Hatyai & Cameron Highlands : Eat-Massage-Ride

Decisions decisions.

We had 5 days, 23-27 March, to spend riding & it wasn't until the night before, that we finally decided where we'd be going. Dying for a good massage & Seung wanting his mountain air... Hatyai & Camerons, here we come!

Monday morning, we shot straight to Hatyai, arriving in the evening in light drizzle. The rain came down heavily soon after we checked into New Seasons hotel. Had a hot bowl of kuay teow soup with the usual Thai standard generous veggies, plus an extra dish of crispy pork belly to feed 2 hungry riders.

We wasted no time to get a foot massage for the legs that have been curled up in riding position for 10 hours.

Tuesday morning, we claimed our 2 hour Thai massage at our favourite "Only One" massage centre. The masseuse detected all the knots on my shoulders & went on to attack them one by one with gusto. 2 hours later, we hobbled out onto the streets, feeling well pinched, twisted and pressed..... fresh enough for some street roaming.

Another session in the evening after a light seafood dinner, this time an hour of oil massage to complete the day's activities. If only we could have such luxury back home!

Next morning, we rode out of Hatyai and up Cameron Highlands. Great winding roads from Simpang Pulai where the CBR got a cheerful flick. About 20km before reaching, we were again greeted by a shower. :(

We had booked a backpackers lodge for 2 nights, but after we checked in, we found the cigarette smoke too much to endure. So we decided to check out an alternative place for the 2nd night.

Father's Guest House became our new favourite place to stay in Camerons. An old colonial bungalow with nice, simple & very clean rooms. RM80 for room with attached shower, & front opens out to a nice garden. 2 movie screenings daily in the evening in the lounge area & good parking area in the front. Couldn't have been better! Yay!!

Camerons has changed quite a bit since we last visited. Now there's Starbucks, KFC.... the old bus station is also a pile of rubble and a new bus station is built. Changes changes... Wondering how to keep all the old memories without all the modern stuff intruding. But that's just me wanting to enjoy the local sleepy coffeeshops on my holiday.

Teluk Iskandar chill out 13-14 March

This is our third stay in Teluk Iskandar Inn.... it's listed very highly on our favourite places to stay in Malaysia. Just outside of Mersing town, its our quiet retreat / getaway / veg out place.... whatever you want to call it.

Just about 2.5 hours ride from S'pore on half highway half countryside roads too. Nice :)

This time we're there with Kin on his CB1000R. We took Zumi & CBR out this trip to enjoy a bit of mileage while the Transalp twins guarded home turf.

Arrived on Friday in time for yummy Malay lunch prepared by Kamariah followed by relak time on the recliners in the porch. I pottered around the sea side to take pics of the tiny sea snails, which were about half the size of my little finger nail. At least 5 varieties of shell patterns found!

Home journey, we did some action photo taking.
Kin's CB1000R
Me on Inazuma
Seung on Inazuma

Zumi, the luggage mule....while unloaded CBR6 takes on CB1000R....

What's Next?

Many people got to know us through our Enduro Africa last year. Colleagues, friends, bike club members, relatives, and some acquientances ........

We became 'the adventurous couple'. With Africa done, the question was : what's the adventure for 2009?

Yes, there's always that search for the next thrill, next challenge, next milestone to get to. I must say, there IS something in the pipeline for both of us, which we're very excited about.

So, more news will be coming up soon. :P

Rompin' at Rompin

A post trip review on our cycle into Endau Rompin, Malaysia on 7-8 Feb.

Our drive up started at 6am on Sat, packing 4 mountain bikes onto Halil's Rav4. Passed customs smoothly, though the M'sian customs officer was pretty amused & wished us luck when we told him of our ride.

Quick lunch stopover & registration later, we were at the start of the 52km off road section leading to the chalet near Kampong Peta. Time to unload the bikes.
1st section was mildly up slope track among the oil palm planation. Some loose soft sand at the sides & the rear wheel slided occasionally to keep us on our toes. Road was dusty, especially at the start since it was a Saturday & trucks were travelling in & out of the plantation for work. 3- 4 uphills later, Sarina & I packed up into the car, taking over the wheel from Seung at the 22km mark. Sarina's front fork was under-pressured, with too much air released by an over-enthused 'unofficial mechanic' ;P

The boys continued the next section, which saw lots more steeper & longer hills, and definitely more potholes. We were glad to be driving, having our stereo & cushy seats!

Halil championing up the hill first... ^

Followed by Seung & Terry.... ^

The much awaited 'brown signboard' to mark the end of the 52km ride!

Reward for making it in.... Deluxe BBQ dinner right outside our chalet.

The morning after, spent at the river 10mins from our chalet.... before we headed out. The boys did a 30 min bike out on their choice section after a mid day snack & we were all ready to head home.

Happy 2009!

2008 came & went.

Despite the gloomy economy, I think its up to us to find our own little adventures to keep us going.
Looking forward to the new year & what surprises it might bring.

Happy New Year!! :)

Photo show at Eden

Last Saturday, about 40 friends joined us at Eden Sanctuary cafe, as we presented our photos from Enduro Africa.

It was a nice cool evening spent under the lush greenery.... with African music & pictures. Some loved the setting & food so much they brought family & friends back to the cafe the next day :)

Thanks everyone! We hoped you've enjoyed it as much as we did!

Channel NewsAsia

Yesterday afternoon, we had a film crew from CNA drop by to our place to talk about Enduro Africa.

With a thunderstorm coming down just before they arrived, it dashed the hopes of catching us on our bikes. But it was a nice chat about what it's like to bike as a couple.

It got us reminiscing about our past :)

Catch it on CNA 9.30am - 28th Nov. That's next Friday. Repeats during the weekend too.

YoYoYoYo! Let's get this party started!

Come join us at Eden Sanctuary Cafe, 44 Rochester Park for our show & tell session!
Date : 22 November, presentation begins at 6pm onwards.

To ensure we have ample seating, please indicate your attendance with yuseung@gmail.com or rosalind14@gmail.com.

On air!

This morning, we had the privilege of being invited to be on air on The Living Room 938 Live with Stanley and Pamela. Both great hosts, we had a wonderful time chatting about the trip and even managed to put in a short spiel about the wonderful sponsors we found within the Singapore community!

Repeat broadcast will be tonight from 11pm till midnight.

Done & Dusted

18 strangers brought together by a common cause. Here we were, the Orange Team at the end of the 2000km enduro, not just any ordinary tour, but one with bumps & bruises. Temporary scars but permanent friendships.

The journey wouldn't have been possible without the helping hands of fellow team members, stepping forward to help the other fallen biker through the ruts, rivers & ravines. It wasn't about getting to the end first by yourself, but more to get the whole team to the endpoint safely.

On our final dinner together, contacts where exchanged, momentos signed & a plan to meet up again soon.