4,3,2,1...Up Up and Away (October 23 - 30, 2021), Day 1 : Taiping to Kulim

At May's house

Welcoming Dinner the day before

Jalan Pasar with the old market in the background. The market is more than 100 years old.

Flagged off by May

Jalan Bukit Mas

First pit stop, Jalan Kerian

First pit stop, Jalan Kerian

Vehicles respectfully gave us more than 1.5m clearance

Route A4 traverse the railway line...

...and the North South Highway

The few who scaled the hills were rewarded with a spectacular view of the lake

Bukit Merah Dam

Water gushing out at one of the watergates

Dining by the lake

The old and the new

Lunch at Alor Pongsu, near the highway exit

It was drizzling when Claudine woke up at 5.30 am. Replying to her greetings in the groupchat, Bernie confirmed that it had been raining the whole night! Joining in the camaraderie, LC quipped that Taiping, is after all known as raintown!

We had no choice but to proceed with our 7 am breakfast meet up. When the time finally came, we were pleasantly surprised the sky dried up for us!

Feeling positive, we took the short walk to Kedai Makanan Tai Chien for their famous popiah. While it went down well with some of us, others preferred the southern recipe that comes with shredded cucumber and crushed peanuts. Fried kueh teow was second on the menu while Mr Lim overdid it with chicken curry served with turmeric rice!

Wiping off the oily stains from the sides of our mouth, we then proceeded to May's house to park our cars and set up for the ride. Meng, who had started from Kuala Kangsar the day before was given a lift in VT's car.

Flagged off by May promptly at 8.30 am, we treaded carefully on Jalan Kamunting Lama. The road was narrow and flanked by several army camps.

Traffic was milder once we turned right onto Route A7. Somewhere along this route, stood Restoran Kamunting Utara, a place where Lim, Joyce, Jac, VT and Claudine had once shared hot drinks on a cold and wet night. It was New Year's Eve 2018 and they were on their way back from Gerik after a holiday in Betong, Thailand.

Not long after, we turned to Route A4 and there began the much desired quiet, kampung roads. The road traversed the railway line and even the North South Highway. Truckers honked their support when they spotted us on the bridge.

Approaching Gunung Semanggol, the hills were still shrouded in mists at 9.30 am. This route cuts through a hill, surrounded by jungles before continuing down the valley!

Coming to the entrance of Bukit Merah Laketown Resort, Claudine suddenly had the urge to revisit the place. It was unplanned or they could have approached it via A197 which is flat instead of A111. Nevertheless, the few who scaled the hill enjoyed the challenge and were rewarded by a spectacular view of the Lake Resort.

Selinsing canal

Roads running parallel to the canal

Water released into Selinsing Canal

Another bridge before the high security fencing

Water released into the river

Next came the dam with several watergates and high security fencing. Then, a medan selera and views after views of a great body of water! The route was so captivating, we almost forgot the pristine forest and hills to our left.

View of the lake from our food truck

View of the lake from our food truck

View of the lake from our food truck

Note the road ahead, viewed from the food truck

Note the food truck, viewed from the gravel road leading to the new double tracking railway line

Parked strategically by the lake was a food truck with several tables and chairs set up for diners to enjoy their trademarked laksa and ice kacang. Surprisingly, they also offers chrysanthemum tea and cincau, which is more popular with Chinese patrons for cooling off the body heat.

At the edge of the waters with the new electrified double tracking railway line in the background 

High security

Gravel path to the new electrified double tracking railway line

View from the road

We spent some time seeking out the new electrified, double tracking railway line. We also had an adventurous time, hunting down the old railway line from pre-WWII days, with records dating back to 1938.

Earlier, Suzie was turned away by workmen but we persisted on bikes

Coming down to the lake

VT already on his way

Dead end

We persisted through mush, rubbish, shrubs and even dead snakes

First sighting

There's a gap between the old bridge allowing boat passage

Second sighting

The old lines embedded into the water to prevent erosion

You can rent a boat for fishing

On the way out. Hairy caterpillar is hiding behind Mindy...on her butt!!!

