It feels too good to be true that we had cycled to Kota Tinggi and back. A very long time ago (at least some 12 years back), Kota Tinggi was rather inaccessible and it took half a day just to get to the waterfalls. Public transport has since improved by leaps and bounds, i.e. the buses are more frequent and consistent. I remembered the times when there was only one bus per hour or two from the town to the waterfalls. The roads were winding and narrow, yet the driver somehow managed to keep the four wheels on the tarmac at speeds in excess of 100km/h. In those days, entry to the waterfalls was free, then a minimal fee was charged. Today, an adult will have to pay RM9 just to take a dip under the cascading flow of water.
Kerry's two friends pulled out of the trip due to some parental disagreement, leaving the three of us: Zi Kai, Kerry and myself. Kerry's dad gave him a lift to Marsiling and we linked up with him there at 8.15a.m. There was no change in terms of our rides from the previous time with the exception of Zi Kai who had to use my dad's Polygon. Nevertheless, it's still a better bike compared to the Mojave 4.0 he used in Pengerang.
The Woodlands checkpoint was jammed with the motorbike queue stretching all the way back to the BKE while the car queue was not much better. Since we could not cross over to the motorcycle lane, we had no choice but to join the car queue. Much to our delight, an ICA officer waved us on to the front of the car queue and a couple of minutes later we were comfortably across the checkpoint. Looking for the white forms was a hassle but not for us because Zi Kai managed to get them from some woman in a car. Wonder what he did, man..haha...
The 40km ride from Johor Bahru to Kota Tinggi under the sweltering morning heat posed some challenges. It was not uneventful as we encountered a puncture, a couple of friendly cyclists and also curious drivers. The roads linking the city were very busy and it was awhile before we hit the countryside. The scenery was good but the steep climbs proved challenging and most of our attention were centered on conquering the climbs. We had a few breaks along the way...admired Kerry's drifting skill (from my perspective) before we finally pulled into the town of Kota Tinggi at around 12.30p.m. KFC proved to be an instant hit, with all three of us agreeing immediately. We actually slacked there until 2p.m before looking for a hotel.
The first motel we checked out (Pilton, if i am not wrong) was really sub-standard. For RM68 per night (2 pax), it was horrendous. The second one was way better. At RM80, we could get a spacious room for 3 guys and their bicycles (some effort in convincing the hotel owners to let us bring our bikes into the rooms). One of the surprises of the budget hotel was no doubt, the automatic card key which switched on the electricity.
After dumping some load, we set off for Air Tebrau (the term for waterfall in Melayu), despite the threat of inclement weather. It did rain and we sought some shelter along the way. Some guy actually pulled up in his Proton to ask for directions. He approached the wrong people and left quite pissed. The waterfall was about 13 - 15km from town. The entry fee was very expensive hence we opted to explore the area (a little off-roading). At the Rainforest Resort, we found quite many Singaporeans. An NPCC adventure camp was in progress, but the participants were wet and dirty; and obviously not having a lot of fun. (The conducting and safety staff were at the dining area!) We had a drink which came with the RM5 entrance fee, not very worth it, but at least we had a good look at the resort, played with a parrot, ran into some Westerners, had a muddy off-road experience and had an interesting conversation with the carekeeper.
At about 5.45p.m, we headed back to town, sneaked the bikes past the reception and had a wonderful shower. Then we headed out for dinner at some hawker centre. An ordinary dish of Nasi Goreng Ayam tasted good =) Checking out the town, we found some Ice Kachang and Ramly burgers. More food, greater satisfaction. Then it was off to shopping and checking out the shopping mall.
After closing hours, we retired to our room, watched some OIympic events on Mediacorp Channel 5, yes, Mediacorp, before transiting into dreamland. Zi Kai claimed that he could wake up at 7a.m; that was obviously not the case as he was once again the last to wake up at 8a.m. We went down to have some prata (3 kosong and a cup of tea 'O' cost me only S$1.50!) before packing up for our return trip.
40km back to Johor Bahru! This sounds so little but the terrain added some fun =) Somehow, luck was not really on our side as we encountered yet another puncture. Zi Kai was really unlucky with 2 flats in 2 days on the same wheel. It rained again just as we were reaching Johor Bahru. On our way back, we met a couple of cars carrying race bikes, probably returning from the triathlon at Desaru over the weekend. Lunch was at J.B and we breezed through the car lane of the Woodlands checkpoint once again to reach our home country safely. A pit stop was made at Woodlands where I hungrily and thirstily devoured a bowl of ice kachang and a cup of soya bean.
