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| Wang Kelian Viewpoint, the highest point on Route R15 |
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| After breakfast at Old Street Coffee House which serves good curry mee, char kueh tiau and pau, we returned to Kelam Cave Guesthouse to while away the time, in anticipation for Kelam Cave to open its doors |
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| Kelam Cave Visitor's Gallery can be viewed from the Guesthouse |
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| The entrance fee to the cave is RM5 but on hot afternoons, visitors end the tour with a dip in the river |
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| A murky brown after heavy rain |
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| Even with visitors arriving by the throngs, the operators will not open the door a minute earlier... |
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| ...so we had to take more photos... |
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| ...and take a detour to the farmlands! |
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| Taking on a bigger mission to Thailand when our visit to Kelam Cave was cancelled |
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| Giving up on our first hairpin bend! |
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| Check out the grass line. This must be more than 20% gradient |
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| Be careful of falling rocks |
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| Part ride, part push. This point is a few hundred meters to the peak |
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| Thankfully, the torture was only 2.2 km... |
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| ...and the rewards were bountiful |
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| Route R15 viewed from the viewpoint where we had made our climb |
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| Phallic limestone... |
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| Bukit Chabang in the distance |
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| Yet another view |
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| Ya Roi Waterfall, second cascade |
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| Ya Roi Waterfall, higher cascades |
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| Ya Roi Waterfall. smaller falls converging into the stream |
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| Ya Roi Waterfall, never ending falls |
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| Ya Roi Waterfall, lower streams |
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| The internal route to Namtok Ton Plio |
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| Rubber trees aplenty which also mean a hilly terrain as rubber trees thrive on hills |
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| Namtok Ton Plio. According to the locals, there is a higher falls but the road there requires a steep climb |
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| The other end of the waterfall is a quiet stream |
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| A sandbank between the falls and the quiet stream |
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| Route 4184 towards Thung Nui |
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| Finally met Pastor Cheah at Behind the Hill Resort |
Even though we were staying a stone's throw away from Kelam Cave, we had no luck visiting the place. Arriving early at our guesthouse yesterday afternoon, our plans to visit was cancelled due to torrential rain. Not giving up, we delayed our roll out this morning, only to be informed the Cave had to be closed for the day as debris from the river had accumulated on the bridge, leading to the Cave!
Historically, Kaki Bukit is a Chinese village built on a tin mining industry. Tin was found in Kelam Cave which is also rich in limestones. The name Kelam meaning darkness was given by the miners who worked in the Cave. Back then, the only illumination came from burning carbide lamps.
Kelam Cave is divided into 2 segments. Kelam Cave 1 is an easy walk on wooden suspension bridge through an illuminated Cave with curios like stalactites and stalagmites formations. Kelam Cave 2, on the other hand is an adventurous hike through the tin mines.
Disappointed with the news of the closure but not giving up, we hung around making more enquiries about the cave. The lady manning the ticket booth, suggested a visit to Kelam Cave 2 which relies on another entrance. The guide fee of RM100 for 12 pax instead of the original 10 pax was agreed and a payment of RM100 went through the small window of the ticket booth. However, no tickets or receipts were issued!!!
Soon the summoned guide arrived by motorcycle but could not start the tour immediately. He excused himself and returned to where he came from with a leaf blower in hand. Again, he could not start the tour but asked us to meet him at the visitor center. Meanwhile, he had revved up the motor of his blower and started blowing the leaves on the ground.
It finally dawned on us that he was moonlighting between 2 jobs. His permanent job has to be completed before he could take us into the mines. As we had stressed from the very beginning that we were on a tight schedule, we cancelled the tour altogether and demanded a refund which was honoured.
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| Riding out from Kaki Bukit @ Route R13 |
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| On Route R15 |
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| At the junction between Route R15 and 226 where we met our fellow local riders. Sadly, the person in our group who took the group photo refused to share it with us. |
On our way to Wang Kelian Viewpoint, we met a group of local riders already on their way down. They saw our Bromptons and said we will never be able to ride up but Mindy on 44 t chainring proved them wrong. As for Claudine and VT on 50t chainrings, they did not try very hard, preferring to push their bikes, every now and then when things got tough.
Besides cyclists, the climb to the Viewpoint is also popular with joggers. Many locals take the challenge on a daily basis just to sweat it out. They cheered us on and exchanged morning greetings with us.
Wang Kelian Viewpoint marks the peak of Route R15. On Strava, the segment shows a continuous climb for 2.2 km with a hill grade of 9.6% and 209 m in elevation. Part ride and part push it took Claudine about half an hour to complete the segment with an average speed of 3.5 kph. She shares the same results with Mindy who rode all the way !!!
After the Viewpoint, we enjoyed a downhill glide all the way to the T-junction of Kampung Wang Kelian. The right turn continues all the way to Wang Kelian CIQ whilst the left turn leads to Perpustakaan Desa Kg Wang Kelian, the village library.
Regrouping at this junction, we were made terribly worried when Kelvin, Mr Lim, Mindy and Jessica failed to arrive. We tried to flag down 3 roadies for news of our friends but they refused to stop.
Finally, it was a man with his young sleeping children in tow that stopped to share information of a puncture. He apologised profusely as his car was too crammed to bring our friend down.
Relieved that no one is injured, Raymond and Henry were sent back up the hill with tyre, tube and tools. Meanwhile, Claudine and Jac rode ahead to the CIQ to lay down the groundworks for the temporary export of our bikes.
