Amoi rides in the kampungs: Triple S's (Sun, Sea, Shiok - 24 to 27 September 2020)

Sharing a light moment!

Leaving the campsite

Pitstop on J 182

Arriving in Endau; SMK Ungku Hussin

The Buddhist Temple in Endau

Dataran Tanjung Gemok

On Pahang's side overlooking Johor

Endau River marking the state border between Johor and Pahang

Fishing boats by the river

Fishing harbour

Tanjung Gemok Ferry Terminal to catch our 12.30 pm ferry to Tekek.

Tekek's beautiful harbour front

At the start of the climb, one is rewarded by this beautiful view

Another beautiful view awaits as we approaches the chequered flag

The non existing tyres by the railings tells you the gradient is not as tough...

...as compared to the switchback here...

...those with the missing tyres are most worrisome!

Don't believe it is 40% gradehill???

We'll make it 45% as an advertising gimmick

On flat ground coming to 6 pm

Kampung Juara

Returning to the same food court at Penyabong’s waterfront this morning, we were pleasantly surprised to see fellow riders from Endau. Even though we exchanged polite smiles and light conversations with them, it was pretty obvious we were not feeling very conversant this morning. Instead we were exchanging score boards amongst ourselves. Topics on hangovers, sleep deprivation and possible food poisoning were muttered in between bites! Yes, while Claudine had ran to the toilet twice over the night, Amy had had her fair share of throwing up.

Since all rooms are non air conditioned except for the superior room shared between Irene, Mr Tan and Jeannie; many were lulled to sleep in rooms filled with heady concoctions of carbon dioxide and moisture exhaled from our respiratory system. Certainly not the best conditions to be in during this Covid 19 pandemic but co-camper VT could very well be in a worse situation, inhaling the lethal gas passed out by Claudine!

As the caffeine from breakfast kicked slowly into our system, one Bunny was all ready to hop the team. Sherrine was spotted riding out with Team Endau! Luckily Maggie spotted her departure and she was quickly rescued.

Riding out, we passed by Penyabong Warisan Resort before taking the right turn onto J69; a small single lane road that runs past quaint kampung houses. S K Teriang marked the end of the village route and the return to J182 which happens to runs parallel to Federal Route 3.

On a Friday, the start of the weekend in the state of Johor, traffic was low. This allowed us to breeze through the villages, arriving early in Endau. With lots of time in our hands, we visited a Buddhist Temple right opposite SMK Ungku Hussin, crossed the Endau river several times, recce Tanjung Gemok’s ferry terminal, visited the fishing industries by the river before settling down for an early lunch.

As Malaysian citizens, we are required to pay RM5 per person as island conservation fees. If you don’t have blonde hair and blue eyes, you passed off as a Malaysian, just like Jessica did !!! If the maritime officer is not around, you are able to escape to the departure hall but this may delay your departure as orderly checks are made at the gate, so be sure to flash your island conservation tickets, your seat token and your ferry tickets.

The RM15 bike fee is possibly paid for handling the bike on board

It strictly does not include porter fee!

A splendid conveyor arrangement : If you wait long enough passengers getting off the boat will wheel one of these trolleys to the terminal, hence you are free to use it for your trip to the boat

We paid RM15 per bike to get our bikes on board. As this fee depended on our negotiation skills, it does not come with a ticket and this goes to line the pockets of the boat operators.

The best thing that come out from Covid 19 pandemic...The masks!!!

You know who your friends are...between those that take your most unappealing photos...

...and those that take you smiling beautifully into the camera!!!

Never sabotage your friends, they'll get back at you one day!!!

Whatever they tell you at the ticketing booth, be prepared for a long journey (at least 2 hours) especially if you are getting off at Tekek which is the last port of call. The ferry will first drop off passengers at Kampung Genting and then Paya beach before finally Tekek which comes with a beautiful harbour front.

Arriving at Tioman, we made our way to Vision Commerce Duty Free Shop, notably the only surviving Duty Free shop in Tioman. The rests along the way seemed to have folded as the demand amongst beach bums are mainly booze and ciggies!

