Plans were made a month in advanced for this touring trip to
Sungai Lembing, Kuantan, East Coast Malaysia. The main sightseeing destination point
was the popular Rainball Waterfall but of course, we know it’s always the
journey that counts too!
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| Rainbow Waterfall, Sungai Lembing |
I am excited.
Distance : Slight over 1,000KM
Duration : 7 Hours 45 Minutes
Weather : Hot
Average Speed : 100km/h
Average Speed : 100km/h
Roads : North South Highway, B-roads
No. of Bikes : 14
Types of Bikes:
Types of Bikes:
4 BMW GS Adventure 1200
1 KTM Adventure 990
1 Ducati Hyperstrada 821
2 KTM 690 Enduro
1 KTM 350 Italy Six Days
1 KTM 250 EXC-F
1 Honda XR 250
1 Honda CRF 250
1 Honda Dominator 650
1 Honda Wave 150
Packed our bags, bikes serviced, gears donned on, and
multiple dosages of fun, let’s go!
Day 1 - 7:42am, Singapore - Sungai Lembing
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| Fuel up |
We gathered at 1st Link Shell to fuel up our bikes before fueling up ourselves with Bak Kut Teh (pork rib soup) breakfast nearby.
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| Excited to eat Bak Kut Teh |
North South
highway was a very small part of our initial route up to Tangkak, from there on,
majority of it was fun on B-roads (trunk roads).
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| Just for illustration |
B-roads are fun as they have corners, curves (more than a
woman’s :p ), and interesting things to see along the side. However,
it can be more dangerous too as it’s usually a two-way traffic with heavy
vehicles traveling at fast speeds. You have people jay-walking across the roads
and other road hazards too.
9:52am
After breakfast, off we go! Weather was still cooling as the
morning mist cleared and the sun was starting to heat the roads up. I’ve
always preferred it to be really cold than really hot when it comes to riding
because the heat takes up a lot of energy, sometimes causing heat
exhaustion or dehydration.
1:17pm - Tangkat
Malaysia is famous for their durians, and kampong ones are
the best! They taste the most authentic without any artificial chemical
injected into them. And when you see a durian with worms in it, you know it’s
good stuff.
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| <Credits to Cherie> Eat until shiok only |
We stopped by the road side to indulge in some
delicious durians (something you’re not able to do if you’re traveling on the
highway) but just seconds before that, I’ve encountered my first near-miss
accident.
(First? Means still got second and third??)
(First? Means still got second and third??)
Haha you’ll have to read on to find out!
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| Yea, it's this big |
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| Tyre burn marks |
In my head I was like “oh shit oh shit!” but did not have
time to look as I quickly got myself off the road, to the side of the durian
stall. Some of the riders who already started eating their durian almost choked
on the seeds as they witnessed what could have been pretty fatal – getting hit
by the lorry.
After which, we saw the lorry’s burnt tyre marks on the road
from braking hard to avoid a collision. I did not anticipate his speed of at
least 90km/h on a small road.
Lesson learnt!
No.1 : Near miss by a lorry.
3:22pm - Pagoh
It was scccorrcchhinggg hot.
All I see
is dust and heat waves ahead of me. By now, quite a lot of my energy has been
drained from the heat. Along the way, the riders have somehow split into two groups
as different bikes and riders ride at different pace.
 |
| Unglam max |
We stopped by the roadside and I
just sat down on the grass patch under the shade.
I looked damn unglam – face
dirty, hair messy, sweaty, smelly, I don’t care.
I’m shagged hahaha. I wanted
to lie down but there were ants so, fine, I just sit and stone.
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| Fixing the KTM350 Six Days |
We later learnt that the KTM 350 Six Days broke down halfway
as it’s magnetic coil burnt out. It was a factory flaw. Luckily, we
have Magic Motowerkx Ah Piao, who performed his magic on the bike to get it up
and running again.
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| The rest use their eye power to help |
It’s always helpful to have a good mechanic around!
