2019 Peninsula Malaysia Ride, Part 3
Continued from part 2.
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Day 9
The morning at Fraser's hill was cool and comfortable. There was a charming colonial hill station vibe to the entire region, from the cobblestone-laid main square to the stone-walled English cottages, that made me want to stay ever so longer. I took a short walk around the golf course which was shrouded in fog to slowly take in the environment. Fraser's hill rarely gets so crowded, yet despite this it never manage to lose its charm, which couldn't be said for Cameron highlands.
After chilling until 10am I reluctantly made my way down. The road downhill is another one way narrow lane that goes around the back of the mountain, though the road condition is significantly better than the uphill Gap road. Reaching back route 55 I turned right to make my way towards Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB), a lovely little colonial township. The stretch downhill was pretty amazing although there was slightly more traffic today due to weekend. Smooth and clean tarmac with plenty of 2nd gear curves, 30km of them all the way to KKB. The lower section of the road near Sungai Selangor dam was especially enjoyable to me with its more stretched out wide sweepers.
Arriving at KKB I managed to find a workshop that has experience with larger motorcycles and got my headlight fixed (it blew during my tumble the day before). Most of the bikes in Malaysia are mopeds or kapchai's (literally "little cub", referring to the Honda Cub) hence many workshops only have experience with mopeds and smaller bikes.
Moving on I rode past Batang Kali and turned to Gohtong Jaya via B66- and wow wow wow what an amazing road it was. It's a super smooth curvy road with plenty of uphills & downhills as well as 2 lane sections that provide such good fun it made it to one of my favourite roads. Even with the moderate traffic today, my joy was not hampered. What a surprise.
After relaxing for a few hours and enjoying a cup of mocha I rode back down, to the legendary Karak highway. There was moderate traffic but oh boy it's a long stretch of racetrack-smooth tarmac with racetrack-grade curves to go all out on. Search for it on youtube or instagram and you can see many riders maxing out there on their litrebikes. Crazy stuff.
I detoured via the Bentong old road back to Tanarimba where I stay. Some massive pileup there (about 2-3km at least) due to a single lane bridge... I wonder why would any driver choose this way knowing the presence of this narrow choke point? Weird. After awhile I reached my house at Tanarimba which is located at 600m elevation amongst the forests and hills. It was nice coming back to somewhere familiar again.
Day 10
Today I have company- I'm riding with my cousin and some of his mates. A comfortable late start from Karak highway BHP station, we started riding around 10:20am or so towards Kampung Bukit Tinggi for a quick breakfast and headed north for the famous Bukit Tinggi "international circuit". It's a ribbon of perfect tarmac with a never ending stream of 2nd-3rd gear bends all the way up the hill, and literally zero traffic. It felt like a closed course and was completely our playground, all 10km of it. Near the summit of the 800m hill is a Buddhist temple with a four-face Buddha where we asked for a safe day ahead.
After that we detoured back down via the same route and got to ride the perfect ribbon of tarmac all over again. Reaching Karak highway we headed out and continued towards the towns of Karak and then Simpang Durian. Halfway out on a B road it suddenly rained. Malaysia being a tropical country, the tropical thunderstorm was heavy but thankfully did not last very long. We were incredibly lucky to have found a shelter for all our 8 bikes within seconds before getting completely soaked. Phew.
After the rain we headed to Titi, a pleasant, atmospheric little town with a school on top of a hill. Everyone was hungry then and we had our late lunch and coffee break at 'Seven and a half' cafe before starting the highlight of today's ride: the road from Titi to Hulu Langat.
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| Atmospheric little town of Titi. |
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| 'Seven and a half' cafe. |
Locals call this route the Kuala Klawang "International Circuit"- of course it's just a stretch of curvy public road, but what a great road it is: about 40km of neverending 2nd & 3rd gear curves with impeccable surface. But watch your timing though- traffic can be heavy at times. Fortunately we were rewarded with zero traffic for the twistiest, most fun sectors- it was a huge blast sweeping all these corners full on, and with our small capacity machines we were using close to full throttle most of the time. On my Super Four the frantic wail of its inline 4 engine and Yoshimura exhaust (with baffler removed) when VTEC kicked in was truly addictive.
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| I paid for the tyre so I'm using it all lol. |
After that bit of fun a small incident occurred. Whilst taking a rest by an artificial lake, a friend's bike fell off its side stand (it was on soft soil) and my precious helmet which was on its seat dropped down and rolled onto the middle of the road. The was a loud thud, the visor flew off and my heart sank to the bottom. The left visor locking pin popped right off and the helmet sustained some pretty deep scratches. Till now I can still replay the heartbreaking moment in my mind in slow motion...
Before nightfall we made our way towards Ampang hill lookout, a popular viewpoint with beautiful views of KL city. There we had our dinner, chatted the night away and bid our goodbyes to each other before heading home separately. The air was cool as the sky drizzled lightly when I rode up my hillside accommodation, and the entire opposite direction of Karak highway was jammed up as people were heading back to KL after the Raya holidays.
What a pleasant day to end my riding trip.
Day 11
Today I rode back to Singapore via the long and boring North South highway and luckily there was no rain. Returned my bike with no issue and my old Ducati Monster started instantaneously which was almost unbelievable. Definitely needed getting used to its more nimble handling and lower tech V twin though, but it's charming in its own special way.
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| I'll be back. |
Some post-ride impressions: Malaysia's road conditions are generally worse than Thailand's- there's unexpected patches, bumps and dips on most roads, and some can be really dangerous for riders. Some states fare better than others too- it's obvious that the eastern states of Kelantan and Terrenganu are worse than the western states.
Another thing about riding in this tropical country- it's utterly scorching and humid from around 11am to 4pm. Traffic stops under the midday sun are pure torture, truly nightmarish. Keep yourself well hydrated, and just head to the mountains.
Negativity aside, some of the roads here can easily compare with those epic stretches of Northern Thailand's- for example the incredible 102 & 185 towards Cameron highlands. Think Northern Thailand's 1290 & 1081 but with a steady ascent instead of climbing up & down smaller hills, then you get an idea of the what Malaysia has to offer. There's plenty of fun to be had here for sure.
For now though I'll say goodbye to Malaysia first- but it definitely won't be long.
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Notable roads
All 4 roads up Cameron highlands are simply riders' paradise:
1. 102 Sungai Koyan to Cameron Highlands
2. 185 Gua Musang to Cameron Highlands
3. 185 Ipoh to Cameron Highlands
4. 59 Tapah old road to Cameron Highlands
5. B32/N32 KL to Kuala Klawang (KKIC, Kuala Klawang "International Circuit")
6. 55 Kuala Kubu Bharu to Fraser's Hill
7. B66 Batang Kali to Gohtong Jaya
8. Bukit Tinggi Berjaya Hills Resort road
9. E8 the legendary Karak highway
10. 56 Gap road to Fraser's Hill, special mention for its twisty single lane through thick forest
LY
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