Ride n Bike from KL to Ipoh

During last year's December school holidays, Doc Taufik organised a Train Ride & Bike outing from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh. We planned to take the ETS train from Kuala Lumpur (south endpoint) to Ipoh (north endpoint), ride around Ipoh and then take the train back to KL.

The itinerary was simple enough since this would be our first train ride & bike activity. 

6 Dec 2014 (Saturday):

8.00am: Arrive at KL old train station (near Masjid Negara)

8.00 - 9.04am: Packing the bikes.

9.04 - 11.20am: Train ride from KL  to Ipoh 

11.20-12.00pm: Cycle to Nasi Ganja/Vanggey

12.00 - 1.30pm: Lunch

1.30 - 2.30pm: Ride to nearest mosque & solat Zohor.

2.30 - 3.30pm: Ride to Mee Rebus Ramli

3.45pm: Ride back to Ipoh train station

4.00pm: Ipoh - KL via ETS

Our first mistake were in buying the tickets. Instead of boarding at KL Sentral, we bought tickets online to depart from the old KL train station. 

Tickets to Ipoh.

Tickets back to KL.

So we couldn't utilise the LRTs to go to the starting point. Instead we had to drive and park at the old station and pay the daily parking fees. But it was a very much deserted station, so no one stopped us when we pushed our foldies onto the terminal and packed our bikes. Apparently that may have saved us RM160. More about that later.

Breakfast at the KL old station.

Since we arrived rather early, some of us had breakfast at the station, while the rest had nasi lemak at Tanglin Food Court.

The intrepid explorers with matching t-shirts :)

The bikes were packed into various packagings. Khai sewed his own bike bag, I used an oversized IKEA bag, Doc Taufik bought his bags from the DIY shop for RM18 each. Luckily we had the foresight to wait at the correct part of the terminal for coach F since the ETS is very long. Otherwise we wouldn't have been able to board on time with our heavy bike bags.

Relieved faces after being able to board in time.

Happy after overcoming the first challenge, boarding the train!

The most sempoi bike bag belongs to Doc Zali, using kain pelikat!
Tip: Book wheelchair-friendly seats since they have space for the bikes.

We had our second breakfast here!

Two and a half hours on the train was rather boring. There was only so much scenery that you can take in. So we started to explore the coaches and found the very important toilet and canteen coach!

Location of toilets & the canteen coach.

Upon arrival at the Ipoh station, we quickly disembarked. However getting the heavy bike bags to the train station entrance proved to be quite a challenge. The heavier is your bike, the tougher is the challenge! I gave up trying to carry it and rolled it using the bike wheels. Upon exiting the station, we quickly assembled the bikes and put away the packaging into our carryalls.

Assembling the bikes and putting away the bike bags.

Photo taking upon arrival in Ipoh.

Trying to figure out how to get to Nasi Ganja from here via Google Maps.

Everybody assumed that someone else would know how to get to Nasi Ganja from the Ipoh train station. Turns out nobody knew. So everybody started to whip out their handphones and googled for directions. We decided to take the most direct route.

From Majestic Station to Nasi Ganja Stall (2.2km)

Onwards towards Nasi Ganja.

The long queue of customers waiting to eat Nasi Ganja.

There was no space inside so we had to make do outside. Safer since we could keep our eyes on the bikes.

Not really sure why, but everyone seems happy that we have arrived.

Lucky I navigated to the right place, else malu weh!

Estimating how many hours left before my phone dies.

With the MRT tunnel engineer Papa Duan!

This was the meal that we travelled hundreds of km for. Hmmmm.....

IMHO the Yong Suan caramel custard is the food that is worth the trip here.

Once we had our lunch, we decided to go to the state mosque to rest and pray Zohor. I searched for "Masjid Negeri" and Google Maps gave me the mosque in Seremban!. So I just try the word masjid and it gave me the location of a mosque at Masjid Road, about 1km away. Sounds promising............

Using Google Maps to get to the nearest mosque.

Google Maps led us on a wild goose chase for the mosque, looping back to the front of the Nasi Ganja stall. Sheesh!

Papa Duan attacking with the destination in sight.

Whoops, I think I got the wrong mosque :(

How embarrassing! I don't think that this was the mosque that we were looking for. This is Masjid Panglima Kinta. But we did saw a signboard for the state mosque on the way here, so we went ahead to look for the state mosque.