4:37pm
As we entered into hilly areas, the roads got more windy,
there were sharp bends and corners where sometimes heavy/long vehicles
traveling on the opposite direction would eat into your lane.
There was this particular sharp bend where (again), I did
not manage to anticipate. –sigh-
I was like “okay counter-steer, push left side handlebar
down”, ok I’m negotiating the bend.
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| That's obviously not me haha but just for illustration |
“Eh, still bend some more, ok, lean left a
bit more”, I’m still negotiating the bend.
 |
“Har?! Still bend some more?!
Shiiit!”
I ate into the opposite direction lane and there was a bus coming. Luckily
it saw the noob rider (me) and slowed down, as I quickly turn my handle bar
back on course.
My riding friends behind were like “walao eh… don’t like
that leh!”
Sorryyyyyyyyyy.
Moral of the story: If unsure at a bend, go slower and be
careful.
No. 2 : Near miss by Bus.
5:02pm – Sungai Lembing
Finally, we reached Sungai Lembing. It was a very small
village and we were locating our hotel. Again, the group got separated and
somehow I was the first bike in the last group of four of us.
Let’s see, I had 0.125 seconds to react. That’s a whole
lot of time!
Which means, I managed to only dodge like 1cm away. Thank
god, the villager swerved away from me, missing me by just an inch.
No.3 : Near miss by motorbike.
No.3 : Near miss by motorbike.
 |
| <Credits to Cherie>, illustrating |
My guy friend on the BMW GS Adventure witnessed everything behind and went like “Vaune, both my
balls have shrunk and used up already. No more near-misses please!”
LOL.
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| <Credits to Cherie> That's me behind |
On we went, and we got lost. We found ourselves going off road! Loose rocks, uphill.
Shit.
I mean, off road riding is not new to me. I’ve experienced such terrain before on my 120kg Suzuki Dr200 scrambler over the last few years of (inconsistent) enduro riding hahaha. But not on a Ducati!!! Furthermore, it’s not my Ducati!
Omfg!
The Ducati HyperStrada is over 180kg, let me stress that I DO NOT have the strength
to bring it back up if it loses balance. I’m not a pro rider. Uh! And, this
bike is a lot more expensive. Help~
So, I started chanting in my head “oh shit damn it just have to go ahhhh just go!”, and I rode up, with eyes wide open and hands gripping on so tight to my
clutch and throttle, I could feel blisters forming.
We found ourselves at Sunset Hill – a place where you can
ride up to see a majestic mountainous view of Kuantan, East Malaysia, with the
simmering sun setting in the background, painting the sky in hues of orange and blue.
Oh, how beautiful..
Ok. I did not get to see any of that.
Why? Because it’s ANOTHER short but steep hill climb with
bigger loose rocks up to the peak and I just didn’t wanna risk dropping the
Ducati. Boohooooooo!
The rest went so here you go.
Shortly after, one of our riders found us and led us to Lembing Village Resort
where we washed up, had dinner nearby and rested for tomorrow’s trail riding and trekking up to The Rainbow Waterfall.
Day 2 - 7:34am, The Rainbow Waterfall
Well rested, we woke up and headed to the nearby coffee shop to have breakfast before the fun that everybody's waiting for - 16km of off road trail riding and 1 hour trekking on foot to The Rainbow Waterfall.
Rode off into a misty morning with cooling temperatures at 23 degrees.
The road goes from tarmac to off road instantly. Before we know it, we have started the 16km trail ride. All bikes of different makes and models, from BMW GSA1200 - KTM 690 - Honda Wave 150.
Mud stained our tyres the second we entered as we went onto curvy uphill climbs and downhill rolls with loose rocks everywhere which made our tyres wash left and right.
River Crossing
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| Light breakfast |
Well rested, we woke up and headed to the nearby coffee shop to have breakfast before the fun that everybody's waiting for - 16km of off road trail riding and 1 hour trekking on foot to The Rainbow Waterfall.
