Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Singapore : Knight Riders In The Lion City

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                          AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                       
Singapore : Knight Riders In The Lion City
Night Reflections Of Marina Sands Hotel & the Greenhouse.
Singapore City : 26th April 2013
Duo Ride - Carmen Street>Mounbatten Road>Nicole Highway>Republic Avenue>Raffles Avenue>Lau Pa Sat>Super Trees Park>Marina Barrage>Tanjung Rhu>Mounbatten Road>Carmen Street
Distance covered : approx. 28.02 km.
Time : 9:45 pm - 1:30 am
Time Taken : approx. 3 hrs. 45 mins. (including stops for supper, photo shoots, etc.)

Route Recommendations :
1. A portion of the ride was along busy Singapore streets, so do light up yourselves and your bicycles. 
2. Ride by the Singapore old Central Business District to view the many office towers well lit at night.
3. Taking street food supper at Lau Pa Sat  one can view the everyday Singaporean in their relaxed mood.
4. The Marina Barrage at night is a must. From here, one has a scenic view of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the Greenhouse and the Singapore Flyer with their beauty reflected by the waters of Marina Bay.


PRE-RIDE

In the morning, I rode my Brompton over to the 1-Utama Transportation Hub for my ride with the Five Stars bus down to Singapore. My C-bag almost full to the brim with luggage for three nights.
I folded my Brompton and put it into an Ikea Dimpa Bag (see Bagging My Brompton) before putting it into the bus hold. The bus will be stopping at the Golden Mile Complex; the return fare is RM150 and estimated time of travel 6 hours.
Arriving in Singapore, I took a bus from the Golden Mile Complex to the Siglap area, where I unfolded my bike and rode to my cousin's place (that's where I will be staying for two nights) at Carmen Street.
My cousin was a very warm host, even cooking dinner for me. After dinner, her husband Thomas took me on a night bike tour of Singapore City, the Lion City.
Woooohoooooo! Riding time!


 THE RIDE

Cycling Route : Siglap>Republic Avenue>Lau Pat Sat>Marina Barrage>Siglap
The two of us will ride from the Siglap suburbs down to Republic Avenue then onwards to Lau Pa Sat for supper. We will return via the Marina Barrage back to Siglap.
We started off at around 9:45 pm and headed out towards East Coast Road. Thomas here keeping a watchful eye on me to make sure that I don't get lost.
At Katong, passing by the 112 Katong Mall.
On the Merdeka Bridge overlooking Marina Bay and the Singapore Flyer.
Riding into Republic Boulevard, we passed by the foot of the Singapore Flyer.
And then the Theaters On The Bay.
The Marina Bay Sands Hotel would normally look like a ship on top of the buildings. But viewed form the bottom up, it looked like a zeppelin balloon moored to the top of the buildings.
We moved on to Shenton Way, the former Central Business District of Singapore. The DBS (Development Bank of Singapore) Building standing tall & strong.
Well, time for a break & some eats; and where better than at Lau Pa Sat.
"Lau Pa Sat" in Hokkein literally means "Old Market". The old market here has been refurbished with up-market boutique style shops & eateries.
But at night, it is the streets on a couple of sides that come to live with food stalls, and open air dining on the streets.
We ordered some Roti Prata (in Malaysia it's called Roti Chanai) from this stall. The food is made there and then.
Thomas went to the drinks stall to get some iced milked tea. Yes, in Singapore the drinks stall are semi-self-serviced, one has to bring the drinks back to one's table.
Over here, I could not help but admire the full moon peeping through the clouds.
Finished with supper, we rode to the Marina Barrage  From there the view of the Marina Bay is really panoramic.

 More views from the Barrage (Gardens side) :-
Office towers.

Closer view of Marina Bay Sands Hotel, the Singapore Flyer and the Theaters On The Bay.
Close-up of the Singapore Flyer and the Theaters On The Bay.


