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So what shall we do next - EAT! It's lunch time, and we are at an appropriate place for good eats - Tanjung Tualang is renown for its Udang Galah (fresh water prawns); it would be a waste to be there and not savour the locality's specialty.
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THE RIDE
1:45pm - On the fruit stall lady's recommendation for a cheap and reasonably priced place, we went to Restoran Thong Lok.
This place was a disappointment.
We had ordered medium sized Udang Galah but what came were small prawns. Perhaps some of our "Cyclist Talk" of crank, shifts, big gears, small gears, had worked into the ordering conversation and they could not quite understand us.
The first dish was this steamed prawn, looking like a red floral pattern with some green buds. It looked good but did not taste so; somehow the flavourful juices of the prawns did not seep out into the gravy. The seasoning provided by the gravy itself was rather bland and did not enhance the prawny taste. It was a bad combo that did not support each other.
Some other dishes we had:
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| (Photo by Ric Kee) |
Fortunately for them, their Stir Fried Prawn was much better. The top of the prawn head shell were given a slit cut then seasoned with a pinch of salt and a dash of soy sauce (plus perhaps a squeeze of tamarind juice). They were then given a quick deep frying and finished off with some stir frying.
The seasoning had blended well with the prawns and boosted their flavour.
The saving grace; soft tofu cubes with wafer thin crispy deep-fried skin topped up with mouth-watering, crunchy deep-fried mini-shrimps and deep-fried shallots. A touch of spring onion bits completed a wonderful presentation.
I especially like the shrimps, small and crispy; with just a hint of saltiness, they went well with the purity of the tofu.
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| (Photo by Juan) |
Well, in a way the fruit lady was right. Except for the Udang Galah, overall the meal was okay AND reasonably priced at RM25-00 per head.
OK... Enough food talk, let's better get back to cycling; after all this is a cycling blog *grins*
3:00 pm - We headed off, continuing along Route A15 towards Kampung Gajah. There is an emergency lane to cycle on but at stretches the roads are narrow. the drivers of the sand-trucks zooming have never heard of the 1.0 meter clearance guideline and very often rode very close to us.
By then it had started to drizzle and the rain water had started blurring my camera lens.
Moments later the shower got heavier. Most of us donned our raincoats, the strong wind billowing through our raincoats, although cooling, did not help as it made riding all the harder.
The rain did not let up, in fact it turned worse, lashing and pelting down strongly on us. This is the torrential tropical monsoon rain! With the heavy rain and strong winds, the sky turned dark. Visibility had also been reduced, even the cars have took to turning on their lights; and it's only early afternoon.
What a reversal of fortune we had faced; just before the rain we were almost suffering from heat stroke and now it's shivering brrrrrr....
3:20 pm - Ride leader Kong waving and directing us to go into a hardware warehouse. This is a good thing riding in heavy rain is dangerous for cyclists. In the poor visibility of the torrential rain, the small profile of us cyclists is hardly noticeable. Better be safe than sorry.
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| (Photo by Juan) |
We were lucky; the warehouse was large enough to accommodate all of us. Although the strong wind blew in the rain, this place was a haven when compared to the raging rain outside. Irrespective of being wet, Dominique seems cheerful, this must be an experience for him I doubt if he had faced this type of wild weather back home in France.
3:40 pm - The weather abated, it was still raining but at a manageable level. Monsoon rain may continue on for hours - so we decided to brave it, water-proofed our luggage as best as possible and continue our journey after giving our thanks to the kind warehouse owner.
I was using my Brompton Rack Sack for the first time, it is supposed to be water-proofed without any need to wrap it any further. Now is the time to see how well it performs in the rain.
5:00 pm - Arrived at Kampung Gajah town. Near one of the town squares is this display of a Labu Sayong (large earthenware water pitcher) made of black pottery of which Perak is renown for. Next to it is a large padi farmer's conical hat and husking rattan tray, strong reminders that we are now in the padi-farming belt of southern Perak.
Fortunately for us the rain had stopped, but it will be getting dark soon.
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| (Photo by Shila) |
Dominique busy repairing his punctured front wheel. That's the good thing about the Brompton, with the rear folded in, it can stand upright for these type of repairs.
The tire must have been punctured while riding through those sandy patches at the roadside; as a ruleI try to avoid those whenever possible - who knows what hidden in the sand.
In the meantime, the others were drying out their soggy, wrinkly feet. We had cycled almost 22 km. in the rain. Even with raincoats, because of the billowing winds, most of us got wet. And we still had 30 km. to ride, so it's best to dry out as much as possible.
6:00 pm - After a nice, long rest we continued, now riding along Route 109. The roads here are narrower but with less traffic. On both sides, along most of the routes are secondary jungle; we can hear animals hooting away, calling their mates/offspring home. A few of my friends even saw wild-boars when they made an unscheduled stop to "embrace nature's call" at the edge of the jungle.
There are few settlements around so it's best to top up with water at Kampung Gajah.
Without the rain, we are riding at a brisk pace, hoping to reach our destination earlier and avoid cycling in the dark evening as much as possible.
Into the padi belt around the Sungai Manik area: the padi fields here look beautiful even in the setting sun. I wonder whether they will be as scenic as the padi fields of Sekinchan during bright daylight?
It's been decades since the last time I was around this area; except for the wider roads, things don't seem to have change much. The padi fields are still tranquil, with crickets chirping away and birds flying home to roost.
Dusk is setting in, and the traffic is getting heavier; we had to ride with more care but our hearts sing with joy as we must be on the outskirts of Teluk Itan.
7:35 pm - Phew..... cycling on the motorcycle lane across Sungai Bidor we arrived at Teluk Itan after a ride of almost twelve hours through a distance of close to 110 km.
Note: the tarmac surface of the motorcycle lane is very rough, perhaps the local authorities can look into improving this.
Having rode through the rain, I was eager to open the Brompton Rack Sack - it had performed outstandingly, all my stuff inside are all dry.
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| (Photo by Ric Kee) |
After a much needed refreshing bath, Fern (a friend hailing from Teluk Itan) took us to the Restoran Makanan Laut Taman Teluk Intan, where we had delicious sea food like this Grouper Steamed Teochew Style. Food here is cheap and good! It only cost us RM18-00 per head for this beautiful dinner.
Time for a night cycling tour of the old quarters of the town. First things first, we just had to pop over to Liew Kee where they sell the infamous Teluk Intan Chee Cheong Fun. We bought packets for take away but could not resist eating some there and then.... burp!
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| (Photo by Ric Kee) |
Our next destination was the Hock Soon Temple, where devotees were celebrating the Kau Ong Yah Festival (Nine Emperor Gods Festival). It's a small but colourful temple, and viewing the devotees carrying out their devotion just added more meaning to the occasion.
As part of the celebration, there was a Teochew Chinese Opera Show performance on a temporary stage. Not being able to understand what the show was about (as they were singing out their lines in opera lingo), I could just admire their costumes and the vivid stage setting.
With it's calming nigh colours, it was a appropriate close to a long, tiring but enjoyable ride. One that took us through extremes of weather, through beautiful sites and through friendship fun.
ZZZzzzzzzzz!
