Monday, February 28, 2011

Fraser’s Hill...Heaven of Traquility

We arrived at the main entrance i.e the clock tower and continued to drive around looking for the place that we booked while familiarizing ourselves with the area....first impression, the place is green and has lots of trees, cooling, different from Cameron or Genting. We found our home in Fraser's Hill ie the huge Whittington bungalow belonging to Sime Darby Property...this is one of the SD holiday bungalows which employees could rent at a reasonable rate. It's a 2 storeys old English style bungalow on the Lady Maxwell road...taken care by Annie, a Chinese Muslim and we got the whole place to ourselves...sometimes the place is a bit eerie but there is nothing to be scared of actually. Other bungalows were there too ie Telekom, RHB Bank, Bank Negara Malaysia etc and many of them can be rented by public.


The signage to Whittington Bungalow

Beautiful lawn

Located at Lady Maxwell Road

The entrance


After getting to know Annie and looking around the bungalow, we needed lunch so we took a short drive to the food court near Jalan Pine Tree...not many shops but enough and good tasty food too. We had some very nice kampong fried rice (maybe I was hungry), hot soup and ginger tea at Mimi Strawberry's Cafe. After a full and satisfying meal, we drove back to the bungalow for solat and rest for the afternoon...we were getting more familiar with the routes now.

The bungalow is huge and has 5 rooms downstairs with bathroom attached plus a TV room and a very nice lawn (can be better). We only occupied room no 1 and it was a waste that no one could accept our offer to join us here for a free accommodation (the other 4 rooms)...perhaps everyone was occupied at that time, but that was the best time to come to Fraser's Hill ie during off peak season...the place can be jam packed during peak seasons (based on feedbacks from locals).


TV Room


Bedroom


The living room


The dining area


The corridoor to the bedrooms

With Annie, the caretaker

We had to wait for 15 minutes for the water to be heated before we could do our ablution before prayer....the water can be very cold and can chill through the bone! After Zohor, we sat outside in the lawn, under the sun, enjoying the breeze, the cool air and the birds chipping while we talked and went through our old photos that reminded us of the early days of our marriage....with 3 small wonderful kids. They are no longer small but still wonderful kids.

Next we took a trip driving around the hills... we went to Allan's water (A recreational area which used to be a water supply dam), the 9 hole golf course (which used to be a tin mine area), the Pine Resort, the Silverpark Resort (huge area), the other bungalows (Pekan, Rompin, Pertahanan etc), Istana Pahang, the Shahzan Inn hotel (probably the best hotel here and is located at the best location), the various nature walk trails (Bishop, Maxwell, Pine Tree Trails - one of top activities in FH), the town center (to buy some souvenirs) and reading all the info about FH's history and the diverse species of birds (another popular activity in FH is bird watching with its peak in mid June every year). We covered almost all areas except the area heading towards the transmission towers...its a bit isolated and quiet and it was already getting dark. So we stopped again at the food court for some hot tea and burgers before returning home to the bungalow.

Entrance to Bishop Trail

Entrance to Pine Tree Trail

Allan's Water recreational park

Paddle boats for rent

The souvenir shops

Masjid Sultan Mahmud

The food garden

Restaurant Mimi Strawberi

Fraser's Hill Golf Course

The Clock Tower

Birds' Info Centre


Park at Pine Tree Road

Park & Playground

The Park

The famous round about

When night falls, it got darker and darker until it was very dark...and the temperature dropped and dropped....we were a bit scared initially but that was only for a while. We relaxed, had shower, got Annie to make us some hot tea and we watched the news on TV....still with Middle East chaos but here in FS.....it was quiet and peaceful outside. The stomach started to make noise again so we decided that we should go out for a nice dinner at Shahzan Inn (since Annie does not cook for 2 people)....nice and cute cafe with glass walls and cool night breeze...tables come with candle and real fresh flower. We couldn't make our mind on what to eat until the waiter suggested that we take the Valentine's Day promotion set dinner...with prawn salad, soup, steak and dessert...so we decided why not. It costs us RM120 per couple and it was a very nice dinner indeed...and we were very happy with the service provided by the very nice gentleman.

