Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride

[nikhuzlan]

7Mar2012. Wednesday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula RideDespite having been riding for almost 40 years, I have never circumnavigated Peninsula Malaysia. Years ago i did ride parts of the Peninsula, but never on a continuous basis. In fact, I have covered the whole of Thailand, Parts of Cambodia and Laos, but have up till now neglected to know my country better. Doing it alone would be ok, but having a couple of friends who are on the same wavelength is even better. So I set about floating the idea to get at least another 2-3 bikes to join me. As it turned out, more than 10 wanted to join in, and at that stage we decided to turn it into a Club ride. When the headcount was finalised, apart form the 10 who will be riding continously on the route, another 10 bikes will be joining in some of the stages. I started planning the Route about 3 weeks before the ride, using a combination of memory, Google and road maps. In order to hug as close to the coastline as possible, I had to do some guesswork as the roads were not on Google or wiki, nor was it on the printed map. Riding around the Peninsula is not unusual, and has been done many times by many other bike groups. However, none that we know of made full use of all the "B" , "C" and gravel route we were planning to use. Most were Highway followers, some indulging in a little "B" road excursions, but certainly none on gravel.To be really sure we were not doing something done before, I also located the 4 apexes/points/corners of Peninsula Malaysia. This more or less looks like a Rectangle with the corners apexing at te SW, SE, NE & NW positions. Peninsula Malaysia is made up of 11 States and the Federal Capital, Kuala Lumpur. Hence I made sure that the Route will also cut through all the States of the Peninsula as well as the Federal Territory. The ride starts at Merdeka square, a place symbolic with Malaysian Independence, the site of the world's tallest flagpost. Malacca is also an important stop point, given its role in Malaysian History. I also wanted us to visit Tok Bali, a stop on the East Coast, significant because it was the place that marks the start of the Pacific War during WW2. As the first shots were fired here by the Japanese Army 8 hours before the Pearl Harbour Attack, this is where battles were raging as the first bombs dropped in Wickham Airfield in Oahu.A minimum distance of 2,500km was also set. The criteria/aim/goal were;a. To reach all 4 Apex points of the Peninsula. I was not sure if there's a Motorable road to those points after determining the positions by coordinates. I guess some things will have to be tackled when we got there. The Apexes are; a1. South West Most - Tg Piai, also the Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia. a2. South East Most - Punggai, Johore a3. North-East Most - Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan a4. North-West Most - Bukit Putih, Perlisb. No Highways unless totally unavoidable.c. To ride through all states and FT.d. Ride through Gravel to stay as close to the Thai Border.e. No backtracking unless unavoidable.f. At least 2,500km total g. Pass through all 11 States and Kuala Lumpur.There will be six nightstops; Malacca, Desaru, Cherating, Kota Bharu, Belum Resort, Penang. No night riding was planned. No 'Iron Butt' sectors. The Route looks like this;

Although all were advised that DP Bikes were most desirable for the trip, World Adventurer / Photographer / Musician / Singer Extraordinaire Alex Wong chose to follow on his Ducati Streetfighter. The rest of us were on the BMW GS/As. The Roll Call of Riders who completed all 4 points were : My Wife & Me, Simon Saw & YY, Sunny Puan, Shaharin & Jane, Minesh, Alex, Gary, Assir, Mel, Jovey, John Dave and Maznah, the sole Lady Rider. Eddy Tan managed three APEX points. SP Lee, Aras, Ariff, Justine, Janna, Harris & Mona all joined in on various stages of the ride.The ride was real fun. On the first day a number of other rider joined in to Malacca, some staying on for the night. A few other riders joined us at Kota Bharu. Penang was really fun as a number of riders rode up to meet us, and joined the Penang - KL leg. It was a journey of discovery for all of us. This is one pretty country, with pristine beaches and excellent roads. Certainly much better than Thailand if you're a keen rider as the roads are so much better.Pictures however tells a better story.Our first day ride route ;KL Merdeka Square - Bt Tinggi Klang - Morib - Coastal Port Dickson - Linggi - Kg Lereh - Puri Hotel, Malacca.

We started early

1Malaysia, with the World's Tallest Flagpole behind.

We found a TV Crew awaiting. They wanted to know something about the ride and also see us of.

