(Daniel) The alarm went off at 5am, as scheduled.  But no-body moved, and it remained this way for another ten minutes.  Then somebody stirred in the corner of the room.  One by one, we got up, and tidied our beds away before going out in the dark to the cars, We had a lot of rubbish to get rid of, mainly beer cans, I was not about to make the mistake of leaving these behind again!

As we pulled out onto the main road, via a stop to drop off the rubbish, we drove first to Terrenganu, where we filled up with fuel and stocked up on food and beer.  Then we drove out Westwards to the start of the highway.  The first stretch was open, as it led to a resort which overlooked the dam.  We stopped here and had breakfast before carrying on towards the start of the unfinished section.  All the way we the three vehicles were able to communicate via the Radios which I had lent to the two other vehicles.  My own vehicle mounted unit constantly erupted with Chinese, as the boys laughed and joked with each other. AT one point the lead car stopped, and Fie shouted something down the radio that sounded like snake!  We stopped, and found a big green snake in the road. It looked fine, but didn’t move.  On closer inspection it had been run over, and had died frozen in the pose of moving across the tarmac.

When we arrived at the start of the unfinished section, a guard was sat by a closed gate to the site.  He came out and spoke to Fie, then opened the gate and even saluted as we drove past onto the gravel track.  Huge machines were carting grit and other road building materials along the track, we drove around these massive trucks throwing up huge clouds of dust which stretched off behind us as we drove in convoy.  We drove for around two hours, using the differential lock to keep speeds at around 70kmph.  The trailer with it’s new axle performed perfectly.  This being the first real test of the land rover axle which we have modified to replace the standard item which had broken 5 times in the past.

Eventually we came to bridge, where several trucks had parked.  Fie told us via the radio that this was the spot that the tribal people had recommended.  A mud track led down to the water which stretched out across the huge expanse of water.  Islands still covered in trees poked out here and there.  With the reservoirs huge surface area, the wind created waves which broke on the shore of the river.  We drove down, and set up a camp before taking the aluminium boat off the green truck, and mounting my newly repaired outboard onto it.

Three of us motored out to the deeper water on the other said, where I tied the boat to a tree trunk protruding past the surface.  Meanwhile Fie tightened up my handbrake cable for me, which had come loose on the drive down.  We fished there for about 30 minutes.  I even managed to catch two small fish, but the others didn’t get anything.  I would mention now, that I use a child’s rod which I bought in Norway.  For some reason it seems to catch far more fish than any other which I have used!  To paint a picture, it is luminous green with a tiny reel that says junior all over it!  The boys didn’t seem to like the fact that they had brought a plethora of different rods ideal for any possible occasion, and here was my junior size rod catching all the fish!

We returned to the camp and had lunch then, noodles and fish with a cold beer!  Then Fie and I decided to look around the area.  We climbed into the boat together, taking the can of spare fuel with us, and started the engine motoring straight out towards some Islands in the distance.  The engine seemed better than before it had been rebuilt, although it struggled to get much speed out of the big aluminium tub.  As we had got about 4 kms away and were around a corner from the others, the engine started to misfire, I told Fie that it was probably the fuel, we paddled the remaining 60 metres to a small islands overgrown with trees.  I refilled the tank, while Fie went off for a pee.  When he came back, he told me that there was a path through to the middle of the island, and that there was evidence of some people coming here.  We walked down, and found the remains of a fire.  Probably fishermen who had stayed out here recently, separately we explored the rest of the island.  I carved my name on a tree in the centre, I wonder how many people will see it?  When we had explored the whole place we walked back to the boat and started the engine.  It fired and ran first time, so we were able to drive back to the camp without trouble.

When I returned Thomas had made some more food, which we ate before going out fishing a third time, in the waters close by.  I caught another three fish, which I brought back with me to the camp.  It started to get dark then, so everyone packed up, and the time came to say our goodbyes.  It was easier this time than in Cameron, now that Fie, Thomas and I have had a chance to spend time on neutral territory together.  They took some photos, which I am still waiting for via email!  Then we drove our separate ways, them back to Cameron, and I back towards Batu Rackit, alone again in that quiet place.  With my broken laptop to fix, and the rest of my stuff to pack!

The drive back was tough, the long dirt track at night without a convoy.  I was tired after the long day, and struggled to concentrate for the last few kms of the unmade section.  I talked my way past the surprised guard, and then drove back to the resort where we had eaten breakfast.  Here I pulled up in the car park, and climbed in the back to sleep. 

After a few hours I woke up again, with the distinct feeling that it was time to leave.  I got out and checked the truck quickly.  I felt like I was being watched.  There were only a few other cars in the place, andit was pretty dark.  The time now was around 1.30am.  I thought to myself how strange that, here I am in the middle of the night, in a car park in a remote area of Malaysia, alone and unarmed.  The truth is that I didn’t feel any danger. Watched maybe, but felt reassured by my experiences so far, especially in Malaysia and Muslim countries, and that I had nothing to fear in the people here.

I drove back for another hour and a half, taking one wrong turning which ended in a farm track.  I got home at around 3.00am and went straight to sleep in my clothes on the campbed in the corner. 

PREVIOUS |  NEXT