Bandar Saujana Putra Ride...
Unker Kompressor sent out an invitation to go messabout behind his house. I was game for it seeing that it was not far from my place, and he sounded really lonely with the rest of the old goats off playing ducks in Haadyai. I thought it was a good idea, to look for new trails and spend some time exploring palm oils plantations. We have not done any palm oil plantation rides for a good few months now. It has been beer drinking rides for the past few months. About time we had a ride proper i thought.
So i was off to his place on a lazy Sunday morning.
He was already standing in front of his house waiting for me when i showed up. He stopped scratching himself when he saw me. I of course politely declined to shake his hands. A simply morning greeting would do. Bike unloaded for the second time this morning.
First time bike was almost unloaded along the highway as i was driving to Unker's place. Heard a loud knock as i drove across a pothole and decided to stop to see if i had lost a wheel. Turns out, the bike attempted to bail on me, found the bike lying across my car roof. No idea how the bike managed to jump off the load rail and fall right across the roof. An inch more and i would have arrived at Unker's place minus my windshield.
After the bike setups and burping done. We headed out from his place. We have more people joining for the muckaround ride today. And they are merely 5km away. Unker of course conveniently forgot to mention that.It was a 35 minutes lazy ride towards the actual meet point at Saujana Putra.
Arrived and counted 11 more riders conveniently suckered into showing up not knowing this was gonna be a blind leading the blind ride. A few fellas shook Unker's hand. I kept a distance.The usual bike setting up and chats about how tall Borky could be if he drank more milk. And we took off towards the trail head. Which Unker also forgotten to mention was right across the highway, 3km away... Like foolish school kids we tagged along. Another 15 minutes of staring at the tarmac and we ended up at the bottom of a 8 foot vertical ledge flanked by two huge old angsana tree.
" Let's go people. This will be the start of the ride. Of course, we will need to get up this wee little bump here... Let's go now. No arguments. Up we go..."
Someone made a Grouchy comments. No one replied. Alberto was undecided whether he should continue or just wait there for us to return. Judy left Alberto to contemplate. We made it up there after a bit of pulling, swearing and spitting. William took out his camera of course.
And there we were, face to face with a right set of old palm oil plantations to play with for the next few hours. This will be fun i thought. Most everyone started smilling. Unker breathed a relief. He knew how close he was to getting lynched. I lasered him with my good eye.
So into the plantation we eagerly rode. Cooling, windy and the trail was wide and flat. No mud, hard packed, zero ruts and smooth rolling. Everyone had a grin on their face. Rode up, took a right turn. Rode up a switch back and took another right. Descended a bit and we stopped to regroup. Alberto became confused and agitated.
" Didn't we start from this exact point 10 minutes ago? Eh... I am not getting any younger but i can clearly recognise this was where we were 10 minutes ago. Unker... What's going on? Halloo...."
Unker of course did what all mountain bikers do when questioned like that. He checked his GPS. Then he cross checked Jason's GPS. After a brief button pressing on CH's GPS. Unker declared what he had suspected all along. The GPS are faulty. Let's not point fingers, it's clearly the GPS's fault why we are riding in circles. And Unker wisely took off to check on the left junction before Alberto could digest and comprehend what he just said.
It was a few minutes before we heard Unker calling for us to join him. Ride on. And the group obediently rode towards Unker.
Now it was my turn to be confused.
Right before my eyes, as far as the eye can see. Lay a field of green tea bushes...
Yep. You read correctly. Here we are, across Saujana Putra. Along the highway heading towards the airport. Hot and humid. And we are presented with a green field of tea bushes. Surrounded by decade old palm trees. Our jaws dropped. No one said a thing for awhile. I walked up to touch it. It's real. I hold in my hands fresh green tea leaves. And here i am, not 20 km from the sea. I was lost and confused. I felt like Grouchy looking at a talking tubeless wheelset, after having magic mushrooms and a warm Guiness.
Took the group a few good moments before someone asked anything. Turns out, this tea plantation have been in existence since the 60's. And the plantation actually belongs to BOH. BOH have been harvesting and planting tea here for a long long time. There is even a specific name for this particular tea. It's called Sri Cheeding Tea. I am still trying to digest this as i type this out. It was really an eye opening discovery. The group did what all normal people do when they are surprised nowadays, they took out their phones. It was a 20 minutes photo taking sessions of selfies and wefies and farting.
Finally, the group decided to continue exploring the farm out of curiosity. And explore we did. We rode around the farm from the North to South. East to West. That was how we ended up at the plantation manager's private bungalow. Bungalow was located up on a quaint little hill facing the farm. The caretaker generously allowed us to walk around and take photos. The bungalow is full of surprises. From the nameplate to the ownership of it. You have to see it with your own eyes to enjoy the magic of it. Google William Genmill and Kathleen Russell. There is much history behind it.