We held a small briefing before departure

Group Photo

Leaving Dataran, the journey starts.

[

I was having an evil grin stuck on my face, looking at the poor souls stuck in the traffic jam, facing the start of another dreary day in the office. And we're on our way to have fun.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide033.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide044.jpgMel is going all the wayhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide055.jpgAras will be joining us for the night in Malacca, then heading straight to Johore after Tanjung Piai the next day.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide057.jpgJeff is only following us to Port Dicksonhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide058.jpgHatta will follow us all the way to Malacca before turning back.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide062.jpgAlex, the only one on a streetbike.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide063.jpgAfter just 30 minutes on the road, we arrived here for breakfast. Assir, a veteran world travellr arranged for Dato Shaik to host the riders for breakfasthttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide078.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide081.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide085.jpgWe left after an hour there.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide092.jpgWe followed the coastal road to PD as plannedhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide095.jpgThe Lukut area has interesting curves, but the road has a bit of traffichttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide120.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide107.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide109.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide117.jpgAfter another hour on the saddle, we reached Port Dicksonhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide126.jpgAnother round of drinks at Pak Lang Cafe. This is a famous old school cafe owned by a Chinese but serving all kinds of food from Nasi Lemak to Koay Teow. http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide130.jpgNext stop, Malaccahttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide134.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide136.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide139.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide144.jpgThe roads were nice, passing through lightly populated areas with some traffic.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide150.jpgWe checked out this Observatory, used to spot the new moon to determine the start of the Muslim calender.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide159.jpgAs we approach Malacca I was pleasantly surprised to be riding through a Forest Reserve, with virgin jungles left and right.This is Hutan Rekreasi Sg Udang.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide161.jpgMalacca was the seat of the earliest Malay Sultanate. Located on the strategically important Straits Of Malacca, it grew and prospered with ships from the Middle East and China using it as a trading post. Legend has it that the Sultanate was founded by Parameswara, and the name Malacca came from a local tree called the Melaka Tree.The famed eunuch Admiral Zheng Ho even stopped there with his armada. He left behind a sizable Chinese settlement, which is still there right till today. Their descendants assimilated to local life, but, maintained their unique characteristics till today. The Portuguese put an end to the era of Malay Sultans when they conquered the Kingdom in 1511. Later the Dutch captured the city after 100 years of Portuguese rule.In the 1800s the Dutch swapped Batavia ( Jakarta ) for Malacca with the British. It more or less stayed that way until 1958, when Malaysia became Independent.We arrived at Hotel Puri, Malacca at 1400hrs.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide165.jpgEddy Tan in front of Hotel Puri. The Hotel has a facade of a shoplot, but it is deceptively big, at least 40 rooms in rustic setting, very nicely done http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120308PenRide0009.jpgMinesh coordinating room arrangementshttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide174.jpgThe interiorhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide169.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide173.jpgSwifts have been making nests in the Hotel foyer since a long time ago, and they continue to do so unmolested. Something about good luck i was told.http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120308PenRide0006.jpgAfter settling down, we took a walk, to the famous "Jonkers Walk"http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide178.jpgFamous Ice Kacang ( shaved Ice with sweet condiments )http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide177.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide179.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide183.jpgAnother famous food jointhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide187.jpgHaving had our fill, the gang wanted to chill outhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide188.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide193.jpgTwilighthttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide200.jpgNightfallhttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide203.jpghttp://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/20120307PenRide204.jpgThe first day was a short ride of just under 300km. The roads were just better than OK, and as expected, the West Coast is a heavily populated area so we rode through very little rural area. I did notice interesting house and building designs, and just by entering Malacca the architecture changed markedly, with predominant Chinese features. Even the mosques had Pagoda style roofs. Malacca town has been done up nicely, but thankfully, not tacky. Clean, with all the significant buildings done up, it is a place that deserves at least a three night stay.As for us, we had dinner, the guys had some beer, and later to bed, ready for tomorrow.7Mar2012. Wednesday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 1http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k229/nikhuzlan/20120307%20Peninsula%20Ride%20%202012%20Day%201/PenRideMap01.jpg

 

[nikhuzlan]

8Mar2012. Thursday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 2

Breakfast was generous and good. Everyone was looking forward to check out what the Southernmost Tip of mainland Asia looks like.
We were also looking forward to using the newly opened Desaru Bridge that crosses Johore River, about 16km North of Singapore.

