Slightly more than 3 hours drive from Kuala Lumpur and we were in Sungai Lembing, an old tin mining town, near Kuantan. It was the only underground tin mining area in the then Malaya. We were here for the club's Breakfast Run on 28th February.
On the eve of the run, we had a bbq dinner of chicken, ikan kembong bakar, prawns, and skewers of sausages accompanied by bee hoon at Pollock View Resort, where we stayed.
Chan Kin Hou, the club secretary and an avid hiker led us up Bukit Panorama at 5.45am on 28th. There were many other visitors snaking up the hill too. Despite the slight rain soon after starting off, most of us (not me) continued up. It was slightly early at the summit and many of them did not catch the sunrise, however the Permaisuri Group stayed on to witness the beautiful views.
The Kuantan Area Group, led by William Chin, put in an excellent effort organising this event - they had many marshals along the route to make sure the KL urbanites didn't get lost, not to mention they had a handful of ladies at the breakfast counter serving mee, chee cheong fun , an assortment of kueh, fruits, tau sui and tau foo fah.
The run started at the town padang and we moved out of town in a southerly direction, crossing Sungai Kenau on a suspension bridge. The bridge looked like it was for pedestrians only, but a few motorcycles used it. On the other bank of the river was a small, generally Chinese settlement where the famous Sungai Lembing mee is made. Many of the buildings in Sungai Lembing and surrounding settlements are wooden structures. We passed a few small Chinese settlements, where we were greeted by some bemused elderly ladies who greeted us Tzo Sun (good morning)
Slightly more than 3km after crossing the pedestrian bridge, we crossed the river again on a similar bridge. Running across them made them move with a wave-like motion. We were now north of Sungai Lembing and headed towards it. The route was generally quiet with few cars, possibly more so as it was a Sunday morning. The small villages and forested landscape along the route made for a very enjoyable run.
On reaching the end, at the padang, we had our breakfast. Later there was a competition of kicking a soccer ball at the goal – not as easy as it seems!
BBQ dinner *
Part of the resort decorated with vintage items *
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At the pasar malam
A very popular stall
Permaisuri Group at Panorama Hill summit *
View from summit *
Before the run. It looked like the Permaisuri Group were still descending Panorama Hill!
Briefing by William Chin before the run
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Passing a Chinese settlement #
View from a pedestrian bridge
Angie with two route marshals
Kuantan Group volunteers at breakfast *
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##
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Winners of the football competition
The route - approx. 8.3km #
The famous yummy siew yoke *
The famed Sungai Lembing mee shop had many 1 kilo bags ready for the expected out-of-towners to buy **
Iconic landmark at entry to the town *
Notes:
* photos by Chan Wing Kai
** photos by Sharon Yap Siew Fong
# photos by Chan Kin Hou
## photo by Allison Yee
