Life n Memories: A Road Trip To Kuantan

After getting our new place of abode to be the way we want it to be that is a "Home Sweet Home", we decided to take a short break and go on a road trip. I had wanted to take a road trip around the peninsular but never did get down to doing it so I guess this trip should give us a sample of what to expect.

Our plan was to make use of the old route and stay away from the expressway as much as possible and no toll roads. I want to revisit some of the places that I had not been too for more than 30 to 40 years ago and eat those yummy food not to be found anywhere else.

The Route

Day 1 - September 28

Our destination was Kuantan, the state capital of the largest state here in this country, Malaysia. We started off round about 9:00 am and had some trouble with the GPS because it had problems connecting to the satellite and so I had to depend on the road signs. Having used the GPS for awhile I had more or less became dependable on it because of its accuracy and taking the best routes. A couple of times I thought that we were heading in the wrong direction until I saw a road sign that confirm we were heading in the right direction. The direction signs here are kind of a unreliable but then again half a loaf is better than none. Sometimes the road sign takes you on a merry go round before actually heading in the right direction.

Our first destination was Bahau and my main aim was to look for the very delicious beef noodles that was located by the bus station and market. The last time I had it was more than 25 years ago.

The drive was scenic and the view of the Durian Tunggal Reservoir was beautiful and this is where we get our drinking water from.

Durian Tunggal Reservoir

Soon after that we arrived in Batang Melaka, a border town and it has a railway station. There are two towns in Malacca that has a railway station and both of them are border towns.

Batang Melaka Main Road

The railway station was being upgraded to accommodate the upgrade of the tracks to twin tracks and it is sad to say we were not able to capture a photo of it but we managed to get a photo of the tracks.

Twin Tracks

We are now in Negeri Sembilan state and the first town is Rompin which is a surprise for us. We were surprised that we had to pass through Rompin because the Rompin we know is in Johor where the Endau Rompin National Park is located. How embarrassing and Google help solve the mystery. We should have known better because there are many places with the same name in this country.

Rompin of Negeri Sembilan

Cross-road in Rompin

Next is Bahau a place that I look forward to eating the very delicious beef noodles. All I can remember is that it was located in the bus station along a row of shed that looks like it might just collapsed at any moment but I guess it was worth the risk.

The Main Range

A long the way we were able to see the ending part of of the Main Range mountains that runs along the central part of the peninsula starting from southern Thailand and end somewhere here.

Just round the corner is Bahau, once a one road town and I am eager to see how it is today.

Nope it is no longer a single main road town, it had grown to a few roads since about 50 years ago.

The Bus Station

Yes we found the bus station all big and ... where is the beef noodle store? Looks like it is gone and since we were not hungry yet and way too early for lunch we decided to go on. Our plan was to stop at Triang the next town for some snacks. To me this is a interesting town as I know it. Timber trucks heading to the south will stop here for a meal before getting on their journey. They would bring along with them jungle produce barter traded with the aborigines and sell them to the eateries here. A river separates the main road and my first experience crossing this river was by man pulled ferry. If the river were to be dangerous to cross due to heavy rain, it would mean a detour of a few hundred kilometers to reach ones destination on the other side.

The GPS still refused to connect with the satellite and so I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am heading in the right direction. After driving for about 30 to 40 km, I started to doubt myself that I might be heading in the wrong direction because the milestones and sign board did not show Triang. Then out of nowhere at a road junction adjacent to the road we were on had a sign showing the direction of Triang which is straight ahead. I was glad and relieved. Not long after that we pass a bridge and the river is Triang river but no Triang. I wondered did my memory failed me, hmmm..........

Bera? The only Bera I know is Lake Bera, strange no Triang and now Bera. Only solved these mysteries while I was writing this blog with the aid of Google. Because we were on a new road Triang was bypassed and Bera only came into existence in 1992.

By this time I was a little hungry and only wanted to get to our next destination which is Mentakap to get something to eat. We passed by the junction leading to the small town of Mengkarak was where my granpa who came from China settled in. I did not know why I did not take the turn to go to Mengkarak, which is a decision I regretted because I have no idea when will I ever pass that way again. I guess it must be the stomach that had taken over the brain function to eat.

The rest of the journey was uneventful and some familiar spots were still there, some coffee shops by the river. No pictures and I don't know why. When I thought I arrived at our destination and it was not, yes the GPS is still sleeping. Ask around a bit, got our bearings right and head to where we want to go, got lunch nothing interesting just something to fill our tummies.

After lunch and a cup of coffee, the GPS decided to get connected to the satellite and I was relived. Set the GPS to avoid all toll roads and freeways, the country road is always much more interesting. The rest of the journey was uneventful but nice passing by a couple of small town and soon we were in Kuantan.

We noticed some street art on the way into Kuantan and took a picture of the one we like.

No this is not painted by the Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic but someone that was inspired by him I think.

Soon we arrived at our hotel with the GPS guiding us were there in a jiff. It was already late afternoon and I immediately made a beeline for the beach after checking in. It was like ages ago when I last saw the ocean.

Relaxed :)

The beach was a little quiet just the way I like it. After have a nice relaxed moment on the beach, it was time to go look for food. I did a little research before we came and this takes the guessing game away. Set the GPS to where we want to go and we were on our way.

When we arrived, there were quite a lot of people already there and we quickly got ourselves seated. We thought we had to wait quite awhile for some service but the service was excellent and the food was good.