Ride to Piyamit Tunnel, Betong.

NOVEMBER 2014

Khairol Azman (a.k.a. Karyawan Pemerintah in FB) and I have had several discussions before and after the month of Ramadan this year. We made some plans to ride with our kapcai together soon after the Hari Raya Aidilfitri. As a start, I suggested that we ride somewhere near, before we could plan for a longer distance ride.

Due to our busy schedules, we decided to ride on 1st November 2014 to the Piyamit Tunnel in Betong, Thailand. The distance from Seberang Jaya to the tunnel is approximately 115km. Khairol Azman (or Man in short) will ride from Kuala Kangsar. The shorter route for him to take is through Gerik and we shall meet at Pengkalan Hulu before crossing the Thailand border.

A few weeks prior to the ride, Man had made a quick recce on the route from Kuala Kangsar to Pengkalan Hulu via Gerik with his car. He said that the Gerik - Pengkalan Hulu route was too quiet and a bit scary for him to ride alone. He decided that he shall ride to Seberang Jaya first and meet me there. OK then. hehehe

Saturday, 1st November 2014

9.30am

I took off with my first generation Yamaha Lagenda 110 from home. We planned to meet at Caltex Seberang Jaya. I had arrived on time but unfortunately, Man arrived an hour later. I understood his situation as this was his first time riding a long distance on a kapcai. The distance from Kuala Kangsar to Seberang Jaya is about 115km. Wow, it's the same distance from Seberang Jaya to Piyamit Tunnel in Betong.

Waiting at Caltex Seberang Jaya

10.30am

Man arrived with his third generation Yamaha Lagenda 110Z and we went for breakfast at Seberang Jaya. After we filled up our tummies, it's time to fill up our kapcais' tanks at Petronas Seberang Jaya near Butterworth-Kulim Expressway (BKE).

Man on his 3rd gen Yamaha Lagenda 110

11.00am

After everything and everyone's ready - let's rock & roll! We took the BKE - Baling - Pengkalan Hulu route. The ride took about an hour and a half to Pengkalan Hulu. 

Autobots, transform & roll!

12.30pm 

We reached Pengkalan Hulu Petronas station. This is the last petrol station for us to fill the tanks before crossing the border. Fuel prices in Thailand are more expensive. Hence, we need to fill the tanks to the max. The distance from Seberang Jaya to Pengkalan Hulu is approximately 84km.

Pengkalan Hulu

Petronas Pengkalan Hulu

3rd generation & 1st generation Yamaha Lagenda 110

The sign written in Thai at Petronas station. I asked the pump attendant of its meaning but she also doesn't know.

1.00pm

After we had freshen up ourselves, we continued towards the border. The distance from Petronas station to the border is about 7km. As practised by most tourists, we stopped and took some photos at the Thai border as a proof that we've reached there. We're also tourists what? hehehe

The process of validating our passports at the Malaysian Immigration side was very fast and easy. We just hand over our passports to the immigration officer to scan through the window without having to dismount from our bikes.

In Thailand however, the process took more than 20 minutes as we have to fill-in the entry/departure card, queue up to stamp the passports at the Thai Immigration counter and then we need to get the permit papers from Thai Customs for our motorcycles to enter Thailand. Luckily there was not much visitors at that time, otherwise we might have to queue up a little bit longer.

Thai Customs - to obtain our vehicle permit.

1.30pm

We are now officially in Thailand. "Sawadeekap!"

On the way to Betong town, I decided to stop at "Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Yala, Cawangan Betong" office just to take some photos. I guess many Muslim couples from Malaysia choose to wed here when they're facing problems to tie the knot in Malaysia. If you ask me, what kind of problems they are facing in Malaysia? There will be a long list to write here. I'll skip on that because that is not the main purpose of our ride there. hehehe

1.45pm

Now, it's already past lunch time and we need to refill our tummies. Our next pit stop was at a restaurant called "Halal Kitchen". The location is near the Betong Mosque and just before entering the Betong town.

Going to Thailand is not complete without trying the local Tom Yam. Now that we're here, what are we waiting for? "Mai pen rai!" (which means "chill/no problem").

The distance from the immigration complex to Betong town is about 7km.

The owner

Man appreciating the art

Nice interior deco

On the background were hotel buildings in Betong town.

Honda Scoopy - not available in Malaysia.

In Thailand, almost all mopeds & scooters come with fuel-injection. While in Malaysia, we're still using carburetor.

Helmet regulation is not being enforced here. So, many chose not to wear helmet when riding.

