Road Trip 3 ( KL - Pantai Senangin )

The first 2 road trips were really overnight trips where I drove the campervan to, stop for a night and then go home the following day. What I really wanted to do is to take my campervan on an extended trip, going from place to place. The campervan is not the most comfortable thing to travel in because it does not have proper car seats and the aircon is not very effective during hot days. However it does have one thing in its favour, you can stand up and walk around and make yourself a cup of drink or even go to toilet if you need to, while it is moving! Now try doing that in a regular car! Moreover, my children are seasoned travellers and they know how to entertain themselves on an extended journey.

After much planning, my wife and I decided that our first stop shall be Pantai Senangin near Lumut Perak. We have never been there, all we know was that the beach is nice and it is free of commercial development, no public amenities, so it is perfect for campervan. As for the second days and third days.... we will decide on the run and see how it goes. After all, there's no hotel booking to worry about.

From KL, we decided to take the coastal road of Selangor to reach Perak. In the past I have always taken the PLUS highway to travel north, but this time I have decided take the by ways and a less travelled road, why hurry when there's no check in time? By the time we reached Perak, it was already near evening time and took some guessing to find the way to Senangin, as it is not a clearly marked destination. We found the place to be undeveloped, there wasn't even a proper paved road there. There was a small fishing village and soem privately owned chalets and thats about it. The water is crystal clear and beach is fantastic, unfortunately the place is strewn with garbage left behind by people on day trips.

Again, I parked the campervan right at the beach for the best view, but I have to careful not to get stuck in the soft sand. When night time came, the temperature dropped quickly and cold wind blew form inland towards the sea, making the aircon redundant. To our surprise, cars started to arrive around 9pm and they brought campers and anglers who took up spot at the rocks to fish all night! By mid night the beach was full of anglers and campers. The land mass across the sea is Pangkor Island.

The following morning, the sun came out and temperature started to rise and we found the place to be infested with flies, not just at the spot where we camped, but whole beach was full of flies. Later, a local guy told us that the entire district is having the same problem. Not wanting to deal with the flies, we decided to move on. I promised to myself that I will be back to this place soon.

We had a brief family discussion, where to next? Since we have been taking the campervan to the beaches, why not try the highland? Ok, lets do it! The nearest highland is Cameron Highland and so it became the next stop for our road trip.

On our way out, I decided the make a quick stop at the Sungai Manjung river where the Jambatan Permaisuri Bainum bridge spans its width. Unlike estuaries in Selangor, the water quality here is much much higher, and I can picture myself taking a dip in the water. Now try to imagine doing the same thing in Klang river.... The spot where I took the photo is at the river bank next to the bridge, it is the kind of spot that you will not notice if you are on a hurry to cross the bridge.

On a side note, the porta potty in campervan was full, so it is time to empty it. It is dirty job, but someone got to do it and it is me. I stopped at a petrol station and lugged the potty to toilet to empty it. Ability to hold your breath for long time is a must for this job! My sister-in-law bought the thing for me in Australia, it consists of 2 parts, the top is the seat and also stores the flushing water, the bottom is the waste tank that holds around 20 litres. It is a great thing to have in the campervan, and it is indispensable when there are no public amenities around. The problem is that when it gets full it need to be emptied, the manual claimed that the chemical works to neutralised the odour for disposal. Unfortunately the chemical didn't seems to work as advertised, perhaps I have not added the right amount to the waste tank. Whatever the reason, it became the most dreaded job for me when travelling in the campervan.