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| Riding by the cemetery on the left |
Rode off into a misty morning with cooling temperatures at 23 degrees.
 |
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| <Credits to Cherie> We'll always have time to pose before any ride |
Mud stained our tyres the second we entered as we went onto curvy uphill climbs and downhill rolls with loose rocks everywhere which made our tyres wash left and right.
River Crossing
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| Loh on his BMW GS 1200 Adventure |
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| Michael on his Honda Wave 150 |
Log Crossing
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| James on his BMW GS 1200 Adventure |
And the most fun part..
Wait For It...
Wait For It...
Mud Pools
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Ooooh! Let's get DIRTYYY! Hahaha
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| This is how we do it! |
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| Pose only.. Hahaha |
Finally, after all the barriers cleared, we reached the point where bikes can't enter further and we've to trek on foot to the waterfall.
We took turns to oogle at the glorious mud on everyone's bikes before crowning the Winner of "The Mud King", which goes to Loh and his BMW GS1200 Adventure. Hahaha
See, this is why we can't continue on our bikes. Not just because these rocks are huge, but before this was a river that was waist-high to cross over. Yeah, we are not sending our bikes to drown and suicide.
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| Into the jungle |
See, this is why we can't continue on our bikes. Not just because these rocks are huge, but before this was a river that was waist-high to cross over. Yeah, we are not sending our bikes to drown and suicide.
So off we went, into the jungle trekking on foot. It was a easy 45 minute trek with not much obstacles to cross, other than some parts being a little slippery.
That was me before I slipped, 20 minutes into the trail.
Heard a "snap" sound, and down I went.
I don't care was it a snap sound from my ankle or from a tree branch ok.
I sprained my ankle. It was painful.
-sobs-
Concerned, friends came around and ask if I was okay.
"No I am not okay" as I continued to whine in pain.
"Can you try to stand up?"
"No I can't"
"Can you try to sit up?"
"No, I can't. Ok I'm tired, I'm just gonna lie down here. You guys go ahead"
My friends told me I can't do that because I would block other people trekking. But I said it's okay, they can cross over me like I'm a log.
Seeing that I could still joke, they decided my injury wasn't that serious and decided to start snapping pictures away of my elegant pose, on the ground (as I was still in pain). Aren't they just helpful? Lol.
After a while, the pain subsided a little and yes, the trek must go on. So I got back on my feet and slowly limped my way towards the waterfall with the help of my kind friends.
Tada! We made it. Ok, I made it.
Welcome to Sungai Lembing's Rainbow Waterfall!
It's actually not that easy to catch the rainbow because you have to be at a certain angle to see it, and depending on the amount of water droplets falling down and the refraction of light shining through. At some point, we even caught a double full circle rainbow!
I forgot all about the pain in my ankle and started swimming slowly towards the waterfall. The water was so refreshingly cold! So shiok (feeling great)!
With someone blasting some Top 40s music off, the rest sat by the rocks, had coffee and ate noodles.
I found myself a sturdy rock and just sat right beneath where the waterfall was pouring, gazing up at how beautiful it was. Ah.. life.
Alas, it was time to make our way back.
Don't I look like some to-be-shepard in the wilderness with a rod in my hand?
It was to support my injured ankle. Hahaha
We trekked and rode back out of the trail before heading back to the resort where we left our dirty boots and muddy bikes out in the sun for a lazy afternoon nap.
As it was the last day here in Sungai Lembing, I decided to do one last round of exploration on the Ducati Hyperstrada.
We found a fragile, wobbly and squeaky... Suspension Bridge.
This calls for, fun.
And yes, we are so gonna ride through it, again and again, hoping it doesn't give way.
I contemplated as I was not sure if the bridge could take the weight of my bike. Some of the wooden planks weren't exactly placed intact and there were nails that had already came off.
Also, there was very little allowance for my wide handlebar to go off course. Meaning, if I were to lose a bit of balance and hit onto the side too hard, I could practically fall over and into the river below.
Or, I would get stuck, and because the old wooden planks can't withstand the weight of my bike for long, it breaks through and I would suffer the same fate as the first scenario - falling into the river.
