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
1 comment:
Nice scenery..wish I were there
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