We had been contemplating to return to Pos Hau since May this year but it was always diverted to other locations due to weather conditions. Riding the trail in wet condition is not an easy feat so we are always vigilant of the weather and hope to pick the best date with the driest condition available. Last weekend weather wasn’t ideal but we’re running short of time with the monsoon season coming in a couple of weeks so it was decided to ride even scattered shower and end of day thunderstorm was in the forecast for the weekend.
This ride has also attracted the most number of participants with 19 riders confirmed their participation on the ride day. 7 riders will converge at the first rendezvous point at Karak, Cikgu Joe, Cikgu Jasni and Suhail are riding from Simpang Pulai while Wak Din and Hashim will go directly to the last rendezvous point in Kuala Betis on Saturday morning. Jezz, Erwin, Kak Shida, Kasko and Wan Kho departed on Friday night and will join us at Kuala Betis after spending a night at Tanah Rata.
It was 24⁰C and a clear morning when I took off from Rawang around 7.10am on Saturday morning. The traffic heading to the city centre was relatively clear with only a handful of riders were seen on the road. However it was different when I arrived at BHP Karak 30 minutes later, the petrol station was best described as a venue of an autoshow, or at least it seems like one. It was full of vehicles from various makes, models and shapes. In between the crowd, I saw Jimm, Piyan & Ikhwan were already waiting for the rest of us. Piyan whom is riding a Pulsar ns200, this is the first time Piyan joined us and would also be the second Pulsar joined a ride & camp trip. A tall and firm lad ride from Shah Alam and seem unperturbed by the scary story of Hashim incident during his last ride to the same venue last year.
(from right) Zaidi, Jimm, Piyan, Tom, Ikhwan, Man & myself
Shahriman and Zaidi arrived slightly later and we took off around 8.00am heading towards Temerloh exit through Karak Highway. Since we were riding with full load of gears and souvenirs including side panniers and strap-on luggage, we will skip busy and narrow road passing Bentong & Raub and ride directly to Temerloh exit. The weather is gloomy and low clouds were still shrouding hilltops around Genting Sempah as we passed the tunnel and the view so magnificent.
We turned right after the exit heading to Kampung Paya Keladan on Route 98 and the traffic was clear and road surface was wet from the early morning rain. We stopped for petrol at Caltex Kuala Krau and took some time to rest. Zaidi mentioned about his Yamaha 660XTZ was having rear suspension issues and that is why today he is riding loaned CRF250 with loud exhaust muffler and huge rear sprocket.
After the fuel station, we turned left to route C141 and turned right after a railway crossing towards Kampong Ulu Cheka. This route has many interesting bends with variation in elevation with surrounding backdrop of Gunung Benom ranges. However riders are advised not to speed along this road since it is very small and locals like to hangout on the road shoulder. Road condition also vary from excellent to poor in some inner section but as we are closing to Damak, it was generally good.
Then we turned left at Damak heading to Benta on route 64 taking countless bends but with less or no leaning angles. Road surface here was wet and slippery from stream crossing with dirt and clay from passing vehicle tracks. My rear wheel slipped sideway a couple of times in this section. The weather was still gloomy when we passed Benta heading to Route 8 towards Gua Musang.
There were very little traffic as we entered the new Central Spine Road FT34. The weather turned as we were entering state border of Kelantan and the sun shone brightly.
We were the first group to arrive at the second rendezvous point and quickly filled our tanks. Riders from Perak arrived shortly afterwards and we went for lunch at a nearby stall. We also packed our dinner here but to my disappointment, gulai itik was not served today.
Around 1.15pm, we made a move to the last rendezvous point at Kuala Betis and we found Saidi with Zadiq were having lunch there. Wak Din missed our group as he have just arrived at the 2nd rv point moments after we left and told to find us at Kuala Betis. Jezz and the rest of the riders arrived shortly after and we were introduced to Wan Kho that are joining us for the first time. Erwin -a tall and fair skin lad is riding another Pulsar and was properly dressed, complete with knee and elbow guard. Kak Shida and Kasko, both are familiar faces in our group seems delighted to ride the trail when I met them.
