Enough about the monkey crap.
The Kuantan bike trip was finally confirmed after much hesitation from the gf. I had took the friday after Labour's day off on annual leave, and she had a wedding dinner to attend to on Saturday. Went about packing my stuffs only the night before I was supposed to set off on a 3 day 2 nights trip. I had even met up with the peeps from SIM for a dinner. Its been a while since we last caught up with each other.
As usual my practice with documenting the bike trip up north, I shall list the itinerary, even though there wasn't a concrete one initially.
Day 1 - 1st May 2008 (Thursday)
07:30 Set off from GP Esso with James; Lawrence was late.
08:30 Met up with PK at Yoon Lai restaurant in Kulai for breakfast.
10:00 Finally moved off to Kuantan after hearty meal of
wanton noodles,
chee cheong fun & lots of milo ice. (Including waiting for Lawrence on his
kupchai)
12:30 Mersing stop for refuelling
13:30 Stop for
mee goreng lunch just after entering Pahang state.
15:30 Reached Sungei Lembing, quaint little mining town that was to be our home for the next 2 days.
16:30 Hopped onto 2 bikes to go to Gua Charas, the limestone caves that house the reclining buddha
18:30 Done with exploring Gua Charas, went back to Sg.Lembing town for dinner at local
kopithiam.
21:00 Sudden rain forced us to stay till 9 plus at the
kopithiam. Relaxed with a pot of tea and chit chatting
00:30 Queuing up to take a shower before hitting the sack
Day 2 - 2nd May 2008 (Friday)
05:30 Woke up early to go to take a 4WD to the famous "rainbow waterfall"
06:15 Breakfast of
Yong tau foo at the wet market.
06:45 Set off for our journey in search of the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
07:15 Stop halfway at rest point for toilet break
07:45 Finally reached the river crossing point where everyone has to cross the waters
08:30 Treacherous trekking and bashing lead us finally to the famed
"rainbow waterfall". What a sight to behold. Serious.
11:30 Frolicking in the waterfall, slurping a hot cup of noodles & making our ways back to the vehicle... going through the long & tiring trek all over again.
12:30 Reached home sweet home for a shower
15:00 Lunch was settled at a local kopithiam over toast bread,
kuehs & milo ice.
15:30 Visited the Sg.Lembing tin mining museum & explore its rich history
16:00 Chill out by roadside stall for a drink under hot weather
16:15 Move off to Kuantan town - Cempedak beach
17:30 Reached destination for some photo taking & waiting for Lawrence to come
19:00 Decided to head off for dinner without Lawrence; still no reply
19:30 Reach some seafood restaurant specialising in
ikan bakar but decided to head to nearby "Oldtown" coffee house instead.
21:00 Dinner was settled over local fare such as
nasi rendang chicken & toast. Rain started falling, & Lawrence finally arrived, much to our relief.
21:30 Move off back to rest under the worst possible riding condition - wet roads, bad lightings, unfamiliar condition. Ride slowly is the key.
23:00 Finally reached home safe & sound. Experience gained a level!
Damn cool lah! Super poser right??
05:30 Woke up damn early to get to climbing the Bukit Panorama.
06:15 Reached the foot of the mountain & thus ascend up in relative darkness with only 1 torch to guide 3 of us.
07:00 Finally, the top of the world!!! Unbelievable view man! Wooo!!! Gasp in wonder & frantic photo taking.
08:30 Descent when the heat starts to get unbearable
09:00 Breakfast at wet market, we were all famished!
10:00 Some minor motorcycle maintainance at local bike shop.
10:30 Back to our bungalow for a shower & rest.
13:00 Checkout & chat with friendly owner (Singaporean) before starting journey back. Rain was threatening in the not too distant distance.
14:00 Midway, it rained haphazardly. Glad to have good riding gear & rain jackets on!
15:00 Due to heavy breakfast, decided to just have a quick snack while refuelling at Petronas fuel station
16:30 Reached Segamat for some heavy packed durian eating session
17:00 Set off for dinner at Gelang Patah, JB.
18:00 Lost PK along the way due to heavy traffic
18:45 Reunited with PK at Pagoh R&R.
19:30 Reached Tian Lai Seafood restaurant in GP, JB.
20:30 Dinner was eventually served ONE FREAKING HOUR later. But the food was good.
21:30 Set off on our way back to Singapore via Tuas 2nd link
23:00 Blk 134 Bedok Reservoir Rd - Home Sweet Home!
This trip was more interesting than the previous ride to Cameron. To me, it is more of a training boot camp than bike trip. Most of the time was spent climbing and trekking into forested areas, and also getting our feet wet and being chased after by disgusting leeches in the jungle! I can feel so much fitter already, IPPT should be a piece of cake now! Hahaha...
I'll leave you with this beautiful picture taken up above the "clouds", actually mist from the evaporation of morning dew of the forest below.
Nice right??
