Bikepacking Kuala Lumpur to Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan
Kuala Pilah is a charming, traditional town in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, known for its well-preserved pre-war Chinese shophouses, traditional Malay kampung houses, local heritage, food, proximity to Seri Menanti royal town and lush, scenic landscapes. We cycled to the town in the midst of the covid19 pandemic, the first local tour that was the start of all our Malaysian bike packing adventures.
After five years of cycling abroad - two of which included quarterly trips abroad while I was working as Cycling Plus Malaysia Digital Editor - Eka and myself had gotten used to regular bike trips abroad. So when covid19 pandemic hit, we definitely started to feel anxious about not being able to leave our homes, much less the country. By the second half of the year 2020 we had endured numerous lockdowns in Malaysia, after the first case of infection was detected in the country earlier in the year. Like many cyclists who tend to enjoy long rides, Eka and myself were finally feeling the strain of being limited to cycling within a 10km radius of where we live in Kuala Lumpur. You could imagine our relief when what started as short city rides during lockdown slowly grew as restrictions eased.
When interstate travel finally opened, we saw our chance. With most accommodations still closed, we devised a plan to cycle into Negeri Sembilan Negeri Sembilan, where friends Irena and Alan welcomed us to camp on their land. We were inadvertently the first outsiders to camp there - long before it became the luxury glamping micro resort of La Hilir we know and love today. We hopped onto the southbound KTM Komuter from Kuala Lumpur to Batang Benar with our bikes, then rode 76km to Kuala Pilah. It was a much-needed quiet escape, and gave us a much needed respite from being stuck in the city for months, at times unable to leave even our own homes.
If you know us, you know that previously our tours had always been planned for overseas destinations, both for a change of scenery and cooler weather. Having survived our first door-to-door bikepacking tour in Malaysia’s heat and even camping in the tropical weather, this La Hilir weekend would ultimately spark more bikepacking and cycle touring journeys across Malaysia.
Our Kuala Pilah Cycling Itinerary
Our plan was simple enough, a quick 3D2N trip that was easy to execute over a weekend with a few friends. Irena and Alan were already considering opening up their land for campers to have a unique experience surrounded by nature, but their move from their home in the Klang Valley came at a somewhat inopportune time just before lockdowns were enforced. All their grand plans ground to a sudden halt, and if we were to visit, we would have to come prepared with our own sleeping gear for the outdoors. We would be partially roughing it right outside their tiny home, but with access to their toilet and whatever camp cooking gear they had at home - which was quite limited.
It was a far cry from what La Hilir looks like now, which has spacious yurt-like tent accommodation that are fully equipped for a comfortable stay and even fitted with air conditioning. These tents are spaced out on wooden decks with dedicated toilets, an outdoor jacuzzi and even a swimming pool - the latest addition to the micro resort. The only luxury we had was a friend who would be driving in with his Jeep, who was willing to bring food supplies for us to cook that night. Recovering from a recent surgical procedure, he was unable to ride but was part of our regular cycling buddies group and regularly camps with his family.
Stage 1: Batang Benar to Kuala Pilah - 76km, 713m elevation
Rest day in Kuala Pilah
Stage 2: Kuala Pilah to Senawang - 40km, 390m elevation
Having done many drive to ride trips before, I was adamant that we left the cars at home this time around. A car was an unnecessary cheat that we didn’t need, I reasoned, especially since we never had the option when we were touring abroad. And since we had been cooped up for far too long during the lockdowns, none of our friends objected to my self imposed no-driving rule. Everyone was itching for a long ride to escape the confines of the city, and a bicycle was the best way to feel like we were far away from home. In a sense, we were doing exactly that, because distances feel much longer when we’re not traveling with the advantage of a motorised vehicle. Our route was planned meticulously, luggage weight was considered carefully and every move calculated and strategised properly, since traveling would require energy.
We could have cycled all the way, but we opted to take the southbound KTM Komuter train straight to the small agricultural town of Batang Benar. This would allow us immediate entry into Negeri Sembilan, rather than rack up junk miles trying to navigate out of KL and crossing two state borders. Our priority was the ride experience anyway, not pure mileage, and Batang Benar’s location outside of the city gave us the perfect distance to ride to Kuala Pilah, not too long or short. From Batang Benar we started our journey eastward and inland, passing through Mantin before stopping in Lenggeng for breakfast. A single plate of nasi lemak would have to sustain us along the rural trunk road, since we had quite a bit of climbing to do along the way.
