Raub revisited

Optimising my off days..
I had a few days off.
The previous working days were spent on proof-reading my new book.
Now that its going to print, I can sigh with relief.
One year of ding-donging and yo-yoing between emotions was put to rest.
So, I rang up Ah Pan, an old buddy of mine who wanted to show me his new project, a budget homestay on the foothills of Raub in Pahang.
Since I met him, Ah Pan had been living in Bentong for eight years.
He was very excited to show me a villa, which is rented to corporate big-wigs.
Its owned by a developer and was named after his daughter.
The name's too cheesy to mention.
Anyway, I took a drive from my home in Subang Jaya to Karak where I met Ah Pan and Farmer Wong, another friend of mine.
We had breakfast and parted ways.

Breakfast with my farmer friends

A beautiful view of the mountains in Raub

We drove towards Bentong and made a turn near the Fraser's Hill junction.
The villa is located near Sang Lee, a Chinese village some 15km away.
Seems like its a good cycling route.
But the road leading towards the junction is laden with heavy traffic.
I was really surprised with the villa that the developer had built.
We met him at the reception area of the accommodation facility.
A night at this villa costs about RM8k. They have three of such facilities that are fully equipped.
To me, its just another yuppie getaway.
I heard that the place was used for some high-powered meetings. So, all those Snakes, Crocs and Lizards would hang around to talk business.
Since the owner was busy, we went over to the proposed budget accommodation on the other side of the road.
At this point in time, it was just a worksite.
I don't know what Ah Pan had told the guy because he had expected some publicity from my visit.
But seeing as it is, the guy was not hospitable. So, after we inspected the site, we drove back to Karak town to meet up with Farmer Wong's arms dealer for lunch.

A posh set-up

The Samo-mobile mkII on its maiden long-distance voyage...

A view from the budget homestay site..

I don't see any prospect in staying at the villa because the cost is out of this planet.
As for the budget homestay, there's nothing yet.
But the route is something that I was really interested in.
Perhaps in the future, I will organise a short scouting ride from Bentong to Raub using the Sang Lee route..

Kayuhan Raub 2011 - Part 1

Chores, chores, chores...
We've packed our cycling gear the night before and was really anticipating a smooth ride in Raub, Pahang.
I bathed the dogs early in the morning and took advantage of the hot sun to dry them up.
After a late breakfast, we loaded up the bikes, our Dahon Jetstreams onto the car and lugged our gear for an overnight stay in Raub.

Bad news..
My cellphone's incoming message alert was blaring.
Fred Fernandez, my Editor had informed me about the death of a collegue on the fifth-floor.
A 57-year-old Assistant Chief Sub-Editor was killed on his way home after a trip in Singapore.
The guy died after he succumbed to his injuries two hours later in the hospital.

Settling in at Raub
We arrived in town at 04:30pm.
The order of the day, is to find a light meal and we did just that. On the GPS, Kari Ayam Sempalit came highly recommended.
My buddy Billy also told me to check it out. Turns out that this is a corner Indian restaurant in town. 
Before we could savour our meals, it started to pour heavily. Took nearly half an hour for the rain to stop and by the time we got seated, it was already late in the evening. 
My tummy was rumbling and Michelle and I shared a plate of Nasi Kari Ayam.

Expensive meal: The Kari Ayam rice

Traffic jam on the Karak highway

Slaughter of the innocent..
 I can't believe the hype of the Kari Ayam Sempalit.
A plate of rice with piece of chicken costs RM7.20. By far, this is the most expensive meal we've had in Raub.
Although the taste was acceptable, I think the pricing just sucked beyond redemption.
Raub is also famous for its Kari Kepala Ikan. But I guess with the super high pricing, its better to eat in KL...


Registration and goodie bags...
We've reached the Kayuhan Raub 2011 Secretariat and I was greeted by Encik Salim, one of the organizers.
We picked up two nicely-done T-shirts sponsored by Wah On bicycle shop and some schwag from the event.
Immediately after picking up the stuff, we drove back to town and checked-in at "Nice Stay" hotel.
The place is not bad and had no issues with guests keeping folding bikes in the rooms.
My only grouse is the smelly bathroom. Stale water from the drain really stank up the place.
After resting a bit, we decided to head out for dinner and look for some bananas.
At the lobby, we met Melvin Tang, Strida Malaysia's distributor.
We told him about the heavy rain and flash flood and took off immediately in search of some bananas..
Strange it seems. We had no luck in locating the bananas. So, we wound up searching for food.
I saw a restaurant opposite our hotel. It was tucked away on a hill slope.
Thinking that we might score a decent meal, we checked it out. And it turned out that the 'restaurant' was a girlie joint.
I noticed a bunch of Ah Peks drinking beers with their China lady companion. This rang the alarm bells as I whisked Michelle away.
We drove a kilometre down and found a place serving laksa and noodles.
Later, we had dinner at Raub's hawker centre.
The fare wasn't bad at all, for RM33, we had a damn solid meal.
I met Melvin back at the hotel, engaged in a conversation with him and later called it a night.
On the hotel's cable TV, the Walking Dead Season 2, chapter 6 was showing. I hit the sack after finishing my favourite Zombie drama...

A decent bowl of Kari Laksa

We're just happy with a simple noodle treat...