I love it. The idea of having lived on a little hill facing a farm with mist covered view every morning. Minus all modernity and it's distractions. Absence of traffic both human and mechanical. A slice of heaven on earth.
We spent a good 30 minutes at the bungalow chatting and taking photos. Then it was on wards with the real purpose we came. We said goodbye to the caretaker and bungalow.
It was another 2 hours of going in circles and crossing 8 foot high monsoon drains before we had an apple break. Well, not actually an apple break per say. We stopped because our dear Judy had complications with her legs. Judy was upset that her legs refused to bend at the knee. No matter what Alberto said or offered. Those silly old pair of legs refused to co operate. The stubborn old legs refuses to bend, regardless how much anti cramp spray we applied. VC even took the trouble to squat beside Judy and massaged her legs. To no effect. Legs were steadfast. We could only wait and hope for the best. Albert wanted his Hokkien Mee. Strangely, no one took out a phone to video this... Alex tried to convince Judy that giving birth is actually more distressing and painful. Alex was lucky Judy was temporarily rendered immobile by her uncooperative legs. Otherwise, i imagine Alex gets visited by those legs between his own legs for talking nonsense at such a crucial time.
It was another 20 minutes before the legs gave up cramping. Judy finally managed to stand up. Of course, that was after she was told in Hokkien that the last resort would most likely involve amputations with a 3 inch Swiss Army knife. A bit of encouragement always works.
And we continued riding again slowly. Judy was smiling again. It's always good to have cooperative legs at her age i suppose. The entire group congratulated Alberto for his patience. He did what any good old fella would do, he stood under the shade and waited quietly.
Rode along dry palm oil trails for the next 30 minutes and we came out at a bushy clearing. This time, it was Unker whom had a shock.
For a moment, we thought we had crossed the border to Vietnam. Well, that was what Aric claimed at least. Right before our eyes, two ponds with submerged rocks. And another to the left covered with lotus flowers. We were left speechless. Where did all this come from? Where exactly are we? From tea fields to this?
We did exactly what we were expected to do.
I spotted 11 phones. It was another 25 minutes of photo taking and wefies and whatnotfies....
The ride turned out to be a surprise for everyone that came. We will surely return for another ride soon. The group finally emerged from the trail at about noon. Pretty good ride done. No one got lost. No flat tyres. Vincent spotted 2 ducks. The ducks flew off, leaving Vincent in awe. Vincent found out at 50 years of age that ducks actually fly.
Yew stole 3 lotus flowers for his future Vietnamese bride. William wanted us to walk to his home, he got ignored. Simon was adamant about getting his Guinness.
As usual, the group adjourned to Kota Kemuning for the compulsory beer and duck telling session.
Of course the beer drinking took longer that the ride itself....
Un'believable
So i was off to his place on a lazy Sunday morning.
He was already standing in front of his house waiting for me when i showed up. He stopped scratching himself when he saw me. I of course politely declined to shake his hands. A simply morning greeting would do. Bike unloaded for the second time this morning.
First time bike was almost unloaded along the highway as i was driving to Unker's place. Heard a loud knock as i drove across a pothole and decided to stop to see if i had lost a wheel. Turns out, the bike attempted to bail on me, found the bike lying across my car roof. No idea how the bike managed to jump off the load rail and fall right across the roof. An inch more and i would have arrived at Unker's place minus my windshield.
After the bike setups and burping done. We headed out from his place. We have more people joining for the muckaround ride today. And they are merely 5km away. Unker of course conveniently forgot to mention that.It was a 35 minutes lazy ride towards the actual meet point at Saujana Putra.
Arrived and counted 11 more riders conveniently suckered into showing up not knowing this was gonna be a blind leading the blind ride. A few fellas shook Unker's hand. I kept a distance.The usual bike setting up and chats about how tall Borky could be if he drank more milk. And we took off towards the trail head. Which Unker also forgotten to mention was right across the highway, 3km away... Like foolish school kids we tagged along. Another 15 minutes of staring at the tarmac and we ended up at the bottom of a 8 foot vertical ledge flanked by two huge old angsana tree.
" Let's go people. This will be the start of the ride. Of course, we will need to get up this wee little bump here... Let's go now. No arguments. Up we go..."
Someone made a Grouchy comments. No one replied. Alberto was undecided whether he should continue or just wait there for us to return. Judy left Alberto to contemplate. We made it up there after a bit of pulling, swearing and spitting. William took out his camera of course.