The promotion

Lela Manja Coffe house

The main course

Candle light dinner for two

It was already 11.30 PM when we got home and ready for bed. The place was so very quiet and it really suit its tag line ie Frasers's Hill - heaven for tranquility. It was so quiet that you could hear your breath and heart beat....and it was so hard to sleep due to the unusual quietness....so we turned on some Maher Zain's songs from the phone and the slow and soft sound of music made the environment more familiar for the brain to shut down...and we were able to sleep well.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Trip to Fraser’s Hill via Kuala Kubu Bharu

Every year, both of us will find opportunities to spend some quality times together somewhere quiet, somewhere peaceful, somewhere that is heaven for tranquility...just to sit down and talk, discuss various issues, reflect on the past, plan for the near future, have a good laugh, enjoy the flora and fauna and basically enjoying each others' company...while we escape from the rat race and the city noise. It was Kenyir in 2008, Kundasang in 2009 and this year we settled for Fraser's Hill. I haven't been to Fraser's Hill in my life and my other half was there once in the 70's and can't remember much about it now...so it was kind of interesting to go to unfamiliar place.

We took leave on Monday 14.2.2011 since Tuesday is a public holiday (Maulidur Rasul)...but the school was opened on Monday (although the religious school was closed) and tuition was also on that night, so we decided not to bring Adik along (although he was not very happy with the decision). Some people were celebrating Valentine's Day but our plans have got nothing to do with the lovers’ day...just pure coincidence. So after sending Adik to school that morning and settling the house chores, we started our journey towards Kuala Kubu Bharu (KKB) via Batu Caves - Ulu Yam - Batang Kali route. After 20 minutes, just as the fun was building up, we reached the Batu Dam and wanted to snap some pictures when we suddenly realized that the camera had no battery!??$#$! So we had to turn back to get the battery. Although it was a waste of time, it was really necessary and fortunately that did not alter our enthusiasm at all instead we laughed at how old and forgetful we have become....How can no photo? No photo means no posting!!!

So we slowly drove on through the Hutan Lipur Sg Tua until we reached KKB junction on the right. We took that road and came to a very nice and quiet place called Alor Lempah located in Ampang Pecah....ie the part of Sg Selangor with a man made overflowing dam....crystal clear water, sandy bottom, sound of water, should be heaven for picnickers and swimmers...just like a very huge swimming pool. We stopped by to enjoy the view and captured some pictures of course...Later, we realised that no one was there until we found out from a local guy who claimed that not many people come over for picnic or swim because the river has many leaches and the water is normally stagnant if there is no water being released from the Sg Selangor dam upstream....What a waste, but I intend to find more about this place (anyone has any info?).


We drove on and our next stop was the Darul Quran complex....a huge Tahfiz complex for students to master the Al-Quran....a very nice location and could be a good place for Abang and Adik to be part of it in the future. DQ was established in 1966 during the era of Tuanku Abdul Rahman and was placed under Jakim in 1997. The 90-hectare complex complete with a huge natural lake has been a serene abode for students to study there. Adding serenity and tranquillity to the area, the atmosphere and the panoramic view of the green forests and hills surrounding DQ truly provides the right ambience for the students to memorise Quran.

The place...

Masjid Darul Quran beside the lake

The administration block

Dewan Muktamar

Students taking group photograph

It was already almost 12 noon when we entered the KKB town...we went around the town and the mosque since we have not been to KKB for a long time. Initially we wanted to have lunch there but we could not find any interesting place to eat although we have googled for KKB famous restaurant/food. The good food served in KKB are mainly non-halal. So we decided to continue our drive to the Gap, 40 km away through winding roads and hilly terrains.

The old signage

KKB New township

The roundabout in the town centre

Masjid Jamek Ar Rahimah

Along the way we reached the Sg Selangor dam with Kg Pertak occupying the east banks of the man made lake. Further on, we were alone and there was hardly any car heading towards the Gap....the same road can also bring us to Raub on the other side of the mountain range, 90 km away. The roads were nicely maintained and brought us through many sharp corners, small streams, rapids and falls along the way....normally we prefer to enjoy the natural breeze rather than turning on the air cond during the hillside drive.... and that can sometime made passengers become nausea...hill sick. We drove on and on slowly until we reached the Gap at around 1:15 PM and it was perfect timing to go up to Fraser's Hill...going up only during odd hours and coming down during even hours (between 7 AM to 7 PM). It takes only 15 - 20 minutes from the Gap to Frasers Hill. Our journey continues...

Sg Selangor dam

The Info Centre

Wonderful view from the highway

One of the corners leading to the Gap

Entrance to Fraser's Hill

The Gap

The schedule to go up and down


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