Well, when fear comes in, I just tell myself one thing:
Hahaha. Let's do this!
Off I went, slowly and steady :D
Yay.
Actually it was nothing haha because it was quite easy :p
Feeling it wasn't much of a feat that I've accomplished (LOL) I went on my way further into the residential area of the village.
As I was riding on, this adorable little girl was chasing me behind on her pink bicycle, and she kept shouting "Hi! Hi!" So I stopped, got down my bike, and had a little chat with her, about motorbikes. LOL.
As the sun had set and my tummy started to rumble (hehe), I headed back to the resort for a BBQ dinner with the rest. Colorful light bulbs were lighted up and with a beer in hand, everyone just sat under the starry sky, eating, chilling and chatting into the night.
Someone playing a Ukelele would have been perfect.
Day 3 - 9:04am, Sungai Lembing - Desaru - Singapore
That was me before I slipped, 20 minutes into the trail.
 |
| My painful smile |
Heard a "snap" sound, and down I went.
I don't care was it a snap sound from my ankle or from a tree branch ok.
I sprained my ankle. It was painful.
-sobs-
Concerned, friends came around and ask if I was okay.
"No I am not okay" as I continued to whine in pain.
"Can you try to stand up?"
"No I can't"
"Can you try to sit up?"
"No, I can't. Ok I'm tired, I'm just gonna lie down here. You guys go ahead"
My friends told me I can't do that because I would block other people trekking. But I said it's okay, they can cross over me like I'm a log.
Seeing that I could still joke, they decided my injury wasn't that serious and decided to start snapping pictures away of my elegant pose, on the ground (as I was still in pain). Aren't they just helpful? Lol.
 |
| Nearing the waterfall |
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| The Rainbow Waterfall |
Tada! We made it. Ok, I made it.
Welcome to Sungai Lembing's Rainbow Waterfall!
It's actually not that easy to catch the rainbow because you have to be at a certain angle to see it, and depending on the amount of water droplets falling down and the refraction of light shining through. At some point, we even caught a double full circle rainbow!
I forgot all about the pain in my ankle and started swimming slowly towards the waterfall. The water was so refreshingly cold! So shiok (feeling great)!
With someone blasting some Top 40s music off, the rest sat by the rocks, had coffee and ate noodles.
 |
| From bottom view up |
I found myself a sturdy rock and just sat right beneath where the waterfall was pouring, gazing up at how beautiful it was. Ah.. life.
Alas, it was time to make our way back.
Don't I look like some to-be-shepard in the wilderness with a rod in my hand?
It was to support my injured ankle. Hahaha
 |
| Mud stained bikes |
 |
| Our gears |
We trekked and rode back out of the trail before heading back to the resort where we left our dirty boots and muddy bikes out in the sun for a lazy afternoon nap.
As it was the last day here in Sungai Lembing, I decided to do one last round of exploration on the Ducati Hyperstrada.
We found a fragile, wobbly and squeaky... Suspension Bridge.
This calls for, fun.
And yes, we are so gonna ride through it, again and again, hoping it doesn't give way.
I contemplated as I was not sure if the bridge could take the weight of my bike. Some of the wooden planks weren't exactly placed intact and there were nails that had already came off.
 |
| Let the pro go first (ah piao) |
Also, there was very little allowance for my wide handlebar to go off course. Meaning, if I were to lose a bit of balance and hit onto the side too hard, I could practically fall over and into the river below.
Or, I would get stuck, and because the old wooden planks can't withstand the weight of my bike for long, it breaks through and I would suffer the same fate as the first scenario - falling into the river.
Well, when fear comes in, I just tell myself one thing:
Hahaha. Let's do this!
Off I went, slowly and steady :D
Yay.
Actually it was nothing haha because it was quite easy :p
Feeling it wasn't much of a feat that I've accomplished (LOL) I went on my way further into the residential area of the village.
 |
| Selfie! |
As I was riding on, this adorable little girl was chasing me behind on her pink bicycle, and she kept shouting "Hi! Hi!" So I stopped, got down my bike, and had a little chat with her, about motorbikes. LOL.
 |
| Chillax |
Someone playing a Ukelele would have been perfect.