We will be covering about 450km and our Route looks like this;

Breakfast

Gary, John & Minesh having vegetarian

We moved on towards A Formosa. Apprently the local Tourism people heard about us passing through and one of their Senior reps came to greet us.

We rode off after an hour there

We passed this curiously designed mosque. Looks like a Chinese influenced Mosque.

On the way to Batu Pahat. This was the only success story for the British during the Japanese invasion in WW2.
It was the only place the japanese were held back. The Japanese after a week took an alternative route to circumvent the British as they headed for Singapore.

Another TT stop

140km south needs to be covered before we reach the Tip of Asia.

We took a detour to Kukup for a seaafood lunch and rode along this tree lined road

Lunch at Kukup, a bustling fishing town.

Heading for the Tip.

There was a small souvenir shop, so we got the certificate, bought some drinks and had ice cream.

This monkey grabbed Alex's ice cream from his hands as he was eating it. Lightning move, followed by thieving satisfaction as the monkey enjoys his bounty.

The Monument marking this geographical spot

Group Pix

Onwards to Desaru

We were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by the Local Johore Bikers who waited for us at the junction as we exited Tanjung Piai.

We RVed with the rest of the group at a petrol station.

Meeting the local bikers was agood thing as Alex's Streetfighter needed a rear tyre change. The Local boys took him to a shop nearby,
and Jovey accompanied Alex.

The rest of the local boys escorted us to the new Desaru Bridge, passing some B roads and ending up on the new highway.

After about 20 minutes on the highway, the new bridge looms ahead

The bridge was deserted so we stopped right in the middle

Me and my wife ( 90% photos by her )

It was just another 20km to the hotel.

The Hotel.

This is a place not fit even for dogs. It is rundown, looks eerie, run by sullen unmotivated staff. We christened the place Ariff Hilton,
a tribute to one of our buddies who booked the place. In all fairness, it was not his mistake, but we knocked him about nonetheless.

Another good ride in fine weather. I am glad to leave the West Coast, looking forward to riding along the South China Sea,
where the population is scarce, skies and seas showing a lot more Blue. We all looked forward to tomorrow.

8Mar2012. Thursday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 2

 

[nikhuzlan]

9Mar2012. Friday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 3

Everyone was looking forward to get away from Ariff Hilton and on our way to the South-East Corner of the Peninsula.
Awaiting us ahead was about 400km of pristine uncrowded tarmac that runs along the coastline, with the blue waters of the South China Sea on our right.
Breakfast at the hotel was abysmal so we will fillup on the road.

Our Route today

Leaving the Hotel

Punggai, the South Easternmost point is about 24km south of Ariff Hilton. I noticed only one car on the road that morning.

Light drizzle when we neared the point

Unfortunately, the concept of "Love the Environment" escapes my fellow malaysians, and garbage was strewn everywhere

Group Photo at the SouthEasternmost Point

Back on the road

Although the road was straight, with very few curves, we all enjoyed the deserted surroundings.

We stopped a few km from Kuala Sedili for breakfast.

Back on the road

Crossing Sg Sedili Kecil

Sedili Kecil River

The road goes inland, and we enter Felda Tenggaroh, the scenery changing to vast expanse of Oil Palm estates.

Seeing the roads deserted, the cam whoring desire surfaced, and we stoppe for some photos.

Minesh

Gary

Mel

Maznah

Jovey

Shaharin & Jane

John Dave

Sunny Puan

Simon & YY

Gerry & Me

Group Photo

Heading for the sole gas station

Coincidently, 4 of us were wearing the Lime Green BMW Jacket, the color similar to the hi visibility jackets worn by janitors and streetsweepers.
We were called the Alam Flora Team by everyone

The Ducati needs a sweep

On leaving the Petrol station, we were delighted by the grippy road surface, the gentle flowing curves, and the lack of traffic.
Heavenly.....

Just as we thought the road could not get better it did, after this junction

the Jemaluang to Mersing road must have been designed by a biker, surface smooth, cambers correct, plenty of run-off,
great visibility and hardly any traffic.