Interestingly, Bukit Merah lake is a man made, freshwater lake built in 1906 and the only lake in Malaysia with a railway line running across. The new double tracking railway system from 2013 now replaces the old line which was sadly destroyed partway to allow boat passage and flow of water.

Our lunch dilemma began soon after! There was not a single gerai within the 2km distance we rode. The area seemed deserted!

Stopping by Masjid Bukit Merah, 2 malay girls on their way for Zuhur prayers advised, we will have better luck in Alor Pongsu.

As this was in the planned route, we took their advice and took the kampung road that runs parallel to the highway. It was flat out straight with no tree covers. The 9 km ride to lunch was torturous!

Bernie who had packed up after the lakeside food truck for hiking at Changkat Assam soon met up with us along this route. They joined us for lunch but left for Kulim right after.

Things were looking good after lunch despite the foreboding rain clouds. We were excited to ride on gravel trails along the paddy fields.

Farmers were seen ploughing the land, in preparation for the next planting season. Everytime the tractor ran through the soil, Egrets scooped down to feast on insects and worms brought up from the rakes.

At one point, the trails led us through palm oil plantations and rivers bursting its banks. Then, we realised its consequences...the connecting route was flooded! There were no through way despite a few attempts!!

Gravel path ran alongside the river

The junction to Shell and Alor Pongsu R & R

We were enjoying the route until....we saw the flooded path!!! Shell petrol station and Alor Pongsu R & R is on the right, separated by the zinc barrier

Trying another route to no avail !

Mini excavator on floatation device

Even though the stall owners at the Alor Pongsu R&R were encouraging us to sneak into the highway and get off at Bandar Baru, we did not have RM3000 to pay for the fines! Tempting though, we had no choice but to back track our way, opting to use Route 1 for Kulim instead.

At Bagan Serai, we had a quick peek of Terusan Tok Ngah, an irrigation canal built for the Kerian District's mostly paddy fields. Stopping by Caltex, Claudine could sense Meng's rising difficulties. He managed another 11 km with another 2 more stops before finally throwing in the towel.

Grab service though was not easy to get. He had requested Amy to get him a Grab outside CAB Marine Resources, where the road intersects Jalan Permatang Tok Mahat. Not only did we fail after 20 minutes but Amy was slapped with a charge when the driver accepted and declined later. She had to call up to get the charges reversed!

We had no choice but to push Meng to ride another 2 km, promising him taxis in Nibong Tebal. It was only after another long wait and with the help of a stall owner that we finally managed to get a Grab service.

As Meng was whisked off to Kulim in a brand new Honda HR-V at an agreed rate of RM70, we were left to ride the last 30 km by ourselves. By then, it almost 6 pm!

Hoping to arrive in Kulim by 7.30 pm, we ran out of luck at Junjong. Right after we crossed the state border into Kedah and waved to our returning ex police officer cum Grab driver, VT realised his bike had a rear puncture. While everyone worked together to get this sorted out, Amy too discovered the same fate!

First there's one bike...

...then there were two !!!

Changing tubes at dusk was tough. Changing tubes in the dark is even tougher! We saw the day leave us and night taking over, as we worked on the first bike before the second one.

We rode the last 9 km in a tight peloton to ensure everyone's safety. It was encouraging to come into Kulim Town but when Claudine saw the last hill to climb, she burst into laughter at our ill luck!

The final 1 km of long, ardous hill climb had to be overcome before we finally got to our hotel. By the time we got to the finish line, it was almost 8.30 pm!

Urban Inn Kulim was good, allowing us to park our bikes at their next door conference room. They ensured every guests' safety by checking out their Mysejahtera thoroughly with the most recent updates.

A few doors away from the hotel, a Malay restaurant caters only for take aways but allowed us to eat at their five foot way. With a laundromat on the same row, everything seems to work out quite well for tired tourers finishing at 110 km, an accidental addition of 30 km due to the floods!

Photo credits

Suzie

Amy

Mindy