Fraser's Hill

Today's entry is just going to be mainly a pictorial essay about my weekend trip to Fraser's Hill. It was very wet, very cold and very damp. Possibly not the very best time for a visit. With this kind of atmosphere, there weren't many nice photo opportunities but please enjoy the place as seen from my eyes (and camera).

In order to reach Fraser's Hill, one needs to travel from Kuala Kubu Bharu or Bentong, that is, if one is coming from the direction of Kuala Lumpur. I was there with my wife and daughter.

What puzzled me was why the GPS unit had directed us through the Karak Highway to Bentong instead of through Kuala Kubu Bharu town which would have made our journey much shorter. I would have missed the slow and congested traffic in Bentong but then, I would have missed seeing a new place and also the jackfruit stalls along the way too.

The Gap Road on Route 55, which is the entry point to Fraser's Hill, is already about 800 metres above sea level. It used to be the only access road to the hill station and traffic would take turns at half-hourly intervals to go up or come down. This arrangement has since stopped since a second access road was opened for public use recently. Now, it is a permanent one-way up through the original Gap Road, and down the other way.

The above two pictures are of the Kheng Yuen Lee Eating Shop, which is about the first building you'd notice on the left side as you reach the end of the Gap Road. The food here, like the food everywhere else in Fraser's Hill, was nothing much to shout about but at least, it was Chinese food if that's only to satisfy your craving. The owner said that his shop has been around for about 80 years and he was the second generation operating it. However, he was quite resigned that his children would not want to continue with this business in the future.

The Post Office at Fraser's Hill. As I was expecting to see one of those colonial cylindrical postboxes in this hill station, you can guess my disappointment.

Where we stayed: the Shahzan Inn along the Lady Guillemard Road. Quite well maintained. Nice lobby lounge, pleasant staff. Four cash-operated massage chairs to knead you back to life after the long drive from wherever you came from. Good public Wifi signal in the lobby but unfortunately, none in all the rooms. Even if you have your own personal wireless broadband on your mobile equipment, don't expect the connectivity to be good. In fact, it was very poor and I gave up checking on my emails in the room after a while.

It started raining after we checked into our room. And the mist came. These pictures above were the scenery from the balcony and the front of the hotel.

The rain eased up at about 6.30p.m. and we decided to take a walk into the town centre. Even with the lights failing on a cold, wet evening, a lot of people were still about. We were searching for dinner like them, or they were taking pictures in the dimming light like us.

This is the Scott's Pub and Restaurant. About 10 years ago when I first visited Fraser's Hill, this building was called the Tavern and it was very run down. But it now exudes a very cosy feeling inside. We looked at the menu and then decided to eat elsewhere.

After breakfast on the following morning, we decided to explore the town centre on foot. Mist still lingered in the air but it was comparably clearer than yesterday. 

 The Lady Guillemard Road.

 The Parr Bungalow.

Red bench providing a spot of colour in the town centre.

Some disappointment over the lack of flowers at Fraser's Hill. This was the most attractive.

 Entrance into the Hemmant Trail. Didn't go in as I didn't fancy meeting the leeches.

The obligatory posed picture.

Staircase beside the Bentong Cottage.

 The public garden and food garden complex. The mist was starting to roll in and the rain descended on us again. Time was about 10.15a.m.

Haven't seen such a multi-informational and comprehensive direction road sign before.

It was one o'clock. Almost time to leave Fraser's Hill. But still time for one last photograph of the iconic clock tower.

So this was again at the base of Route 55 which would lead us back to Kuala Lumpur. We had driven down through the second access road, We didn't feel like going through Bentong again, and so we turned right at the junction and went back through Kuala Kubu Bharu.