52km of bliss.

Mersing

The road that leads to Pekan is also another nice stretch

Rompin

We rode through the Gunung Arong Forest reserve

The Worlds biggest prawn farming setup. 6km by 2km along the coast.

Yet another 40km of pretty roads, deserted in blue skies.

Alex caught taking some shots by the beach

We stopped about 3km from the town of Pekan to regroup.

We rode through Pekan, the Royal Town in Malaysia's biggest state, Pahang,

There is a highway linking Pekan to Kuantan, the capital of Pahang, but we took a detour to ride coastal. This is Kg Cerok Paloh.

Kampong Sepat is a small rustic fishing village with a sandy beach fronting the South China Sea

We stopped here for a break

I rode on the beach

Then it was time for more camwhoring

Alex

Eddy

Maznah shooting Minesh

We continued on

We met up with some local Kuantan Bikers for tea,

They escorted us through town to our hotel

We arrived at Legend Hotel, Cherating at about 1600hrs. Janna and Ariff were there waiting for us and will be joining us tomorrow.

Nice room overlooking the sea

Dinner

We covered another 400+kms today. Weather was great throughout.

9Mar2012. Friday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 3

 

[nikhuzlan]

10Mar2012. Saturday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 4

CAUTION: This post contains plenty of self-gratifying photos of ourselves. Please bear with me. We are all certified camwhores..........

Day 4 of our ride will be 360km from Legend Hotel Cherating to Kota Bharu. Although the plan was to hug the coastline,
there was a 140km new highway that is not opened to the public yet as there was still a couple of kilometers still to be tarred.
We wanted to be the first group of bikers to use the highway, so with some weaving through the concrete barriers we managed to ride the highway.
Apart from that detour, all the route was along the coast, meeting with the original intent.

The Route

We left the Hotel after a good breakfast, and today we decided to leave later as we did not have much distance to cover.

In keeping with the spirit of gluttony, we stopped after 60km at Hai Peng, a famous 100 year old family run coffeeshop for some local delicacies

We also visited Anuar, a friend of Simon and YY. Simon, who rides a GS for this trip, is also a F1 powerboat Racer. Anuar also races F1 Boats,
apart from playing with his Ducati 1198 and his eleven pet snakes.

Anuar's boat.

Alex getting chummy with Anuar's pet Ball Python.

Back on the road, we rode for another 140km

We stopped at this RnR at Bukit Besi. this is the entry point to the partially opened Highway.

The New highway. Alex flew past me at 240km/h on his Streetfighter. Alex is one of our more widely travelled buddies. He did a trip from Terra Del Fuego to Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.

We stopped at the unopened stretch for photos

The reason why the highway is not opened.

We rode around the outskirts of Kuala Terengganu, a town of 800,000, heading for the Muslim Heritage Center.

Group Photo in front of the Crystal Mosque

A "Me & My Wife" shot

Another perspective of the Crystal Mosque. Looks fantastic at night, but in my view its contrived, hints at a too much money too little taste, a little tacky.
Something a cheap Dictator will do although in this case its not.

After another 90km of coastal road riding we arrived at Penarik. We stopped for refreshments and photos.

Maznah, happy with the trip

Maznah and Gerry

The Wife & Me

Gary

John Dave

Jovey

Eddy

Sunny

Assir

Simon & YY

Gerry

Ariff, of the " Ariff Hilton " fame, joined us at Cherating

Looking at something interesting

After that stop we rode to the Penarik Peninsula

Janna joined us at Cherating as well, riding Mel's ST.

Nice House

Too nice

Some Group Self-Indulgent Photos......

[

Group Photo

The road to Tok Bali is more of the same. Beautiful beaches, smooth tarmac, light traffic. Many pretty houses there....

Crossing the Tok Bali Bridge.

Tok Bali is a must stop as it is significant in WW2 history.
Little known fact is the WW2 Pacific Theatre started here, 12 hours before Pearl Harbor was bombed.
A little less than an hour later, the Japanese landed in Pattani, Southern Thailand.

When we arrived at Tok Bali, a group of local bikers gave us a warm welcome. Great hospitality by the Kelantan Bikers.

