Cycling from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur....

In those days scouting was the best youth organisation for us teenagers to learn leadership skill as well to enjoy the outdoors like hiking and camping. In scouting we learn many aspects of leadership and  of  how to survive during difficult times. In the days before telephone and the internet we kids would enjoy ourselves by going camping, hiking and swimming.. Most of the time during school holidays we would go for hiking and camping all over the places. Since Kuantan my hometown is beside the river and near the sea we have plenty of places all along the coastal area to go hiking and camping and of course swimming. During one school holiday in August in the fifties we still in our teens, a small group of us the Kuantan Boy scout group went on an adventure of a different kind by cycling from Kuantan to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the country Malaya. It was during the August school holiday. It took us five days one way. The road from Maran to Temerloh was just completed but still red with literate and the jungle on both sides of the roads was infested with the Communist terrorists. They did not want to waste their bullets on us kids so we are saved.  As usual during the Emergency we had to register at every Police station on the way so that our whereabouts is  known by the authority. On the first day it took us to Gambang, a small mining  town where we spend the night at a Chinese school there. We cook our own food and slept at the classroom. Early after breakfast the next day we proceed on the winding road toward Maran. It was at Maran that a new road was build to connect the east-coast to Temerloh, a town in central Pahang. We arrived  at Maran in the afternoon and here we stayed at the Malay school there. After a night of a good rest and checking all our bicycles were in good condition the next morning we was on toward Temerloh riding on the literate road linking Maran to Temerloh.  Before the 50 kilometres road linking Maran to Temerloh was build one had to drive up to Jerantut and Benta then to Raub and Bentong before heading either to Kuala Lumpur or Temerloh, a very long route indeed. Unlike the tared road surface the laterite surfaced road is uneven and very difficult to get a smooth ride. Because it made of laterite it dusty When we reached Temerloh we were all covered with the fine dust of the laterite sands. Before reaching Temerloh we had to get across the Pahang river by ferry. After getting across the river we head to the school there and rest for the night. The next day, the forth day of our adventure we head for Bentong bypassing the town of Mentakab and because of the winding roads as well uphill we only arrived in Bentong in the evening. As usual we spend the night at a school there.. We had a good rest as well checked all our bicycles were in good order since the next day we would have to cycle hard uphill on the Bentong to Gombak road. All of us except one had never been to Kuala Lumpur before so we were all excited to get there and see the capital city of Malaya. The one friend in the group is the son of a doctor who had live and work in Kuala Lumpur thus knows the city like the back of his hand. On the morning of the fifty day we start cycling toward Kuala Lumpur. We cycled slowly going up the winding road along the side of the hills. We made a number of stops on the way and eventually arrived on the the top of the Main Range at Genting Sempah. It where the boarder of  the state of Selangor and Pahang meets. Exhausted we took a long rest there where the weather is cool. After a while we start to descend toward Gombak in Selangor. The road is narrow and winding along the side of the hills and jungle. Going down was easy and without much traffics except of a few lorry and buses, most of the times we did not have to paddles. We just control the bicycle using our brake and move slowly to avoid any accidents. And by evening we arrived at Gombak. From here onward our friend who is familiar with the city of Kuala Lumpur took charge and let us through the busy streets of the city to the BP House at Jalan Davidson, a hostel own by the Boy Scout Movement. At the BP house for the first time in four days we get to sleep on a proper bed in the dormitory. I did slept well indeed. The next day after a hearty breakfast we start to  tour Kuala Lumpur. We cycled everywhere and happy that at last we get to see a city, the capital of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. After a few days we decided to go back home. It took us another 5 days to get back to Kuantan to start schooling again. For the periods we were away from home there was no communication with the families back home. BTW folks all along the ways from  Kuantan  to Bentong we saw Rubber plantations and small kampong. It was indeed one great adventure in our lifetime. Those were the days. 

Have a nice day