Fraser's Hill - Day 3 - Time to go Home

A couple of nights may be too short if you are into hanging in the hotel and enjoying good living. It might be kind of boring if you were an adventurous type. Certainly if my family were not around, I would have gone out to explore the trails around there.

All packed and ready to goLast look at the garden From what I saw, the trails were very well laid out and mapped. They cater for various skill levels and I am sure that you will find one to suit your skill and time.

I woke up early as usual, quickly put aside my stuffs ready for Anita to pack away. But when I was about to go out for a walk, Anita woke up. After settling the boys, we went out for breakfast.

We had a quick stroll around after that before returning to the room to pack and check out. After saying our goodbyes, we left at around 11.30. My mother-in-law wanted to stop at Puncak Inn to order some 'pau' before starting our journey down.

We took the 12 o'clock slot to drive down to The Gap. The journey down was much faster but my maids actually felt the sickness more than the journey up. We finally arrived in KL at around 2.30pm, straight for lunch at Jusco AU2.

Fraser's Hill - Day 2, Part 2 - Back at Smokehouse after lunch

We were shattered by the time we got back from lunch at Shahzan's Inn. The weather was pretty gloomy by then and it started to drizzle. We headed back to the hotel and after an hour or so, we went out to the garden while waiting for the afternoon tea. While in town earlier, we picked up a set of plastic golf clubs. Before long, Idlan already started swinging.

The garden was well kept with flowers tended on the walls and fringes. They were only accessible by guests. If it was not raining, we could've had our scones out there. With the children occupied, Anita and I took a walk stroll around the compound, walking in mist. How romantic. 

Since it rained earlier, the mist fell down much earlier that evening. Initially we wanted to venture out for dinner, but by 6pm, the visibility was down to about 30 meters with the fog and low cloud. The boys were not in the mood to get into the car anyhow. Again, we had dinner at the resort. That evening, I tried the steak. It was OK, the meat was tender but somewhat undercook. Fresh vegetables and nice gravy took care of that. We had another lovely dinner. As there were hardly any other guest, Henry came over for a chat while serving us.

My boys running around in the garden... and playing with the swing

I was surprised to find out that before he joined the food and beverage line, he was a welder. That was what he did around Keramat 6 years back. He has been with Smokehouse for almost a close to three years now. He used to serve at one of the branch at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng, which has now been closed. He said he remembered my father-in-law who used to entertain his guess there. He also talked about his family back in Myanmar. He used to do office work there and after his parents passed away, he decided to leave for Malaysia.

Settling in by the heaterAfter dinner, we were ushered to the reading room. The boys were with their PSPs. My in-laws watching the ASTRO. Anita and I decided to have some hot chocolate and do some reading. We retired close to 10pm. We had a long drive tomorrow back to KL.

Fraser's Hill - Day 2, Part 1 - Breakfast and the Outing

I slept like a baby last evening. Especially so when the boys decided to leave me to sleep alone on the bunk bed. The two of them and Puan Anita were huddled away on the four-poster bed.

I got up the earliest, at just just after seven. It was pretty nippy outside and the bathroom floor was as cold as ice. A quick hot shower and changed. Before I managed to sneak outside, Puan Anita woke up. Soon after, the boys were jumping on the bed. We hot the maids in, got them in the bath and headed for breakfast.

Idlan getting ready for breakfastThey served full English breakfast here and those were on the house. We are talking homemade croscent, jam and butter, followed by sausages, bacon and choices of eggs. Toast and cereals were also there if you fancy. Unbelievable!

I had omellete with cheese and mushrooms. Those certainly hit the spot. I counted 4 tables being occupied. I am sure the place would have been busier during weekends. It was Monday then.  As a result, the waiters were able to attend to my boys every need. The fact that they wanted only sausage and no bacon. They wanted to pour their own fresh milk into their tea. They wanted to run around in between mouthful of scrambled eggs. Irfan does not want any beans because according to him they are stinky! Oh man! They were really the bosses!