Exchanging Gifts

Tok Bali Bridge

The local bikers escorted us to our hotel in Kota Bharu, 30km away. I was born here, so i knew my way around, and decided to
break away to have local dinner with my wife.

We got to the Hotel an hour later. We met up with the rest and went out for a couple of beers.
Tomorrow we will be heading West, crossing the Peninsula using a route that hugs the Thai Border.

10Mar2012. Saturday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 4

 

[nikhuzlan]

11Mar2012. Sunday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 5

Kelantan used to be closer to Pattani than the rest of Malaya (then) in the late 1800 to early 1900s.
By then Malaya was colonised by the British,
and Kelantan became part of the Unfederated Malay States. By the time Malaya achieved Independence in 1957,
Kelantan State became part of the new country.
In 1963, Sabah and Sarawak joined in and Malaya became Malaysia.

Kelantan is the most Muslim-Centric state in Malaysia, and is ruled locally by PAS, a Muslim based political party.
They have local rules which bans consumption of alcohol in the open,
and Muslims will be persecuted if they are caught under the influence.

Despite the usual connotations of horrifying "Muslim" environment for the others, reality is totally different.
Street crime is low, as is corruption, and the State is very tolerant towards other religious practices.
In fact, it has the most number of Buddhist Wats, some of which have great significance.

Kelantan is also my birthplace, and I spent the first 7 years of my life in the village.
I saw electricity being introduced when I was 4 years old.

On our 5th day of our ride, we woke up in Kota Bharu, the State Capital.
Ahead of us is the shortest daily distance that we will cover on this trip, just 250km.
We started out from Kuala Lumpur heading South South-West. After the first Apex,
the Southern Tip of mainland Asia, we rode heading East. After the second apex
at Punggai, ( South-Easternmost Point ) we headed North.

For day 5 we will head Westwards, crossing the Titiwangsa Range, the central highlands that runs
Southwards and forms the backbone of the Peninsula.
This Mountain Range is actually the tail end of the Himalayas, although its highest point is just over 7,100ft.

The Route

We stayed at the best Hotel in Kota Bharu, with rooms priced at just below RM180 ( USD60 ). Nice Clean hotel, but again let down by the staff and service delivery.
It took my wife 45 minutes of exasperation just to get an iron sent up. Other little service niggles conspired to dampen our experience.
Thailand wins here, hands down.

After breakfast we held a briefing

Bikes ready for the ride

First stop after the Hotel breakfast was at another 100 year old coffeshop establishment, White House.
I remember my Grandad used to take me here when I was a child.

Group Picture in front of the Old Palace.

Heading Westwards, crossing Kelantan River

I was leading the Group to the North-Easternmost point. i found this "short-cut" that passed through miles of rural roads. Interesting.

Caution, Low bridge

The Tumpat area in North Kelantan is one large estuary, with the Kelantan and Golok Rivers sanwiching the many lagoons and coves along the coastline.

Our first stop was at this Standing Buddhist Wat

Mandatory Group Photo ---> beginning to feel like retired japanese tourist. )

Tumpat is also the northernmost point for the Malaysian Train services, the turntable clearly visible.

Roads are nice, meandering along beaches and lagoons

Eventually the roads ceased and the fun begins

Sean (F800GS) joined us at Kota Bharu, having ridden up from KL with Kevin, on another F800GS the day before.

Roads got narrower and more sandy as we got close to the NW point

Apex No 3, the North Easternmost point of Peninsula Malaysia.

Group Photo. Thailand is just over the embankment.

Done, its time to now visit one of the World's biggest Sitting ****

This dirt track passing through the casuarinas was just lovely

Apparently its one of the Biggest in the World.

After an hour there, we remounted and headed West.

The skies threaten rain

And the rain came, but only for a while.

The skies cleared, the roads opened up as the elevation got higher.

The "Tunnel of No Reason"

The highest point is just over 4,000ft. Nice Viewpoint

From the highest point it was only 40km to our hotel in Belum Valley.

Crossing the Eastern Bridge.

The Belum Resort is situated on a man-made Island that was formed when the Temenggor Dam was built in the late 70s. Those days the
Malayan Communist Party was actively pursuing their dying aim of establishing a Socialist State, A State of emergency was enforced and there
was a long term curfew that was only lifted in the mid 80s.

