Saturday, January 07, 2006

Bekok, Last Ride of the Year

31st December 2005, Saturday - Bekok, Last Ride of the Year

Very aptly, Spectrum organised an outing on the very last day of 2005.

Bekok is not anywhere in between Singapore’s Bedok and Buki Batok.
Bekok is a small town/village somewhere between Keluang and Segamat. And there is supposed to be a waterfall there, as well.

Malaysia everything also have. I read in the papers that someone in Malaysia claimed that there is a Malaysia Bigfoot living around the Endau Rompin area, which is where the Bekok waterfall is near. Maybe got chance to see this Big Ah Meng swimming in the waterfall.


The day ride itinerary is as follow:

The ride will take me on some NS highway riding. And it takes me back to the sua pa lor (country side road) that I just went on my last trip, my favourite J32 near Pagoh.

To Meet-up Point









This is a very nice picture of the Singapore skyline, shot by Spectrum over the Sheare's Bridge, as he was heading towards Esso GP, our meet-up point.

When I saw this photo, I am reminded of how beautiful our planet is and how beautiful our sunrise can be, even in Singapore.
Then why I still always like to wake up so late and miss all this?!

At the meet-up point, it is like a market place.
Because there are 26 bikes coming for this ride!

Got one garang Phantom; one FJR; quite a few blackbirds; definitely several Hornets; a few quintessential Super4s; 3 lady riders: 2 ride CBR1000RR4 Fireblade, 1 ride Super4; ST11; one 400 scrambler; 2 scooters: Silverwing400, Burgman 650; FireBlade 900; R6; and of course, one Fazer1K (good ol Frost).



Eye in the sky.
A mini-motorised glider over GP Esso.






On to North South

I was the sweeper for this trip. I don’t know why they call the last bike, the sweeper. Sweep what? Sweep stranglers? Or sweep for things that fall off from other bikes?

Anyway, from my view as the last bike, the convoy of 26 bikes remind me of what, you know? Remind me of Singapore Traffic Police operation, after rounding up a large bunch of bikes for illegal modifications, then herding them back to TP HQ at Ubi Road to give summons.

If you want to ask me the lady riders ride fast or not on their Fireblades, I’ll tell you I can’t tell. Because I am the last bike and these Fireblades (Spectrum always like to call them FireBirds, don’t know what is he thinking of) act as markers.

Exit Pagoh

You will think that with these lady Fireblades acting as markers, they will surely catch everyone’s attention. I tell you, you are wrong.

One bike, overshot and missed the Pagoh exit, even though the lady Fireblades have parked their bikes at the Pagoh exit to mark the turn-off.

Fortunately, the strayed bike realized his mistake, turned-up and rejoined back to the group. This incident has no serious implication other than cause slight delay and comedy.

Shortly, after the Pagoh toll booth, we reached a T-junction and we turned right.

J32

A few hundred meters, there is the Petronas petrol kiosk that we filled-up before we start our J32 track.

This Petronas was the same Petronas that I went to in my last trip. Being there again brought back sweet memories of my last trip.

Never knew I would be back here again and so soon.

The difference was that in my last trip, we traveled in a small group of 3 bikes. This time round, it is one whole gin gang of 26 bikes.




Convoy leaving Petronas.

I kind of feel like a shepherd.












J32 is a country side road. It leads through nothing but mainly plantations and a few small villages. It is a very scenic and relaxing ride.






Size does matter.
At J32, the bigger the arrow signs, the sharper the bends.

So if you see big big arrow, better seriously slow down.








No Man’s Land at J32.

Swee boh? Nice or not?


This time round, I rode rather fast through J32, compared to my last trip where I rode at a very relaxing pace. If you were to go to J32, I advice taking things slowly to admire the surrounding beauty.

At the end of J32, we hit Route 1. Turn right towards Labis/Keluang.

After riding about 10km or so along Route 1, you will see this sign board below. Turn left to Bekok.

Bekok

After turning off from Route 1, the ride takes you to a short stretch of trunk road. This ride is also very nice that matches that of J32.



The road will cut over the railway track that leads to the railway station at Tanjong Pagar, Singapore.





Shortly after that, the road will take you into Bekok village. Within the village, there is a particular junction where you need to turn right, then turn left (at the next immediate turn).



Carry on straight. You will then see this sign. Turn left.


Watch out: There is a short stretch of road that has potholes. Nothing to worry about. Our Fireblades and ST11 all went through them with no sweat.


WaterFall


This is what the waterfall looks like.








The waterfall is not those steep steep kind like Nigeria Fall. It is gentle mini-falls. In a way, it is good because it is safer and you can access most parts of the water.



People having a good time there.









This is the toilet.






I had quite a bit of challenge in going to the toilet. Because it did not show male or female sign. It only got the alphabets L and P.

Is L male or female? Scully I go into the wrong side and see makcik inside how? Surely mati.

After a while, I learnt. Tandas means ‘toilet’. L is for male (Lelaki). P is for female (Puan). To help you better remember, just think of Longang for male and Papaya for female.

Into the Water




Spectrum playing water with xiao mei mei.














Strange as it is, the water can be very cold. Many of us dare not immerse ourselves fully into the water because the water is too cold.



Also be careful of how you walk when inside the water. Dry rocks are ok. Wet rocks and rocks underwater are slippery. Sand is also ok to walk on.

After playing in the water for some time, I ate my lunch. For this trip, we already packed our lunch to the waterfall to eat. Actually, there is no need to. There are stalls at the waterfall that sell food such as burgers. The burgers cost only 1.5 Ringgit and are quite nice.

My lunch is nasi padang packed in foam box. It reminds me of my SAF reservist training. I never knew I would say this one day: but the SAF food (as of last year) actually taste better than my current nasi padang.

For your information, I have helped you check out the market rates of hawker food in Malaysia. Wanton noodles in small towns should cost around 2.50 ringgit. In KL, it can cost 4-5 ringgit. For nasi padang, it varies greatly between 3 to 10 ringgit depending on what you order. In general, the muslim food seller, tend to be more honest and would not anyhow take you for a ride.

While I bought my food from a local stall, others went through greaterlengths to have special lunch.

Look at him blissfully enjoying his biscuits garnished with canned tuna.
Yum yum. Can I have some too?

The dip at the waterfall is very refreshing and cooling, especially for bikers after a long ride. It is now time to change back to dry clothes.




But this can be quite a challenge.
Look at Spectrum skilfully putting on his socks and riding boots.




Walking to and fro the Tandas can also be a challenge, when barefooted, because of the small little rocks on the floor.








Group Photo










Ride Back

We back-track to Route 1. Then take Route 1 to Yong Peng, then North South back to Singapore.








The ride back. Heading home and towards 2006!


I wish you a safe and enjoyable ride, good health and prosperity in 2006!


*Many of the nice pictures here are courtesy of Spectrum.

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