Looked like Maria Tunku Sabri has been hereWhile waiting for the food to sink down, Anita did some research about places to visit for the day. Since we have elderlies and children with us, hiking was definitely out. There were many beautiful trails around here. They were very well mapped and cater for all level of adventure. There are the simple ones with minimal gradient while others that were damn right brutal. Some of them lead to waterfalls and they are plenty of those if you are really keen.

Hmmm! Chillies? Big ones?

We learned however by the end of the day that if you were looking for flowers, Cameron Highlands is a better bet. There were a few nurseries advertised here, but they were pretty poor. Maybe they were out of season. There were certainly no roses and strawberries, and not much butterflies either.

Arriving at Allan's WaterDeciding what to doWhile enjoying the view

We decided to start the day about half a kilometer away at a manmade lake called Allan's Water. There is a pedal boat here and the place was very well maintained. Next door is a small nursery but again, there was not much on show.

The area where the archery and horseriding activities were hosted is called 'The Paddock'The barn where the horses livedEnjoying the rideNext stop was at the other side of town near the Golf Club. There is a small stable here with a few horses. Idlan was really excited and I took him with me for a ride. Nope, the horse was hardly running. It was just a gentle walk around a small circuit. Cost me RM4 and RM3 for Idlan. Irfan was too small to get on. There was also archery range next door. Further along is a small putting green. It was unfortunately closed that day, so we got Idlan a small plastic golf set to play back at the hotel garden later.

It was soon time for lunch when we finished with riding. We went to Shahzan's Inn, back in the town center. There is a Chinese and Malay restaurant here that opened for lunch and dinner. The resort looked slightly older than Puncak Inn across the road and in need of a make-over. Nearby is a playground and a small garden which the boys went to while waiting for food. We then headed back to the hotel right after, for some rest before a touch of golf and scones later.

Fraser's Hill - Day 1, Part 2 - Arriving at the Smokehouse

Reading the website about Smokehouse gave me the impression that the place was trying hard to invoke a feeling that the visitors were in an English cottage rather than in Malaysia, but only succeeded in doing it half-baked. In the end the experience was rather hit and miss, some of the review good, some lukewarm while others were downright negative. I did not really have a great expectation of the place. And when I reached there, I was mightily surprised and hugely pleased. Having stayed in England for many years and spent a few weekends in English country cottages, I can assure you the feeling was nearly as authentic. It was like England in fall as the weather was not as dreadful - Yes! Weather is England is dreadful outside summer! This was especially true when it was misty at night. That old air into the lungs while listening to the tranquility of the forest is a contrasting experience, but something I would recommend to all you city dwellers. It was only 100km away, but it felt more than that.

Parking is rather limitedHalcyon rooms were located in the buildong on the left. The main building and the reception were located to the right.Flowers adorning the entranceWe were greeted by the Manager, Mr Hafiz, a smart gentleman in his late forties who seemed to always say the right word. I was initially put off with the fact that apart from him and a couple of cleaners, the rest of the staffs were from Myanmar. The feeling soon disappeared as they were eager to help, a couple of them spoke impeccable English and understood Malay. As an example, later in the afternoon, as we returned from getting our maids some soup for supper from a nearby stalls, rather than telling us off for bringing outside food, they actually offered some bowls and cutlery. That was just classy in my book.

Table set up for lunchThe table for our family, set for ten!Hafiz was leaving for KL the same afternoon, and we were under the capable hands of the Supervisor, Henry. The hotel comprised of the main house where the reception, TV room, restaurants and bar were situated. There were also a few of rooms there with a couple of small seating area and small offices should one need to do some work.

The sign at the bar My family and in-laws stayed at a small cottage at the back of the main building. We stayed in Owen Room, complete with a queen size bed and a pair of bunk beds. Unfortunately it was me who had to sleep on the bunk bed as the boys wanted their mother. There was no TV in any of the rooms. We were supplied with a heater and the toilet was very clean and comfortable, although as the floor was tiled, they were cold and slippery when wet. We actually used the supplied towels to line up the floor to make sure that the boys were OK. My in-laws stayed next door at Ashley, with parquet flooring. Therefore, it was conformable and warm. Owen had a balcony overlooking the mountain range. In the evening when it was misty, we had the feeling as if we were in the clouds. Insect was a problem however.

