Pantai Seri Tujuh is the outmost north public beach in
Peninsular Malaysia. Bordering town of Tak Bai in Thailand, the beach is very
famous and a regular hanging out spot for local and foreign tourists enjoying
the sea breeze and beach views. It is named Pantai Seri Tujuh (7 beaches)
because it has seven or more bays in the area.
Our journey to Pantai Seri Tujuh looks roughly like this:
I had a ride and camp with Yusuf last year where we camp in pantai Tok Bali and I had promised Yusuf that we will do
another ride and camp together once he gets his hands on his new bike and after
a year later we finally gets to do it again.
Joining us is my brother in-law
Joe and Abang Zul Mamat. Another newcomer in this ride & camp is my wife as my pillion, which makes it special as I have waited a very long time
for this opportunity to come, since the birth of our last daughter 2 years ago.
With her onboard, I now have a professional photographer to document our ride.
The three of us met at R&R Rawang on Saturday morning and
we departed around 9am.
The weather was hot but lovely as ride through north
south expressway heading to Kuala Kangsar.
The traffic was a little bit congested as expected since this weekend is a school holiday weekend. It started to get very bad as we got to Sungai Siput climbing to the tunnel and reduced to a standstill after the tunnel heading to Sungai Perak.
We met Joe at Kuala Kangsar exit around 11.15am
The weather was again hot and clear as
we climbed towards Titiwangsa range taking route 4 and arrived at Titiwangsa rest
area around 1.30pm for our lunch.
The restaurant was packed as it is the
only restaurant available there and the service was poor.
Yes we've made it!!
But where is Abang Zul?
Right behind us.
Photo Credit: Nur Hamizah Ideres
From there we ride down to Jeli and stopped again at Bukit Bunga for drinks and souvenirs.
Photo Credit: Yusuf Musa
We continue north toward Rantau Panjang through route 196 skipping
duty free zone area and Rantau Panjang town.
We made a quick stop at the famous
Mundok jetty and chatted with armed men in uniform. After the recent bombing in
Golok, the jetty has now received less visitors and the security in this area has
been tightened.
(Photo Credit to Joe Langkawi)
There are many wedding ceremony today by the road side and this is one of it.
We stopped for petrol at Petronas Pengkalan Kubur before
reaching our campsite at around 5.45pm.
Campsite Pantai Seri Tujuh 6.219123, 102.130446
Facilities: Public toilet, restaurant & Musolla 1km away
Facilities: Public toilet, restaurant & Musolla 1km away
The soft sand at this campsite made it difficult for our
heavy bikes to get in and we had to unload all before we can park at our
campsite.
Photo Credit: Yusuf Musa
The place is very lively filled with stalls and visitors strolling
the beach. We finished setting up camp around 7pm and nearby facilities of
Surau and public toilets made this campsite very convenience.
Later that night we had dinner and Yusuf brought marshmallow
for late snacks.
Photo Credit: Yusuf Musa
We chatted through the night and by 11.30pm everyone retrieved
to their tents. Joe however found it was too hot and slept under the stars accompanied
by mosquitos : ).
The next morning we all had nasi lemak for breakfast,
courtesy of Syahril, who had to withdraw from joining us because of work responsibility.
Yusuf made some omelet and we also have instant noodles.
No sunrise at this beach, blocked behind the treeline
Photo Credit Abang Zul Mamat
We started packing and ready to leave the campsite around
9.30am. Joe and his wife had other plans so we said goodbye to each other at the
beach.
The girls for this ride.. ( ;
The three of us continue home through Pengkalan Kubor and Rantau
Panjang.
Pasir Mas - Felda Kemahang - Lakota Shortcut
We went back through Pasir Mas route D181 before taking a shortcut
trough small estate road heading to Felda Kemahang.
From there we continue to
Kampung Batu Gajah inner road 199 with breathtaking view and superb winding
road around Ayer Lanas hill range and Bukit Kemahang route 198 Jedok – Air Chanal
– Legeh.
Take 5 to enjoy the view
From Kampung Sungai Satan we turn left towards Lakota and Jeli. (perhaps Dragonball writer is connected to this village : ) )
This is in Kelantan, Malaysia
From Jeli we continue to route 66 Sungai Sam – Dabong with
breathtaking views of Gunung Stong Tengah.
We stopped for lunch at Dabong
railway station and this is my 2nd visit to this place (1st visit with Syahril) to check out the place’s changes after the big flood in
2014.
From Dabong, we continue through route D29 towards Gua
Musang and hoping that the temporary steel bridge across Sungai Betis is
passable after the last monsoon season.
For the record, a concrete bridge in
Kampung Pulau Setelu crossing Sungai Betis was damaged during the big flood and
the makeshift bridge was closed to traffic in December last year.
By the time we arrived at Gua Musang it was 2pm and it was
scoring hot when we stopped for break at Petron Gua Musang.
We continue towards
Kuala Lipis and the newly constructed road 8 between Kampung Kubang Rusa to Kampung
Kecur is lovely. We made another stop at Petronas Mukim Gali Raub for petrol
and toilet break.
We continue towards Karak and made our last stop at Lentang
rest area to cool off, the natural way. We say goodbye to each other here and departed
around 6.30pm.
We arrived home later that day and we picked up our kids
from their nanny.
It felt really good and satisfying as we have checked all
items that I planned to do during this ride. The beautiful route with a very
nice campsite and adventurous ride back is very memorable for all participants.
My advice to other riders is to experience these by yourself
as things can change very fast. Be prepared for a very warm weather and drink a
lot of water!
p/s - All photo credit goes to Effa Rina Tajudin unless mentioned otherwise.
Ride snippets
Rider:
Mr. Zul Mamat - Versys 1000
Mr. Yusuf Musa – F800 GS
Mr. Joe Langkawi & Nur Ideres – Versys 650
Myself & Effa – Versys 650
Distance: 1050km
Duration: 2 days
Petrol: RM120
Date: 12-13 March 2016