Each truck can take 5-6 passengers. This one is used to ferry 4 bikes and baggages belonging to 16 persons

This truck initially carried 4 passengers before 3 others decided to add into the load

After the load up...

As a back up to our hill challenge, we had bought 2 extra seats and negotiated for 2 4WD’s to meet us at the jetty. The drivers cleverly masterminded the bikes and baggage to go into one truck which drove off in advance while the other truck led us to the duty free shop, allowing us time to stock up and load up.

Our quest officially began from the Duty Free shop. Beginning with 12 gung-ho riders all roaring to take on the hill challenge, we lost 3 warriors just after 1 km!!!!!!!! Craning her neck to look up the 30% hillslope at the junction to Berjaya Tioman brought chills down Claudine's spine.

Waiting at the same junction was our truck! Our driver had wisely stopped for anyone who may be suffering from sudden cold feet.

While we lie, half dead on the road....

...the others were already at the beach...

Swaying on a hammock under a coconut tree as the sea breeze gently caresses their skin!!!

This was a point of no return and everyone have to act fast. Jeannie and Lily who had both bought seats in the truck were indecisive. Assessing the slope, Claudine tapped on Lily's shoulder and advised her to climb in. Meanwhile, all it took was just a split second for Jessica, Kelvin and Jasmine to dump their bikes! They were planning to relax on the beach!!!!

VT was the first to push up the slope. Soon everyone else followed except for Mindy. Having just returned from Pos Kuala Mu, she is a transformed mountain goat. Coming from behind, she slowly overtook everyone; one by one. 500 m later, she stopped gasping for air. We were also breathing hard but unlike her, she was like a fish out of water.

As our recovery rate was faster, we were soon on the move. Mindy though needed more time to regain her composure. When she was ready, she began again but remained at the same spot. Tried as she might, she could not turn the crank. The gradient had become too steep.

Pushing the bike on foot was no easy feat either. Many times, we had to bend almost 90 degrees just to get some leverage! VT who was constantly ahead seemed to have the lungs of a diver. He kept encouraging the team, giving us illusions that we are almost at the peak. His rationale lies on the visible blue sky, unshrouded by tree canopies.

Soon the faint sound of engine joined our heavy breathing. As the revving got closer and closer, we made way for the truck to pass. Cheering us on from the comforts of the truck was our team. Smiling and encouraging while at the same time documenting our torture in pixels, their grins seemed to say, “So long SUCKERS!!!”

Even though it was a struggle uphill, there were light moments. Henry joked, “I want to go home” and “Are we there yet?” We chorused after VT's , "Look, there's blue skies!" Mindy had time to munch on an apple. And Mr Lim’s distribution of dark chocolate sent a whole new meaning to the word BITTERSWEET memories!

Throughout the 3.5 km journey to the peak, there were moments where riding is possible. But there were more occasions where the crank will turn backwards instead of forward.

Arriving at the peak, we lowered our seats as a safety precaution before rolling downhill. Newbie Lily was ignorant to the “Flinstone” braking system while Jeannie appeared too young to understand life at Bedrock.

Rolling downhill was no easy feat either. Every single ridge drawn on the concrete to create traction was making us bounce. We were shaking so much we were literally vibrating like a nuclear power plant about to explode.

Taking breaks every so often to allow our rims to cool down, Mindy had the misconception that her brakes were fine. She was touching the rubber pads instead!

The gradient on the other side of the hill is steeper than Tekek’s side. We knew we had to alternate between the front and back brakes to prevent overheating. However, this rule does not apply all the time. Sometimes, we had to use both brakes and that too was not helping much. The bike was literally flying downhill at freewill. Having said that, there were moments when the ground flattens and a little pedaling is required.

While VT was leading most of the way, there were several times all leadership is lost. At least twice Henry was caught flying downhill, screaming caution as he overtook everyone. There was also a time when Jeannie found herself rolling downhill all by herself.

There were others who value limbs and skin more. These people took their time rolling downhill.

