After a month of break during Ramadhan, we are back on the road. This time we plan to ride to Orang Asli settlement in Kelantan, near triangle state lines of Pahang, Kelantan & Perak about 175km north of Kuala Lumpur. Pos Tuel is a cluster of 6 smaller villages namely Kampung Tuel, Kampung Hanir, Kampung Ber, Kampung Plug, Kampung Kerbok & Kampung Poh and is a home to nearly 1,290 people. It was believed that the name originated from the word “twelve” as it was once a 12th camp of British army before independence.
The plan was to ride to Temerloh before heading north along Sungai Pahang until Kuala Lipis before making a stop for lunch at Gua Musang and joining others at the main junction to the settlement. Joining me from RV1 were Jimm, Ucop, Carlos, Ejat & Zadiq, including Ross all the way from Singapore. Joe & Syaril whom were riding from Dungun will join Azam, Zool, Bamer, Andy, Jezz, & Cikgu Jasni from Blue Valley after staying the night at Cameron Highland. Zaidi will ride direct to RV5 on his KLX250. Bamer has returned to RNC after more than 2 months of rest following his injury at Pos Rengil.
It was around 7.20am when I departed from Rawang on a warm Saturday morning with ambient temperature around 28°C. Weather forecast for the weekend was clear until Sunday afternoon, with a thunderstorm forecasted to start at 3pm onwards. I was the second last rider to arrive at RV1 around 7.47am and the atmosphere at the station was festive as many bikers made the station as their rendezvous point. Zadiq arrived slightly later and surprised everyone when we saw he was riding on Triumph Tiger 800XCx, quite the contra from his announced KLX150 on the riding group.
Everyone was delighted too to meet Ross, whom were unable to join us for over 2 years due to the pandemic restrictions and he was riding on Africa Twin 1000. It also marked the return of Ejat on a brand new Sym VF3i 185, replacing the Honda RS150. We were gathered for a quick brief on the next filing point which was Shell station at R&R Temerloh, and we said our prayers before taking off around 8.15am.
Ambient temperature dropped to 23°C when we were riding the twisty Karak Highway and the traffic were moderate. Highway surface was immaculate, only minor repair works without the closure of any lanes heading east. At quarter past 9am, we were surprised again when Zadiq did not show up at the designated filing point and said he took the wrong exit.. he was told to meet us at the next filing point which was Petronas Kechau. The plan from here was to ride through small roads towards Kuala Lipis, along Sungai Pahang.
We rode through a small maintenance road behind the rest area and were gathered below the magnificent bridge for a quick photo session.
We continued riding on C123 from Kg Sanggang Seberang towards Jerantut, making our way through Felda Rumpun Makmur and Batu Sawar. Then we passed Makam Mat Kilau on C143 through Pulau Tawar but we were unable to make a shortcut just before route 64 due to a road repair.
This road is very interesting with hairpin corners and interesting change of elevation. However, it was busier compared to my previous ride through here in 2014 with cars and lorries making their way to and from Kuala Tembeling. It is interesting to note that when we passed this area, it was still cloudy with mist were still at the treetops despite it was already about 11am.
At Kuala Lipis we made a turn towards Felda Kechau clusters on route 1506 towards Gua Musang and it started to feel hot at this section so we rode slightly faster. Road condition in this section was bad with cluttered potholes and rough tarmac surface.
We arrived at Petronas Kechau around 12.15pm and Zadiq was already on site. It has to be the new bike - I concluded since our unofficial sweeper - Jimm said he didn't saw Zadiq on the way here. After a quick refill and toilet break we continued riding towards Gua Musang on FT8 through Kampung Pasir Sasak and Kampung Dada Kering. Since the completion of Central Spine Road (route 34), less traffic passed trough here and the road surface was not properly maintained. We arrived at Gua Musang around 1pm and had lunch at our normal spot, a barrack of stalls near Petronas Bandar Baru Gua Musang.
After having lunch and pack for dinner we continued on route 185 and turned left just before Kuala Betis. This road condition was bad and poorly maintained despite receiving a lot of traffic as it was an important road connecting Kelantan and Perak. I hope the authority can improve the condition in the near future as it very dangerous for motorcycle riders like us.
We arrived at RV5, Sungai Ber hotspring around 2.45pm and unable to find Jezz’s group. Zaidi arrived slightly after and we have decided to continue towards Pos Tuel. Sungai Ber water quality was slightly murky and the hotspring area is poorly maintained.
Sungai Ber Hotspring GPS 4.710052, 101.567946
Pos Tuel intersections GPS 4.711441, 101.566801
The tarmac surface road towards Pos Tuel was minted in 2016 and according to Tok Batin, a promise was made to improve the current state of landslide and damaged road shoulder in May this year.
In my opinion, the 18km winding road was better compared to Pos Senderut or Pos Lemoi and standard salon car such as Proton Wira shouldn’t find it difficult to make it to the settlement.
