Day 6 - Home again, Home again, Jiggety-jog

Ah, it feels good to be home.

Left Pekan at 0745hrs to avoid as much traffic as possible, and I was excited to be back home with the family again.

I was also looking forward to this ride; the JB-Kota Tinggi-Mersing-Pekan-Kuantan Route was the one I had “cut my teeth on as a driver” and pushed the limits on frequently in all my cars; the Civic VTi, Toyota Celica, Impreza WRX and the Lancer GT. Having driven up to Kuantan with the family last month, I was happy to note that a lot of it remains the same except for a stretch of roadworks south of Pekan.

The one thing about this stretch is if you pick your day and time well, it is a pure pleasure of just you and the road with very little other traffic. Morning is always best. On a long weekend (either a Malaysian or Singaporean one), best to avoid the first day.

This was a Singapore long weekend but an early Saturday morning, and as I started out, the roads were EMPTY. Even riding through the roadworks was fun, as there were added switches and sharp turns to navigate. The only source of discontent was that the air was extremely smoky to the point that visibility was at less than 200 meters for the first 70km of the ride. It was so disgusting I had to wear an additional scarf around my nose and mouth to protect my fragile Malayalee sinuses.

Last month when we’d driven up, I’d attributed the burning to spontaneous forest fires due to the extended hot and dry spell that was going on. This time, I realized that it was likely far more sinister. As much as I hate to ask, are my dear Malaysians along the east coast slashing and burning? Doing the same thing that we complain is being done on a regular basis in Indonesia and which affects us terribly if the wind direction is wrong?

I’m still not sure. But two things struck me as indicative. Firstly, where there were fires last month, there was heavy machinery today. Also, reports of forest fires or bad air quality are conspicuously absent from the mainstream news. If my deductions are right, this saddens me. I thought we - as Malaysians - were better than that. There were countless villages and housing area completely smothered in smoke. I was riding through it; imagine the children who have to live through it. We are raising a generation of respiratory defects. The east coast is a true environmental heritage, and we readily destroy it for the love of Mammon. Or due to sheer laziness. Or both.

Anyway. If I’m right, to whomever is responsible, I hope lung cancer is a big part of your future. Because the smoke will find you, even if your rich man’s house is a hundred kilometers away.

So, Pekan to Endau. Beautiful roads, gentle curves and the South China Sea on my left. Despite the smoke I enjoyed the view and the roads. Of course, I was hoping that the smoke would clear and let me enjoy the fresh, clean air I’d come to know and expect. And my hope was heard, and the air was cleared - in hindsight, probably the only way naturally possible.

It rained on me. Hard.

Only for about 15 minutes, and on a relatively straight stretch of road, but I had to slow down and enjoy the feeling of wet underpants. Also, my riding boots are not waterproof, except for the lower two centimeters where it is reinforced. This means that whenever it rains, water goes in freely but can’t flow out. So I get a delightful squishy feeling whenever I brake or change gears. Not to mention pruny feet at the end of the ride.

Came out the other side and the air was clean and fresh. Stopped in Endau for fuel, and carried on; next stop Mersing. By now I’d left the coast behind and was headed into hilly country, and the roads got windier and more interesting.

Before leaving I’d packed up my camera, thinking there was nothing much along this stretch worth seeing. I was wrong about that, because being in a car had obscured a lot of the scenery. On a bike, I got to experience the beautiful countryside, but without the camera you’ll have to just take my word for it.

Stopped again in Mersing for just-in-case fuel, as a full tank here would take me straight home. Coming out of Mersing, more winds and hills, and lovely straight stretches for overtaking slower traffic of which there was some. This was most of the way to Kota Tinggi, where it becomes a dual carriageway to the Pasir Gudang highway.

And then, not a moment too soon, I was home.

Six days of pure riding pleasure, more memories to cherish, a blog for posterity and some other things I’d managed to get done simply by being away from the day-to-day grind. I have to admit, the first two days of complete isolation took some getting used to, but once I found my inner peace, I enjoyed being in my own head with no interruption. I think definitely a necessary thing for anyone to do occasionally.

Will I do it again? Well, this round Malaysia thing, probably not. It was something I needed to check off, and it is done. But I will definitely do more rides up the east coast, and I still intend to get to Penang and Perlis (never been to Perlis, I hear it is there).

So until the next adventure, happy trails!