Mewnwhile, one rider who had chugged down a bottle of RedBull at the Duty Free shop was all bullish to go. She overtook Claudine twice on the hill run.

Just before the switchbacks with intersecting roads, we were coming down the hill so fast it was almost scary. We were losing altitude at 10 m every 60 to 70 m distance. 370m, 360m, 350m….300m….STOPPPPPPP!!! Fingers numbed from braking hard, we were grinning instead of grimacing.

Enquiring with a local motorcyclist on his way up, Mindy found out we should be down by the beach in approximately 15 minutes. We started making plans for dinner. VT google searched for makan spots while Claudine texted the others to meet up for dinner.

Little did we know, it was already written in the books that we are not to dine in together as a team tonight. Leaving the switchbacks as a group, we were soon separated again based on each individual’s speed preference.

Claudine recalled overtaking Lily as we began rolling again. Soon, Henry sped past her screaming, “Coming from behind!” High on red bull, Lily soon overtook her as well. 5 minutes later, Lily’s bike was on the ground as she rummaged through her bag for wet wipes. When Claudine finally reached her, she looked up in terror and asked, “How’s my face?”

On the other side of the road, a driver had paused with his car engine running. He was observing the whole incident like an avid bystander. When Claudine was sure Lily only suffered from skin deep abrasions and does not need a makeover in Korea, she gave the driver a thumbs up, flagging him off.

As the car struggled up the hill, more and more team members arrived. Chooi was assigned to pack up Lily’s bag while Mr Lim gave Lily’s bike a thorough check for road worthiness. The rest of the concerned ladies, played nurse. Following from behind as we made our way down on foot, Claudine was quietly picking up bloodied wet wipes thrown one after another, as if someone had meant to leave a trail.

When we met up with the 2 leading men just right ahead, it was decided that we will have to make the rest of the journey by bike. Too bad for Lily as she was just shy of 1 km to flat ground and hence on another 2 km to the beach. Had she been a bit more careful, the trip would not have been marred by this accident.

Sitting down for dinner at Mia Café, we watched the light leave the horizon. As the day passed slowly to night, and the crowd walked by, Claudine spotted young and handsome Jazper on his way out for dinner. He stopped to chat and was quick to spot Lily’s condition though it took Kelvin and Jasmine awhile to even notice anything wrong! Initially triumphant over our conquest, Mia seemed to be trying our patience; making us wait almost an hour for our food. Mindy who was last to be served, felt all eyes boring into her as the few remaining team members waited for her to finish her dinner.

In the evening, after a good wash up, we met again by the poolside for drinks. In a public area, surrounded by balconies over looking the pool, we were more civilized. No more swaying to the music but the liquor continues to pour !!!

Photo courtesy : Jeannie, Irene, Sherrine, Henry, Andrew, Mindy, Kelvin

Fun facts :

Jetty to Peak – 3.65 km

Actual uphill climb (junction to Berjaya Tioman to peak) - 2.6 km , 420 m highest elevation, 15.9% gradehill

Actual downhill – 6 km

Peak – 460 m

Total distance from jetty to Barat Tioman – Not more than 12 km

The concrete road between Tekek and Juara is the longest road on Tioman and is only paved as recently as 13 years ago.

Only 4WD's ply this route. At ground zero, passengers gets to enjoy a bit of air conditioning. After the first 650 m, all air conditioning is turned off to give the car more power to make the climb. The journey by car takes about 40 minutes. For safety reasons, the car's brake pads are changed as often as once every month!!!!

Our young driver in his late twenties told us he practically grew up in Tioman. Before the concrete road was built, only dirt tracks served the village folks. He was quick to add he has never met any riders before us who made the crossing successfully! Only feeble attempts by 3 mat salleh on roadbikes and they too called for help midway!!!

Island conservation fees - RM5 per pax

Ferry on Bluewaters - RM35 one way

4WD journey - RM30 one way

Bike on board - RM15 one way (depending on your negotiation skills)

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The Barat, Tioman