Building the dam also limited the MCP area of activity, and the threat eventually disappeared totally.
Despite causing significant ecological imbalance, the Lake makes the surrounding area of the Belum Forest reserve more accessible by the Authorities,
and this actually controlled illegal logging and poaching. Exotic flowers such as the Rafflesia were also discovered.

The East-West Link we rode on passes right across this area. The Island is linked by two bridges, East and West Bridge.

The Belum Resort

We saw 25 Police Bikes at the resort. They were under training and RnR.

At this point we have covered three of the four Geographical Apexes of Peninsula Malaysia. We have completed 2/3 of the trip.
Tomorrow we head west towards the North-Western Corner before turning South for Penang, where we will spend a night before
returning via the Coastal Road to KL.

11Mar2012. Sunday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 5

 

[nikhuzlan]

12Mar2012. Monday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Day 6

Today is the longest and probably the most tiring segment of this 7 Day Ride. Although the distance is just over 500kms, the type of roads and
the mostly poor surface we plan to ride through will make going fairly tough. For the few of us with pillions,
it will be even harder riding on poor roads while handling tall bikes weighing close to half a tonne.

From our hotel we will ride about 120kms of fantastic roads with sweeping curves until we reach Pengkalan Hulu,
then we will detour into the uncompleted and unsurfaced roads, in keeping with our intent to keep as close to the border as possible.
Our last primary target is the NorthWesternmost Point of Peninsula Malaysia, which we hope to arrive by 1400hrs, then head for Penang.

The normal road distance ( using Highways ) from our hotel to Penang is just 250km.

The distance we will cover will be 500km by going the long way round.....

The Route

Yesterday we were caught in a 5 minute downpour. It was the first time we saw rain since we started.
This morning we woke up to clear skies. Ideal for riding.

Group Photo

Crossing the West Bridge, leaving Pulau Banding. Heading west, the morning sun backlits the view

More curves

After 100km of heavenly roads, we regrouped at Pengkalan Hulu, just 5 km from the Thai Border.
[

The road to Baling. We want to get to the iconic old coffee shop for the famous Nasi Lemak and local Coffee brew.

Baling sits at the foot of a huge Limestone outcrop, giving an awesome backdrop to the quaint sleepy town.

Legend has it that there was once a cruel King who had longer than normal canines. Named Raja Bersiong by his subjects,
cruelty drove them to eventually rise against him and they burned his Palace down.
Realising his fangs motivates evil within him, he removed his fangs and threw them away. The place the fangs landed was called Baling.
( Baling means to 'throw' in Malay )

Apart from the myth Baling has a place in Malaysian History;

In 1955 the newly formed Malayan Govt and the British met Chin Peng leader of the Malayan Communist Party.
Tunku Abd Rahman ( Malaysia's 1st Prime Minister after 1957 Independence )
pleaded to the MCP to end violence and enter society with an amnesty offer.
Chin Peng was skeptical of the British, and wants legalisation of the MCP to compete in the anticipated elections.

No agreement was reached, and the Emergency continued with sporadic violent acts by the clandestine MCP until the early 80s.

Baling Town.

The Coffee Shop

Coffee

Nasi Lemak Hujan Panas is the stall recommended by Shaharin Wan. SP Lee was curious and asked why the name Hujan Panas was chosen.
The husband said " I do business come Rain ( Hujan ) or Shine ( Panas ) " I thought that was cool.

Nasi Lemak Hujan Panas

From Baling we headed North towards the Ban Prakop border post, another 25km of great roads. 5 km from the border we turned into the
yet to be completed 'new' old road.

Loose gravel, uphill, not good if you stop at the wrong time

Ladies seems to think its fun.....

The gravel road goes on and on. But there's evidence of some serious roadworks going on, so soon this road will turn into
yet another stretch of Great Malaysian Riding Roads.

There were many short stops

Happy to get thru that bit, but there's more ahead

It was John Dave's first ride with this group. As he was tasked to carry the banner on this ride everyone calls him John Banner.

The dirt road ends, and connects with what we all acknowledged as the best riding roads in Malaysia. This is the Pedu - Muda highway,
which runs just 10km south of Thailand, passes through two lakes. As the connecting entry and exit points are not yet complete, traffic was non-existant,
and everyone had a ball of a time.

