Monday, May 6, 2013

Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.2)

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                          AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                       
Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan - Day 1 (Pt.2)
Sungai Buloh to Sekinchan : 20th April 2013
Small Group Ride - 
Day 1 : Sungai Buloh>Kuala Selangor>Sekinchan
Distance covered : approx. 76.71 km.
Time : 7:45 am - 5:25 pm
Time Taken : approx. 8 hrs. 40 mins. (including stops for breakfast, lunch, photo shoots, rest from heat, etc.)

Route Recommendations :
1. The weather does get very hot from noon to 4 pm. Do stock up with additional water to fight off dehydration.
2. The pandan coconuts are refreshing and very sweet.
3. Seafood at the Jeti Seafood Restaurant at Pasir Penambang, Kuala Selangor is cheap & really good.
4. The Durian Cendol is ok only, try it for the sake of trying.
5. Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel is well landscaped with comfortable rooms; do stay there even if you don't cycle there.
6. Don't miss the beautiful sunset at Sekinchan beach.
7. Seafood at Wan Lau Restaurant in Sekinchan is also Cheap & Good.

 This is page 2 of a 3 page blog, click on following to go to other pages :
- Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1)
- Scenic Sekinchan Day 2


PRE-RIDE

Part 1 of Day 1 of our Sekinchan adventure ended with all us smiling after good lunch at Kuala Selangor. 
We are ready to move on, what lies ahead? It's hard to say, but with the afternoon hot weather, we trust that everything will go smoothly. Did it? Read on to find out.


THE RIDE - Day 1 (Pt.2)

Scenic Sekinchan Ride Day 1 Route Map : Sg. Buloh>Kuala Selangor>Sekinchan (click for Map Link)
Our route so far has taken us from the Sungai Buloh KTM Station to Kuala Selangor. We will ride on a little further ahead for Durian Cendol and then continue onwards to the Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel, where we will spend the night.
2:10 pm - We left Pasir Penambang and headed out for the main trunk road Route 5, which will lead us to Sekinchan. Felix is still leading us.
Oon took his marshaling duty seriously, hardly smiling eventhough we know that inside he was happy as a lark being able to cycle with us.
Within half an hour we arrived at our next destination - the Borhan Durian Chendol shop.
Sitting ourselves comfortably, we quickly made our orders from the menu items pasted on the walls.
WHAT? Eat again?
Well, we are not on a race but on a bike-packing cyclo-tour. One should not just enjoy the ride but also experience the food & culture of the area that we pass by.
And what better way then to eat; and this is desserts after lunch.
The menu that's pasted on the wall. They also sell curry noodles.
The cendol that I had was one with red beans and corn. Not durian for me, i can't stand their smell or taste. And how's the taste?
The cendol jelly although having a nice panda green color, was too soft and did not have any bouncy bit. There was also too little ice and by the time served to us, hardly any ice could be seen. The coconut milk used was too diluted and thus lack that creaminess of thick santan.
Oh... well... cendol's not that interesting; might as well walk around a bit.
Over at one corner there were seafood products like prawn paste, salted fish, etc. up for sale.
In another corner, packed in banana leaves were "tapai" (fermented rice). This can be added to the cendol or eaten by itself. It has a sourish taste and a strong gluey smell - an acquired taste, if you ask me.
In yet another corner, were packets of "keropok udang" (prawn crackers) hung up for sale too. These must be a very sale-able item.
2:55 pm - Time to move on. The temperature indoors were around 37-38 C. Outside it must be well into the forties, very hot indeed. So we covered ourselves up as best as we could.
ROLL OUT! Hot or not hot! Roll out!
Under the hot, scorching sun we pedaled on. It was not easy, the heat zaps into one's core, but we pedaled on.
Cycling pass this "Bubble" car-wash shop, I felt like going in myself and immersing in the bubble wash. Very tempting indeed.
15:20 pm - We arrived in Tanjong Karang town. We are getting near; just about another 15 km. from Sekinchan.
Further on, we stopped at another Petronas petrol station. Relieved from the hot sun, Siew Yung & SuiT could afford to smile.
Kwan's rear tire developed some leaks. Having had several such problems before, he took to patching up the tubes instead of changing the whole tube. He was quite nifty going about it.
No pump? "Well, might as well blow the tube up with my mouth!" An amused Oon looked on as Kwan tried doing that... Nawh... Kwan was just joking.
A happy Kwan, after completing his puncture repair.
To offset the heat, we literally drenched ourselves under the taps Uncle Bil here drenched his whole head, while some of us drenched the top of our bodies; jerseys and all.
The ladies having to be more modest, just resorted to wetting their scarves and covering their head. Well wetted, we moved on.
Whoa! A traffic jam in a small town like Tanjong Karang?
We are riding at the bridge over the Sungai Tengi that leads into the town center. It's a good thing there's a jam; it will make our cycling safer.
4:15 pm - Only 10 km. to Sekinchan! So near but yet so far, as our cycling pace is slowing down due to the heat.
My baklava which I have earlier drench with water has dried up, the hot, shining sun can be seen reflected on my shades.
Half an hour after leaving Tanjong Karang town, we stopped under the shady shadow of an overhead pedestrian bridge. Phew!
Alex posing with one of the election flags.
Note: He's just posing (a photo opportunity), this does not necessarily reflect his political opinion.
We are now into the Rice Belt of Selangor; the bright green padi fields can be seen on our right.
But here the cross-winds are strong. At a Road Transport Department weigh-bridge station, old tires were used to hold down the orange road cones to prevent them from being blown away.
5:10 pm - Yahoooo! We have reached Sekinchan town.
After a left turn, we stopped at this entry sign into the Sekinchan Fishing Vilage for a last regroup.
Sekinchan is a fishing town, so it's natural they we passed by this place where they were drying out shrimps to make them into dried prawns.
Opposite the entrance to the resort, is a small estuary where fishing sampans and trawler boats are docked.
At the front of the Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel, we took a group photo. this is where we will be spending the night.
The camera was atilt so Uncle Bil suggested that we tilt our heads to match the camera tilt!
The hotel grounds are very nicely landscaped, simple but beautifully blending with nature.
There's even a couple of small estuaries.
Even the entrance to our rooms are so nicely landscaped, we do feel warmly welcomed.
The hotel rooms were surprisingly large, we could park our bikes and still have room to spare. Kwan is already very relaxed in the room.

