Malaysia Fishing Trip: Fishing Expedition 2012 Pt 1, The Journey Begin | FishingAdvNHF ~ Fishing Adventure of NorthernHardcoreFisherman

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On the 14th March 2012, I set off for another Long Distance Excursion cum Fishing Trip after a year of resting, this was the second trip that I had made to the Terengganu, Check out the 2011 trip blog here.

This year I choose a different route compared to the 2011 trip, I en-routed the North-South Highway of Malaysia and cutting through via the East Coast Highway to reach there. Although the distance was much further but I could cut short the travelling time by going at a higher speed on the highway and I would be able to avoid being blocked by the snailing timber trucks or any other slow moving vehicles, it would be more enjoyable to drive on the more even and straighter roads as well.

It turned out to be a big mistake. Although I managed to drive faster with my car's speedometer topping 190kmh at one stage, it is a fact that I am a human being and I need some rest on a long exhausting drive. In the end I only managed to gain a mere 30 minutes faster than the previous trip but I traveled some 150km more in distance! However, I had the chance to visit the Lentang Forest Recreation Park at the center of Malaysia.

My journey began at five o'clock in the morning from my home in Singapore. After some shopping and filled up the fuel tank at a petrol station, I entered the North-South Malaysia Highway and drove all the way to Malacca, made a short break at the Ayer Keroh Overhead-Bridge Rest Area and continued the journey towards Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.

Passing through the busy capital I slid right towards the center of Malaysia. After numerous of highways and traffic jam I managed to get into the Karak Highway which would link to the East Coast Highway. At this point I started to realize how foolish it was to choose this route. Due to the distance and continuous drive, I got exhausted and needed more breaks to keep myself awake. The Metropolitan, Kuala Lumpur is full of vehicles where I was stuck at a few areas and it's tedious.

I struggled off from the Metropolitan and heading towards Kuantan via the Karak Highway, as I was exhausted I pulled over yet again at the Karak Rest Area to restore my energy.

While resting at the Karak Rest Area I found some hidden paradise beside it. There is a stream flowing down from the Titiwansa Mountains right beside this place, I climbed down to the lower ground and was fascinated by the view.

This is a place that you wouldn't get to visit everyday and it's especially true for me. I have been living in the concrete jungle of Singapore for the past twenty-four years, with almost every building built in similar shape and cramped into a tiny housing estate, this place gave me the kind of refreshment that none other could offer, not even the "Fisherman's Friend"

I mistakenly made a wrong turn while I was making the exit from the Karak Rest Area and I came upon this place, Lentang Hutan Lipur Recreation Park.

It is quite obvious that the temperature in the Lentang Forest Recreation Park is much lower. The park is surrounded with tall trees and various kind of tropical plants, the hot sun beam is minimized here thanks to the shelter provided by the trees. The stream that I encounter at the Karak Rest Area is being enlarged here, it flow rapidly from the peak of the Titiwansa Mountains towards the lower ground and this cold speedy mountain water helps to bring down the Celsius too. As I stepped out from my car the sharp pitch sound created by the desperate male Cicadas singing loudly in the attempt to attract the opposite gender was broadcast at every corner of the park, this is something you can never hear in the city.

Various kind of weird plants are found here and I almost leaned on to this tree that is full of long spikes, Ouch!

The Lentang Hutan Lipur Recration Park

After the much needed rest with a bonus refreshment treat from the Lentang Forest Recreation Park I continued my journey towards Temerloh. At this point of time the weather started to change, sky was colored grey and soon after it started to drizzle.

Had my first shower at the Temerloh Rest Area after almost twelve hours of driving and made myself a cup of "Renggit White Coffee". Yay!

The Renggit White Coffee

Hot Water in Flask

Adding Coffee Powder

Adding Hot Water

Stirring the mixture

Filtering with the Socks

Vuala!

The "Renggit White Coffee" didn't manage to keep me awake for long and I decided to have some rest here before I continued my journey. Two hours later at around evening time I restarted the journey towards Kuantan.

It was around 7:30pm and the rain became heavier. I reached Kuantan with my tired body and empty stomach, my energy level was extremely low and I needed some food! The food here is quite similar to what I used to have at Johor, you can easily find Nasi Goreng Ayam (Fried Rice with Chicken), Nasi Goreng Kampung (Fried Rice with Small Salted Fish) Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles) etc. I am not really a food lover and is not fussy with food, most of the time I prefer something which's high in energy that will last for the rest of the day.

Randomly I drove along the main road looking for any food stall and I saw this stall which I had my dinner here during the 2011 trip, I remembered the fried rice here was delicious. Without much hesitation I pulled over at the stall and ordered the same food, which's the Nasi Goreng Ayam (Fried Rice with Chicken) with some long beans and a bowl of soup.

The rain didn't stop and it looks like it's going to rain forever. I left the stall and drove off to search for a place to spend the rest of the night. I came upon this Chendor Rest Area and had my shower here, with the rain drops kept falling on to the roof top of my car I slowly but surely fading into the la la land...