Further along, we rode to the Super Trees Park at the Gardens By The Bay.
One of the entrance to the park is a psychedelic lit corridor.
Blue-violet Super Trees with the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in the background.
Red Super Trees with the Singapore Flyer in the background.
The AhPek Biker Brompton among the Blue-violet Super Trees.
A red Super Tree with the green house behind. I wonder what these super trees function as? Are they vents for heat from air-conditioning equipment for the green houses?
We rode onto the Barrage itself, the rows of lights here making it look like an airport landing strip. Intermittently space out on the left are "fingers" viewing platforms.
Somehow, from here the water of the Marina Bay seem calmer, and the reflections of the Marina Greenhouse onto the bay was superbly distinct.
Reflections of the Singapore Flyer onto Marina Bay.
Reflections of the Benjamin Shears Bridge onto the Marina Bay  the lighting effect making them seems like disjointed platforms.
A closer look at the reflections of the Benjamin Shears Bridge.

 With that we made our way to Mounbatten Road and rode home. It is close to 1:30 am in the morning. Time does fly when one is having fun, thanks to Thomas.

 Good night!
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You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Singapore 2013 / Knight Riders In The Lion City
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Monday, May 6, 2013

Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan Day 2

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Cycling Malaysia / Selangor / Scenic Sekinchan Day 1 (Pt.1) / Day 1 (Pt.2) /  Day 2
                          AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                       
Selangor : Scenic Sekinchan - Day 2
Cyclists in the padi fields of Tanjong Karang.
Sekinchan to Sungai Buloh : 20th April 2013
Small Group Ride - 
Day 2 : Sekinchan>Kuala Selangor>Sungai Buloh
Distance covered : approx. 76.71 km.
Time : 9:00 am - 3:45pm
Time Taken : approx. 6 hrs. 45 mins. (including stops for breakfast, lunch, photo shoots, rest from heat, etc.)

Route Recommendations :
1. The Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel is a nicely landscape and cozy place to stay in.
2. It will be good to start early in order to avoid the afternoon sun.
3. The padi fields near Tanjong Karang is a worthwhile place to stop for photos.

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


PRE-RIDE

Beautiful sunset at Sekinchan Beach
The previous day we had rode from Sungei Buloh and stayed overnight at the Sekin Fisherman Village Resort & Hotel (see Day 1 (Pt.1) & Day 1 (Pt.2) of our Sekinchan adventure).
We did some kite flying, enjoyed the beautiful sunset, and had goode seafood at Sekinchan  Today, we ride back with a heavy heart of leaving the place.