The downer; only 45km, too short

The highway ended, and we stopped at this little village stall. Tong Pelu.

Alex challenged the local kids at caroms, and got his ass kicked.

We left the village, and rode along the village tracks

The roads eventually became better

The third and last segment of offroad for today's ride is about 26kms of wide bumpy gravel / broken tarmac road.

All busy turning ABS and traction control OFF.

The Streetfighter made it. Leaky fork, a bit of rattle here n there, but it made it.

From Sintok we joined the highway towards Apex No4. As we entered Perlis, we were met by 5 local bikers who joined us to Bukit Putih.

I was pretty excited to reach this point, our 4th Apex.

The Border Outpost

We politely asked the Border Guard to allow us into the Barricade Zone for some photos. The nice Gentleman with Minesh. Background is the
barb wired concrete barrier that separates Thailand from Malaysia.

Maznah and John Dave at the fence separating Malaysia from Thailand.

Group Photo

One final "Me & My Wife" pix before we leave

Now for Lunch. We will RV with Capt Farid, a GS & RT rider who also flies the Boeing 777 for the National Carrier.
He's waiting at the Restaurant.

After Lunch we had an uneventful ride to Penang, 160km south.

We chose to use the ferry instead of the Bridge when crossing over to Penang

The Hotel was a short 6 km ride from the Ferry Landing

Pleasant surprise for my wife Gerry. Flowers for her birthday.

In the room, overlooking the Straits of Malacca

Dinner was mogul food. Club arranged transport.

The usual merry-making followed till late. For the Penang leg, Janna, Justine, Raj, Hatta, Haris & Mona all rode up to join us on the last leg.
Tomorrow will be an easy ride, with just a bit of gravel through plantations. We anticipate passing through populated areas as we make our
way to the coastal road. The traffic should be light when we get there. A must stop destination is Teluk Intan.

Then Home.

The Route Done Today.

 

[nikhuzlan]

13Mar2012. Tuesday. Motorrad Malaysia All-State 4-Corner Peninsula Ride Final Day.

We woke up to bad news. Janna, who rode Justine's F800R found the front brake levers and pumps stolen.
We were disappointed with the hotel
as it happened at the Hotel parking lot. Janna is working towards a settlement with the Hotel.

So we left Penang a little late and the ride to get out of the urban area was tedious.
It was only after 45 minutes the traffic eased up,
as we approached the coastal area.

The Route today, the final leg.

The poor F800R

Getting Ready

Short ride to the local BMW Dealer

Onwards to the 13.5km Penang bridge, longest in Malaysia, 4th in SEA.

This clocktower used to be part of the Penang Grand Prix Track. Turn 6 i think.

Penang Bridge. designed by a Penang resident, it was opened to traffic in September 1985. Another bridge,
even longer is being built now south of this one.

We fueled up at Juru

90 minutes after leaving the hotel we were in the coastal lowlands. Fishing villages and padi fields dominates the landscape.

We succumbed to our camwhoring desires and took a detour for some photos;

[

Onwards to Teluk Intan

Back on tarmac we followed the coast

When Captain Amin is not on his GS he is probably flying his A320.

The honeymoon on tarmac ends at this curiously named place, Terong ( Brinjal )

Curiously the GPS steered the group into this gravel track. It will eventually lead to the road that will take us to Pantai Remis,
yet another Coastal town.

A Bridge Too Narrow

More curves after gravel

This bit of coastal highway was upgraded

We stopped at Pantai Remis for late lunch. And also to regroup.

The road to Telok Intan.....Harley/Goldwing Country.

Teluk Intan is about 160km from KL. It has this curious cylindrical water tower that has actually tilted away from vertical.
Its is also our last stop where we will say goodbye to Shaharin who will return to Penang.

Alex n Jovey

Minesh and Justine, husband n wife. President and 1st Lady of Motorrad Club Malaysia.

I thought the dust, heat, bumps, sand, pebbles will get to the wife, but she is ok with it. In fact she now wants to
ride her own bike like Maznah and Justine.

Gerry and Maznah.

Group Photo

Great Trip. No problems faced. Hit all the targets we set out to do when we planned this.
The GPS screen shot of total distance covered. The 212km/h max achieved was on one of the highways.

