A RIDE TO TAMAN NEGARA - DAY 1

DAY 1 - BENTONG TO JERANTUT (23rd Oct 08)

A potpouri of 5 cyclists agreed to do a 4-day trip to Taman Negara, starting from Bentong. The plan called for a start from Bentong Rest House where I had earlier obtained permission from En Nasaruddin, the Manager, to park the cars there. There were 2 Zuls, 1 Man, 1 Acid and yours truly, who agreed to do the journey. Acid and I met Man for the first time. Acid met the 2 Zuls also for the first time. We were therefore almost "new" to each other, but the bonding for a common interest would always be strong, whatever interest one pursues.

From Bentong, we planned to overnight in Jerantut. On Day 2, we planned to cycle from Jerantut to Kuala Tahan, the gateway to Taman Negara. The next 2 days would be a back-track of the same route.

By 0805 we pushed off. Cars securely locked, bikes checked and nothing was left behind. We free-wheeled down from the Rest House, situated on a small hill, into Bentong town. The cool air and little traffic made the start a pleasant one. Monitoring my POLAR HRM-cum-cyclometer, after 2 kms the road began to climb gradually. At 7.5km the altimeter was showing 94 metres and within 3.5kms, we climbed to 192 metres. I was on my lighter gears to reduce my heart-beat. The younger cyclists would not have problems and thereafter it was a small roller-coaster of ups and downs, nothing difficult.



The above data was downloaded from my POLAR. The green graph is the terrain we encountered for the 140kms ride from Bentong to Jerantut, lowest at 67 metres above sea level and highest of 192 metres a.s.l. The red graph is my Heart Beat per minute, with a high of 164bpm and a low of 100bpm for the entire journey.


"THE DIGGING VILLAGE"

I have passed this way several times before, on other cycling trips back to Kota Bharu. I was therefore pretty familiar with the villages that I passed through. Somehow, the "digging village" escaped me before!

There was this village called KG TANAH BERCANGKUL. Perhaps that was how the pioneers who came here opened up the village, with their bare hands and cangkul their way to make the village.



Other pioneers could have come and used the same traditional method, but would not be able to claim that theirs was also "tanah bercangkul". So I guessed they decided to call their village KAMPONG GALI.



Without proper surveys, some would have dug too far from their claimed boundaries and therefore were reminded to dig somewhere in the middle. Hence, KG GALI TENGAH was born.



Again, without proper surveys, they could have dug crooked. The chieftain would again reminded them to dig straight, so that you can then call the village KG GALI LURUS.




Durian was in season. While Durian and cycling do not quite match up, my eyes were also scouting for a Durian stall. There was none, and now I know why! With just one tree for the entire kampong, there would not be any durians for sale.



As we continued our cycling, the weather was heating up. A shower would be great to cool the body, but you would not want to disturb the birds having their dip.



The Bentong - Raub - Benta road was devoid of shade. It was almost a straight stretch, with very ample road shoulders, a plus for cyclists. It was a trade-off we accept - no shade but ample road shoulders.


We arrived Benta at 1230pm after completing 70kms. From here we would branch off to Jerantut. A cool shaded rest area at the Petronas Station in Benta was a welcomed sight. What was not welcomed was the non-existence of any retail outlet at the Petronas station. A lone refrigerator was empty, not even a bottle of mineral water was sold.





We had a good rest here. We were also hungry, and as we cycled into the Jerantut road, the cool shade was a welcomed relief. The road was winding, much like the old Gombak - Bentong road. Traffic was light too and we enjoyed this stretch inspite of the hunger pang.


Everyone was focussed on an eating stall. After 4 kms of the winding road, we came across a village KAMPUNG BUDU. Aha, and there was one stall about 10 metres from the road.


A group photo was in order. Next to the stall. Yeap, you guessed right what I asked for. What? No BUDU in Kg Budu? I just can't believe that. I made a remark. A man at the stall jokingly said there was no Kampong Budu in Kelantan either! I smiled and made a mental note to check it out. Budu or no budu, we cleaned up the stall of the chickens and fish and refills of 100 plus and mineral water. Then it was Jamak Zuhur and Asar at the nearby mosque, followed by a 15 mins siesta.

We reluctantly continued on. We were roughly half-way to Jerantut. Another 60 plus kms awaited us. The road gradually climbed as it wound its way up and soon another rest was in order. Acid sure knew how to maximise rest and recreation, anywhere, including at the petai stall. We brought "ong" to the stall. Several cars stopped by to buy petai. Me? I was quite shy to tell Acid that petai was not on my favorite list though I can readily "hirup" the budu!


At this time, the two Zuls were no where in sight. They rode much faster than us. Man decided to accompany the two senior citizens though he could easily be upfront with the Zuls. Here is Man, with the mountain range in the foreground.

And here is Acid, strong enough to waive at me as he cycled past


At 1615 hrs, we stopped at a stall in Kg Batu Balai. The owner said this kampong is a Kelantanese village, mostly related to Tok Guru Nik Aziz. Every one spoke "french" here. She said, even the orang asli spoke "french". It actually struck me earlier. I noticed most of the kampong folks spoke Kelantanese, but I thought I must have chanced upon them. I didn't have time to be a historian. We still had 30kms to reach Jerantut.

Roughly 6 kms into Jerantut, the rain came. We cycled in the rain, our panniers weather-proofed. We were soaking wet when we reached Jerantut Rest House, where I had earlier booked in for the night. A good bath thereafter and we borrowed the caretaker's van to go for dinner. The Rest House could not provide food as it was busy preparing for a wedding the following day.

We retired early, ready for Day 2 tomorrow to Kuala Tahan (Taman Negara)