (despite the not so busy road, they set up an RnR here).
Day 3, Saturday 31-Oct.We were out of the hotel around 8:15am. Had instant coffee before a proper breakfast outside. Not sure if there are any restaurants here… So, alasperutsikitlah…
In the background, DocAmin doing his rituals – tying up his duffel bag to the bike.
Before moving on…. a bit of exploring done… Errr… More of photoshoot and posing…
ViewatPengkalanGawi
In no time at all we were in Kuala Berang. About half an hour to be specific. The first order of business was to find nasi dagang for the guys. They gave been asking about it since day 1. Tried to get my kakak ipar to prepare for lunch yesterday, but it was too short a notice. Anyway, asking around, while I was told its already late in the day for nasi dagang (what??? Its only 9am!), we were directed to a restaurant associated with a cycling gold medalist that would serve nasi dagang.
At Restoran Fatehah in Kuala BerangDocZul had a second dish – nasi minyak with fried chicken
Tummy filled, it would be a non-stop ride (except for refuelling) to Pekan Pahang. And maybe a quick stop that was made to a nearby Mr. DIY shop to buy chain lubes and applying to my bike and Hussein’s V-strom. Notable stretches on this route would be the old Jabor-Kuantan road, with narrow and very tight turns not to mention the sands and gravel on the road surface.
Refuelling at Petronas Bandar Al-Muktafibillah Shah.At the junction turning into Jabor-Kuantan old roadInto the twisties!
So, the plan was to meet up our (me & DocZul) friend in Pekan. We were set not to do lunch but maybe have a coffee break with Ahjai, a SBMers whom we thought is working in Pekan. But only today we learned he lives in Pekan (outskirt) but his office is in Kuantan. Luckily today is a weekend. Otherwise we would have missed him again as we did during our stopover in August during our first ride Pusing Malaya.
Arrived in Pekan @1:30pm
As mentioned, Ahjai’s home is not in town, so he directed us to a nearby restaurant where who then go to meet us.
Warung Pekan LamaPotential new xadv owner........... Jazakallah Ahjai for lunch!Interact mostly by virtual means.. But the friendship is as real as it gets…
Continuing on, our next stop would be our last destination for the day – Endau Beach Resort. From Google map, the travel from pekan would take about an hour and a half. We left Pekan at around 2:50pm, arriving around 4:10 at the Endau bridge. Of course we made a short refuelling stop along the way… plus one unplanned stop as Hussein forgot to properly close his topbox.
Ten minutes out of Pekan… Hussein locking his topbox proper.Only three of us stopped. DocZul was enjoying the twisties too much far ahead…Refuelling at Nenasi.
Landmark for Endau…
Endau bridge in the background
From this place, it would be another 20 minutes or so to get to Endau Beach Resort, located at Tanjung Penyabung. We we finally arrived at the place it was 4:45pm – the earliest timing reaching hotel on this trip.
The day (or rather, night) was ended with a stroll along the seaside then having dinner at the open makan place just opposite the hotel.
I had a kueytiow goreng; DocAzmi had nasi goreng kampung with telur dada; DocZul went with burger daging special; and Hussein ordered burger ayam special.
Earlier after checking in, them three guys had already went for a stroll and had some food (mee goreng, as they told me later) and teh tarik at this same place. Later that night, while we were sleeping, apparently Hussein and DocZul had to visit the toilet once or twice…. Likely the food they had dff o not agree with their stomach… Anyway….
Next morning, we were still debating on which route to take for our last leg of this journey. Go back to Rompin and ride through Muadzam Shah or go down to Mersing then tide through Kluang?
The room… For four... 3in1 Nescafe before hitting the road again…
Day 4, Sunday 1-Nov-2020. After we agreed to go south and maybe stop in Batu Pahat for nasi briyani… I called my long time buddy Hj. Nizam asking him if he would want to meet up with us. Long story short, we set to meet at Kluang.