The mentioned bunk beds in our room. Irfan was downstairs with Idlan occupying the top.Our driver, niece and the maids stayed in another building on the other side of the compound. These rooms were pretty basic, next to each other with an adjoining door. I can see these being suitable if you were visiting with a group of friends. It was called the Halcyon Rooms.

Scones anyone? These were freshly baked at the restaurantWith tea of courseAfter we settled in, I went out with my camera and started snapping. I was later joined by the rest for tea and scones. These were actually in the house, they were prepared in-house and was damn right tasty. We had it in the reading room while enjoying some music and reading the magazines. My boys were really excited with the tea and smearing the butter on the scones. We didn't feel like doing anything else, and after tea, the boys spend the rest of the afternoon on the swings at the garden next door.

* Part one can be read here and part three uploaded here *

Fraser's Hill - Day 1, Part 1 - Reaching the top

Welcome to Fraser's Hill. This is the roundabout in the center of town with the clock tower.I am sure many of the readers were aware that I spent the last weekend in Fraser's Hill. We stayed at the Smokehouse, an English Tudor house built back in the 1930s. We stayed for a couple of nights, driving up there on the Sunday Morning. We were joined by my in-laws and their driver, plus one of Anita's nephew. We set off early as we wanted the catch the 11am slot driving up from the Gap. The Gap is situated 9 km downhill from Fraser's Hill proper and as the name suggest, it was a small gap of road snaking up the hill, allowing a single file of traffic. The condition of the road was reasonable, but if you are prone to bee sea or in this case roadsick, beware. It will induce nausea. Irfan, my younger boy vomited driving up the Gap. Our two maids were given some medications to cope with the drive.

Waiting for the light to change at the bottom of the Gap

From our house in Gombak, we took the Federal Route 1 through Rawang, driving up a further 20 minutes turning past the town of Kuala Kubu Baharu. From then on, it took another 60 minutes before we reached the Gap when the road got considerably narrower and windier. We reached the Gap with plenty of time, enough for a 15 minutes stretching. There was a restaurant at the traffic waiting area but unfortunately it was closed for renovation at the time. There are comfortable restroom facilities there and a few stalls selling food and drinks.

The post officeThe traffic up through the Gap is controlled by a set of lights. The traffic going up starts at odd hours, 11am in my case for 40 minutes. At the even hours, the lights here turns red, and only downhill traffic were allowed, again for 40 minutes. They were allowed around 20 minutes transit time. I think the system starts everyday at 7am until late evening. With the incident we had, with Irfan puking and all, we made it safely up to the town in around 20 minutes. The first thing that greeted us was a small roundabout around a cute clock tower. The town center was charming with a small post office, a police station and a couple of inns - Shahzan and Puncak Inn. There was also a new sports complex being build overlooking the Golf Course.

The Newly renovated Puncak Inn seen from the Clock Tower

Since it was too early to check in still, we stopped for lunch at Puncak Inn. It was a newly refurbished hotel offering basic rooms. There is a coffee house where we had some food. While waiting for our orders, we explored the surrounding area, took some pictures. My boys ran around at a small park as the weather was cool even at midday. There were also a couple of small gift shops.

Ordering lunch at the Puncak Inn cafeThe Smokehouse is located further up the hill, along the road to the famous Jerlau Waterfall. It took about 5 minutes to drive up from the clock tower, past a mosque, the town council building, turning left uphill pass a second roundabout. That will take us past a small row of food stall - a must visit if you are visiting on a budget. We will then pass a children playground and a health center on the left. About 400 meters further, the Smokehouse will emerge on the left around a sharp bend.

* continued in Part II here *