 Okay, so much for the hotel - time to have FUN!
Without even taking a bath, most of us went out to the beach.
At the beach, there's even a tree house for children to play in. But it's the adults who are the one who seems to be having fun there!
To one side, a rocky bund sticks out into the sea, this is to prevent erosion of the beach.
And the sea wind here is strong, very conducive for fling kites.
I just let go of my kite, and it started soaring upwards.
Suit also tried her hand at kite-flying.
As good as kite flying is here, the sunset at Sekinchan beach is lovely. It's is one scene not to be missed!
Hungry and stomachs growling, we cycled over to Wan Lau Restaurant for dinner. Spending much time at the beach, we had not even taken a bath. We were sweaty and smelly but HAPPY.
Again we started of with something healthy. A simple stir-fried Chinese Lettuce.
Nice and crunchy Deep Fried Baby Squids.
Salt-baked Large Mantis Prawns - This is an unique style and can only be done this way if the prawns are of a large size.
Deep Fried Grouper - with the generous garnishing of large onions, the fish can hardly be seen but it was very delicious.
The Saito Fish Ball Soup.The Saito fish always makes for good fishball as its meat exudes a good fishy flavor.

Lala Clams Omelet Fried With Starch. Another of my favorite.


Back at the resort, after a good refreshing bath, we climbed up the tall viewing platform to take in the sight of the surrounding area.
In the dark night, the was not much view of the sea, but the view of one of the small estuary with the lights of the town in the background was still a pretty sight.
At the coffee house below, we had some drinks, chit-chatted about tomorrow's plans, and then called it a night.
Selamat Malam!
(That's Good Night in Malay).

 Tomorrow we will ride back to Sungai Buloh ( ... see more)



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You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Selangor / Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1) / Day 1 (Pt.2)      | Jump to Day 2
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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1)

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Selangor / Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1)     | Jump to Day 1 (Pt.2) / Day 2
                          AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                       
Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan - Day 1 (Pt.1)
Sungai Buloh to Sekinchan : 20th April 2013
Small Group Ride - 
Day 1 : Sungai Buloh>Kuala Selangor>Sekinchan
Distance covered : approx. 76.71 km.
Time : 7:45 am - 5:25 pm
Time Taken : approx. 8 hrs. 40 mins. (including stops for breakfast, lunch, photo shoots, rest from heat, etc.)

 Route Recommendations :
1. The weather does get very hot from noon to 4 pm. Do stock up with additional water to fight off dehydration.
2. The pandan coconuts are refreshing and very sweet.
3. Seafood at the Jeti Seafood Restaurant at Pasir Penambang, Kuala Selangor is cheap & really good.
4. The Durian Chendol is ok only, try it for the sake of trying.
5. Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel is well landscaped with comfortable rooms; do stay there even if you don't cycle there.
6. Don't miss the beautiful sunset at Sekinchan beach.
7. Seafood at Wan Lau Restaurant in Sekinchan is also Cheap & Good.
This is page 1 of a 3 page blog, click on following to go to other pages :
- Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.2)
- Scenic Sekinchan Day 2



PRE-RIDE

It was most fortunate when I was invited to join the Outdoor Xplorer (OX) team for a bike-packing ride to Sekinchan. A close riding buddy of mine had requested for them to include me in their ride.
It was indeed a good ride with a group of friendly, joyful people for company. It was also a ride that pushed my biking endurance.
Bikers at the Metropolitan Park - flying kites as part of bike ride.
The previous weekend some other friends & I were cycling at the Kepong Metropolitan Park. We also did some kite flying there. So Uncle Bil suggested flying kites at Sekinchan too. Now that's an idea!
We will be meeting at the Sungai Buloh LRT Station. Some of us would be driving there with our folded bikes, but there were concerns about parking there as the place can be quite dodgy - especially for parking overnight.
So a couple of days prior, I drove and did a recce there.
Goodness, I saw a few cars with all four tires punctured by vandals at the car-park. We will definitely not be parking at the station.
Fortunately, about 1.5 km. away is the Sungai Buloh Hospital with a very large car-park and guarded too! So we will be parking here and ride over to the train station. Uncle Bil and Felix will be taking the train from Sentral to meet us at the Sungai Buloh station.