We arrived at Masjid Saidina Abu Bakar As Siddiq, Pos Tuel around 3.30pm and found the rest has settled down, waiting for us. The mosque was built at an intersection of Sungai Ber and Sungai Tuel, both passes through this settlement. The breeze at this spot was cold and refreshing, reminded me of Pos Rengil campsite.
Seated from left; Carlos, Bamer, Ross, Azam, Jimm & Zool
Standing from left; Zadiq, ND, Ejat, Jezz & Usop
Shukri, our contact person from the village sent his brother to greet us before Tok Batin himself came on a motorbike. I followed him to his house, to hand over some chocolates and snacks for the village’s children before asking his permission to camp for the night.
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We plan to recce a three level-high waterfall to be our campsite so I followed a cub towards the trail. I was disappointed to find that the area was inside 5,000 acres of plantation, dubbed as Ladang Rakyat by Tok Batin, a project by the state government. The 2.5km trail was made of loose sandy surface with deep rut crossings and about 15% - 20% gradients. It passes a rubber plantation before circling a nearby hill and descending to a flat terrain above the river plain, which was turned into a housing area for plantation workers. We continued on foot about 150m descending to the river level to find the majestic waterfall - now is in conundrum, facing uncertain future. At the moment, Sungai Ber upstream passes through a plantation plot which poses risk to its water quality, just like hundreds or more rivers in Malaysia, categorized as ‘unhealty’ and murky like our teh tarik.
The team find the trail challenging and tactical with a few drops and tumbles including Syaril whom fell into a road side drain – both wheels were on the air. We worked together to pull his bike from the drain and were relieved to find both him and his CRF were OK, other than a few scratches. Bamer whom broke his arm during our ride to Pos Rengil, also fell in this section but didn’t sustained any injuries other than a broken brake lever on his GS1200. Jimm on the other hand loose footings behind a scores of female plantation workers making their way back from work on a lorry – received a rather warm response.
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We have decided to camp at a campsite maintained by a villager called Mr. Asu, as the waterfall area has no suitable campsite to house our group. Mr. Asu’s campsite is situated in between Kampung Tuel and Kampung Plug, on the riverbank of Sungai Tuel with crystal clear cold water. This river flows down from Titiwangsa ranges and has no plantation on its upstream.
Campsite Sungai Tuel GPS 4.771293, 101.467968
By 5.30pm we have settled down and, on this trip, everyone opted to sleep in tents including Jo and Zool. We cool ourselves in the river and some has compared the water temperature with Sungai Lemoi. The campsite temperature continued to drop and after sunset, it become close to 20°C.
That night we sat around and exchanges stories among us. Ross’s experiences spending more than 2 years on an island, changes of our life’s routine during the pandemic and Syaril interesting challenges a few hours earlier. About 10pm, I retreated to my tent and insulate myself in a sleeping bag.
At 6.00am I woke up to a chilled morning, around 18°C with the sound of nearby stream filled my tent. I braved the cold river to clean myself and took ablution for my morning prayer and made myself a coffee. An attempt to find a sunrise spot was unsuccessful as the sun rises in between surrounding mountain ranges. I rode my bike on a steel bridge across Sungai Tuel to Kampung Plug and greeted by smiles from a few children and barking dogs. The tarmac surface ended here and the trail continues into the forest and state border of Perak.
Photo Credit to Jezz
We had breakfast and clean ourselves in river when it started get warm – around 9.30am. By 10am we were gathered again at the mosque for a group photo but Syaril and Jo decided to stay a little bit longer.
We had lunch at Restoran Tasik Raban, Simpang Pulai and said goodbye to each other afterwards. I rode back through Gopeng and the weather was hot, despite the forecasted rain while traffic on the NSE was plenty in between Bidor and Slim River. I arrived home safely around 3.45pm. I felt blessed as we have good weather, warm welcome by the villagers and no untoward incident to our group. Visitors to the area are advised to bring out their garbage and do our part to maintain the environment for our future generations.
Ride Snippets
Riders:
1. Rashidin Modenas Dominar 400
2. Jimms BMW F800 GS
3. Jasni Honda XAdv150
4. Johamly Honda CRF 250 Rally
5. Syaril Honda CRF 250 Rally
6. Jezz Kawasaki Dtracker 250
7. Ejat Sym VF185
8. ND Honda CRF 250 Rally
9. Ucop KTM 390 Adventure
10. Ross Africa Twin 1000
11. Bamer BMW GSA 1200
12. Zool Honda CRF 250 Rally
13. Zaidi Om Kawasaki KLX250
14. Azam Suzuki Vstrom 650
15. Carlos Honda CRF 250 Rally
Lowest temperature: 18°C (Campsite Sungai Tuel)
Highest temperature: 36°C (Simpang Pulai)
Expenditures:
Petrol: RM70
Food: RM40
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