Then it was a mad pedal back home with me and Zi Kai so relieved that our weekend getaway had ended. I must salute Kerry for that brave cycle back home. I think he must have clocked 150km! Kudos to him. I look forward to our next ride and pray that Zi Kai can come along.
Total distance traveled in 2 days: 120kmThe Woodlands checkpoint was jammed with the motorbike queue stretching all the way back to the BKE while the car queue was not much better. Since we could not cross over to the motorcycle lane, we had no choice but to join the car queue. Much to our delight, an ICA officer waved us on to the front of the car queue and a couple of minutes later we were comfortably across the checkpoint. Looking for the white forms was a hassle but not for us because Zi Kai managed to get them from some woman in a car. Wonder what he did, man..haha...
The 40km ride from Johor Bahru to Kota Tinggi under the sweltering morning heat posed some challenges. It was not uneventful as we encountered a puncture, a couple of friendly cyclists and also curious drivers. The roads linking the city were very busy and it was awhile before we hit the countryside. The scenery was good but the steep climbs proved challenging and most of our attention were centered on conquering the climbs. We had a few breaks along the way...admired Kerry's drifting skill (from my perspective) before we finally pulled into the town of Kota Tinggi at around 12.30p.m. KFC proved to be an instant hit, with all three of us agreeing immediately. We actually slacked there until 2p.m before looking for a hotel.
The first motel we checked out (Pilton, if i am not wrong) was really sub-standard. For RM68 per night (2 pax), it was horrendous. The second one was way better. At RM80, we could get a spacious room for 3 guys and their bicycles (some effort in convincing the hotel owners to let us bring our bikes into the rooms). One of the surprises of the budget hotel was no doubt, the automatic card key which switched on the electricity.
After dumping some load, we set off for Air Tebrau (the term for waterfall in Melayu), despite the threat of inclement weather. It did rain and we sought some shelter along the way. Some guy actually pulled up in his Proton to ask for directions. He approached the wrong people and left quite pissed. The waterfall was about 13 - 15km from town. The entry fee was very expensive hence we opted to explore the area (a little off-roading). At the Rainforest Resort, we found quite many Singaporeans. An NPCC adventure camp was in progress, but the participants were wet and dirty; and obviously not having a lot of fun. (The conducting and safety staff were at the dining area!) We had a drink which came with the RM5 entrance fee, not very worth it, but at least we had a good look at the resort, played with a parrot, ran into some Westerners, had a muddy off-road experience and had an interesting conversation with the carekeeper.
At about 5.45p.m, we headed back to town, sneaked the bikes past the reception and had a wonderful shower. Then we headed out for dinner at some hawker centre. An ordinary dish of Nasi Goreng Ayam tasted good =) Checking out the town, we found some Ice Kachang and Ramly burgers. More food, greater satisfaction. Then it was off to shopping and checking out the shopping mall.
After closing hours, we retired to our room, watched some OIympic events on Mediacorp Channel 5, yes, Mediacorp, before transiting into dreamland. Zi Kai claimed that he could wake up at 7a.m; that was obviously not the case as he was once again the last to wake up at 8a.m. We went down to have some prata (3 kosong and a cup of tea 'O' cost me only S$1.50!) before packing up for our return trip.
40km back to Johor Bahru! This sounds so little but the terrain added some fun =) Somehow, luck was not really on our side as we encountered yet another puncture. Zi Kai was really unlucky with 2 flats in 2 days on the same wheel. It rained again just as we were reaching Johor Bahru. On our way back, we met a couple of cars carrying race bikes, probably returning from the triathlon at Desaru over the weekend. Lunch was at J.B and we breezed through the car lane of the Woodlands checkpoint once again to reach our home country safely. A pit stop was made at Woodlands where I hungrily and thirstily devoured a bowl of ice kachang and a cup of soya bean.
Then it was a mad pedal back home with me and Zi Kai so relieved that our weekend getaway had ended. I must salute Kerry for that brave cycle back home. I think he must have clocked 150km! Kudos to him. I look forward to our next ride and pray that Zi Kai can come along.
Money spent: $26
Participants: Zi Kai, Kerry, LSH
No comments:
Post a Comment