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| The Complete Team |
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| Karen and Mindy arriving in Lumut one day earlier |
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| Joyce and KC leaving Singapore, late afternoon of Day 0 |
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| The Johoreans at the bus station, night of Day 0 |
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| All ready for our night journey amidst Covid 19 epidemic |
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| The team at Ayer Tawar |
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| Riding towards Beruas |
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| The ladies in Beruas |
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| The ladies in Beruas |
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| Beruas Town, after lunch |
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| Sungai Tenang where we met Sree |
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| Watermelon stop |
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| Watermelon stop |
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| Victory celebration at Ansari Chendol |
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| Dinner at Yes |
After a long and terrible journey on a bus which saw Claudine throwing up, the 5 of us finally arrived in Lumut. This was after the bus had made a stop at Teluk Intan before proceeding to Kampung Koh, Sitiawan, Sri Manjong, Ayer Tawar and finally ending it's journey in Lumut. VT had even joked about hopping off in Sitiawan, shortening our journey by 11 km! His cheating plans were not to be as Karen and Mindy were waiting at Lumut where our last Quest had ended!
It was still dark when we arrived in Lumut. Groping in the dark, we set up our bikes and rode the short journey to Lumut Suites where Karen and Mindy had spent the night. As they were only starting their breakfast, the rest of us took the opportunity to freshen up while some of us changed into our cycling gears.
Mindy was the perfect host offering her room to Claudine and arranging for everyone else to use the common toilets. She even pointed out the Coway water filter by the lobby for all to fill up.
Riding out, we took the same route the bus had taken us earlier. We went through a forested area on Route 18 which came with some mild climbs.
Later, we turned onto Route 100 but detoured to Venice !!! Jalan Venice Raya is home to the rich in Manjung or so we thought; judging by the bungalows with lush gardens, set amidst the river tributaries of Sungai Lumut Kanan. Just as in Venice, the water is brackish and BLACK !!!
Sitiawan came soon enough and with Auntie Audrey's recommendations, we found a coffee shop with a single stall that sells everything from noodle soup to konlou mee to mee rebus! They also have nasi lemak and yiu tiaw brought in for resale.
On the move after breakfast, we rode on to Ayer Tawar stopping at Shell's Ayer Tawar for drinks. We had rode slightly more than 15 km only but the break was welcomed as the day was turning into a scorcher in contrast to this morning's threat of rain!!!
After Ayer Tawar, we left Route 5 and turned onto Route 71's Jalan Beruas - Ayer Tawar, a smaller and quiter road. In fact, we hardly saw any cars!
Pedalling our way into Beruas with a brief water stop outside Sekolah Kebangsaan Gelong, we found Beruas to be a quiet town with few food shops. Thankfully, Mindy proactively made some enquiries with a man on a motorcycle. He pointed us to the foodcourt at Lorong Inderawati, a stone's throw away from the local bus stop and Shell. We all agreed the wantons sold at the noodle shop to be surprisingly smooth and old school!
After lunch, Karen had a spurt of energy, speeding past the mild rolling hills. Everyone were caught surprised when she rolled into Kedai Makan Syed on Jalan Siputih - Batu Hampar, just as everyone were rolling to a stop as well! We had only gone 10 km but the idea of a cold ais limau on a hot day was too irresistible.
The route turned beautiful somewhere along Kg Sungai Rotan. There were lush greenery and canopy covered roads. Even the small pondok polis and the Chinese primary school looked quaint with vibrant bougainvilleas.
Soon, we were rolling past palm oil estates. Small little brooks popped up along the way, tempting Claudine to dip her legs in for a cooling respite.
We did make a stop at Sungai Tenang, at the junction to Tian Siang Oil Mill. But the river was too deep below to have any access! It was here that we met a curious, yet friendly boy named Sreedharan. He was on a beat up motorcycle herding his cows!
Bidding Sree farewell, we did not ride far before stopping for watermelons at Padang Gajah. Situated right next to the police station, the shop was old and beat up. Not sure if the close proximity to the laws have anything to do honesty but the shop keeper only charged us RM 3 for a whole watermelon!
Strangely, since Kg Sg Rotan the road shoulders have been strewn with paddy husks. This went on all the way to Terong! Not sure if Hansel and Gretel were trying to find their way back, but Claudine was certainly on her way home!
Sungai Air Terjun was the next populated town. Then came Terong with a bigger population. But the post office remained a wooden structure, elevated from the ground on concrete stilts and the town's few shophouses in need of new coats of paint to cover it's tanned planks.
Right before Changkat Jering, we made another short stop at a gerai which has yet to open for business. At this point, Karen's morale was pretty low. We tried to motivate her, assuring her she has about 11 km more to go to the finish line. This must have given her a boost up the steep by pass that ran above the E1's North South Highway!
At Simpang junction, Claudine's feeling of home coming was short lived when a crazy man threw his finished bag of iced water at her. It hit her calf and she shouted, "GILA !!!" back at him.
Soon the flyover that traversed the railway line came. Then came Masjid India which stood at the busy intersection between Jalan Kota, Jalan Taming Sari and Jalan Stesen. Before long, we were in the heart of the town itself.
Taking a brief stop at Ansari's Chendol where we met May, we then split into 2 groups. The Taipingites returned home while the "Tourists" checked into Louis Hotel.
That night, May graciously chauffeured everyone to Yes Restaurant for dinner. She also made sure we will not have any problems with bowel movements the next day, bringing cut fruits from home!!!
Now, a little drama did happen right before dinner. Besides the fact that Karen had to visit a pharmacy for muscle relaxants, May was in a panic when Kedai Basikal Eng Hern's mechanic could not put back her bike back together after applying loctite. Uncle KC was called in to help and May could not have been more grateful to be able to join part of the ride the next day!!!
Photo credits :
Mindy
KC
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