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| Just look up and pretend you can't see dog poo!!! |
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| The whole team...Kluang, JB, Singapore! |
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| Happy couple |
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| 17 hills, so they say! |
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| Huff and puff |
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| "Paloh is Pau Loh Meng," said TH |
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| Waiting at the junction |
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| We've got one of the Chu brothers! |
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| The leading trio |
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| At the coffee shop next to the railway station |
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| View of the fairly new railway station in the background |
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| Signboard from the heydays! |
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| A world without borders.... |
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| .....Paloh, Kluang, JB and Singapore! |
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| 3D art |
Fighting our way out of Kluang, Claudine wondered if the whole 30 km on J 16 will be this treacherous. Besides the famed 17 hills, traffic was heavy on the narrow trunk road that comes with zero road shoulders. It was a hair raising experience to have heavy vehicles come close to us. We had to literally "walk the line" and in our case the white road markings by the edge of the tarmac!
Thankfully, our endeavor only lasted a few kilometers before we transcended into settings similar to "Silent Hill". A heavy veil of mists masked the palm oil landscapes and rolling hills. As if we had entered another dimension, the long train of traffic disappeared as well!
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| Dragon Fruit farm |
Unfamiliar with the route, Claudine preferred to draft behind Mr Chu who soon became her tour guide! A multi lingual person, he shared on cash crops, banana and dragon fruit replacing that of palm oil. Considering that Kluang's bananas are reportedly good for export market, they were the official fruit served at the recent LEKAS race! In fact, we passed a few land clearings with some replanting in progress.
As Paloh is close to Endau Rompin National Park, there has been occasional sightings of elephants. Trails in the palm oil estates lead up to Kahang and its PETA entrance. In fact, up to the 1960's, the only link to the town is via rail or timber tracks from Yong Peng.
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| At the junction to Paloh, on J 16 |
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| At the junction to Paloh, on J 16 |
Arriving in Paloh, we were pleasantly surprised with the town's development. Entering from the new side which was mostly residential; we made our way to the old sector, comprising of Briggs' kampung baru styled housing and the old town with buildings dating from 1935. A church and a temple sitting high up on a hill, overlooks the valley below.
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| The old coffee shop |
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| Tuck shop design |
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| A favourite haunt among the locals |
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| Old railway quarters |
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| Note the chimney, detached toilet and gardens |
Making our way to the railway station it was sad to know it's fairly new building and adjacent coffee shop will soon be making way for the new double tracking system that could cater for high speed rail. Besides the boring railway station, the coffee shop with walls structured from wood clapboard sidings, windows and latches were worth preserving. A more interesting architecture will be the abandoned, red bricked quarters with British influences, nearby.
Meanwhile, with Chuan Soon as host, our trip was about to hit an apex! A friend, a cyclist and a local folk, he dropped in to show us around. Beginning from Jalan Kelinik, he led us past the old post office and health department before stopping outside the 3 House of Gods which shared the same location on top of a hill. In fact, 2 of the taller buildings were spotted as we entered the town, earlier. It was heartwarming to see a Prebysterian Church sandwiched between a Buddhist and Taoist temple with each unit observing its religious views in perfect harmony.
The hill, considered a prime property, thanks to good feng shui, offered a sweeping view of the valley below. From our high vantage point, we spotted a few Hindu temples in the valley below.
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| ...on people's lawn |
Stopping by a small plot of coffee bushes, Chuan Soon plucked a few ripened fruit for us to taste. As bitter as coffee is known to be, the flesh is surprisingly, quite the opposite!
At the peak of the hill where 2 water tanks served the town folks, we learnt some historical facts about Paloh. Up to the 1970's, Paloh was without electricity. When power finally came to the town folks, it was through a local provider via a diesel run power generator. Hence up to the 1980's and before TNB laid the power lines, light bulbs only glow from 7 pm onwards only.