THE RIDE - Day 1 (Pt.1)

Scenic Sekinchan Ride Day 1 Route Map : Sg. Buloh>Kuala Selangor>Sekinchan (click for Map Link)
Our route will take us from the Sungai Buloh KTM Station to Kuala Selangor for lunch, a little further ahead for Durian Chendol and finally to the Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel, where we will spend the night.
7:45 am - We rode off from the station. There were nine of us; Felix will be leading and Uncle Bil will sweep, while Oon will marshal in between the riders.
Due to the heavy traffic along Jalan Kuala Selangor (the road leading from Sg. Buloh to Kuala Selangor) we were firmly instructed to ride single file.
We rode up an interchange that goes over the Guthrie Highway, we will be heading straight onwards but will pass by this highway that will intersect our route several times.
8:40 am - The first part of our ride was at a leisure pace to warm us up. It took as close to an hour to cover the 12 km. to our first destination, the Sun Star Restaurant where we will be having breakfast.
Most of us had Roti Chanai while others had Nasi Lemak.
Uncle Bil was in a jovial mood - getting to ride is one of his passions in life, and getting to eat while riding makes it even sweeter. And to add to this a pretty Siew Yung sitting next to him.
Finished with breakfast, we started off again. Anticipating a hot weather, some of us started covering up with baklavas, arm sleeves, etc.
Alex looking very cool here with his shades on.
Upon Kwan's request, we stopped at the nearest Petronas petrol station.
Here, it can be seen how well covered up we are - Uncle Bil's one almost like a scarf and the SuiT's (in red) one totally covering her face.
Kwan's quandary - he forgot his sun-glasses and got new ones from the petrol station. Here he is with his new pair of sexy white shades that went well with his blue helmet and scarf.
He does look like the character from the "Invisible Man".
9:30 am - We are 14 km. from the Ijok. That's where we will turn off from the main road into the quieter rural roads.
We stopped for a short rest, but after a while the Felix was pointing ahead "Time to move on!"
Okay, what the leaders says we minions follow. Actually there is a reason for that, earlier riding means less hot.
Further down, there is an Indian temple. It's not very large but as far as I can recall, it has been around for ages.
10:15 am - Reached Taman Ijok Utama. This is a newer part of the original small town which is still a few kilometers ahead.
We are 10 km. from Kuala Selangor, ahead is the right junction to the Kampong Kuantan Firefly Sanctuary. The weather is getting hotter but still manageable.
A few clicks ahead, we made a right turn into Jalan Teluk Piah Kanan, a quiet rural road. We are avoiding the busy Klang-Kuala Selangor main road as much as possible. 
12:00 noon - On the bridge over the Selangor River. The weather is getting hotter, the heatwave is even blurring the photos. But there will be relief for us just slightly ahead.
Just after the bridge we turned off into Pasir Penambang. At that junction, relief was waiting for us in the form of refreshing Pandan Coconuts, and they were sweet too.
Further down the road, we stopped at the Jeti Seafood Restuarant for lunch.
It is a restaurant that sits on stilts and projects out onto the Selangor River.
Situated at the mouth of the Selangor River, with the sea breeze bowing in, it has a right ambiance for a seafood restuarant.
Here's my Brompton bike, with a kite rolled up & tied to it's main frame. Sitting at the edge of a pier, it seems to be floating on the river.
Well, what about the food then?
First came the Seafood Broth; cooked with large prawns and crabs. The prawns & crabs were lightly roasted first before being used to cook the broth - making the broth have that lingering burnt seafood flavor.
Mmmmm..... YummY!
Next came a large plate of Fried Beehoon, stir-fried with chicken and clam meat.
The English Man had ordered the heavier course first, which was a good thing as we were starving after burning calories.
Then came the Spicy Stir-fried Mantis Prawns, spicy with a zing to zap us out of any tiredness.
Stir Fried Baby Chinese Cabbage. Like the seafood, the vegetables served here were fresh, crispy fresh!
Yes! Two vegetables for a balance diet to ensure we stay healthy for our ride.
And lastly, Stir Fried Sweet Potato Leaves.
The food here is cheap & good - at RM15-00 per pax (and that included the earlier Pandan Coconuts!). The Englishman sure knows the nooks and crannies.
(... see more)
A happy lot after having a good meal, we are ready to proceed on to the next stage of our adventure.
What lies ahead? Read Scenic Sekincan Day 1 (Pt.2) to find out!

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You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Selangor / Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1)     | Jump to Day 1 (Pt.2) / Day 2
If you like this, view my other blogs at Jotaro's Blog
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