Ride around Taman Negara Endau Rompin

Being ambitious and putting oneself in a record book is never part of my riding journey objective. That is why when people started asking what do I want to prove by doing this.. the answer is none.

The original plan looks something like this (see below map), that is to visit all entrance to Taman Negara Endau Rompin, that is through Rompin, Kahang and Labis.

However, due to reason I'll explain below, we've made make changes when we reach Paloh and going straight to Yong Peng before taking North South Highway back to KL.

Mr. Syahril joined me throughout the journey. Downpour early in the morning slow us down in Kuala Kelawang but the views are really astounding

The cold and wet winding road is really slippery and we rode really slow in this section. I've slid my rear wheels a few times here and Shahril's front wheel seems to have no traction at all. Average speed here is about 30-40km/h.

The weather improves as we entered Negeri Sembilan border and relatively straight road from Jempol to Bandar Tun Razak has nothing much to report.
It was noon when we reach Leban Chondong rest area and I had this for lunch (Udang Galah Sungai Rompin, masak lemak)

Too bad Syahril did not bring his medication and avoided this delicacies in fear of allergic reactions. Next time maybe Syahril?

This rest area is a very famous stops for riders and we met at least 3 other rider groups here, that are Couple Bikers Group (CBG), a group of BMW GS's riders and one more group from Kuantan.

We continue our journey to Endau Rompin National Park through Felda Selendang, which take us about 45 minutes. The road is getting smaller and windier as we get deeper but it is tarmac all the way to the ranger's office. We also met a few piles of elephant's drop on the road and the forestry department's staff we met at the ranger's office confirms that the animal did stroll on the road at night. According to him, they also come close to this living quarter at night, and he stays in his quarter alone, 7 days a week!

Syahril is signing the visitors book in front of ranger's office

V's in front of the park's playground

We rode out of the national park, around 3pm and both of us felt tired and we stop for rest at Tanjung Penyabong beach for a quick nap and relax, although Shahril did not nap at all.

 

As we are leaving Pahang and enters Johor through Mersing and Kahang, it started raining again. It was dark and damped when we make a stop at Kahang and we met a group of Yamaha Super Tenere riders from Singapore who rode out from Endau Rompin National Park.

The ride is cold and wet throughout this section and average speed is merely 50-60km/h. Rivers in Kluang area are full of water, signs that it has rain for quite some time and it is getting dark.

By this time when we reach Paloh, I've decided to skip Gemas & Segamat and head directly towards Yong Peng.

The combination of dark, cold and wet isn't ideal for riding through the back road and it is less riskier if we finish this ride via Yong Peng and North South Highway.

## Update August 2016: We have returned to Taman Negara Endau Rompin (Selai). Read more about that here ##

It was almost 9pm when we rode out of Yong Peng and the rain is still pouring. We made it to R&R Seremban at 10.30pm and among all of our stops, this one felt the furthest as we rode in a downpour.

I parted with Syahril in Nilai and reach home around 12.00am, so it was almost 16 hours of riding time to complete this ride. It was the furthest by distance in a day at 840km and crosses states of Selangor, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor.

Update:
We have return to Paloh through Bekok.
Read more about that ride here

Ride snippets 
Rider: Mr. Shahril Zulkifli & Myself
Distance: 840km
Duration: 16 hours
Petrol: 4 times x RM30 (full tank)
Meal: RM30. Thank you Mr. Syahril for treating my lunch!
Date: 20 September 2014

Ride to Pedu Lake, Muda Lake, Beris Lake, Temenggor Lake & Stong State National Park

After taking much criticism and concerns from my wife for taking a solo ride for going distances, I've advertise my plan in Versys Owner Group (VOG). As a result, one fellow rider joined me throughout this journey, introducing Mr. Shahril Zulkifli (below in a handsome grey Komine riding jacket).

The ride plan is as the following:

The ride started from R&R Rawang to Alor Star through North South Expressway and this route has nothing to report as it went smooth and traffic was smooth.

When we stopped for petrol refill in R&R Sungai Perak, one nicely modded bike showed up

The weather along the way is good

We reached Alor Star just in time for lunch and through a friend recommendation, we have lunch at a nice restaurant called Restoran Pokok Pisang. The restaurant is nicely nested along the green paddy field and their specialty is ikan bawal goreng (fried Bawal fish).

The cloud formation above the highway is splendid and honestly it is not something you can see everyday in the city center.

The highway up north is nicely laid along a green paddy field

Our first checkpoint is probably the most famous among all the lakes along this ride, that is Pedu lake. Despite its famous legacy, Mutiara Pedu Lake Resort has recently closed operations after years of taking low visitors. Nonetheless, this route is highly recommended for adventure riders.

The dry season has really taken its toll on this lake, and the water level is so low that we can ride the versys right next to the water where the fishing boats are tied.

Next up is Muda lake, and this time we managed to see one fishing boat returned with its catch

 that is Haruan (snakehead murrel), one of the local snakehead fish species

The road in between these lakes are very beautiful and picturesque and if you like nature ride, this is the place to be (other than the famous Sungai Koyan - Tanah Rata)

Mr. Shahril in-front of 'the tree of life', which looks really small in this picture yet gigantic in real life.

At this point the weather started to change

We did enjoyed the route too much and apparently missed the turn to our next checkpoint! The black line represent the plan and the red line is where we rode.

So we rode extra 50km to get back to our third and final checkpoint of the day but its all worth it as Beris lake is a stunner!

We reached Pengkalan Hulu nearly at the end of daylight and we checked in City Hotel. We stayed in the top level where you can see the window is opened.

After some negotiation, the hotel staff finally allow us to park inside the hotel compound at the back (parking outside in a border city is quite risky business, and save us one sleepless night)

Second day of ride started right after breakfast, and windy road East-West Highway is another good route for adventure lover.

We reach Banding Island around 10am

there are various accommodation available in the island and it is the place for freshwater fishing lover

Being a famous stretch to bikers, we meet a couple of convoys throughout the route.

One can only appreciate this route, through your own eyes as my lenses does not do much justice at all.

Another checkpoint for the day is Titiwangsa rest area, with a killer view on its background. 

We continue our way through the route, which is also known as Gerik-Jeli highway and met this 'Monaco-like' tunnel or more appropriately rows of pillars.

More breathtaking views en-route of the highway, which was opened in 1980s and we can really appreciate the work that has been spent to put this highway together.

Then we made a quick stop at this border village of Kampung Bukit Bunga for some shopping (although Mr. Shahril did not shop at all!)

We then continue to our next and last checkpoint of the day, Gunung Stong in Dabong. At this moment of time we didn't know that there are no available petrol station all the way to that area. Nonetheless the view is simply breathtaking 

It was scouring hot when we reach Gunung Stong State Park and we did miss the opportunity to take pictures (background is Jelawang waterfall, SE Asia highest waterfall)

The water is icy cold and refreshing but we managed to resist the temptation to take a dip as we are still 400km away from home.

It is lunch time and we have our lunch in Dabong which is a small settlement around a railway train station. It is time to refuel and luckily this town have its own 'personal' petrol station. Mr. Shahril is super happy to experience this manual pumping process.

We rode back to KL in the rain and reach Gombak toll around 8.00pm.

Ride snippets 

Date: 23th - 24 August 2014
Rider: Mr. Shahril Zulkifli & Myself
Distance: 1250km
Duration: 2 days
Petrol: 5 times x RM30 (full tank)
Meal: RM50
Accomodation: RM75 split 2 ways