2.45pm

After having an awesome lunch, we move on towards our main destination - The Piyamit Tunnel.

The distance from Betong town to the tunnel is about 16km. On paper, 16km seem to be not far but the ride took 45 minutes due to the road condition. It was on a rural, winding, uphill, passing through rubber plantations and villages.

Along the way, we passed by Betong Hot Spring, a waterfall and Peace Village.

Further up is the Flower Winter Garden which we were unable to visit due to the time constrain and the heavy downpour later that evening.

Part of the road heading towards our destination.

This is actually quite a steep road.

No vehicles as this place was quite remotely located on high grounds

3.30pm

Upon arrival at the entrance of Piyamit Tunnel, it began to rain. Just in the nick of time. We parked our bikes near a fruit stall and took shelter there. The owner of the fruit stall, a Chinese auntie speaks Malay quite well. While waiting for the rain to stop, we bought some fruits to eat and had a good conversation in Malay with the Chinese auntie. According to her, she moved to Thailand when she was a little girl. Her mother is a Chinese Malaysian married to a Chinese Thai. I forgot to ask whether her parents were former communist party members or not, as most of the villagers nearby were former Malayan Communist Party members or insurgents.

It rained just as we arrived

OK, I'll share a brief history about the Piyamit Tunnel. During the height of the communist insurgency in Malaysia (formerly known as Malaya back then), the communist insurgents dug up a network of tunnel near the Thai-Malaysia border as a hideout place from aerial bombings by the Malaysian Armed Forces. The knowledge to build a systematic network of tunnel was being taught by their communist counterparts from the Vietnam War which had proved its ability to remain stealthily from the Americans during the war.

The name 'Piyamit' means 'Friendship' or 'Peace'. There are a few 'Piyamit Villages' along the way to this tunnel. The villagers are believed to be the former communist insurgents that had laid down their weapons according to the Hatyai Peace Accord signed in 1989 by both representatives of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the Government of Malaysia to mark the end of the 41 years bloody campaign.

On the left is the fruit stall where we parked our bikes

The ticket booth.

Now back to the present day. The rain did not stop but subsided a bit, we moved on by foot towards the tunnel. The entrance fee is RM5 for adult and RM2 for children. Yes, the currency displayed was in Ringgit Malaysia. hehehe

I forgot to mention that Ringgit Malaysia is widely accepted in Betong. Therefore, we don't have to worry about currency exchange here. Simple exchange is 10Baht = RM1.

It was written like RM0.50 & RM0.20 but were actually RM5 & RM2.

They opened from 8.00am to 5.00pm Thailand time (9.00am - 6.00pm Malaysian time).

After paying the entrance fee, we had to follow a walkway to get to the tunnel. It was quite a steep climb but the walkway was well maintained and covered with roof along the way. It kept us dry during the rain. Man had to stop several times to catch his breath. As for me, I took my own sweet time to take some photos of the flora and fauna (bushes and insects, actually). hehehe

The covered walkway that kept the visitors dry during the rain

Stream

There were some shelters built for visitors to take a rest while climbing up to the tunnel.

"Are we there yet?"

A large millipede

Climb and climb some more...

Finally, after walking uphill for 10 minutes, we reached the tunnel. They were some visitors there but not too many. Perhaps it was due to the rainy season I guess.

A small Chinese temple. Looks like Ewoks' tree house.

Cooking area

I was really impressed by the tunnel system. There were many passageways and exits which means they had several escape plan in case they were being attacked or they can use it to counter attack from different angles. I could almost feel the hardship living in such a confined place like that. Imagine you were a claustrophobic and you don't have a choice but to live in there because you were at war.

This is one of the reason why war is bad. Let us cherish the peace we are enjoying now. Let us pray, so let there be peace all over the world.

"In war, there is no room for pity. Kill or be killed" -ASP Mohd Zabri Abdul Hamid, 69 Commando, Royal Malaysia Police.

"Put all the bombs back up their builders' a**." - (We Got The Right) Helloween.

Dark and damp - not for the claustrophobic.

I believe this is the ventilation that provide fresh air circulation. There were lots of them along the tunnel.

One of the exits.

I'm imagining myself firing a .50 caliber machine-gun here, just like in the movies. hehehe

An office desk in the 'office'. Hey, where's the copier machine?

An office 'couch'.

This is the bed.

The vertical vent.

Man was wondering whether Santa Claus could fit through the vertical vent or not?

