Ride to Pantai Penyabong through Bekok and Bukit Ibam

Pantai Penyabong is situated at the edge of Teluk Penyabong and it is a strategic spot for class-C fishing boats to seek refuge against rough sea condition as it is nicely shielded by Pulau Pelandok, Pulau Tengah and Pulau Acheh.

Situated about 2 hours from Johor Bahru and 4.5 hours from Kuala Lumpur, this scenic beach is a famous getaway spot for tourists.

Shahril and I met at Petron station in Ampang on Saturday morning and we set out at about 9am.
Our first day route look like this:

The journey through Jalan Sungai Lalang is not as misty as we are here last time but still it is very scenic and filled with two wheel enthusiasts having a morning stroll

Generally the road are in good condition, except for litters and untrimmed tall grass on the Selangor side of the road and one landslide

the signposts are also worn out

We went through a town called Rompin but not Pahang.. it is still in Negeri Sembilan!

Photo Credit: Google

We reached Chaah at noon and weather started changing.

Bekok to Paloh Shortcut

We did tried to take this route before but it is dark and raining when we were here last time. Although it is showing sign of raining this time around, with plenty of sunlight still available we finally finished this route albeit some time wasting getting lost in the palm oil plantation.

The actual route does not have a challenging route such as this!

It is here that I took a fall on slippery ground (mixture of loose soil + rainwater) and twisted my DRL. Apart from that, no serious damage or injury incurred.

We took a shelter underneath the railway bridge

 and some on-site repairs are required

Once we are on the right route, it is all good until Paloh

Right after Paloh, we took a coffee break at the famous Kluang Railway Station Coffee. Seems like the price is still maintained at the lower side despite all that popularity.. Kudos!

From Felda Kahang we passed Mersing town to get to Endau

We reached Endau Beach Resort around 5.30pm and picked this RM200 room by the pool to crash for the night.

We rode out to Endau for dinner that night and have a big feast to recover the lost energy in the plantation..

The second day we rode back to KL and our route look like this

and the highlight is the shortcut from Bukit Ibam to Felda Chini

Bukit Ibam to Felda Chini Shortcut

This route is mainly used by loggers around that area and aboriginal people to gain access to Muadzam Shah and Felda Chini.

Entrance from Bukit Ibam

Checking the all gears before taking the rough ride

The road went through the forest and logging activities is still active in this area

Road condition is rough with loose rocks but generally good

 With many unmarked junctions and sub-road, trying this road without a gps unit would be very dangerous. This is our first time here and even with gps guide we were struggling to get our direction right.

More unmarked junctions

Our first 'forest expedition' on board Kawasaki Versys

Stopped by a logging camp asking for direction

We finally found an exit to Felda Chini though palm oil plantation and met this huge monitor lizard taking an afternoon stroll in the middle of the road

and it took a while before it decided to let us pass through

We taking a short rest at Petronas station in Felda Chini and its time to relax the sored muscle from the rough route.

From Chini we went to river side road of C108 (Chini to Bera). The devastation from the last flooding is still very much visible as almost all settlement in the river valley of Sungai Pahang is submerged.

We had lunch at Bera waterfront before went to Mengkarak

Mengkarak to Bukit Mendi Shortcut

Mengkarak is a small town about 20km south of Temerloh. We stopped by a small shop to ask for direction to Felda Kemasul, and to verify the route as shown on the Garmin GPS,

"Ikut sini jalan boleh sampai sana, tapi jalan besar lalu Bera boleh, kenapa mau lalu sini?" said a half aged uncle in front of the small shop, giving us a grumpy look.

I replied to that with a smile and pushed on. It is almost 4pm when we passed through here.

Passing through security stops in between the estate road

Taking a break with a view of Triang, Pahang

We rode back through Karak highway after taking a short break in Karak town.

Met this Harley Davidson group of riders heading to KL as well

We made safely to our breakpoint - R&R Gombak at around 5.30pm before saying goodbye to each other.

This is indeed a very challenging ride for me as we went to many kind of road conditions from nice highway stretch, palm oil trunk road, rubber estate road and forest road.

It is a test of not just the rider but the versatility of the bike as well and its proven that Kawasaki Versys is a winner in this trip.

Ride snippets
Rider: Mr. Shahril Zulkifli & Myself
Distance: 950km
Duration: 2 days
Petrol: RM120
Date: 24th - 25th January 2015

Through the gap

Morning ride to Fraser Hill in thick fog from Kuala Kubu Bharu. It is like riding through different country as the weather is changing from hot to damped and foggy.

New Year 2015 in Gua Musang

This post is one of the toughest I had to date as it is a memoir of my recent trip to one of the worst affected areas of recent flooding in the east coast of Malaysia. At its peak, the flood displaced more than 220,000 people from their houses from 5 states in Peninsular Malaysia.

Prior to this trip, I've come across a lot of pictures and posting of the flood devastation but honestly being at the disaster hit areas and witnessing by your own eyes is an entirely different experience.

Syahril and I set out from Bhp Petrol station in Karak Highway on Jan 1st, 2015 Thursday morning with a little bit of supplies that fit into our side panniers and top boxes. It basically consist of paracetamol, stomach-ache relief pills, dried fish, canned food, candles and some chocolate for the children. We also brought drinking water, light snack and petrol for our use as it is reported that some basic necessities are scarce even in closest town of Gua Musang.

Being a public holiday, the situation in that Bhp petrol station in Karak is carnival-like, as many convoys of flood relief missions and groups of motorcycle enthusiasts converged. 