A couple of kilometres into the road, we stopped again to reduce our tyre pressures, aimed to increase traction for our road tyres. The first section into the trail is made of compacted sand and pebbles.
It’s a plantation road and is properly maintained. As we were climbing the trail, I followed behind Hashim to ensure he does not loose his composure and not haunted by his past bad experience in this section.
We arrived at plantation's security boom gate and were allowed to enter without any hassle.
The sky was bright when we started but later turned gloomy as we entered the trail. Passing the gate it started to drizzle and we stopped by the first village to regroup. There were some pools of rain water with muddy bottom and some of us struggle to pass but eventually all of us made it. The second section into the trail, we entered the main junge double trail towards the settlement with some and deep rut. All of us passed this section without any problem. The last section is downhill towards the settlement and the trail is made of red laterite soil and some washed yellow compacted mud.
The rate of bike fall started to increase in this section as some of the bikes were heavy plus we were carrying fully loaded bikes. Despite falling, no major injuries sustained and all bikes does not suffer any major damages.
Photo Credit to Kasko
Photo Credit to Hashim
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to Jezz
Photo Credit to Jezz
Photo Credit to Jezz
Photo Credit to Kasko
Photo Credit to C.Joe
The progress were very slow as we took plenty of pictures to keep for our older days, as the saying goes; scar and bruises will heal but pictures last forever. We arrived at Pos Hau around 5.00pm and were greeted by Mr. Razali, the man in-charge for the area.
Pos Hau GPS GPS 4.82392, 101.61289
This area has 5 chalets for hire, with mattress and in-house bathroom at RM70/night. Cement base campsite is charged RM20 per base.
Mr. Razali 019-612 2949 (he prefers Whatsapp messages)
Photo Credit to Wak Din
Photo Credit to Zadiq
After a short discussion, we have agreed to proceed to set up campsite and we will do the souvenir handover tomorrow morning. Most of the riders opted to set up tents, some of us set up hammock with flysheet while the rest will spend the night in a surau.
My choice of comfort - Photo Credit to C.Joe
Photo Credit to Wak Din
We also set up one common area with a big flysheet for shelter as it started to drizzle again around 7pm.
Photo Credit to Wak Din
We freshen ourselves in the river just before nightfall and the water was very cold.
Photo Credit to Hashim
That night we sat under the big flysheet to have dinner. Jimm and Hashim started to prepare chicken and meat burger with cheese while I started to fry chicken nuggets.
Photo Credit to C.Joe
Photo Credit to Wak Din
Photo Credit to C.Joe
Photo Credit to C.Joe
Photo Credit to C.Joe
By 6am I was awake for morning prayer and a quick sip of warm water.
Photo Credit to Wak Din
Afterwards I went to snap more pictures of the surrounding area. The whole valley were engulfed in the morning fog and it was a wonderful morning with ambient temperature around 22⁰C while leaves and grass were wet of dew.
We had breakfast of instant noodles, mushroom soup and burgers. Around 9am, Mr. Razali came to the campsite for a chat and offered durian at RM4/kg. We nodded in agreement and said we will take it shortly after we finished packing.
Pos Hau special doublecheese burger for breakfast
Kasko and his new chair
Wan Kho & Erwin shared a tent
Geng Surau - Photo Credit to Wak Din
Tokey Burger - Photo Credit to Wak Din
We spend some time in the river for bath and the water was super cold. By 10.15am, everybody has gathered at the main hall ready for handing the souvenirs. I brought used clothes, previously worn by my daughters and some local children tried it on.
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to C.Joe
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
Photo Credit to Wan Kho
There are also chocolates, headscarves, pencil colour, adult used clothes, snacks and sweets passed around to the local folks. According to Mr Razali, villagers were assigned specific chalet units to maintain so they can earn from visitors spending night at their hut.