Finally figured out that the state mosque is Masjid Sultan Idris on the map.

While at the Kinta bridge, we discovered the name of the state mosque is Sultan Idris Mosque, which was only a short distance away.

Doc Zali's bag is way nicer than mine.

Route from Masjid Kinta to Masjid Negeri.

Here was where Zali & I somehow split up from the rest of the group. The two of us led the group towards Jalan Market but apparently we lost the rest somewhere near Jalan Bijeh Timah, where they found one of Ernest Zacharevic's 7 murals in Ipoh. And they all had fun taking photos with the mural.

Doc Taufik helping Ah Pak to cycle his bike.

Amar helping the Ah Pak loading his bike.

Papa Duan helping Ah Pak pulling his load.

There were a total of 7 of Ernest Zacharevic's murals around this area. Unfortunately we were not aware of them. Otherwise it would've been a better trip.

Location of all the 7 murals near the state mosque.

Upon arrival at the state mosque, I volunteered to watch over the bikes while the rest prayed Zohor. Then Amar took over while I go and prayed.

Praying Zohor.

While waiting, I discovered a nasty surprise, Mee Rebus Ramli at Jalan Raja Ekram was closed!

After prayers, we discussed on where to go next since the Mee Rebus Ramli was off the itinerary. Someone suggested Mee Kari Mat Jasak at UTC Ipoh but it was closed on weekends. The carpenter who was working on the aluminium sidings for the state mosque suggested that we try Mee Kari Daud Mat Jasak instead, and he gave directions.

State Mosque to Mee Kari Mat Jasak (1.3km)

Mee Kari Daud Mat Jasak signboard

The bikes at the Mee Kari food court.

Food being served.

I ordered Mee Kari Daud Mat Jasak &  and ice cold Lai Chee Kang.

Mee kari & mee kicap side by side.

Doc Taufik ordered Mee Kicap Mat Jasak.

We arrived at the MARA food court safe and sound. Some ordered mee kari, some ordered mee kicap. I really enjoyed the ice cool Lai Chee Kang, after the ride in the hot sun. Once we were done, we rode back to the Ipoh train station. Here we took as many photos as we could, using the Majestic Train Station as the background.

Hahahaha...I needed a new cover photo for my FB.

The 8 brave but tired explorers.

Then we packed our bikes back into their bags and placed them in a corner at the station. Then we had some more ice cold drinks at the cafeteria.

Last drink in Ipoh.

Khai "stopping" the train :)

Once we were allowed to board the train, we quickly loaded the bikes onto the train. We were really tired lugging those heavy bags around.

Khai found a use for those bikes in the train :)

See, just nice!

After such a beautiful outing, our trip was spoilt by the train conductor who insisted that we pay her RM20 for each one of those bikes. Doc Zali showed the email below to her, clearing our carriage of the bikes on the train. Luckily she stopped pestering us for the RM160. Apparently a new "rule" that was recently emailed to all KTMB staff, requires them to charge RM20 per bike. This brouhaha really spoilt our wonderful trip to Ipoh on the KTMB ETS train. Those planning such trips in the future, better clear it with KTMB. Otherwise there will be "extra charges" imposed upon you all, spoiling your trip.

Our email about carriage of foldie bikes on the train.

KTMB rules regarding foldies as shown on their website. Foldies are allowed and no excess fee to be charged.

Upon arrival at the KL train station, we were ready and quickly transported all bike onto the platform since we had only a few minutes to do so. Then we went on our separate ways, with new experience and nice memories of the trip to Ipoh.

Thank you Doc Taufik for organising it. TQ all for making it such a nice trip.

Easy Scenic 11km MTB Core Island Bike Route

I just realised that although this blog is about cyclists in Putrajaya, we hardly post about the scenic routes available in Putrajaya, especially routes suitable for family rides. Allow me to rectify that with an easy, totally flat, scenic 11 km route around the Putrajaya's Core Island which is quite safe, and isolated from the road traffic.