We agreed to make a quick breakfast stop in Endau, at the restaurant that we’ve been before during our trip in August. We liked the roti canai with kari kambing there – “terlanjangggg” as repeatedly exclaimed by Hussein. However, this time around the roti was… not as what we tasted before.
Hussein looked weary…
What was supposed to be a half an hour tops breakfast ended up more an hour spent at this place. Hussein was really arrested by a suspected food poisoning. After taking charcoal tablet plus panadol, we let him rest at the table. We only left around 11:15am after Hussein was feeling better and was confident to ride again.
Turning into Mersing-Felda Nitar Road going to Kluang.
Onwards to Kluang whereby we’re supposed to meet up with Hj. Nizam around 12:00. And we were running late… Huhuhu… And I didn’t heads up to him! Apologies bro!
It was only during refuelling at Kahang I read the message from Hj. Nizam telling me he was alreadyin Kluang!
We finally arrived Kluang just before 1:00pm. Hj. Nizam was actually waiting at a different/new Kluang Station Coffee while we went to original shop at the railstation. Anyway, all was well…
Quite a long wait to get into Kluang Station Coffee… First time for me! Didn’t really want to ngopi there today, but Hj. Nizam insisted since we were already at the place.
After a brief discussion later, we decided to go to Restoran Kambing 40Hari (for lunch?) as DocAzmi has not been there before – thus Batu Pahat will not be on our itinerary today.
Arriving around 2:30 at the restaurant, it was a pleasant surprise to see not that big a crowd lining up. This would be not how it was normally on weekends, especially Sunday.
As we pulled to park, DocAzmi whom arrived last exclaimed after he stepped off his bike “beg saya cicir laa”… And we saw that his duffel bag was not there… Hihihihi… The road surface few kilometres from this place was really uneven. With just ropes and not bungy cords used to tie the bag, the humping and bumping could cause the rope to loosen. And that was what happened to DocAmin’s bag. Anyway, I went back and found the bag on the roadside a few kilometres away. All was well, except for few scratches and buffs on the hypergear duffel.
The nasi Arab kambing talam was (this time) a lil’ too big a serving for the five of us. Probably because the two guys – DocZul and Hussein – were having stomach issues. We suspected it was from the burgers they had the night before. In fact Hussein was nauseating when we stop for breakfast at Mutiara Biru Bistro in Endau.
They really needed the rest…
After finishing, or rather unable to finish the nasi Arab kambing talam which would normally be just nice for 5 pax, we retired to the surau to perform our solat… and for the “injured” to recover…
Towards the end of our rests, the mother of this shop owner came to talk us. Talk and giving advise! And at the end of it, she gave a souvenier to each us in the form of an oversize mug with this message “minum kongsi satu cawan dengan isteri ya..”
Jazakallah Hj. Nizam for the lunch and coffee earlier..DocZul was having issues with his front tyre… he was riding with a 20psi pressure at some road stretch!
We parted ways with Hj. Nizam at Yong Peng toll gate. Though originally we wanted to take the trunk roads, we decided to do the highway since the two guys was not at full energy no thanks to the food poisoning. In fact they were still purging the next day after getting home from this ride.
We left the restaurant at 4:30pm and made quite a long pitstop (half an hour) at Air Keroh Jejantas RnR.
The last pitstop…refuelling and rehydrate.
Alhamdulillah everyone arrived home safely, first DocZul in Seremban (probably before 7:00pm) and last would be Hussein and me. I reached home at 7:30. DocAzmi got home around the same time or slightly earlier as he was quite far ahead of me and Hussein on the last leg of our ride (Elite hiway)…
All in all, this has been a very enjoyable exploride!!! Thanks guys for the good company. Looking forward to more rides with you guys…
More pics…
Highest waterfall in South East Asia.Spooky….. Third building at Stong Hill Resort is still unfit for use.. To be repaired.Boat ticket Counter, Pengkalan Gawi, KenyirLandmark in Pekan, PahangMoon over Tanjung PenyabungQuestionable & doubtful pool at Endau Beach Resort…Longtime riding buddy… Longer time not riding together!“new normal” buddies
