Cherating - Chukai, Part 01

Spontaneity..

I had a couple of days off over the weekend and it was perfect for a short excursion out of town.
All it takes, was a simple route and we're on our way.
For this effort, I'd circled out Cherating in Pahang because I have been there many years ago.
The plan is to book a chalet, set up our bikes there and ride off along the coastal route to Kemaman.

Tanjung Inn revisited..

So, I did some searching on the internet.
Found a chalte in Kg Lama Cherating and the rates were pretty decent.
There this place called Tanjung Inn. 
They charge RM90/night for a hut with a fan if you book through the internet.
Walk-ins pay RM20 less.
With the chalet's number on hand, I called and they had rooms.
I sealed the deal by leaving them my name and phone number. The guy on the end of the line sounded like a foreigner.

And the weekend finally came.. 

 I packed the bikes the night earler, we are going at the bare-minimal.
The Tern Eclipse S18 is an all-inclusive bike, there's no need to pack lights and blinkers.
All we did, was pack our spare change of clothes, bring an ice-box, bike tools and one side of the smaller Ortlieb backroller pannier..
I prepared the car for the 3-hour haul to Cherating via the East Coast Highway and it didn't took us long to arrive at the junction towards the Kg Lama Cherating.

Calming our pooch down.. 

Preparing the bikes.. 

Rolling out

Approaching a dangerous stretch.. 

A short and sweet ride..

We weren't gunning for epic long rides in this part of the east coast.
Initially, I drew a rout to Kijal, but on second-thoughts, I kept it short and rode as far as Chukai town in Kemaman.
After setting up the bikes, we took it for a spin and noticed that the tires were deflated.
So, back to the car and remedial works were done.
We had the pressure up to 50psi on the Scwhalbe Big Bens and started our journey towards the junction to Kemaman.
This is a familiar route to me as I had spent some time squid-jigging off the coast of Southern Terengganu.
We set out to the border demarkation and snapped some photos there.
While entering Terengganu, I guy shouted out my name from a Nissan Navara pick-up.
It was my neighbour Barran.
Later, Suzie, his wife messaged me on Facebook messenger.
I rang him out and learned that he was taking a break at Ruby's resort.
This place belonged to his sister and I told him that I would swing by and pay him a visit.

At the border demarkation

Waiting for lunch

My favourite hangout in Chukai

Hailam mee

Boxed crabs

By mid-noon, we rolled into Chukai town.
I told Michelle that we are going to have some lunch at restoran Kemaman, our usual joint.
There is a row of eatery along Chukai town's main road. 
A few are quite famous with tour buses queuing up.
But frankly, they were overrated.
And best of all, these makan places are related to each other.
We parked ourselves at Restoran Kemaman, ordered a plate of Hailam mee and two pieces of boxed crabs.
The rest of the time we were there was getting hydrated with a glass of iced Chinese tea.
I find the food to be pretty decent and our bill came up to RM27. Not bad.
From Chukai, we rolled out towards Pantai Chendor back at the Pahang side.
Michelle and I took a break at a Shell petrol station and there, we chilled out and hydrated ourselves with a cool can of 100PLUS.
Some Muslim motorists were staring at us for drinking openly in the Ramadan month.
We kept our composure and rolled towards Chendor.

Leaving Terengganu

Entering Pahang...

Official bussiness only

On a sandy beach next to the blue sea in Chendor..

We hung around Chendor, snapped some photos of the deep blue sea and our bikes.
The day was getting hotter and hotter.
After spending some time there, we explored the shoreline a bit and this led us to a dead-end.
I spoke to a resident there and was told that a small stream separates the beach.
So, it was a cue for us to roll out towards Ruby's Resort in Cherating.
This was about 8km from where we were and that's just a short roll away.. 

Putrajaya fun ride part 1

Michelle, at a section of the ride

A good day at the starting line

My faithful Dahon Speed P8

Hakim Amir (left) and Me

I had some decent sleep before waking up at 5am this morning. 

There were much to do as we packed our Dahon folding bicycles onto my little Perodua Myvi or the Huskymobile and headed off to Putrajaya.

We've planned this for two weeks and managed to attend the Ministry of Environment's Putrajaya Fun Ride. 

Early morning means hitting an empty road on Saturday, which is a breeze. 

From our home in Subang Jaya UEP, it takes about 25-minutes to drive to Precinct 4 where the MOE is located.

When we got there, there were already a small crowd getting ready with their bicycles. 

It didn't take much effort to set up our bikes, and I found that Michelle's Schwalbe Big Apple tires nearly flat. We had a tube changed last week.

Lucky for us, we brought along our Topeak Joe Blow foot pump and inflated the balloon tire.

As we were getting ready, a Proton Exora pulled over. The driver came out and called out my name.

It was Hakim Amir, my old classmate. What a coincidence as we've not crossed path for more than three decades.

As time drew closer for the event to begin, the GT girls came in full swing. 

We met them at the KL City ride and it was Wey, their leader who told me about the Putrajaya event.

The participants, fewer than 100 riders, were flagged off at 8:15am sharp...

Our ride took us to the Putrajaya lakeside and we caught a glimpse of some really scenic sites which you could hardly see while driving.

Cycling offered a different perspective of the country's administrative capital.

Pulau Ketam ride

Me, riding on a raised pavement on the island

Michelle, cycling around the village..

Michelle and I decided to make a day-trip to Pulau Ketam recently.We prepared our Dahon folding bikes for this adventure and researched a bit
about the island located off Port Klang which is about 20-minutes drive from
our home in Subang Jaya.But things had hit a snag when the Dahon Curve D3 bike's wheel tube had
ruptured.I heard a loud hiss after filling it with air and found a flat front tire.What a bummer!But luck was on our side as we found a bicycle shop in Sungai Way and had
the damaged tube replaced.It didn't take long to get to Port Klang as the roads on the second day of Hari
Raya was clear.To our surprise, we found a large crowd queuing up at the jetty and slowly
made our way to the air-conditioned ferry.This was also the first time we brought the bikes out and the boatman actually
shouted at us for bringing the Dahons into the cabin.We put up a poker face and boarded for the 35-minute ride to the island.When we alighted from the boat, the jetty area was full with people who are
mostly from the Klang Valley.In a zip, we set up the bikes and rode around the main village area.There were some temples which are the main tourist attraction on the island.After touring some of the spots including two main bridges linking the houses
to the main jetty, we decided to have lunch and call it a day.