Day 3 - 9:04am, Sungai Lembing - Desaru - Singapore
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| Along the coastline |
Checked out of the resort and moved off in the morning, heading back for Singapore.
This time, the road back was more so much more scenic as we rode along the beautiful coastal lines of East Coast Malaysia, towards Mersing.
Clear skies (which also means it was damn hot)
Blue sea (it glitters!)
Windy roads (cornering fun)
With some breeze
Ah...how relaxing!
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| Cow road signs |
Along the way, a couple of cow road signs are displayed, indicating they may cross the roads so be cautious.
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| Skinny cow checking out the Ducati Hyperstrada |
And yes, I see them at the side of the road, having their scrumptious spread of breakfast/lunch/dinner also known as Grass.
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| <Credits to djsphotography> |
As I continued to let my mind unwind while riding, the last thing I wanted to see was:
A wild boar as big as a full sized cow dashing across the road without warning.
And the best part is, dashing across OUR pathway.
On the outside, it looks like we are cool and expressionless.
Inside our helmets, its OMFG accompanied with the look of shock, I tell you.
The wild boar dashed right across my friend riding in front of me. Thankfully, he managed to brake in time and missed hitting it by just a metre or so.
No.4: Near miss by wild boar.
Otherwise, the impact could result in some serious shit injury to the rider/driver/vehicle and animal, illustrated above.
Phew!
12:49pm
We stopped by Endau Rompin for a heavy lunch to recharge ourselves and refueled our bikes before continuing the journey.
We decided to make a slight detour by stopping by Desaru beach since it was just a 30 minutes ride from where we had lunch at.
What's riding without some muddy fun? ;)
We stumbled across a quieter beach in Desaru and decided to stop and chill there with our snacks, drinks and being in the company of the DCC (Desaru Cats Community). Wth right, I know hahaha.
It seems that riding alongside the coastal lines earlier on wasn't enough, so I decided to take one step closer by riding literally next to the sea! :D
Careful not to let our bikes get wet by the sea waters as its high salt content would cause heavy rusting.
Satisfied with our little beach getaway (LOL), we got back on the highway, fueled up one last time at the petrol station before reaching back to Singapore safe and soundly!
Yet another awesome adventure it has been with this bunch of fun riders of all ages and special thanks to Ducati Singapore for letting me take their Ducati Hyperstrada out for this trip!
Want to know how the bike performed?
Coming up NEXT! ;D
No.4: Near miss by wild boar.
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| Wild boar car crash |
Otherwise, the impact could result in some serious shit injury to the rider/driver/vehicle and animal, illustrated above.
Phew!
12:49pm
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| With Loh and his mud stained BMW GSA1200 |
We stopped by Endau Rompin for a heavy lunch to recharge ourselves and refueled our bikes before continuing the journey.
 |
| On the road of endless plantation |
We decided to make a slight detour by stopping by Desaru beach since it was just a 30 minutes ride from where we had lunch at.
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| My hair damn chui (looking unglamorous again) |
What's riding without some muddy fun? ;)
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| Our apparent support vehicle |
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| The boys getting all the pussies :x |
We stumbled across a quieter beach in Desaru and decided to stop and chill there with our snacks, drinks and being in the company of the DCC (Desaru Cats Community). Wth right, I know hahaha.
 |
| Desaru Beach |
Careful not to let our bikes get wet by the sea waters as its high salt content would cause heavy rusting.
 |
| Brains fried from the heat of the sun |
Satisfied with our little beach getaway (LOL), we got back on the highway, fueled up one last time at the petrol station before reaching back to Singapore safe and soundly!
Yet another awesome adventure it has been with this bunch of fun riders of all ages and special thanks to Ducati Singapore for letting me take their Ducati Hyperstrada out for this trip!
Want to know how the bike performed?
Coming up NEXT! ;D
