Sin Poh Farm Ride: Part 1

A holiday plan...

I've made arrangements to meet my buddy Ah Pan and Farmer Wong in Sin Poh Farm, Karak.
The plan was to drive to Karak town and ride to Sin Poh Farm.
And on Christmas Day, the traffic was breezy.
We took about an hour to get to Karak and set up our bikes for the ride.
I did put up an event for other cyclists to join in, but I guess that on Christmas day, no one would want to get their bikes dirty, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
In town, we met Ah Pan and had breakfast and as usual, we chilled out at one of the coffee shops to have some dim sum and their fried noodles.
From town, we rode out to Sin Poh, which is about 10km away.

Michelle trying out her new smartphone

Riding along the Karak-Kuantan road

Crossing the new bridge leading the farm..

Riding along an abandoned field

Almost reaching the farm

We didn't have much difficulty getting to the farm.
The roads were pretty clear and after riding about 7km, we reached the Bentong Community College.
This is the junction leading to Sin Poh and after clearing the unpaved road, we made a left-turn and this was where the fun began.
The Dahon Jetstreams took it with much ease and a full-suspension folding bike really took the bumps and thuds on the uneven terrain.
Even with an 8-speed ride, Michelle had no problems maneuvering her bike.
We arrived at the farm and Ah Pan was already waiting...

Catching up with some fishing.. 

Our plan was to ride to some of Ah Pan's fish ponds and fish there.
It's been a while since Michelle had fished and this was a great opportunity to catch up with our past-time.
We tried to lure the tilapias there with some bread and managed to hook up a few.
I was told that there are chichlids in the pond weighing in at 2kgs.
But these are a bit tricky to land as they feed only late in the evening.
Nevertheless, Michelle and I tried our luck at fishing at one of the ponds.
I had my trusty Daiwa Caldia KIX 2000 spinning reel paired with a Storm 6' 0" pack rod.
These are easy to transport in a backpack.
Michelle, on the other hand, had my Shakespeare telescopic rod and a 10-ball bearing ultralight reel.
These are really fun to haul and use and when your life depends on it, you can get food through fishing.

Taking a break at the farmhouse

Michelle, trying out her luck

A nice tilapia landed

Removing the hook for release

My Daiwa Caldia KIX 2000 spinning reel

Hooking up a tilapia

We continued to fish at the pond and decided to call it a day after 11:30am.
The plan was to ride out to Karak town and have lunch there before driving back to Kuala Lumpur.
Even on Christmas day, we had a lot to do.
At the farm, we caught up with Farmer Wong and Ah Pan.
A lot has changed at Sin Poh since I first visited the farm more than nine years ago.