We learnt about the curfews during the emergency period and how rice was controlled in the town. Nobody was allowed outside during curfew hours and every household had to collect cooked rice from centers on a daily basis. Coupons were issued according to the number of persons in each family and rations are dispensed accordingly.
Leaving the hillside, we returned to the town to capture the murals that were recently drawn to commemorate the town's centennial celebrations. Chuan Soon took us to the back alleys, pin pointing the location of Capitol theatre before giving us a grand entry from the front.
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| Theatre from 1955 |
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| Ticket counter |
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| Back street view, where the generator was placed |
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| Balcony |
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| In ruins |
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| Tiny pigeon holes are for projectors |
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| Property magnate, assessing the value of the place!!! |
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| Side entrance |
Entering the dark and dingy cinema, Chuan Soon helped us envision what it was like during the heydays. He pointed to us where the screen and projectors were once located. Whenever the screen turned blank due to power cuts, the patrons will protest by thumping on the wooden chairs.
As TNB only came to town from the 1980's onwards, the theatre was powered by a generator located at the back. The remnants of the diesel run generator could still be seen in the backrooms.
Before leaving Paloh, we stopped at the coffee shop right next to the cinema for some old school curry mee and ice kacang. Even though the shaved ice dessert was lacking in condiments, the noodle came with generous helpings of fishcakes and meatballs. Auntie's service was tops, giving us extra bowls of curry stock when she knew we were sharing.
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| Ling Nam cofee shop from 1935 |
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| Pakatan Harapan office |
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| Cafe style |
Turning to the main street before bidding the town farewell, we took in the town's first coffee shop and Pakatan Harapan's office which was fashioned after a retro café. Both entities were strangely quiet at noon. As Ling Nam had ran out of food, justly a small town coffee shop, nobody could explain the empty office which was not manned at all.
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| The old post office along J 191 |
The return journey to Kluang on J 191 was shorter with less hills to climb. We passed a few settlements and even rolled into Chamek, which was witnessing some ongoing community activities.
It was fun to note how the railway line could run along one side but switched to another side every time we crossed its tracks. As we crossed the tracks twice, we had the line on our right, then left, before returning to our right again.
After hitting some small rubber estates which grew well on hill slopes, TH started experiencing leg cramps. Coincidentally, rubber trees were spotted on J16, likewise driving school facilities. While Andy stayed with him, it was Mr Lie, a driving school instructor who came to his rescue!
We were all waiting for the duo by the junction when Mr Lie drove up to us. An avid rider and captain of Defi Cycling Club, Lee and Chu immediately recognized him even before his car screeched to a stop.
As we were riding on his turf, Lie could identify how far behind TH and Andy were; which was NOT far. When they did not appear as expected, Lie set off on his rescue mission.
After bundling TH into his car, Lie led us through the backroads of Kluang. We followed the river route; passing a herd of grazing cows, a flock of cranes taking off in flight and a kaleidoscope of twirling butterflies. Where a bridge traversed the river, Chu turned in, bidding us farewell.
As we were closing in on the junction for J 16, we cut through a malay kampung and the fringes of a Muslim cemetery. Turning right thereafter, we knew we had reached base when the familiar row of shophouses were spotted from a distance.
Funnily, when we were all packed up, we returned via the same river route for Yean Kee’s beef noodle. It was indeed one of the best beef noodle around, simply put by Philip, “...the cherry on the cake!!”
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| Uncle suffered a stroke |
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| Happier times, 22 April 2017 |
Sadly though, while we rejoiced over Chai’s quick recovery from a bike accident, a little old man from our End Polio Ride 2017, lay bedridden in a nursing home. So while we gave thanks to God for lifting Chai from his state of unconsciousness when he was hit by a tour bus; we pray that our old uncle will be able to lift himself up again one day. Strength be upon Chai (and also Ah Ping) to attempt another Malaysia’s Book of Records feat of 1000 km next Malaysia Day and strength be upon our little friend, to stand tall again!
