Cikgu Jasni whom is still recovering from car accident, joined us after he is confident to ride from Perak while Joe was riding alone from Dungun on his CRF250. Cikgu Jasni, Man, Tom, Qamarul and I met at Petron station is Ampang on Saturday morning around 7.50am and we depart towards Jalan Hulu Langat after a short chuckles.
Traffic around Taman Muda was light and road condition is excellent with ambient temperature around 24°C when we passed through it. Highway construction with overhead bridges has changed the area landscape since the last time I passed through this road, a famous stopover for KL city view. Riding through Hulu Langat and Kampung Sungai Tekali also was less enjoying with many bumps and residential developments along the road.
Riding down the bends on Genting Peras to Titi Kelawang was also very stressful with high traffic of bicycle riders and incoming vehicles zigzagging on the middle lanes. This route used to be one of my favourite route but looking at the latest condition perhaps I should take it off the list and pick Karak – Telemong – Manchis route instead. Qamarul rode slowly on this bend while Cikgu Jasni kept his distance from me. Tom chose to be the sweeper and stayed behind our slowest rider, which changes depending on different sections.
Riding through Simpang Pertang on FT9, the area was still engulfed in mist although it was around 9am and the view was magnificent.
After Bandar Seri Jempol, we turned right on FT11 towards state border of Negeri Sembilan and Pahang. We have arrived at the start of ‘shortcut’ through palm oil estate and met Joe whom were riding from Dungun.
Trailhead Kota Shah Bandar
GPS 2.867054, 102.753736
As we were preparing for offroad riding, a car stopped by and inquired about out destination. When I mentioned about Ulu Keratong estate the guy told us that we should make a u-turn and I just nodded back. Sometimes its hard to convince people that we know where we were heading despite how odd it may seems.
The plantation trail is a double track wide trail with crusher run surface and with the hot weather, the dust were high as we passed. It reminded me about a similar surface trail heading to Lemakoh waterfall, further down south near Kahang. We passed two gated security checkpoints and we were allowed through without any hassle. There were several signs of ‘no-hunting’ erected along the trail, so I am sceptical if they will allow 4-wheel vehicles to pass that easily.
The trail narrowed and its surface changed to sandy as we approached Ulu Keratong. The last checkpoint I recorded on GPS was closed (gated with ditch) so I have to double back to check on possible routes. At the same time Cikgu Jasni lost his balance and fell down while taking one of the tight corner. He was helped to get back on his bike and soon we was off again.
Qamarul had fun in the sand with multiple pass and at that time we lost Cikgu Jasni. Qamarul & Joe Dungun went off looking for him for a few minutes but still couldn’t him. We just continued riding along the trail and finally met him at one of the main junction.
Trailend Espek Ulu Keratong
GPS 2.780870, 102.867960
We continued riding on Jalan Pekoti Timur towards Segamat and made a turn to Felda Selancar. There is only one petrol station nearby and we stopped to refuel and freshen ourselves. The target restaurant next to the station was closed so we had lunch at a restaurant nearby Felda Selancar 3.
Lunch place near Felda Selancar 3 (Sorry.. I can’t recall the name)
GPS 2.623492, 103.007475
It was hot and humid when we resume riding towards Bekok on Jalan Felda Selancar 3 and as we approached Felda Redong, there was road upgrading works and the tarmac road turned into crusher run surface. There were not much traffic on this road and only once a while we passed another vehicles, that were mostly lorries. We rode slowly in this section as we were ahead of schedule.
We have arrived at Bekok around 2.15pm and we went to find AhSiang but she was not available so waited at a nearby restaurant. There were railroad upgrading works in progress and the main road to the town were detoured to a railroad crossing, south of the bridge project. Asoi and Fauzan, both from Melaka has arrived earlier but they were waiting at the nearby bank. Asoi is still riding his Honda Wave while Fauzan came on his GS310.
AhSiang arrived around 3pm and informed that we could go in and pick our campsite ourselves as the area is not really full. We rode to SK Kudung and around 15minutes later we have arrived at the junction.
Takah Pengkoi Waterfall
Entrance (through orang asli villages & gated trail)
GPS 2.320712, 103.189102
Fees:
Daily RM15
Overnight Camping (own equipment) RM40
Hut & cabin RM70
Treehouse & Chalet RM200
Ah Siang 011 10600927
Rossijah 019 6599316
The trail through palm oil plantation is on concrete surface and very easy to pass, even on family cars. On arrival, we have picked the lowest campsite by the river since other sites are all occupied. However, after a while we shifted to the top campsite which is cooler and more refreshing which has just enough plain for our group.
We finished setting up our tents, hammock and cot around 5pm and went to the waterfall to cool down. As I were resting by the river, Joe started to fly his drone and suddenly I heard it had crashed onto the rapids. One family that was by the river at that time saw the incident and ushered the crash site to Joe and us.. we helped him to find it. The search continues until sunset but at dusk we still couldn’t find the drone.
That night we ate packed dinner and sat around chatting while eating flower seed over coffee but the area was too clean to start a bonfire.
The sounds of rushing water down the almost vertical wall took us through the night as we head to our beds. Ambient temperature continues to drop that night and I doze off almost immediately.
The next morning I woke up around 6am and the weather was clear. The sky was lit by the moonlight and stars are clearly visible. I had coffee by the waterfall and later were joined by the rest of the team. Joe informed that he had given up search for the crashed drone and decided to move on. We jumped into the river one last time and started packing.
By 10.30am we have gathered at the parking lot and ready to depart. We said goodbye to Joe whom will ride alone to Segamat.
The rest of us rode to Bukit Kepong through Felda Maokil for lunch at Medan Selera Bukit Kepong. After lunch, we stopped by Bukit Kepong Museum which has been renovated for a quick tour.
Asoi, Fauzan and Qamarul decided to ride towards Bukit Gambir while I head the rest towards Tangkak. We said our goodbye and rode through J34, which has beautiful ascending and descending section with the background of Ledang Hill. However when we turned right on FT23 towards Tangkak, we saw that the sign of road closure due to bridge upgrading work. We kept on riding towards Sagil but had turned back since it is not passable even on motorcycles. We double back towards Bukit Gambir through J143 Sengkang.
We refilled our tanks at Petronas Bukit Gambir before taking the North South Expressway E2 towards KL and Shahriman and I made the last stop at R&R Seremban to refresh. I’ve arrived safely home around 4.00pm.
Ride Snippets:
Riders:
1. Rashidin Kawasaki Versys 650
2. Tom Kawasaki Versys 650
3. Cikgu Jasni Kawasaki Versys 650
4. Shahriman BMW 310GS
5. Qamarul BMW 310GS
6. Fauzan BMW 310GS
7. Joe Dungun Honda CRF250
8. Asoi Zairul Hafiz Honda Wave 125
Distance: 677km
Date: 8-9 August 2020
Lowest temperature: 19°C (Campsite)
Highest temperature: 36°C (Felda Selancar 3)
Expenditures: Thank you to Shahriman & Tom for belanja us
Petrol: RM80
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