After Lenggeng, the route cut southeast, and some rolling terrain and two steep peaks later we had reached Pantai, approaching the halfway point of the day’s journey. The ride was extremely scenic, since we were passing through forest reserves and rural villages where the Malay architecture shows the state’s Minangkabau heritage. Around Paroi we cut eastward again, climbing the mountain pass road of Bukit Putus, which is sandwiched between the Telapak Buruk-Berembun massif and Mount Angsi of the Negri Titiwangsa. We somehow managed to avoid any confrontation with the stray dogs that often target cyclists going through the area, and by about the 50km mark we had reached the peak of the climb, and the entry point of the trailhead at Gunung Angsi.
Some freewheeling later we come to Kampung Ulu Bendul, straight onto Jalan Seremban-Kuala Pilah - which is lined with restaurants serving the local specialty of salai masak lemak (smoked meats cooked in a savouryspicy turmeric coconut-based broth). It was perfect timing, and all that was needed was to pick our desired lunch spot. A word of caution if you’re not Malaysian: the folk of Negeri Sembilan have an everlasting love affair with bird’s eye chillies, which is evident in their cuisine. The gravy is always a misleading pale eggshell or bright canary yellow, but can come with an insane kick - the kind that sends you flying and leaves your mouth completely numb.
After lunch we noticed the weather had taken a turn, so what was a lovely morning of brisk cycling with plenty of lighthearted banter turned into a game of chase and let’s-get-to-the-finish-line-ASAP. We had another 20km to go, and while the route was finally flat with some barely noticeable gradients, the group turned silent as we concentrated on the road ahead. We finally reached Kuala Pilah town around the 72km mark, where the old bus stop presented the perfect opportunity to cool down with a bowl of cendol each. Everyone instantly perked up with the shaved ice dessert, a staple on most Malaysian rides that stretch out beyond the morning hours.
By then we were already close to our destination, with the last few kilometres possibly us riding around in circles trying to find our endpoint. While La Hilir is located at the edge of a tiny row of houses right outside of town, the road leading to it was a tad tricky to find. At the time there was no paved tarmac heading in, and it took a bit of time for us to find the dirt road that led to our finish line. We did eventually find what we were looking for, pushing our bikes up the loose soil of the climb and further in. Alan and Irena were waiting with tea and local kuih snacks, and we spent a lovely afternoon relaxing on the wooden deck with them.
After cooling off we set about putting up our tents, which was on the sloping terrain just below the main La Hilir tiny house. Some of us were in tents while others had opted for hammocks secured to the trees just off the wooden deck. I learnt then that camping required a mattress and fan, as the bumpy ground lack of air circulation inside the tent kept me mostly awake that first night. One of our friends arrived with his Jeep before dark, and we enjoyed a night of feasting on barbecued meats and vegetables, a fitting end to our long ride. After the kids had gone to bed we spent hours talking on the wooden deck with Alan and Irena over tea, before turning in.
The next day was spent mostly pottering around the La Hilir plot of land, enjoying our brief freedom from life under lockdown which we instinctively knew would not last long in the uncertain scenario of the early pandemic days. After a nasi lemak breakfast we had a quick grocery run into town with Irena, who had planned a lunch of some special dishes cooked with fresh local beef, recipes that have been passed down in her family. Irena’s lovely parents came by to say hello too, and it was a wholesome day of family time for them, which we genuinely enjoyed too. For dinner they treated us to a sampling of their special smoked beef, painstakingly smoked with local wood right outside their house at the edge of the wooden deck we were lounging on. Years later we still reminisce the savoury smokiness of those tender slices of beef, which we all ordered repeatedly after that first taste.
That final day we set off after breakfast and saying our goodbyes with heavy hearts. The group made a unanimous decision to shorten the route by almost half to 40km, rather than go the same way we rode in on the first day. We set off at first on the same road that led us in, namely Jalan Seremban-Kuala Pilah, following it until we came to Hutan Lipur Ulu Bendul. There, we made a brief detour to have a small dip in the river, with dozens of other families that had the same idea. A tad unnerved by the sheer size of the crowd congregating in a single place amid covid19 cluster infections, our visit was brief, and we soon packed up and set off for home once again.
As we left the forest reserve a light drizzle began, cooling us off as we made our way up the Bukit Putus in reverse. I’m still unsure whether it was the rain or the weekend we just enjoyed, but the climb didn’t seem as insufferable as the first time we climbed it the day we first arrived. Or perhaps the climb simply isn’t as steep going the opposite direction. Either way we made it without too much hassle, enjoying the payoff of freewheeling down Jalan Lama Bukit Putus as the rain finally let up. There was one final tiny climb heading into Senawang township, where we would be taking the northbound KTM Komuter train back to Kuala Lumpur.
We reached the city just as night fell, having a mamak dinner near the grand old KL station before splitting up to head to our respective homes.
