The plan was to ride to a southern bay called Mentigi Bay or later renamed into Teluk Iskandar, about 160km southeast of Kuala Lumpur in a port city of Mersing with our spouses. Joining me in this couple ride was Shahriman on his new Tiger 900 and Fred on his Wmoto RT3.
We made a move from Rawang around 8.15am and the weather was clear with ambient temperature around 24°C. Fred was already onsite when we arrived at our first RV1 around 8.40am, and our wives were formally introduced. There were relatively fewer congregations of bikers at the station that morning, despite the lovely weather to ride. We made a move towards Karak around 9.00am and the highway surface was immaculate with moderate traffic heading to the east coast.
We took exit 813A towards Karak and later FT09 towards Telemong, riding through winding road in between durian orchards. It was durian’s off-season so there were a lot less traffic in this section but I was disappointed to find the road surface turned worst after we passed Manchis. We turned left into Felda Chemomoi riding through inner roads eventually into FT10 Jalan Teriang.
After Felda Raja Alias 3, we turned left again towards Bahau through FT11, this road is a single lane road connecting Bahau and Keratong. Despite being a main road, I was again disappointed to find the condition hasn’t changed much after all these years. It is narrow with inconsistent road shoulder, junctions were not clearly mark with signboards and plenty of low-quality patches are scattered along this road. Riders are advised to ride carefully in this section.
The final section in the first half of today’s ride we turned left again towards Muadzam Shah, riding into FT12 where we met a few groups of riders from Singapore. We had arrived at Petronas KM78 around 12.30pm to refill before having lunch. The weather was hot and humid with ambient temperature around 34°C but in the horizon we can see dark clouds were moving south.
We made a move towards Kuala Rompin through FT63 passing Bukit Ibam and Mardi facilities. Road condition was moderate and it started to get cloudy. My promise to wait for Fred in this section is hard to fulfill and eventually I left him but Shariman kept his following distance. As we passed Endau, it started to drizzle and that has helped with the heat. It was drizzling intermittently as we approached Mersing and just before the town, an uncle on a moped bike cut through my lane, triggering an emergency braking. No untoward incident as I was expecting his bold move 250 meters before it happen.. but I am more worried about traffic behind me. What a way to ride uncle!
We have eventually arrived at Mentigi Bay Glamping site around 4.00pm, a few minutes earlier than Fred and Ellie. The campsite was better than my early expectation as it is complete with a pantry, firewood pit, a sunrise dock, garden bathing area and more.
However the A-shaped chalet is too low for me as my head keep banging on on the roof, one have to stick in the middle section to avoid it.
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That afternoon my wife and I went riding to the beach of Teluk Iskandar during low tide, where you ride on the flat solid beach.
Later that night we rode out to a seafood restaurant, 6km from the campsite. The Mersing sky at dawn is majestic with blue and red colors decorating the cloud formations. This is the moment that most travelers missed in their travels.
We had dinner at the restaurant and at the same time had a simple celebration for my birthday. My wife brought a few decorations with one mochi cake – later shared across the table. We went back to the campsite and sat around the firewood pit, sharing horror stories at campsites. Around 10.30pm we retreated to our chalets.
The next day, it was cloudy – so we missed the chance to watch the sunrise at the dock. We had coffee and instant noodles for breakfast.. no luck today to watch sunrise.
At 9.30am we were gathered for a group photo. Fred – however decided to depart earlier.
We rode around the bay all the way to Flinstone Castle before heading towards Kahang and Kluang.
We rode through FT50 Jalan Mersing and this route was fun with its twisties along forest backdrop. The target lunch spot was at asam Pedas Ikan Air Tawar Empangan Mahkota and we eventually arrived there around 11.30am.
Around 1.30pm we said goodbye to Fred and made a move towards Rawang through North-South Expressway.
The weather was cloudy and it started to rain just before Seremban R&R, when we made a stop to refill. We finally arrived home safely around 4pm.
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