The parade ground

Reminds me of the homes in Tatooine :)

I was also impressed by how they preserved and refurbished the tunnel for the convenience of the tourists. The ventilation was perfect where fresh air was being well circulated. The lighting consists of compact flourescent light (CFL) but were covered to make it dimmed a bit and look as if it was from lanterns used during the old days.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with the visit. As for me, it looks better in real life than the photos that I had seen in the blogs.

After 45 minutes exploring the tunnel, we finally reached the last exit. It was on a hill slope. A good defense is when you are on a higher ground.

The last exit

This is how it looks outside the tunnel. During the war, there was no path as seen in this photo. Just dense jungle.

The ventilation exhaust where hot air exits from the tunnel

The ventilation exhaust seen from below.

Chinese tourists.

Outside the tunnel, there was a small building that displayed some of the equipment used by the insurgents. There were some brief info about the MCP being displayed on the walls. Quite interesting though.

Radio Ga Ga

"Please send the helo for extraction now. We are good to go!"

Various type of booby traps and land mines to maim or kill.

Alo? Achtung baby! Oops! They're not Germans.

View from outside the tunnel during the war. The entrance/vent was being camouflaged.

I don't know what it says but it looks like a menhir carved by Obelix. Now, where's Asterix & Dogmatix? hehehe

MCP insurgents being beheaded by British soldier in Malaya.

Malayan People's Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) fighters being beheaded by the Japanese Imperial Army

Wow, so many cruelty towards the MCP insurgents were shown here. However, MCP insurgents' cruelty towards the Malaysian soldiers, policemen and civilian was no different.

I'm not sure what it said but looks like a British photographer posed in front of a burning house.

The CPM network from Malaya to China via Thailand and Vietnam (I guess)

Some CPM leaders

Dental care, anyone?

Grenade launchers

M16A1

Rice container

The red flags

Here we spent another half an hour going through the items displayed and took some photos. Then, we have to take another 10 minutes descending walk back to the main entrance.

The Moon of Endor :)

Walking back to the main entrance

5.40pm

Once we reached the souvenir shops outside the main entrance, it began to rain heavily. Now we're stuck here and had to wait for the rain to stop. Furthermore, Man did not bring his raincoat.

It rained...

...and rained.

The souvenir shops had closed as it was past their business hours i.e. at 5.00pm Thailand (6.00pm Malaysia).

November Rain

6.30pm

The rain did not show any sign to subside and it was getting dark. Luckily one of the souvenir shops sell disposable rain coat (poncho type). Man bought one and we decided that we need to ride back to Betong town before it gets darker. It is not advisable to ride in the dark especially in the rain in unknown territories.

We braved the rain and rode with extreme caution till we reached Betong town. Riding downhill on a rural road in heavy rain in the dark was really, really scary. Alhamdulillah, we made it safely to town.

7.15pm

Our initial plan was just a day ride to visit the tunnel and go back to Seberang Jaya by the evening. Seems it was quite late and was still raining, we decided that we had to overnight in Betong.

8.00pm

After checking-in at a budget hotel, we went straight for dinner. This restaurant was located opposite the market. I remembered that my uncle had mentioned and recommended this place before. 

Seems we had had 'fancy' dishes during lunch, I decided to try a simple dish for dinner. I ordered a  plain rice with beef soup. The beef was soft & the soup was excellent. Having a hot meal after a cold & wet ride was a very pleasant thing. Alhamdulillah. Marvellous!

The outlet was full with patrons when we arrived. They had gone by the time I took this photo.

Plain rice with beef soup. Simple but excellent. I didn't noticed the fork & spoon were being placed on the wrong side of the plate until this photo was being uploaded. Huh? Who cares? hehehe

"Air Labina" - I guess it's "Air Ribena" perhaps.

A scene from 'Bikers Kental' (Gambar Hiasan).

Since I did not plan to stay overnight, I did not bring any extra clothing. Man however, brought extra clothing as he had planned to overnight in Penang after the ride. After our dinner, we went to buy some t-shirts at the nearby outlet.

I noticed that there were lots of birds sitting on the power lines along the street at night. We better be careful not to get bombarded by the bird's droppings while we're walking underneath them. Then, I just remembered I had read that Betong is famous for its edible bird's nest. The bird's nest is a popular delicacy among the Chinese.

Birds sitting on the power lines at night. Be careful not to get hit by the 'bombs'.

If you look closely, those are birds sitting on the power lines.

