Day 4: Cherating to Port Dickson

Distance: <360km
Time: 7.5 hours
Stops: Countless, mostly for directional checks
Lessons learnt:
1) Malaysian signboard are crap, unless you know where you're going
2) Road names and route numbers will change with no apparent warning, even Google Maps and commercial cartographers will be wrong
3) There's still some beautiful stretches of road out there.
4) There's more roadkill along newly built roads. The animals don't understand cars yet.

What a day, what a day! The hardest one yet, although I will be considered a road trip pansy by most riders. But it was a fantastic experience, and to top it off, here I sit, blogging at you:

view from avillion admiral cove, port dickson

I set the alarm this morning for the first time. Since I was on the east coast, I wanted to try and catch the sunrise. Since I've been asleep every night by 2230hrs and not waking up til 0730, I thought a 0650 alarm would be a small price to pay.

I recall watching my first sunrise. The year was 1986, and Halley's Comet made its periodic appearance. My dad took me down to Teluk Cempedak beach in Kuantan to observe the phenomenon through a pair of binoculars my parents had bought me a couple of years previously in Singapore. I don't think they sold binoculars in Kuantan in those days.

As an added bit of trivia, Halley's was not at its brightest that year when viewed from earth, but it was the first time Man had the capability to send space craft up to sample it and photograph it up close. Next appearance will be in 2061 and I'll be 84. Maybe I will convince my son to wheel me out to see it.

But I digress. After watching the comet for a while, I slept in the car and my dad woke me up to see the sunrise. It was a cloudless morning, and it was a memorable experience.

I've sat on countless beaches waiting for countless sunrises. Unfortunately, I think catching one is rare due to morning clouds and mist. Today was no exception. Nevertheless, it was great to be able to sit there with the crashing waves and slowly lightening sky.

sunrise off Cherating

I got off to an early start after breakfast, as I knew I had a full day ahead of me. So far, I've been traveling in areas of Malaysia I knew well and although I took different routes, I always recognized town names and the general direction I needed to travel in. Today was about uncharted territory. I made the decision to head to Port Dickson, because (a) I've never been there before, (b) it kept me on the same latitude, so the eventual ride home wouldn't be too long and (c) what's the point of a road trip if I don't explore new parts of the country?

There was an easy way to do this journey; highway to KL and then highway to Port Dickson. And although the idea of gunning my engine in the tunnel that goes under Genting Highlands just to hear the echoes was tempting, I was sticking to my country roads.

First leg involved heading down south back towards Kuantan (the yucky truckies were not out yet), getting onto Route 3 towards KL and then following the signs to Route 2/Gambang. These roads are good, quite a bit of this journey is on a double lane, dual carriageway. Quite a few lorries, fairly trafficky, nothing spectacular.

After about 15 kilometers of this, I took a left onto Route 12/Segamat. I've used this road once before in a car, and was not a fan. Very straight, very featureless, single lane that tends to lull you into complacency. Hard to be complacent on a bike, but I was extra wary of other drivers. Good surfaces, though.

As soon as I made the turn, the carnage and destruction is obvious. They are widening the road, flattening the land and removing all vegetation. The roadworks go most of the way up to the Tasik Chini turnoff. There is a Petronas station after the Tasik Chini turnoff, and this is your last opportunity for a fuel top-up for the next 130+ kilometers. There's also a famous-looking murtabak stall next to the station. If you're not wary of riding on a full stomach, I think it is worth a stop. I just had a coffee and went on my merry way.

After Chini the road stays pretty much the same, except there are no roadworks. Approx 60km later I turned onto Route 11 towards Bahau.

This is when my continuous stopping to check directions starts. Mainly because the signage is unclear and misleading, and the distances on the signs didn't match what was left on my odometer.

one of my many direction checks

So I stayed on Route 11 for about 60 kilometers, turned left on Route 10 and made a left turn at the t-junction. Checked my bearings (at this stage I resorted to Google Maps, puritanism has its limits) and did a u-turn to head into Bahau. Straight through town (which is a bit tricky, as there are a few forks in the road) til the Petron station. By this stage the bike was hot from the long run followed by stops and starts for directions and town traffic, so I shut down at the Petron station for both the bike and me to cool off. Good thing I did, I then remembered to refuel. Don't recall many stations after this one, either.

Coming out the back of the Petron station and turning right, I am on Route 246 (the signs say Route N17, another cause of concern), and this road - my fans and followers - is what made everything worthwhile. Good surfaces (although there was a depression spanning my entire lane that nearly took my arms off), up hills and down dales and plenty of serious curves. Sparsely populated and few vehicles. It was simply amazing!

This road then becomes Route 9, and I missed the turn onto N14 so I went all the way down Route 9, turned right on Route 1, left on N12 and right on Route 5, which was then a straight shot to the hotel. I think it is only on N12 that you start seeing signs for PD.

All these roads were great fun, mostly through interspersed villages with lots of open country in between. All in all a thoroughly enjoyable ride.

Booked a room in Avillion Admiral Cove for the view on booking.com when I was in Chini. Overall, I find pictures on websites to be misleading. The hotel is looking tired, although the view is spectacular. Boleh tahan, la.

Now I'll have a beer, watch the sunset, and decide where to go next. I will be heading south now, once again in familiar territory. One more day before I head home, and I am missing my family.