The main road between Gua Musang and Kuala Lipis (FT008) is packed with traffic as this is one of two main roads access to Kota Bahru that is opened. Access from Gerik (FT004) is still closed due to landslide and access through Temerloh (E8) is still submerged from flood water.

We reached Gua Musang around noon and almost immediately met our first obstacle. 

The room that I have pre-book is unavailable as the motel still have no electricity and water. It is here we learnt that only small part of the town (especially critical areas such as commercial banks) have electricity supply for limited hours during the day. Water is also under rationing as most of the water processing plant is still undergoing repairs as it is flooded during the disaster.

We are getting ready to sleep at the nearest mosque when we met this small motel. Water is limited here and one room is supplied with only one pail of water per day.

We went to nearby supermarket to look after for extra bottled water, as the supply that we brought is only enough for drinking but not cleaning. However the supermarket has no stock of fresh water and their fridge is also empty.

After a quick lunch we went to our first affected areas, Kampung Lata Rek. The access to this settlement is filled with thick mud and a foul smell of mud completely filled my helmet.

This place is orginally a famous recreational place where people came to picnic with their family. The opening between the signboard and the tree is actually a road that leads to parking area down below, now filled with thick mud. 

This is the aftermath of the flooding in Lata Rek, Kuala Krai Kelantan

This picture give a clearer picture of how the place had transform before, during and after the big flood. Note that the parking area now has completely vanished under the mud and sand bank. I was told by the villagers soon after this picture (during) was taken, water level has gone up again submerging the red-roofed hut and went about 2m above road level, where this picture was taken.

This is one of the children that stays in the house opposite the recreational area of Lata Rek. We distributed some paracetamols, canned food and dried salted fish to her house. We also gave her and her other friends some candies and chocolates.

We continue on to Sungai Sok and met this landslide. Syahril slipped his front wheel and collapse here but thanks to the villagers and volunteer that hand-repair this landslide road helped him to his wheels again

We've cross this bridge on Sungai Sok which has been submerged one week ago. Note the mud on the tree that indicate the water level during the flooding.

His house is turned into an island when the bridge was submerged for almost a week

We went deep into Kampung Sungai Sok 

and met this house which was completely submerged

"We were rescued by JPA boats and brought to SK Sungai Sok when the water has gone up about 1m deep" - said her. "My house is only about 50m from Sungai Sok and this is byfar the worst condition I had in my 40 years living in this house."

She has cleaned most of her stuff using water from the same river that has engulfed her house earlier as both electric and water supply is still unavailable when we arrived.

The flood water level here is above 3m

We went further to Sungai Sok and met this guy who is salvaging whatever is left from his house wreckage. He is trying to dry his daughter's school text book when we arrived here.

His house is shifted from its original base when the flood water submerged his house. "We seek refuge in the nearby hill behind my house and we were stranded there for about 8 days as the small hill has became an island during the flood" -said him.

Note the flood water level on the tree

From Kampung Sungai Sok we moved on to Kuala Krai town, which reminds me a computer game called the Silent Hill. It looks like a zombie town with all the rundown shops, deep mud stench and garbage and leftover on the streets.
This petrol station is located at the center of the town and the flood level here is above 2m deep.

Even the car on the automotive lift is fully submerged during the flood

We went back to Gua Musang town just before sunset and due to heavy traffic the 45 minutes ride became 2 hours and the road is congested almost 25km from Kuala Krai to Gua Musang in both direction.

Along the road, we see most the areas is still in complete darkness as electricity supply is still unavailable. Villagers are staying on the roadside in tents and under canvas roof as mud still filled their houses.

We had lunch at the restaurant below our motel and cleaned ourselves using water from the pail provided earlier. The electricity supply is still under ration so it is completely dark and hot after midnight.

The next day we leave Gua Musang after breakfast and head to Kuala Lipis.

(Can't really see all the dirt on our bike from this distance, Syahril)

We make a stop in Kampung Padang Tungku, Kuala Lipis to meet this house owner. This house is about 100m from Sungai Jelai and it is his second flood disaster in 2014 as the first is in January but the recent flood is the worst as it is completely submerging his house

Just behind the tree line in-front of his house is Sungai Jelai and you can see the river water level on the tree leaves

This bridge on FT008 is submerged about 2m during the flood and that's how high the water level during the big flood

We went towards Jerantut heading to Kuala Tembeling and the flood aftermath is clearly visible along the route.

This is the main jetty that provide boat ride to Taman Negara. One of the staff here spoke to us and recall the night of the flooding:

"We were guarding all the long boats and the floating jetty as Jelai river current is really fast and rising. The water climbs each steps very fast and we shone our small torch light towards ladder every hour until it is getting dangerous to sit on the edge."

"Then we retrieve to our houses when the water came up to road level and continues on rising until about 2m above parking area. Our houses became an island and we were stranded there about a week. A helicopter came and drop us supplies. I have never experience something like this in my 15 years service here."

On the roadside, TNB's personnels are checking the electricity line to restore the supply and this area still without water and electricity when we arrive.

When we are about to ride back home, I am seated at the edge facing the mouth of Pahang river which was submerged just two days ago to comprehend what has happen and am still intrigued just how the water level has gone up so high in a very short time.

We rode back through Benta and Bentong as the road through Temerloh (E8) is still closed.

It has been a very memorable trip seeing all the devastation the big flood has done to those places in our own eyes. In hard time like this we should recollect and do our part to help those affected in ways we can afford. As a wise man once say disastrous time like brought the inner you, the very best and the worst. It's up to us which side we want to be.