www.motobiking.com Northern Malaysia mini Tour 2 2
page 3
14 to 16 Dec 06
Phang shocked Ivan and myself up at 530am. He later admitted mistaken the time for 630am.
Weary eyes and hungry.. No breakfast served meant we had go out to hunt for food but Chin’s BMW would not start. Stabbing the start button did not bring any single reaction from the bike.
Thankfully, the rest house care-taker came in early to open the cafe. No, he did not have a single clue about getting the BMW fired up, but we get to order hot drinks and light food. With our combined near zero mechanical knowledge, we came into conclusion that the bike's starter was giving up to Chin's abuse. We got the bike running by pushed started the bike. At least Chin can continue to ride on
Elephant dungs .. Here we come
There are occasional newspaper reports of elephants crossing the Gerik-Jeli trunk road. Route 4 divides Belum Forest Reserve, the oldest and largest rain forest reserve in Malaysia and home to large mammal species such as elephants, rhinoceroses, tapirs and tigers Ecologically, this sort of road spells a minor disaster to the environment and its habitat. For the next 125 odd kms, we would be riding through a vast jungle. Unless we have satellite phone, we have no means of getting help should anything happens to our bikes.
wild elephant crossing sign
Thankfully, the ride was beautiful and trouble-free. Elephant dungs? Nah, we didn't get to see any. I felt like I was riding a ‘plane’ rather than a bike. The surroundings were simply breathtaking. I read stories of adventurers riding through the Andes in South America. This is our own Andes in our own back yard. And no patrol car in sight to check our speed. We didn’t bother to speed as the scenic views were meant to enjoy slowly. I swear I could hear an elephant’s rumbling miles away. By the way, do you know that Asiatic males will engage in same-sex bonding and mounting. Such encounters are often associated with affectionate interactions such as kissing, trunk intertwining or placing trunks in each other's mouth. The encounters are analogous to heterosexual bouts, one male often extending his trunk along the others back and pushing forward with his tusks to signify his intention to mount. Same sex relations are common and frequent in both sexes, with Asiatic elephants in captivity devoting roughly 45% of sexual encounters to same-sex activity (Wikipedia)
one foggy early morning..
no traffic .. perfect
e
my own shadow at the bridge across Temenggor Lake
Titiwangsa rest stop cum look out point along Gerik-Jeli raod
the picturesque kampung route 66 road from Jeli to Gua Musang
No bearing to its famous name-sake in
America, Route 66 (Jeli to Gua Musang) was a little uneventful and a tad boring. We had to
hunt for fuel as Andy’s bike was running low on fuel. There are two routes
we could use to get to Gua Musang. The main trunk road (Route 8) and the plantation
road (Route 66) . We choosed the later. The narrow plantation trunk road,
however, was decent
enough for motobiking. Traffic was minimal and saved for some pot holes and
repaired but unpaved patches, the road was a better choice compared to the
main truck road.
welcoming refreshing coconut drinks to ease the hot day
