The quartet of adventurers:
B (trip organiser/ logistics officer/ CFO/ bike repair specialist/ first aider *touch wood*)
JH
YS and
S
decided to take a training-cum-holiday trip up to the sleepy east-coast fishing port of Mersing, 130km north of Johor Bahru.
We headed up in 2 cars - JH's "mini-me" car (B's ex-car) and YS's spacious MPV, started out at close to 9pm from B's place on Fri 6 Feb.
Nearing Woodlands, Mr usually-super-organised-B suddenly remembered that he'd left out 2 vital pieces of gear - cycling jersey and tights! Heading back to retrieve them, YS and S proceeded on and waited at the Woodlands MacD carpark. A short delay later, we set off together at 10pm towards the customs.
Breezing through Spore's customs, YS and myself were bemused (think YS was more exasperated :p) at having to navigate the windy road that leads to the new mammoth-sized Msia customs building. [YS felt like an F1 driver on the return journey home haha]
Light traffic on JB roads meant a smooth journey pretty much all the way to our destination (we were simply waved through a couple of Msia police road blocks), making a quick pee stop at a petrol station along the way.
We were pretty tickled and befuddled by the huge reflector arrows which came in S, M, L and XL sizes haphazardly arranged along the Msia roads, giving a surreal cartoony effect in the otherwise pitch-black darkness.
After about a total of 3hrs+ of driving, we finally arrived past midnight at Hotel Havanita (HH). A quick check-in and 5 min later we were at the nearby Malay coffeeshop for supper. B and YS had mee goreng while JH and S ate spicy instant noodle soup. JH had 2 bowls! [We wanted to have the healthier ban mian but the shop was closed by the time we got there :( ] Way past our usual bed times by then, we groggily returned to HH for much needed shut-eye.
Next morning, we started the day lazily with a late 10am+ brunch feast of won ton mee, fishball noodle soup, char siew and roast chicken, rounded off with a plate of yummy cholesterol-clogging char kway tiao with the usual milo kosong and kopi-o.
With tummies satiated, B and JH made a bee-line to the Mersing "salon" for their value-for-money RM$7 haircut, while YS and S returned to HH for some RandR. [B and JH later came back laden with bulging plastic bags filled with vege and more vege (a bunch of kangkong costs only RM$0.30), half a dozen bottles of 1.5l mineral water and tidbits]
The plan for day 2:
12pm Cycle Mersing - Kluang - Taman Negara - Jetty - Jamaluang - Mersing loop (Total Dist: 93km)
5pm optional run along the Mersing beach
6pm seafood dinner
8pm shopping for groceries
JH was feeling under the weather and decided to stay in while B, YS and S started their ride towards Kluang at 12pm.
The initial 40km out from Mersing was along narrow, winding roads, pretty flat at first, then gently undulating after.
B, still recovering from a viral infection, took it real easy, cycling at a fat-burning, less than 100W pace, with S happily drafting behind, thankful for this sedate, relaxed pace hehe...
YS, in urgent need of IML training, shot ahead trying to clock mileage at aerobic pace.
Coming to a T-junction, B led the way down a little pot-holed path to the jetty which was a popular fishing spot among the locals.
The next 53km towards Mersing was undulating with long gentle upslopes and downslopes.
S reached a max of 47km on compact crank while coasting down one of the slopes. B upped his pace after the T-junction with YS following close and S lagging behind. We had the roads pretty much to ourselves, with few cars in sight at this point, and enjoyed the ride alongside lush greenary amidst the fresh countryside air.
We were amused by the sight of "Elephant Awas!" signs along the way and S kept hoping to see a real life one but all they saw were the elephants' (or was it cows'?) poo :(
We cycled for about 70km before taking a photo break by a lake with incredibly clear water which looked fantastic for taking a dip in.
It was an idyllic setting for a pinic if only the weather wasn't so humid. S was looking forward to a coffeshop at this point (we had cycled for about 70km without any water top-ups by then) and that was our next destination a few km away, except that we re-fueled at a provision shop instead with freshly-cut slices of juicy pineapples, 100plus and water, since the only coffeshop in the vicinity looked pretty dingy and grimy *yucks*
The last 20km was the usual rolling terrain along Jamaluang towards Mersing. Traffic along this stretch is usually busy but Msia drivers tend to give cyclists a wide berth, with some drivers/ motorcyclists giving a friendly/ warning toot on the horns or a wave as they sped past.
YS took the lead and soon left S and B trailing behind, who were snail-ing along at an average of 22km+/h :p
This last stretch towards Mersing is always a challenge, given our weary legs and flagging spirits. S and B cheered up when they finally saw the "Selamat Datang ke Mersing" signboard and rolled into HH, some 10-15min after YS.
A quick change of shoes and YS and S drove to the road beside Mersing beach for a short jog to simulate a bike-run brick.
Meanwhile, B was busy cooking kangkong in the room with his portable mini-cooker! 20min later, B and JH came looking for us and apparently got their car stuck in a sandy spot. JH had his 1st exercise of the day when he had to get out to push the car haha...
The seaside evening breeze was superb and S felt energised despite the fatigue from the 90k of cycling. S ran for 30min while YS did a slightly longer 45min run.
