Fraser’s Hill

It has been quite a long time since I last visited Fraser’s Hill, and with the hot weather in the Klang Valley, it seemed a good idea to go again for an overnight trip. We stopped for lunch in Kuala Kubu Bahru at the Xin Yen Kee restaurant. Delicious udang galah.

I like the quiet town of KKB very much, and this time there was an unexpected surprise. As usual in Malaysia’s eateries, the toilets are at the back of the kitchen near the exit to a back lane (lorong). This lorong was decorated with mural art from beginning to end!

Followers of my blog know that I am skeptical about the mushrooming of mural art in Malaysia. But this in KKB is very well done, with several artworks depicting historical scenes. The old Kuala Kubu was destroyed by flooding in 1883 and 1926. In the 1880s Frank Swettenham was the British Resident of Selangor. And not so many people know that Selangor had a civil war from 1867 to 1874, similar to the better-known Perak War.

I took many more pictures, but decided to keep them for a separate blog about Kuala Kubu Bharu, because there is a lot more to tell about it.

We continued to Fraser’s Hill where we had booked a room and a dinner in Ye OLde Smokehouse. Colonial style in everything, stiff upper lip included.

As we had spent much time in KKB, we checked in a bit late, but in time for a High Tea. Nice scones, but missing the sandwiches. First, we sat down on the terrace.

But after a drizzle started, we moved inside.

Nice interior.

The drizzle soon stopped, we walked in the garden a bit, enjoying the evening breeze and the nice flowers.

We had ordered dinner late, around 8 pm. Not many customers.

From the colonial-style menu, we chose two English classics. I had Roast Beef with Yorkshire Pudding and Aric had Boeuf Wellington. Both were delicious.

Aric wanted to have a Bombe Alaska as dessert. although both of us had no idea what is was. Surprise! After the waiter had placed the bombe on our table, he switched off the lights, poured a glass of liquor over the bombe, and lit it! A nice mixture of ice cream, whipped egg white, fruits and more.Enough for 3-4 people, but we managed to finish it.

The next morning we had an English breakfast on the terrace. “Beef bacon”, not real bacon, the restaurant is halal.

Before leaving, Aric used his drone to take an aerial view of the Smokehouse and its beautiful green surroundings.

Although I have given up exploring remote, difficult waterfalls, I am still interested in visiting “easy” ones. The Jeriau waterfall is such an easy one, a half-hour walk, with only some stairs at the end. It is one of the few waterfalls where you start upstream of the fall and walk down.

Aric discovered a frog.

I needed to wet my feet before I climbed up the stairs, back to the entrance.

We drove back to the village. Fraser’s Hill is a relatively new hill resort, younger than the Cameron Highlands and Maxwell Hill, developed in the 1920s. It is located on the border between the states of Selangor and Pahang. Next to an old telephone booth, two border lines are marked, Left Selangor, right Pahang.

Here we try to stand with our feet in two different states 😉

The iconic clock tower is not really old (1989) but a popular spot for pictures. We had a simple lunch with roti canai and teh tarik.

On our way down, we passed a spot that was new to me, the Paddock.

Although there was an (unused) ticket booth , we could just walk in. There is a copy of a hobbit house, a windmill, you can ride a horse, and there is an archery range. Not really worth a visit. The sculpture is not modern art, just look at it with your head tilted 90 degrees clockwise.

Driving back, we passed a group of pig-tailed macaques. We took some pictures, but kept the car windows closed, because these macaques can be quite aggressive. An impressive alpha-male kept watching us.

On our way back, we stopped at what is left of the Gap Rest House. About 20 years ago I stayed overnight there. In those days, there was only a very narrow access road to Fraser’s Hill. There was a one-way traffic system, odd hours going up, even hours coming down. The Gap Rest House was a perfect stop for a drink or a meal. Actually, the Rest House is older than Fraser’s Hill, it was already mentioned in a travel guide from 1913. After a second access road was constructed, it lost its importance, was abandoned and is a ruin now. A pity.

Nowadays, the Rest House is almost invisible from the road, overgrown by jungle. Aric used his drone to take an aerial view.

The stairs leading to the building are still there, with a clear warning: Watch out for snakes. I wanted to have a look at the ruin, Aric reluctantly came with me, using my walking stick to tap everywhere. We didn’t see any snake.

The building is structurally intact and in good condition.

There have been renovation attempts, I have visited the building several times in the past 20 years and taken pictures of the decay. Maybe I should write a separate blog about it.

In 2011 I could still walk on the suspension bridge in front of the Rest House. Finally, another drone picture of the building. Notice the suspension bridge.