He however, gave me a look of concern and I knew why. That's because we've heard so many stories from our fellow Kruzer friends who had made it to Ophir: The roads are filled with potholes and gravel, and at some stretches, the roads are sandy, which could turn into sludge and mud if it rains. With such treacherous road conditions, Scarlet (his Honda STX 1300) would be too heavy to manhandle if it drops. Oh, I can't imagine how she would be severely disfigured if she falls on the graveled roads.
So I decided that if we were to go, we would use Stevie (my Honda VSE 400). But logistics would be a major issue because Stevie has got only a top box, which was only sufficient for 2 sleeping bags, clothes, and other smaller items. As for the rest of the camping stuff like stools, mass tins, solid fuel, food etc, we thought hard about how we were going to transport it to Mount Ophir. As the camping trip approaches, we still haven't figured out how to settle our camping stuff. Dampened by space constraints, we almost couldn't make it for the camping trip if not for the generosity of a fellow Kruzer, who allowed us to put our camping stuff on his bike.
And with that, our camping trip unfolds..
03:00 am - With only 3 hours of sleep, I was surprised to hear the alarm and get up.
03:30 am - After washing up, we had some time to spare so we headed downstairs for breakfast. Dear and I rarely have time for breakfast before our trips, so this can be considered a rare and special moment.
04:15 am - As usual, dear brought us to the nearby petrol station to check the bike's tire pressure.
Notice the big black bag on the floor? That's our camping stuff which I swear that it weighed about 20kg or something.
05:00 am - Met up the rest of the Kruzers at the usual meet-up point - GP Esso. Note the Yellow GS, with our camping stuff on top. (Thank you, Teo!)
05:20 am - Had a short briefing about the trip before moving off at 05:30 am.
07:30 am - We arrived at Pagoh R&R for our first refuel. Noticed that Stevie's fuel consumption dropped significantly: from 22 - 24 km/l to 15 km/l.
08:20 am - Arrived at Tangkat town to fill our tummies before heading up to Mount Ophir.
09:07 am - Here's us traveling through the trunk roads to Mount Ophir. Thank God for the pleasant weather.
09:09 am - The tarmac road soon disappears and we soon found ourselves traveling on the rugged roads, filled with sand and gravel.
09:16 am - So far, the journey has been manageable. Here's my rider, giving a relieved look inside his helmet. At this juncture, we were so glad to have brought Stevie on this trip instead of Scarlet.
09:30 am - Just when we thought that the roads couldn't get worse with inclines and more loose gravel, we saw a vehicle coming down the same path we were on! Wait a minute? SO THIS IS A TWO WAY ROAD?
09:33 am - The roads just gets worse from here along. With steep slopes, sharp hairpin loops, uneven gravel road .. I had to keep my camera and focus on the roads (and pray!)
We finally made it to the camping site after an arduous journey up Mount Ophir! Special thanks to my rider who brought us up safely. Phew!
While Isaac and Jocelyne were doing some registration at the Visitor Centre, I roamed around and took some pictures of the beautiful scenery.
A breathtaking view of the green plains below. Ahhh, what an idyllic and surreal place.
Here's Joshua, Veronica, and Cherie (from left to right) - our 3 new friends joined us for this trip.
Our camp site is just beside the beautiful dam. Love the peaceful and paradisal surroundings!
Motorcycle parking area
Laundry area
Dining / Kitchen area
Meanwhile, we started pitching our tents. I of course, was busy taking pictures as usual. The perfect excuse.
Dear feeling a sense of accomplishment after pitching our tent.
(If you are interested, our tent can be bought at Carrefour or Giant for just SGD $55.00. It's a 4 man tent, which gives lots of extra space for us to put our barang barang inside)
Immediately after pitching our tent, the eager beaver boyfriend decided to unleash his pent up army outfield skills and cook us brunch.
Just when I thought that having Maggie Mee in the wild is a luxury in itself, our Kruzer friends surprised us with Curry Maggie Mee. Ha!
Disconnected from technology and society, we could only keep ourselves busy with jokes, story-telling, food..
.. and drinks like Coconut Juice..
.. and even Teh Tarik!
Surrounded with nature and lush foliage, it's common to find animals and insects which we don't usually get to see. For example:
This poor little scorpion who lost its tail
This little grub which we found before throwing this wood into our stove fire.
And this mysterious stick insect which sneaked behind us ..
With so much time in our hands and no technology to keep me company during my spare time, I could only do what I do best besides eating - SLEEPING!
Meanwhile, the rest of the bunch were busy (and having fun) gathering wood for the improvised kitchen stove.
Our makeshift kitchen stove. Kudos to the creative thinking of Isaac and other fellow Kruzers!
Joshua helps out in the "kitchen"
Soon, it started to rain and I quickly went back to my tent to hide. But I'm surprised that the rest of them continued with their activities (such as eating corn) in the rain! Here's a view of the "corn-y" people at my tent window.
It didn't take long before the rain got heavier. Most of us went back to our tents but a handful of helpful men braved the rain and accompanied Chef Isaac to prepare dinner.
Kenny and Isaac carrying the cooked food to the sheltered area.
Our delicious dinner, cooked by Isaac with the help of Lionel, Kenny, and Teo. Thank you guys, for persevering in the rain just so that we can fill our stomachs with this delicious meal for dinner.
Halfway through our dinner, dear's arm began to itch and to our horror, these itchy red bumps started appearing! Suspecting that it might be Hives, Jocelyne quickly gave dear some Anti-Histamine pills and Anti-Septic Itch Relief spray.
Till now, we have no idea what it might be or what is the cause. Regardless, we are thankful and glad that it didn't spiral out of control. Phew!
Within a few minutes, dear quickly dozed off because of the drowsy medication. Just then, the rain stopped and I decided to take some snapshots of the scenery.
The night hit us sooner than I thought. Shortly after dinner (and the photo-taking session after the rain), we were engulfed with darkness.
Regardless, we continued to mingle around with damper, alcohol and tea, causing the night to be filled with laughter, booze, and the sweet aroma of Teh Tarik.
My caffeine fix to keep me warm in the cold night.
Time check - 11:00pm. With the cool temperature and the alcohol in some of our stomachs, we retreated to our tents to sleep.
If I could sum up dear and my camping experience for day one into a sentence, it would be "We made it!"
Possibly Related Posts:
Kruzer: The Ride Home (Day 3)
Kruzer: Ride To The Curve (Day 2)
Kruzer: Ride To Morib (Day 1)
Kruzer: Tanjung Sutera 2011 (Day 2)
Kruzer: Tanjung Sutera 2011 (Day 1)
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