2019 Peninsula Malaysia Ride, Part 2

Continued from part 1.


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Day 6

Today I'm finally going to my playground- Cameron highlands. Miles and miles of twisty mountain roads, it's gonna be fun.

Set off early from the empty tourist town of Cherating and was immediately pleased that the road in Pahang state is much smoother and there's absolutely no traffic- everyone is at home celebrating Hari Raya today. What a comfortable ride, and the overcast sky was providing much needed protection from heat.

Reached the small town of Gambang right along route 2 where I had a plate of dumpling noodles (wan tan mee) for breakfast at a very traditional Chinese kopitiam (coffee shop). Tasted great and cost only RM4.

Moving on I turned off route 2 to route 64 towards Jerantut/Kuala Lipis where the road became smaller but surface still good and the ride was not too bad. Rode past numerous Malay kampung (villages) where locals were gathering for Raya and everyone was dressed in beautiful traditional Malay costume.

Turning right at Jerantut to route 234 towards Kuala Lipis, the roads twisted and turned and passed through dense forests, villages and palm tree plantations. Not a road to ride fast on due to it having zero runoff and the presence of villagers but the curves were quite enjoyable without the need to throttle too much.

Chinese shophouses of Kuala Lipis.

After awhile I reached Kuala Lipis, an old mining town and the former state capital of Pahang during British colonial era with a number of nicely preserved historical buildings. Located deep in the interior of Malaysia and situated at the confluence of Sungai Lipis and Sungai Jelai, this town oozes old time charm and peaceful ambiance. Also interesting was the obvious Malaysian identity with an old mosque (Masjid Negeri Lama or Old State Mosque), Chinese temple (Thean Hou temple) and Sikh temple (Gurdwara Sahib, and yes it's Sikh but there's a Hindu temple further away too) in close proximity of each other.

After riding past Sungai Koyan town half an hour away then it was time for the great route 102 up Cameron highlands- and what a road it is. Very smooth road surface with plenty of runoff, long sweeping curves with wide radius that can be ridden at speed. Little to no traffic too as most people go up Cameron highlands via the western A181 road.

Halfway riding it started raining intermittently. Weather record showed that it has been raining for the past 10 days, so I was kind of expecting it. Luckily it was not too heavy but sadly it meant that I could not have as much fun as I would like on this piece of perfect tarmac. Close to the peak traffic started to increase although still not as bad as the following day... (will get to that below)

Had a rest stop at Cameron Bharat tea house which offers some expansive view over the tea plantation. Sipping warm tea in that comfortable cool weather was pure bliss (though its cheese cake was disgusting).

Then I rode to Tanah Rata (the main town of Cameron highlands) and checked in at the superb Sleepbox hostel for 2 nights. Being at 1500m altitude really made a huge difference to the comfort of wearing all the riding gears- I did not mind putting them on at all, whereas at sea level it is often too hot and uncomfortable but there was simply no other options (yes, always wear your riding gears guys).

Dinner at night market.

Raw honey.

Day 7

My initial plan today was to ride down to Tapah via the Tapah old road, visit a couple of places and head back up via Ipoh, then continue to ride to Gua Musang before retracing the same road back up to Cameron highlands. However, the weather decided otherwise.

Lata Iskandar waterfall along old Tapah road.

After breakfast at the hostel I headed off to Tapah on route 59 (Tapah old road). The first part of the road was poor- tight, bumpy and with lots of potholes and patches. That carried on for about 30 minutes before the road gradually opened up and smoothed. The ride quickly turned from a bad one to a pretty fun run with nice 2nd-3rd gear turns which continued all the way to the lowlands. It was pretty exciting to sprint past this twisty section that also passes by a number of small Orang Asli (aboriginal) settlements.

After reaching Tapah I visited a few interesting attractions. First up is the No. TT5 tin mining dredge. These large 'iron boats' (in local Chinese, called 铁船) are, incredibly, free floating and in some ways similar to modern offshore drilling platforms. In the past Malaysia, specifically in Perak state near Tapah and Ipoh, was the largest tin producer in the world. Riding past there I could see many pit lakes from previous mining activities.

TT5 tin dredge.

After that I rode past Kellie's Castle, an unfinished mansion built by a Scottish plantation owner who passed away when the building was near its completion. It is an interesting sight: a large mansion with European and Moorish architectural style here in tropical Malaysia.

Kellie's castle.