This is a screen capture of my ride today with my two teenage children. I believe you would immediately understand what I meant with the phrase "Core Island" after looking at the image. The route follows the lakeside jogging/cycling path around the core island.
You can start any where along this route but my favourite starting point is the parking area (N2.92193 E101.68289) near the Umai Cafe, between the Iron Mosque and the Millennium Tower. Best to start right after sunrise around 7.30 am so that it would not be too hot for your kids. Once you are ready, just head towards the Millennium Tower, so that you would be circling the island clockwise. Most of the cyclists ride clockwise, so it is better to follow suit. By going clockwise, there would be less issue of taking blind corners or getting stuck at a dead-end after missing a critical turn (such as the one near Jalan P18D).
1. The first significant building that you would see on this route would be the Millennium Tower. It is uniquely shaped like an obelisk with etchings denoting important periods and milestones in the nation’s history. The monument is 68 metres tall.

2. The second significant building along this route is a bridge, the Seri Wawasan Bridge. This futuristic cable-stayed bridge which has a sail ship appearance, connects Precinct 2 on the Core Island to the residential area of Precinct 8.

It also looks like Rama VIII bridge in Thailand or Golden Gate Bridge, or any other cable-stayed bridge in the world, for that matter. But the sail ship appearance is unique for the Seri Wawasan Bridge. In fact, the bridge reminded me of the BURJ AL ARAB JUMEIRAH building in Dubai.

3. The next significant building along this route is the "Pink Mosque" or Masjid Putra. It was completed in 1999 and it is the principal mosque of Putrajaya, Malaysia. It's dome was inspired by the Sheikh Omar Mosque in Baghdad. Their dome has blue tiles, ours has pink tiles. Hmmm .... male and female version?

4. Right beside the Putra Mosque is the Putra Bridge. The bridge design was inspired by the 17th century Khaju Bridge in Isfahan, Iran. With a span of 435 metres, this Putra bridge connects the Government Precinct to the Mixed Development Precinct and links Putra Square with the Boulevard. It was constructed in 1997.

4. After this bridge, you would be entering the beautiful Taman Wawasan. It used to be even more beautiful in 2008 but some of the water features such as the lotus pool is no longer there.

But it is still worth a visit.

The park ends at Seri Bestari Bridge, is a large arch bridge connecting Precinct 16 and Wisma Putra on Core Island. The bridge has a total length of 152.6 meters with a main span of 60 meters.

5. After the Seri Bestari Bridge, you would be entering the Precinct 18 residential area. You would be cycling behind these exclusive homes. Once the residential area ends, you would see Seri Setia Bridge, which provides a vital link between Precinct 19 and the Commercial Precinct and the main route to the core island from the southeast. The bridge is made up of eight equal spans of 30 metres each, it also has lancet-arch designs on its railing that complement the fascia panels on its side.

6. After the Seri Setia bridge, you would be passing the many government towering complexes in Heritage Square. If you look across the lake, you would be able to see the "Forbidden Bridge", which is part of the dam wall which created the artificial lakes of Putrajaya. It is because these man-made lakes, that all these bridges becomes a necessity. At the end of the dam wall, you can see the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), towering over Putrajaya from it's highest vantage point. Then you will see the Seri Gemilang Bridge, a ceremonial bridge which connects the Heritage Square with Putrajaya Convention Centre. The bridge has a main span 120 metres (394 ft) long, with a 60-metre (197 ft) span at each end, for a total length of 240 metres (787 ft). There are six traffic lanes, each 3.5 metres (11.5 ft) wide. The deck level above the water is 36.75 metres (121 ft) at the centre of the bridge. It is supposed to resemble Pont Alexandre III, a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris.

7. After admiring the beautiful Seri Gemilang bridge, time to press on north towards Seri Saujana bridge. The bridge's design is unique cable-stayed arch bridge and it is similar to the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Seri Saujana bridge links the core island towards Cyberjaya and the ELITE Highway.

Right beside the beautiful bridge however is an unfinished bridge, which is suppose to be part of the monorail servicing Putrajaya. Sad.

8. The last but not the least significant building along this route is the "Iron Mosque" or Masjid Sultan Al-Mizan. When it was a "sick project", it was an eyesore along this route. Now it is a beautiful addition to the route.

Just a few hundred metres ahead is where you have parked your car. After enjoying the ride, now you can put away your bikes and enjoy a nice breakfast at the nearby cafe. Ride Safe!