THE RIDE - Day 2

Scenic Sekinchan Ride Day 2 Route Map : Sekinchan>Kuala Selangor>Sg. Buloh (click for Map Link)
Our ride back will be faster as we will be hitting the unshaded stretch of road from Sekinchan to Kuala Selangor in the morning, so there will be less stops to get away from the heat. Other than a quick photo shoot at the padi fields in Tanjong Karang, we will stop at McDonald's in Kuala Selangor for snacks and then at hte Sun-Star Restaurant for lunch.
Looks like a simple ride? Yes, but still it was interesting in other ways.
The day started with a little hiccup, but an educational one.
Siew Yung's Claret Brompton had developed a leak in one of its rear tire. Fortunately, Felix & Oon were familiar with handling this.
Removing the rear wheel of the Brompton for puncture repairs is not a simple exercise when compared to other lever lock rear wheels like Kwan's bike. The rear derailer has do be removed together with the delimiter. So this was a learning excercise for me, and I watched the two veterans in action closely.
8:00 am - Siew Yung's rear tube was replace in less than half an hour, after which we took a short ride to Restaurant Tai Huat, a coffee shop in Sekinchan town for breakfast.
Most of us had dry-style wantan noodles with barbecued pork and deep-fried wantans.
Others had extra chicken feet added.
Many of you may say "ughhh", but those who are familiar with eastern cooking will know that this is a delicacy, the chicken feet are deep fried and then stewed. The flavor of the stew seeps well into the skin of the chicken.
9:00 am - We headed of, leaving Sekinchan town. Even though it is mid-morning Uncle Bil had fully covered himself again as protection from the sun. Only his fingers are exposed!
In a little while we were on the main road, riding out of the Sabak Bernam District of which Sekinchan is in.
The bright green padi fields beckoned and tempt us. So we rode a short distance in and took a few photos.
It has started to get hot again, so most of us started covering up.
We are now into the District of Kuala Selangor.
9:35 am - In this mostly unshaded road, we hit a shady spot and stopped for a first short break. Most of us did anyway, Siew Yung decided to ride on as she was riding at her own slower pace. Riding at your own pace is the right thing to do, there is no point in keeping pace with the faster riders.
Dang! The heat is affecting my cameras again!
9:40 - Entering Tanjong Karang. We are riding at a good pace, covering the 15 km. within forty minutes.
AhPek Biker At the Cendol Shop
Our group has now split up into three smaller groups. The faster riders - Felix, Suit and Oon were ahead. Kwan and me somewhere in the middle. Uncle Bil (the sweeper), Siew Yung, Julie and Alex were bringing up the rear.
Kwan and me decided to stop at the cendol place for some desserts while waiting for the smaller group, they saw us but decided not to stop and just rode on ahead to make up for time.
Riding on the bridge over the Selangor River again.
10:45 am - We are at McDonald's  in Kuala Selangor, our first real rest and regroup point. We are making good time, but a major part of our ride is still ahead.
Our parked bikes - out of nine of us, six were riding Bromptons which are very suitable for touring. But we will be outshone by another rider later on.
Coincidentally, our seating arrangement here were like our riding positions. The faster riders -  Felix, SuiT & Oon - together.
Julie and Alex together.
Kwan & me together - that's me wolfing down a McDonald's  Vanilla Milk Shake.
And Uncle Bil, our sweeper - by himself enjoying his hash browns.
11:20 am - After a half-an-hour stop at McDonald's we rode off again. We are heading for the winding and hilly roads that will lead us back to Sungai Buloh.
Riding pass this Indian temple, we noticed that many cars were parked nearby. It was the South Indian New Year, and many have come to offer their prayers for a good year ahead.
So many came to offer their prayers that they was a traffic jam, volunteers had to be deployed to manage the traffic.
Suit, looking like a roadrunner, riding fast on the Dahon Dash P18.
Suit is now leading the pack. She's setting a fast, scorching pace for us. Up & down slopes, turning round bends on the Dahon Dash P18 seems so easy for her. Felix, Oon, Kwan & me were having a hard time catching up with her; the rest just rode on at their own pace.
Here we are, the five of us - leading pack, resting in the shade below a Guthrie Corridor overpass. Is Felix bowing to SuiT for her faster than him pace?
No. According to Felix, he was venting exhaust!?!!
12:20 pm - Just 25 km. from Sungai Buloh. But the skies are getting dark, best we hurry.
Toilet relief at a Petronas petrol station and a break from the sun.
We are now into the hilly area before Sungai Buloh, riding the slopes and bends. Felix is now back leading the pack. But from the look of it, it won't be for long as SuiT is closely pacing him.
1:20 pm - Just 15 km. from Sungai Buloh. Our roadrunner, SuiT, has overtaken Felix and is now leading us. Felix, Oon, Kwan and me furiously pedaling hard to keep pace with her.
The five of us having proceeded fast, have now stopped to wait for the others to re-group; we will be having lunch soon.
1:40 pm - We are back at the Sun-Star Restaurant, but this time for lunch and not breakfast.
Most of us will be having white rice with the wide range of curries available.
With lunch finished, we took to pushing our bicycles across Jalan Kuala Selangor. At this time the traffic is rather heavy.
Kwan posing a "We want your vote!" sign in front of some political banners.
A last regroup before we reach our finishing point. This is one photo that I will treasure, our pose is candid and just right.
Oops! An error just at the end of our ride; we went up the wrong flyover and had to push our bikes as we were heading against traffic. Felix & Uncle Bil will be turning left towards the Sungai Buloh KTM Station, while SuiT is heading straight for the Sungai Buloh Hospital. The rest of the gang took the right turn off.
3:45 pm - We are back at the Sungai Buloh Hospital, packing our bikes to go home.
It has been a great ride and, barring the two punctures, we are all back safe and sound.
God Bless.

 Many thanks to the Outdoor Xplorer team for organizing this good ride.


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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) /  Day 2
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