A Cold Midsummer's Tale (2)

'Wihout a wish, without a will,

I stood upon that silent hill

And stared into the sky until

My eyes were blind with stars and still

I stared into the sky.'

Raplh Hodgson

On the Bishop's Trail
It was Saturday morning, I was getting my usual dose of good weekend sleep. The air was cool, the bed was warm and snug. "Ben, wake up !" Alas, I realised that I was not in my bed at home.

Time 7.15am, Place Fraser's Hil.

We had made plans to trek through Bishop's Trail today. So I had to get my sorry butt out of the comfy mattress into the shower. We soon set off to find the trail after having our daily morning brew.

The start of the trail was easy to find, located just 10 mins from our resort. The trail started off with stairs leading downhill. Soon the stone steps were replaced with a well-beaten jungle path flanked by the hill wall on one side and a steep drop on the other(well not too steep, just enough trees and roots to catch you if you happen to topple over). The path continued downhill passing small streams and at times we were forced to clamber over huge tree trunks that blocked the path.

Soon we realised that we were not alone in the jungle. Tiny worm-like leeches were strewn all around the jungle floor, poised in a straight vertical pose, which I assume is a sign that it is ready to pounce(jump) on the next unsuspecting warm-blooded victim. We decided to walk faster so as to attract less of these blood-suckers. Nearing the end of the journey, we reached the crossroads, one way pointing up to Muar Cottage, the other towards Maxwell Trail (off-limits at the moment). A short climb up to the mainroad, we ended up in front of Muar cottage. We then quickly removed our shoes and socks to rid ourselves off all surviving leeches. There were blood spots everywhere, befitting souvenirs from the short jungle trail.

Farewell Fair Hills

After breakfast (slightly better than dinner), we showered, packed and checked out from the resort. Getting a last glimpse of the place, we walked down to the town square to catch the public bus to Raub. It left at 12am. The next one hour plus was a long and winding journey down to Raub. A little dizzying at times, but managed to catch a few winks. At Raub, we had a quick lunch and before catching a bus to KL.

Down at the Valley

Norman, my close buddy/room mate from JC days, was our guide and host in KL. After settling down and washing up at his aprtment in Subang, we drove down to Tmn Megah for dinner at Ming Tien, the huge open-air hawker center famous for its giant cup of fruit juice. Dinner settled, we went back to his place. It was 'Clone Wars' time ! Norman had the entire cartoon series, so we decided to watch them on his PC. The lights were off for greater dramtic effect, the aircon turned on, pillows and mattresses were provided for our comfort. Should have guessed, the conditions were just too right .. for sleeping that is. Just like the Padawans and Jedi warriors falling at the hands of General Grievious, my other fellow audiences were falling one by one into SLEEP. At the end of episode 20, I was the only one left watching. Completed the final episodes the next morning.

On Sunday, we moved off around 11am for lunch. Had Dim Sum. Then we headed towards the city. Some sightseeing before we leave for JB/S'pore. We walked around Petaling Street admiring the wares on sale, before it was time to catch our bus at Puduraya. Left KL at 1.30pm.

A Cold Midsummer's Tale (1)

'O how high she climbs,

Above steep and wide valleys she rises,

Mighty peaks shrouded in clouds,

Sweet hillstation. Forever Frasers is.'

Summer Plans.
Our holiday was just 3 weeks away. Many suggestions were thrown into the hat but in the final run-in, the favourites were Desaru and Endau Rompin. Then news of an oil spill near Johor's eastern shores doused the Desaru plan. Next, bad news struck again as we could not find the minimum people for a jungle trekking trip into Endau Rompin. So back to square one, one week away with no holiday destination. Out of the blue, an idea flashed to life, it was more like a 'Frasers Hill' signboard made with tacky neon lights flashing in the darkness of our minds. After some research and planning, we set our hearts on this old hillstation recently made famous by the incident of the lost boys.

Road Trip
Managing to pack all my stuff into a 22 liter backpack and a small sling bag, I rushed off to JB after work on Thursday(14 July 2005). No human traffic at the both immigration centers means we got to Merlin Tower, JB in super fast time. Our bus was scheduled to leave at only 10:30pm. So we passed our time at Merlin Corner feasting on 'Roti Prata' and Teh Tarik. The bus finally left at 11pm. The journey was too short for proper sleep as we reached Puduraya, KL at 3:30am.

David, Hui Shan and Wee Loong at Merlin's Corner

Too early to get a bus to Frasers and too late to find a hotel room for much needed rest, we roamed around the Pudu Bus Station looking for a bench to while the night away. But alas, all benches were occupied by weary travellers, foreign workers and homeless people. Unfazed, we got a taxi driver to agree to drive us up Fraser's Hill for only RM80 (the going rate was at least RM120 !) at 5am.

The journey was smooth up till KKB (Kuala Kubu Bharu). The taxi driver chatted with us freely throughout the journey while playing 'Hokkien Songs' on his car stereo system, sometimes pointing out the small towns that we passed along the way. From KKB onwards, we had to rely on the directions taken down from websites as the driver hed never ventured up Frasers. It was the start of a long, dark,winding journey up the highlands. At 6:40am, we finally reached the'Gap', the entrance to Frasers. From then on it was a 8km drive up.

Early Mornings
7am. We were too early for Fraser's Hill ! The gate at the entrance was locked (the gatekeeper arrived ony at 7:20 to unlocked the gate). The resort(Silverpark Resort) where we were staying was not opened for check-ins and the cafes and restaurants were not opened for business yet. Must be the laid back culture of the highlands.

After dumping our bags at the resort, we went back down to the main town square. The sun was up, so we decided to take a stroll along the roads running around the hilltop. The beautiful highland scenery greeted us as we were kept busy snapping the breathtaking views with our digital cameras.