And there we were, face to face with a right set of old palm oil plantations to play with for the next few hours. This will be fun i thought. Most everyone started smilling. Unker breathed a relief. He knew how close he was to getting lynched. I lasered him with my good eye.
So into the plantation we eagerly rode. Cooling, windy and the trail was wide and flat. No mud, hard packed, zero ruts and smooth rolling. Everyone had a grin on their face. Rode up, took a right turn. Rode up a switch back and took another right. Descended a bit and we stopped to regroup. Alberto became confused and agitated.
" Didn't we start from this exact point 10 minutes ago? Eh... I am not getting any younger but i can clearly recognise this was where we were 10 minutes ago. Unker... What's going on? Halloo...."
Unker of course did what all mountain bikers do when questioned like that. He checked his GPS. Then he cross checked Jason's GPS. After a brief button pressing on CH's GPS. Unker declared what he had suspected all along. The GPS are faulty. Let's not point fingers, it's clearly the GPS's fault why we are riding in circles. And Unker wisely took off to check on the left junction before Alberto could digest and comprehend what he just said.
It was a few minutes before we heard Unker calling for us to join him. Ride on. And the group obediently rode towards Unker.
 |
| Tea Plantations |
Right before my eyes, as far as the eye can see. Lay a field of green tea bushes...
Yep. You read correctly. Here we are, across Saujana Putra. Along the highway heading towards the airport. Hot and humid. And we are presented with a green field of tea bushes. Surrounded by decade old palm trees. Our jaws dropped. No one said a thing for awhile. I walked up to touch it. It's real. I hold in my hands fresh green tea leaves. And here i am, not 20 km from the sea. I was lost and confused. I felt like Grouchy looking at a talking tubeless wheelset, after having magic mushrooms and a warm Guiness.
Took the group a few good moments before someone asked anything. Turns out, this tea plantation have been in existence since the 60's. And the plantation actually belongs to BOH. BOH have been harvesting and planting tea here for a long long time. There is even a specific name for this particular tea. It's called Sri Cheeding Tea. I am still trying to digest this as i type this out. It was really an eye opening discovery. The group did what all normal people do when they are surprised nowadays, they took out their phones. It was a 20 minutes photo taking sessions of selfies and wefies and farting.
Finally, the group decided to continue exploring the farm out of curiosity. And explore we did. We rode around the farm from the North to South. East to West. That was how we ended up at the plantation manager's private bungalow. Bungalow was located up on a quaint little hill facing the farm. The caretaker generously allowed us to walk around and take photos. The bungalow is full of surprises. From the nameplate to the ownership of it. You have to see it with your own eyes to enjoy the magic of it. Google William Genmill and Kathleen Russell. There is much history behind it.
I love it. The idea of having lived on a little hill facing a farm with mist covered view every morning. Minus all modernity and it's distractions. Absence of traffic both human and mechanical. A slice of heaven on earth.
 |
| Imagine the view 40 years ago... |
 |
| Entrance to home. |
It was another 20 minutes before the legs gave up cramping. Judy finally managed to stand up. Of course, that was after she was told in Hokkien that the last resort would most likely involve amputations with a 3 inch Swiss Army knife. A bit of encouragement always works.
And we continued riding again slowly. Judy was smiling again. It's always good to have cooperative legs at her age i suppose. The entire group congratulated Alberto for his patience. He did what any good old fella would do, he stood under the shade and waited quietly.Rode along dry palm oil trails for the next 30 minutes and we came out at a bushy clearing. This time, it was Unker whom had a shock.
For a moment, we thought we had crossed the border to Vietnam. Well, that was what Aric claimed at least. Right before our eyes, two ponds with submerged rocks. And another to the left covered with lotus flowers. We were left speechless. Where did all this come from? Where exactly are we? From tea fields to this?
We did exactly what we were expected to do.I spotted 11 phones. It was another 25 minutes of photo taking and wefies and whatnotfies....
The ride turned out to be a surprise for everyone that came. We will surely return for another ride soon. The group finally emerged from the trail at about noon. Pretty good ride done. No one got lost. No flat tyres. Vincent spotted 2 ducks. The ducks flew off, leaving Vincent in awe. Vincent found out at 50 years of age that ducks actually fly.
Yew stole 3 lotus flowers for his future Vietnamese bride. William wanted us to walk to his home, he got ignored. Simon was adamant about getting his Guinness.
As usual, the group adjourned to Kota Kemuning for the compulsory beer and duck telling session.
Of course the beer drinking took longer that the ride itself....
Un'believable
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