After taking some seaside photos, we headed to our fav Mersing zi char place for dinner. Ravenous after several hours of exercise, we ordered several dishes to go with our rice - stir-fried spicy kangkong, stir-fried dark green vege, hotplate tofu with egg, stir-fried wild boar meat and a big serving of really fresh steamed fish.
B was extremely zealous in extolling the anti-oxidative benefits of garlic so we all had a generous heaping of the pungent clove - S reckons she ate enough to ward off an entire army of vampires! We had warm barley and cola (YS and S) to accompany our meal. Everything tasted fresh and delicious and we soon devoured everything on our plates :)
Grocery shopping spree by the guys was next on the agenda. The trio came back with enough supplies to last for a week! The usual staples of Vitagen, fruits (starfruit, grapes, banana), Rhino cooling water, together with snacks like Kellogg's Coco Pops (B), Milo wafer snack pack (YS), Oreo biscuits (JH), canned drinks (soya bean, green tea) etc. Shagged out, we turned in at about 10.30pm+ after watching a B-grade detective movie on TV.
The next morning, JH, YS and S headed down for the hotel's buffet breakfast. The spread was limited and didn't look very appetising - nasi lemak, baked beans, bread and jam, cornflakes, chicken saussage, omelette, OJ, tea/ coffee. JH later keng-ed the ride (again!) and drove out for b'fast #2 won ton mee! B slept like a log until almost 9am, foregoing b'fast for more beauty sleep.
The plan for day 3:
9.30am Cycle Mersing - Pantai Penyabong (flat with headwinds) - Endau - (30km rolling) - Mersing (Total Dist: 87km)
12.30pm Lunch at Endau kopitiam
2.30pm Reach Hotel Havanita, Bathe, Change, Check out
4pm Load up bikes and head for early dinner
5pm Drive back to Singapore
*Estimated to reach home 8-10pm, depending on traffic and causeway jam.
Leisurely and easy are the words to describe today's scenic ride, as we ambled along towards Pantai Penyabong. Instead of cycling straight towards Rompin, we took a right turn a few km away from HH and found ourselves in the nature reserve area with majestive trees lining both sides of the roads. It made me think of Jurassic Park with the giant forest looming ahead :)
The thick forest foliage provided a shield from the sun's heatwaves and we enjoyed the cooling breeze as we rode against the slight headwinds towards another part of Mersing's coastline.
The picture-postcard scenary and vast open fields with the smell of fresh countryside air were a rare treat for urban dwellers like us.
Continuing ahead, S was surprised to see sheep being reared in the tropics and roaming about freely.
B says these are being kept for meat, hence the unkempt appearance of the dirty, stringy fleece. We saw goats, cows, monkeys and even bulls too.
We stopped by a local food stall for some "white" peppery otah which was a bit spicy but quite tasty.
B and S had eaten this before on the 2007 Kota Bahru cycling trip in Cherating. Each stick cost RM$1 and consisted of 3 banana-leaf wrapped triangular pieces a la otah kebab. We bought 3 sticks but were charged RM$5 cos the vendor disappeared without giving us back the change grrr...
Next we cycled right through a herd of cow
and even caught one couple
in flagranti delicto *blush*
At Pantai Penyabong, we came to this wooden jetty which had seen better days and took some photos while gingerly walking (taking care not to step on any rotten/ loose wooden planks) the length of it. It reminded S of Busselton's 2km long jetty haha...
Opposite the jetty was this isolated island with thick, green, lush vegetation. We speculated whether it was for sale and what the going price would be!
After the short break, we continued to Endau along mainly flat terrain, mostly againt a slight headwind. Feeling pretty hungry at this point, we decided on bak kut teh for lunch, together with stir-fried local vege and rice.
The RM$20 bak kut teh was excellent, with the potent herbly soup and double boiled tender meat. We drank the soup by the spoonfuls and made short work of the two dishes.
Before the after-lunch stupor paralysed us, we started on our journey back to Mersing, via the rolling terrains of Rompin. Again YS was in front, attempting to maintain a steady moderate pace while B and S competed to see who could cycle slower haha...(S won of cos! :D)
Going at an easy pace on the rolling slopes meant having to make numerous gear changes but it also prevented lactic acid from building up in our legs and fatigue from setting in.
Nearing Mersing town, we were suddenly engulfed in thick greyish smoke from a bush fire at a traffic junction and had to peddle faster to escape being smothered by the poisonous fumes. The recent drought had brought on this and a couple of other bush fires that we'd seen along the way.
Soon after, we arrived at HH to see YS eating a delicious looking choc-stick ice cream bought from the Caltex petrol station next to HH. B went to get ice cold mineral water for us from the hotel concierge, little realising that HH would charge us RM$6 per bottle - daylight robbery! and veteran travellers that we were, ended up as the vegetable heads aka cai tao!
B rinsed down his sweat-stained bike using the hose conveniently located at the HH carpark, while YS and S decided to forego showering their bikes as they had to be stored in YS's car for the journey home.
A quick shower, a change of fresh clothes and everyone was set to make the return journey back down south across the border. But first, a quick detour to the Mersing KFC was mandatory :p
Here's a final momento of this enjoyable makansutra-cum-workout holiday :)