When we set out our criteria/aim/goal were;

a. To reach all 4 Apex points of the Peninsula.

This was acheived

The Apexes are;

a1. South West Most - Tg Piai, also the Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia. - Day 2, 1400hrs 8march
a2. South East Most - Punggai, Johore - Day 3, 0800 9march
a3. North-East Most - Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan - Day 5, 1200hrs 11march
a4. North-West Most - Bukit Putih, Perlis - Day 6, 1430hrs 12march

b. No Highways unless totally unavoidable. - complied apart from the unopened ECE 50km run

c. To ride through all states and FT.
Day 1 - Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negri Sembilan & Malacca
Day 2 - Malacca, Johore
Day 3 - Johore, Pahang
Day 4 - Pahang, Terengganu, Kelantan
Day 5 - Kelantan, Perak
Day 6 - Perak, Kedah, Perlis, Penang
Day 7 - Penang, Perak, Selangor, KL

d. Ride through Gravel to stay as close to the Thai Border. Done the Durian Burung - Sintok Route

e. No backtracking unless unavoidable.

f. At least 2,500km total - actual mileage 2513km.

We did not need to spend an arm n a leg to do this in relative luxury. Daily expense of less than RM 350 per day all in.
Food, Fuel, Hotel all inclusive.

However, the trip cost me more than expected. My wife decided that sitting at the back is not enough. She twisted my arm
and made me get her the baby GS. I am sure seeing Maznah on her GS12 and Justine on her F650GS had something to do with it.

She named her F650GS Red Babe.

Here she is riding into the sunset.

 

[BlackCat]

Thanks for the photo-essay!

I was truly entertained and not forgetting, educated as well.

Hoping to read more adventures from the rad lads...

 

[enkil]

Awesome ride indeed! Missed this ride due work tsk tskk.. manage to send off the guys till PD on the 1st day only. Hope there's another one coming
Now also still at work

 

[nikhuzlan]

Keep a lookout for Peninsula 2. Soon.

 

[uk1_1]

Great photos .... enjoyed the read thoroughly .... well done

 

[nikhuzlan]

All-State 4-Corner Criteria

a. To reach all 4 Apex points of the Peninsula.

The Apexes are;

a1. South West Most - Tg Piai, also the Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia.
a2. South East Most - Punggai, Johore
a3. North-East Most - Pengkalan Kubur, Kelantan
a4. North-West Most - Bukit Putih, Perlis

b. Other Criteria;

b1. No Highways unless totally unavoidable.
b2. To ride through all states and FT.
b3. Ride through Gravel to stay as close to the Thai Border.
b4. No backtracking unless unavoidable.
b5. At least 2,500km total
b6. Pass through all 11 States and Kuala Lumpur.
b7. Continous Journey

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0680076696585.416599.528826584&type=3&theater

 

[roesman]

Thank you sir!! It was an awesome post...!!...hope the Peninsula 2.0 will be soon and would love to be a part.
roesman
12RT enroute to K16

 

[dzuljazz2001]

Thank you sir!! It was an awesome post...!!...hope the Peninsula 2.0 will be soon and would love to be a part.
roesman
12RT enroute to K16

Greetings bro roesman, good to know you are loving the posting by this motorad group :4: ...

However, you are required to go to the Newbie section to do a self intro as per forum rules and regulation ... thanks :top:

 

[roesman]

Haha...deaR En. Prez, i would guess an apology would be in order. Ok, will trottle there:top:

 

[kamarulkamal]

Hi guyz...what a nice trip...really2 awesome...

i am a new rider gs 800, can i follow u guyz for next trip??...

really hope to meet u all soon

 

[dzuljazz2001]

Salam bro kamal ... can follow where ever we may go with no worries ... :top: ... btw, can you go to the Newbie Section and do a self intro as per forum rules and regulation so that we can officially welcome you to the forum? :4: ...

Hi guyz...what a nice trip...really2 awesome...

i am a new rider gs 800, can i follow u guyz for next trip??...

really hope to meet u all soon

Haha...deaR En. Prez, i would guess an apology would be in order. Ok, will trottle there:top:

No apology required bro :4: ... it happens to most of us first timer .... :4: ...