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| 3 km to the Customs and Immigration Checkpoint |
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| The single storey units looked lived in whilst the double storey units looked abandoned with dilapidated doors, broken windows and holes on the roof |
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| Possibly immigration staff housing |
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| Police checkpoints are common near the borders |
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| Barricades @ 2km to the border |
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| Perlis State Park or Taman Negeri Perlis to attract the first batch of tourists from Thailand |
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| 1 km to the Customs and Immigration Checkpoint |
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| Abandoned stalls |
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| Shopping arcade given a new coat of paint, perhaps hoping to attract tenants |
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| Public toilets behind the signage |
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| Wang Kelian, Customs and Immigration Checkpoint comes with a small duty free shop on the right |
Arriving at the CIQ, Jessica was already waiting! It turns out, a kereta sewa with some passengers inside was flagged down. The driver and his customers did not mind giving Jessica a lift!
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| En Rosdi was nice and helpful |
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| A sample of the temporary export form used at Wang Kelian |
Applying for temporary export of our bikes was not difficult but we had to explain to the custom officer we will not reenter Malaysia at the same checkpoint. As different checkpoints adopts different types of forms, En Rosdi had to readjust his SOP. He decided to make photocopies of the temporary export form, giving us the original stamped copy as proof upon re-entry at the next checkpoint.
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| The customs comes first before the immigration department |
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| The customs boom gate |
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| Crossing over to the immigration side |
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| The immigration counter for vehicles is the last window on this block but we had to follow the passenger lane |
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| Park your bike and follow the passenger lane. Note the counter is at the corner with 2 windows for the officer to swivel from one side to the other |
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| VT exiting Malaysia and entering no man's land. The stretch is marked by the gates, each with a flagpole flying the respective country's flag |
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| VT entering Thailand |
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| Leaving Malaysia |
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| Its always exciting to cross borders |
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| As both Thailand and Malaysia enjoys friendly diplomatic ties, a stronghold gate with barbed wire is not required |
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| Filling up Thai immigration forms |
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| Filling up Thai immigration forms |
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| Wang Prachan Customs and Immigration Checkpoint |
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| Since June 2022, Thailand legalised the growing and consumption of marijuana. Hence, this warning signboard is a new addition to the border set up |
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| Welcome to Thailand |
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| 20 m away from Wang Prachan CIQ, stalls flanked the road for more than 500 m! |
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| Its a downhill glide... |
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| ...and more glide!!! |
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| Thale Ban National Park on the right |
Once we cleared customs, we proceeded to the immigration counter. Even though our bicycles come with wheels, they were not considered vehicles. We had to park our bikes and follow the passenger lane.
The Wang Kelian immigration was manned by only 1 person when we were there. The officer swiveled between the passenger lane and vehicle lane, all the time giving priority to passengers travelling by car who had the privilege to remain seated in their vehicles!
Both the Wang Kelian and Wang Prachan CIQ's are less than 200 m apart. In between this distance is no man's land; a berth of about 20 m and controlled by the gates of each country.
As Malaysian's are immediate neighbours to Thailand, our entry into Thailand was a breeze. Singaporean passports require a longer processing time whilst Taiwanese passports comes with a few questionnaire even though accompanied with a pre-approved visa !
We were ecstatic when all our passports were finally stamped. Our holiday in Thailand has begun!
As soon as we entered Thailand the transition was immediate. Whilst Malaysia's border of Wang Kelian was quiet and totally devoid of shops or stalls, Thailand's Wang Prachan border was dotted with shops and makeshift stalls that lined the road for more than half a kilometer! Cars were even allowed to park in the middle of the road! Meanwhile, an abandoned shopping arcade on Malaysia's side receives a new coat of paint with hopes of a revival.
Coincidentally, Wang Kelian's remoteness made it a perfect place for human trafficking syndicates to operate. The place was exposed in the media back in 2015 as a migrant Death Camp with mass graves discovered on the hills. Thank goodness we saw no ghosts when we were there.
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| Ban Suan Tondin has a few rooms to let out and a nice restaurant setting by the river |
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| Small stream from across the road flows by the restaurant and joins the river below |
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| The mango shake was out of this world |
Thailand's Thale Ban National Park greeted us with rewarding downhill glides. We rolled 4 km downhill to our lunch stop at Ban Suan Tondin, a resort cum restaurant. Then another 4 km to Ya Roi Waterfall and a further 6 km to the junction to Namtok Ton Plio. There on, we only had a short and gradual 2 km climb to the waterfall.
After Namtok Ton Plio, we joined Route 406 which is a main road leading to Hat Yai. Du Son night market was bustling at the junction to Khuan Don but we resisted. This proved to be a wise choice for our dinner that night at Behind the Hill Resort was so rewarding!
Photo Credits :
Mindy
Kelvin
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Behind the Hill Resort, Thung Nui
Click below link for google location :
https://goo.gl/maps/ySHXmZ1NFsuorqBt9
Ya Roi Waterfalls
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| Enjoying mangoes and mata kucing bought from the roadside stall. We even borrowed their knife to cut the fruits |
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| A natural wreath |
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| Concrete stairs to the higher falls |
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| View of the never ending falls |
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| Endless falls |
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| Crystal clear water |
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| Top view |
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| Rolling out was delayed as Claudine had latex on her hands. Many trees at Ya Roi are rubber trees so do not lean against one! Thankfully, wet wipes was able to remove the latex |
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Namtok Ton Plio
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| The locals and us |
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