Afterwards we bought 11kg of local durian from Mr Razali and a few more kilogram of rambutan (special thanks to Tom for the treat). He added some more durian free of charge and we had a feast of local fruits prior to our departure.
Photo Credit to Wak Din
Photo Credit to Wak Din
About 12 noon, we said goodbye and started to head through the same route we came yesterday.
The climb was easier since we were lighter and the trail surface was dry. On the way out, we stopped by another village to pass some more sweets and chocolates to local children while I emptied the entire bag of used clothes here.
Photo Credit to Jimm
Photo Credit to Hashim
There were a lot less bike falling today compared to the previous day... maybe fuelled by durian feast and the clear weather. Riders waited in line to ensure everyone pass the climbing section successfully before taking the hurdle themselves. Volunteers will standby to ensure everyone passes the hurdle, one by one. It is this es-spirit-de-corps that ensure everybody cleared the most difficult sector safely.
Photo Credit to Jezz
By the time we were on plantation road, it was a high speed ala-rally ride towards Kuala Betis.
Photo Credit to Zadiq
Photo Credit to Zadiq
Photo Credit to Jezz
Just before the turn to Kuala Betis road, Saidi invited us to another durian feast but this time the orchard owner refused to take money.
Photo Credit to Saidi
Photo Credit to Saidi
We converged again at the same stall yesterday for lunch and drinks.
Photo Credit to Jimm
From this point, everyone will head to Simpang Pulai through Lojing and the riders from Klang valley will continue through North South Expressway. The weather from Kuala Betis to Lojing was cloudy and the road condition was average with some sections were having bad depression.
Just before we entered Perak state border, there was a slight drizzle and it was relatively cold even though its 3.30pm in the afternoon. We made another stop at BHP Blue Valley for a petrol refill and afternoon prayer. Being a Sunday afternoon, the station was bustling with visitors including a couple of groups of riders stopping at the station. Despite the weather, Wak Din and Saidi were having ice-creams! We said goodbye to Cikgu Jasni, Suhail and Cikgu Joe here as they will not follow us back towards KL.
We headed down towards Simpang Pulai and later entered the highway towards Rawang. Traffic was plenty but smooth heading back and we have arrived at R&R Ulu Bernam around 6.30pm for our last break point. Jezz, Erwin, Wan Kho, Kasko, Kak Shida and Piyan arrived around 7.15pm and we said goodbye to each other here.
It has been a while since the group mentioned about going to Pos Hau and finally we did it last weekend. Gua Musang inner parts has been famous for its challenging trails where I have personal experience in the past, so been able to complete this trip without any major mishap is a big achievement. Congratulations to all souls involved in this trip and I really look forward for our next adventures!
Ride snippets:
Riders:
1. Rashidin Kawasaki Versys 650
2. Ikhwan Kawasaki Versys 650
3. Tom Kawasaki Versys 650
4. Jimm BMW F800GS
5. Zaidi Honda CRF250
6. Piyan Modenas Pulsar NS200
7. Shahriman BMW GS310
8. Joe Kawasaki Versys 250X
9. Jasni Kawasaki Versys 650
10. Park Su Keeway TX200G
11. Saharudin Yamaha Tenere XT1200Z
12. Hashim Kawasaki Versys 650
13. Jezz Yamaha FZ150
14. Wan Kho Suzuki Belang R150
15. K Shida Yamaha LC135
16. Saidi Honda CRF250
17. Kasko Yamaha Y15
18. Erwin Modenas Pulsar NS200
19. Izadique Triumph Scrambler
Distance: 775km
Date: 24th – 25th August 2019
Average moving speed: 75.5km/h
Lowest temperature: 18°C (Blue Valley)
Highest temperature: 34°C (Gua Musang)
Expenditures: Lunch RM12
Petrol: RM120
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