After that I visited Batu Gajah town to see some colonial buildings and then headed to nearby Ipoh city for lunch. Now, Ipoh is known for its food... but then again, all of Malaysia is famous for its food. What's special for Ipoh is its beansprouts. Typically served alongside steamed chicken rice (literally just steamed chicken and rice, with some helping of soy sauce and chilli), the beansprouts in Ipoh are thick, crunchy and second to none. Hard to imagine something as insignificant as beansprout getting all the rave, but it is that famous.

Traffic today was pretty bad however, as many families are travelling all around Malaysia after Day 1 of Hari Raya. Ipoh itself was jam packed, so I quickly made my exit right after lunch. I hate riding in cities and traffic especially in this heat, and how I wish the cool weather up in the mountains...

Heading back up Cameron highlands via route 185/A181, the road was amazing- but then the sky started pissing. Traffic was heavy too as everyone seemed to be heading up the mountain that day. Halfway during the ascent it got really cold- the combination of wet jacket & gloves, high altitude and continuous rain felt so miserable I had to stop to get a breather. Ironically just a few hours ago I was wishing for cooler weather when I was sweating bucketloads in Ipoh, so be careful of what you wish for.

Reaching Cameron highlands I found it absolutely jammed up as well. The roads at Cameron highlands are mostly single lane and narrow, so miles and miles of almost stationary cars were stuck there with no escape. I could feel their envy through their windows as I rode past them effortlessly.

Looking at the weather forecast it seemed like the rain would continue throughout the day, so I decided to end the ride early and ride the stretch towards Gua Musang tomorrow instead. Thanks to the cool temperature and comfy environment it was great to just kick back and chill at the hostel.

My cubicle.

Day 8

Woke up today to a bright sunny morning. Amazingly the forecast showed a rainless day today, first in the past 3 weeks! Thus I hurriedly checked out and started my ride towards Gua Musang on R185.

My plan today was to head down Gua Musang, do a U-turn and ride back up again before heading to Fraser's hill via Raub. Previously I planned today as a rest day however the gloomy wet weather yesterday cut my ride short hence today it is that I ride to Gua Musang.

The first sector of route 185 from Cameron highlands has lots of bumps. Here I rode past Lojing Viaduct which at 52m from the ground is the second tallest bridge in Malaysia. The height difference at the expansion joints were huge though and the resulting bumps were violent at times. However, soon afterwards the road displayed its magnificence in its full glory- for 60 kilometres long the road was wide and sweeping, with amazing surface, good visibility and little traffic. It was awesome. And it went on and on and on.

Perfect weather for hot, tropical Malaysia- cloud cover and no rain.

At a junction about 20km away from Gua Musang I turned my bike around. And off I went again with all the thrill and adrenaline of blasting through the uphill curves with throttle cracked wide open much of the time. Simply one of the best riding roads in Malaysia.

Rode past Tanah Rata and had some Indian mixed rice at Ringlet. Then it's another superb ride down the perfect route 102 towards Sungai Koyan. The road was similar to R185 which I rode just now but the road and runoff were both wider and easily as enjoyable or maybe even more. Luck was on my side and the weather remained pleasant and dry throughout.

Reaching the lowlands and turning right at Sungai Koyan I made my way past vast areas of palm tree plantations towards Raub, situated at the bottom of Fraser's hill. Had a much needed rest stop at a petrol station and enjoyed the air conditioning before making my way up on route 55.

Almost immediately the road tied itself in knots, the curves became sharp and technical, in stark contrast with Cameron's fast, flowing curves. The road was narrow too with plenty of forest debries and grip level was always low. And at one fateful corner I had a momentary loss of concentration and found the corner's outer edge closing in faster than expected. The outside was all wet grass and once my front wheel touched it the bike just went down instantly. Luckily I was wearing all my gears and walked out with just some damage to my gloves, knee guard, jacket and boot. A few kind locals helped me to lift my bike up again, and apart from a couple of scratches was no major damage to the bike.

Wearily I continued along the narrow, slippery, winding path uphill. Closer to the top the road condition improved and the ride was more fun and enjoyable. Then I reached The Gap road- a narrow one way road up to the peak. It's the only access to Fraser's hill and there is another one way road downhill as well. It was easily as technical and slippery as the road before but twists and turns even more tightly and the road more narrow. Not a road to be ridden fast on but it was nonetheless quite special, a narrow single lane cutting through dense forest to reach the peak.

Fraser's hill.

Reaching the hilltop in one piece, I checked into the last room of Puncak Inn, which was lucky as when I checked online earlier it looked like the whole of Fraser's hill had been booked out.

After winding down I had a pleasant dinner at the tastefully decorated Ye Olde Smokehouse which faithfully brings old England to you.

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Continued in part 3.


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