Misty Beginnings
A shower and nap later, we were up and ready to take in more sights of the highlands. The weather was now cooler, as grey rain clouds started to gather while mist enveloped the hillside. We managed to take a peek of the lake (Allan's Water), enjoyed some freshly fried 'goreng pisang', and visited the quaint old colonial inn 'Ye Olde Smokehouse' before the increasingly wet weather forced us to head back.

Ye Olde Smokehouse

That night, we had to settle for dinner at the resort's only restaurant as the heavy rain had prevented us from going downhill to the town square for a meal at the Tavern. I ordered a plate of grilled lamb chop and regretted my choice immediately. I believe that slab of meat had been sitting idlely in the freezer for a very long time before it was thrown onto the grill. Anyway we 'ta pau'-ed some Fried Rice Noodles for supper that night.

The TV was showing 'Matrix - 1st Episode' that night. We kept ourselves busy playing rounds of 'Chor Tai Tee' and a short game of 'Heart Attack' (which ended when we felt pity on David who got whacked on his hands the most times) . Lights out at 12:30am as we got ready for next day's trekking.

To be continued. Next : Our memorable tack through Bishops Trail


(Photos form the trip can be viewed here.)

Sky. Valleys. Hills. - View from our balcony

One week at a time

Time slips. Very Fast.
So before more time slips through my fingers, here's a short recap of my previous week.

Movie Marathon.
It started off with a normal Monday night. The usual TV fanfare was on , Desperate Housewives followed by Las Vegas. Decided to watch 'Naruto - the Movie' instead on my 14 inch TV. Played like one of the Naruto episodes where Naruto and his team mates goes off somewhere for an adventure, Naruto attempts to befriend a lonely character who initially hated his guts and brashness, Naruto eventually wins her over with his 'never-say-die', Naruto takes a beating and still fights on, Naruto beats the big baddie with one of his speciality move, all this while his other side cast er .. I mean team mates watch, prance around and fall over the place as usual.

Tuesday night, watched 'LOTR's - The Return of the King'. Had bought the Trilogy VCD earlier at IMM. Called it a night after the Ghostly Oathbreakers decided to rid Minas Tirith off its filth.

It was another two rounds of movies in the weekend. On Saturday, watched 'War of the Worlds' with Vicky at Marina Square. A good watch if one do not expect modern-aged body-snatching aliens and can tolerate annoying little kids with a knack for screeming, arguing and running off at every given opprotunity. A good family drama though, true to the classic tale.

On Sunday it was 'Fantastic Four' with Wee Loong and Patrick. An entertaining popcorn movie with lots of humour and special effects. Love what they did to Ben Grimm. Not a classic but maybe worth a weekday tikcet price($7) instead.

Now Reading
Got a few books on my hands now. Got to stop going to the Library just to make sure I finish my current stash before moving on.
About one fifth through Spore's founding father's 'From the Third World to First'. Also just finished Robert Jordan's 'the Shadow Rising', fourth book in the Wheel of Time Series, and now moving to the fifth, 'the Fires of Heaven'. My new book, Paulo Coelho's 'the Zahir' is still waiting for me.

Time off
My parents and younger sis are now in Bradford, UK while I blog. They'll be visiting London and then Paris next. Well, my parents do deserve the break and trip out of M'sia. This is their first time out of South East Asia. Wish I was there though. But will probably only disrupt their holidaying plans by insisting that we spend more time in Manchester.

I will be going off on a mini trip this weekend though. Heading to Frasers Hill with a few friends just to get away from the bustle of the city. A short refreshing break in the clouds will definitely clear the brain clogs and lower the blood pressure ... I hope. Will blog more about it when I return.

Ta ta ...

**********************************************************************

"Arise, airse, Riders of Theoden!

Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!

spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,

a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!"

Theoden King of the Mark

Tangerine

Whoa, July is here. That means I'm half way through 2005 and I've not started with any of my resolutions. This blog does not count as it was a spontaneous act. Hmmm to think of it ... did I make any in the first place ? *scratch head* Anyway I just know that 2005 has slipped by too fast for me, better make each day count before I get any older. Not too late to make resolutions I hope ...

Oh yeah, had read this book by Colin Cheong called 'Tangerine' , supposed to be a 'Singapore Literature Prize Winner' in 1996. Chanced upon it at the New Book Section (well it was a 2005 edition) at Jurong Pt Library. It was by the entrance and I was returning a book when I found it there. A very good read. A Simple story, you see the tale through the eyes (and mind) of our main character, Nick, as he travels through Vietnam, experiencing the people and place while discovering himeslf in the process. It is a tale that many including me can relate to. Here are some wonderful excerpts from the book.

On friendship.
" The feeling had begun at Nee's wedding. But it had not been for her nor for fact that she was married. It was for the company that sat around him. They were all friends from college, student councillors who had shared a year so intense they thought it would bind them all forever. But they had been only 17 then and they sat together that night at 28, bound by a common thread so thin it was gettihng hard to see why they were still invited to each other's weddings. No one was unfriendly, no eye or heart was cold, but the distance was showing. They has all moved on,experienced other things as intense or more so, with other people. Few kept in touch regularly and weddings had become a rallying point for most ... "

On experiencing humanity in travels :
"Nick was really sorry he knew no Vietnamese and wished that he could say more than his name, his destination, his country and his age. But a kind of camaradarie had formed among the passengers and he was included. Even though no words were exchanged, Nick felt good about it and realised after a while that he had not felt lonely since leaving Saigon ... He was still a foreigner and an object of curiousity, but he was no longer a stranger to them after 14 hours, four pee stops, two meal stops and a very trying ride. "

Dreaming of Vietnam now ...