Monday 25 July 2011

Koh Lipe... My first biking adventure...

Koh Lipe… my first biking adventure

It started on Friday 1st July 2011…..
We gathered at Rawang R&R at about 8.30pm. Meet new friends. Total of 7 bikes => 2 GTRs, 1 Blackbird (that’s us!), 1 KTM, 1 Kawasaki Z1000, 1 Hayabusa and 1 Kawasaki Z750. I was anxious to be honest because this is our first time travelling this far and at night. Imam started his doa, praying for our safety, pergi dan balik. And then the adventure begins….

We reached Simpang Pulai for re-fueling. Normally we will travel for about 1 – 1.5 hours then followed by breaks, which is normally re-fueling. Scared of being sleepy, I took loads and loads of Red Bull drinks.

We continued our journey and reached Juru at about 11 something for our dinner. There we spend about 1 hour, breaking the ice and filled up our tummies. I was scared of getting sleepy that I did not take anything. Just drinks.



About 12 midnite we continued our journey. That stretched was a bit scary for me. As I was not used to the sitting arrangement and was not sure how to grip my hubby, I had a few ‘melambung’ moments. The road from Juru to Changloon was really bumpy and at 180kmph, you could imagine how bumpy it can get! My journey was full of adrenaline pumping throughout my system!

We got into Kangar town at about 2.30am. Waited for the homestay owner to bring us to the home and we didn’t wait further to rest our backs as soon as we reached there!
There were 14 of us, but only 1 bathroom/1 toilet, hence my aunt and I decided to wake up earlier so that we can get ready first. We slept at 3am and woke up at 5am! We were like pretty zombies… hahahahaha

We perform our Subuh prayers and continued our journey after that. We reached the homestay in darkness and left it in darkness as well… hahahaha
We stop over a small warung to have breakfast and the nasi lemak was marvelous! We did manage to see the sun rise while having our breakfast which is a moment to appreciate. It’s very rare you get to see the sun rise!



Entered Thailand via Satun town. I finally get to see the place. All this while, I only get to hear it from friends. Nothing so great about the town though. As we entered Thailand, it was very obvious that their infrastructure is nothing compared to Malaysia. How I am so glad to be a Malaysian!

We got to Pak Barra jetty at about 10am but still had to wait for the speedboat. The journey from Pak Barra jetty to the island took us about 1.5hour, so we basically reached the island at about 2pm. Everybody was basically sleeping in the boat with various pose and positon… hahahahaa….



A person from the hotel greeted us, but I was like shocked to see her or rather him…. How shall I describe ya… He/She had nicely groomed eyebrow and heavy make up. But he/she had a beard and you should check our her/his legs…. It was a nightmare!!!! But nevertheless, she/he treated us nicely, and she/he took care for us during our stay there. Her/his name is PhiPhi (we call her PhiPhi island… hhahahaa)



Then we had to wait for the buggy. The place we stayed was about 5-10 minute drive by buggy from where the speedboat dropped us. And the buggy guy had to make a few trips for us! That was quite boring to wait…



As soon as we reached the hotel, we were like, stunned to see the nice view and the nice crystal clear sea…. We just couldn’t contain ourselves but to just change to our swimsuits and jump into the sea….



We also had crabs by the seaside…. Aaaaa heaven!

Dinner was at a place called Bung-run. That is the only halal restaurant opened at the time. Food was heaven!!!!




Second day was full day snorkeling from morning till evening. The fishes and corals were magnificent. I thought that the snorkeling trip to Langkawi a few years ago was great but this was even greater!!! I simply fell in love with the island. Lunch was at the same place as dinner last night and the girls jump back into the sea right after lunch. The beach was really clean and crystal clear. We were so excited that we planned for a next trip so that we can bring the whole family together. I was like, ‘hey, this group are not bad at all….’ I kindda like hanging around with them…..




Monday was the day we travelled back. Sad but also excited to get back home as we misses the kids so much. Instead of taking the buggy, the hotel arranged a truck for us! Yes, a truck! I felt like a goat on the truck actually….



We reached Pak Barra jetty at about 12noon but we stop by at Diamond Restaurant to have lunch. It was superb!



We continued our journey at about 2.30pm (Thailand time) and reached the border at about 5pm (local time). Stopped over at Caltex Padang Besar for re-fueling and proceed back to KL at about 6pm. Imagine we are at Padang Besar at 6pm!!!!
Reached Juru at 7.30pm (yes, only 1.5 hours from Padang Besar!!!) and perform our maghrib prayers there.

Had dinner at Changkat Jering (food was excellent as well!!! I recommend the Yong Tau Foo). We depart from Changkat Jering at about 10 something. Stopped at Ulu Bernam Petronas for re-fueling. By now I was really, really exhausted!
After the long, long journey we reached home at about 1pm. Our journey did not stop there. We just took of our jackets and riding pants, took the car keys and picked up our kids from their aunt’s place.

Phew… it was a journey to remember, not just for the adventure but also for the new friendship built. I don’t mind doing it again though, it was a nice trip and a nice just-the-two-of-us moment with my other half. I am glad I did that and will continue this passion together with him as long as I can…



My new friends….



Abg Sham & Kak Izan – Our diving instructor


Our Imam….. social!


Paksu and Wancu….


Zul & Zack


Tasya and Lala


And finally, Faizal and Gee (picture not available at time of blogging! Sorry!)

~Adventurous Xena~
25th July 2011
5.56pm