Betong is not a happening place. Not recommended to those who are seeking for 'nightlife' to enjoy. It was a bit quiet with some food outlets still operating till late at night. As for me, I prefer this type of calm and peaceful atmosphere. 

Despite a bomb blast in July this year which was not far from where we chose to overnight, the people of Betong carry on with their routine and peaceful lives. There were several security posts situated at busy junctions manned by men and women clad in US style tri-color desert camouflage uniform. I think they're not the Army because they didn't carry any weapon. They're more like our 'RELA' personnel in Malaysia.

A sample photo of US style tri-color desert camo uniform.

We rode around town and stopped to have 'teh tarik' at a small stall by the roadside. The Muslim lady manning the stall told us that they were also being affected by the increasing price of goods in Thailand. I guess the cost of living had increased everywhere. Inflation affects everybody.

The banner written "Long Live The King" (or some sort like that) because Thailand is still under martial law after the Military coup in  May 2014 that removed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from her office.

It was still raining and we decided to call it a day. Quite tiring but pretty much enjoyed.

Sunday, 2nd November 2014

The next day, we woke up to a bright sunny morning. Man suggested that we look for an outlet that served 'Nasi Dagang' for breakfast. I believed Man did some homework before this ride. Unfortunately, when we arrived at the said outlet, it was closed on Sunday. We had to look for other outlet for breakfast then.

In front of the closed restaurant where we intended to eat Nasi Dagang.

The place where we had our breakfast near the shopping outlets

Latest Yamaha Nouvo

Modified Yamaha TZM 150. They're Malaysian registered bikes, actually.

Sawadeeka...

After breakfast, we went to take some photos at the largest mail box in the world (as they claimed) and then some more photos at a place near an army checkpoint - the 'OK Betong' sign.

The largest mail box in the world

The gate represents the three major ethnics in Betong: Thai, Malay and Chinese.

Malaysian flag among the ASEAN members' flags.

Reflection

OK ka?

A military checkpoint before entering Betong from the north.

After we had done 'touring' Betong area, we head on to the border.

1.00pm

We reached the Thai immigration counter and were stuck in a long queue as a series of big bikes convoy were also there at the same time to get back to Malaysia. I saw a group of Kawasaki Z800 of which in a few days later I found out that a friend of mine, Rasid (PFS) was among them.

Long queue as many Malaysians were returning home. Only 2 immigration counters available.

Malaysian big bikes returning home.

Any problem? Call this fella.

1.50pm

It took nearly an hour to get the passports stamped at the Thai Immigration counter and surrendering the vehicles permit back to the Thai Customs.

As usual, the process of validating our passports at the Malaysian Immigration counter was efficiently fast.

2.00pm

We reached Petronas Pengkalan Hulu. From here, we had to go separate ways as Man decided to use the Gerik road back to Kuala Kangsar. Thanks a lot Man for being such a sporting riding buddy. Till the next ride!

Masjid Pengkalan Hulu

I went on solo through Baling. Upon reaching Baling, it started to rain. I put on my rain gear & ride on until Karangan where the rain had stopped and I need to remove my raincoat as it was too hot to ride in rain gear.

Rain in Baling

From Karangan, the ride was dry until Lunas, where it rained again and I had to put on my rain gear all over again.

Just before Kubang Semang toll plaza, the rain had stopped and I had to remove my raincoat as it was too hot.

This is what most motorcyclists endure when riding in the tropics especially during the monsoon. It could be hot and dry at a moment and then it is wet and cold the next moment. No matter what, ride on! :D

I guess I can call this "November Ride in the Rain".

4.00pm

I reached home and managed to take a shower, changed and went for my agency function at 4.30pm at Bandar Sunway Seberang Jaya. hehehe 

Managed to attend this event after the long & exciting ride.

What I had learned from this ride is that I should always bring extra clothing even when the initial plan was just a day ride. Unexpected things do happen. Lesson learnt. hehehe

The total distance for this ride is approximately 230km.

Cheers!


Note

Cost Incurred
Petrol                       : RM16
Meals                       : RM40
Hotel                        : RM45
Shopping & Misc. : RM50
Total                        : RM151

Hope this can be a simple guide to those who wish to travel on a shoestring budget with kapcai.


The term 'kapcai'
For non-Malaysians who are still wondering what is the meaning of 'kapcai'.

'Kapcai' or 'cub chai' - the phrase literally means Little Cub in Cantonese and refers to the original Honda Cub (Honda 50 that was introduced by Soichiro Honda in 1958). Today, the name has become synonymous with underbone motorcycles or mopeds in Malaysia.