A couple of months back, I organised a drive together with a bunch of my driving buddies through the routes of Kuala Kelawang. We have been on many drives but we never did manage to try out the old road towards Kuala Kelawang. The old road is still a popular road amongst driving enthusiasts, car clubs as well as cyclists. The moment, I posted the message online, a steady group was formed and we set a date.
The plan was to meet up early on a Sunday morning at the Shell petrol station at Batu 9, along the Cheras-Kajang expressway. I arrived there a little earlier in order for me to set up my coilovers as well as check the tyre pressure on all 4 tyres prior to the journey. Within the next 10 minutes, the entire party has arrived, we were greeted with beautiful blue skies and bright sun light. This meant the roads were going to be nice and dry.
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From the station I led the pack towards Hulu Langat town before turning off using route N32. Our first destination was to hit the small town of Titi where a breakfast stop was in order. Getting there would take a bit of time because the journey was the most anticipated one, which was to drive through route N32.
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Leading the pack, I drove with a walkie in hand whilst trying to manoeuvre through the bends. A walkie was needed because the route was also used by cyclists. In order for the group to also enjoy a little bit of a thrilling drive, its good to know from the first car if there were any obstacles as well as cyclists coming from the opposite direction.
A problem started to appear as I struggled to hold on to the walkie-talkie. Each turn was getting sharper, which meant I needed to use both my hands to steer the car. It was a good thing that my wife was there, as I handed her the walkie to communicate with the rest of the group, I steered the car through the bends whilst I felt each bit of my tyres gripping unto the tarmac.
The smell of my brakes permeated through the slightly opened windows as I pushed them hard, remembering the knowledge I learned through the various driver trainings as well as on the track. Just feeling the car ease into the corner, without ever the hint of understeer feels great, it was as if the car became an extension of my body.
A near perfect mixture of twists and turns, uphills and downhills makes the whole journey worth it. The thrill of the speed as well as cool air, makes all worries and stress seem to fade away. What better way to spend your Sunday morning.
As a group we normally tried to maintain a no overtaking policy unless we allowed so, but the route wasn’t completely clear of drivers who drive slowly and hog the roads. There was a particular car which just didn’t want to give any way. He drove as if he owned the roads but sticking close at the middle of the road. It was difficult to predict if there were oncoming traffic especially there were numerous blind spots.
The moment the road cleared up, the group roared past him and our drive could continue on until we arrived near the town of Titi. As I started seeing houses and schools, I brought the car down to a slower pace in order for the entire group to catch up and at the same time let the engines cool down a bit.
Upon arrival at Titi town, we headed to one of the more well-known coffeeshops, Woon Yi, to have breakfast before pushing off towards Jeram Toi waterfalls. Getting a seat at the coffeeshop wasn’t easy as we took up 3 large tables and the place was packed with sweaty cyclists who made the town of Titi into a pitstop.
A bunch of us also found through the wonders of Google about a place which sold cakes in Titi but after walking around the town, I was disappointed that the shop was closed. Oh well, it probably gave me an excuse to head back to Titi again.
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After a semi light breakfast, headed off towards Jeram Toi water falls where we thought it would be a great place to cool off and snap some pictures. The route between the town of Titi to Jeram Toi was a little less exciting but driving with a group of friends is always fun, especially when you have walkie talkies and you hear the jokes coming through the frequencies.
Unfortunately by the time we arrived there, we were greeted with a signage which stated that the waterfall was closed for renovations. Still, unfettered by the closure of the waterfall, I brought the boys out towards the LEKAS (Kajang-Seremban) highway, where the roads are nice, straight and clear for them to let their engines roar a little bit.
The journey was fantastic and we ended off at Kajang at Restaurant Malaysia, enjoying the ever popular Kajang Satay before calling it a day and heading home.
One of the joys of embarking on short excursions like this is that I managed to see a side of Malaysia which I haven’t really been paying attention to. My hometown is in Malacca and most of the time I would just take the highways down south and bypass the small little towns that used to be a network connecting the larger states.
Which gave me an idea, back when I was a kid, my dad used to use the old roads back to Malacca. Perhaps one day, I shall be plotting my route through the coastal roads as well.
Here is the full complete route which we took for your future reference.
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Drive Summary:
[table caption=”Kuala Kelawang Drive Summary” width=”500″ colwidth=”250|250″ colalign=”left|left”]
Section, Comment
Route Difficulty, 3/5
Family Suitability, Yes
Scenery, 3/5
[/table]
Check out some of the photos I shot during the trip below.
