Fraser's Hill

When we were on our way to Cameron Highlands via Raub, we passed a road to Fraser's Hill.  Papa wanted to go there that time but since I thought it might interfere with our original plan to Cameron Highlands, we decided to choose other dates to go there.

Before the day itself, I did some homework on Fraser's Hill.  Nampak macam okay ja.  Gambar-gambar kat google pun nampak macam pusing-pusing kat clock tower kat atas tu saja.  Suasana pulak nampak agak nyaman.  I found only one review on food there.

So, Papa and I decided that we should prepare our own food.  So, prepare yang simple saja hari tu - Tuna Sandwich, Pasta Salad dan Chocolate Cake (buat the night before).  Tareeq tak ikut hari tu.  I don't remember why.  But, nasib baik dia tak ikut. Phew! Terasa seksa tera nak sampai atas sana.

We left the house a bit late.  Biasa la Mama bising yang tu yang ni dulu, baru boleh settled semua urusan.  Then baru bertolak.  By the time sampai Temerloh, Meen dah bising lapar.  Hmmm... nampaknya kena korbankan makanan yang dibawa untuk makan kat sana lah.

Lepas makan, baru teruskan perjalanan.  Since Papa pening kepala, Mama drove.  Ada banyak exit along the Karak Highway tu.  So, sampai the first exit Mama pun keluar dari highway.  Rupanya laluan tu jauh lagi dari jalan utama nak ke Raub.  Kena lalu ladang kelapa sawit pulak!  Jauhnyaaaaaa rasa!

Once near Raub, ternampak pandu arah ke Fraser's Hill.  So, exit ikut situ.  Rupanya jalan tu kecik and winding, ada another jalan utama yang we discovered on our way down.  Tapi pemandangan priceless!  We passed Tanah Aina - kawasan dusun yang dijadikan homestay.  Cantik sungguh tempat tu dan pokok-pokok durian punya la banyak kat situ.  Pemandangan pun menghijau dengan pokok-pokok bukit.  Maybe boleh pi situ next time?

So, up we went.  Jalan menuju ke atas agak kecik.  Nak potong pun susah.  Lepas tu berliku-liku pulak!  Papa bertambah pening kepala.  Meen dah mula menangis sebab dia pun pening kepala jugak.  Nina dan Asha dah out of this world.  Bersabar saja la dengar Meen menangis sepanjang perjalanan ke atas.  Nasib baik Meen akhirnya terlena jugak.  Kesian dia.   

Bila dah sampai atas sana, phew! Lega dan rasa agak berbaloi.  Kawasan bukit yang cantik dengan bangunan-bangunan Inggeris yang authentic-looking.  Suasana damai, tak sibuk.  Life is easy!  Suka! Suka! Masuk hotel kat situ, ambik brochure tempat-tempat menarik.  Banyak jugak hotel kat situ.  Semuanya cantik-cantik.  Kalau duduk di situ, oh! Alangkah syoknya!

Korban pertama - Tuna Sandwich dan Hotdog kat R&R Temerloh.

Habis sudah bekal pertama.  Separuh jalan pun belum.  Hahaha....

Tugas Mama lah buat Sandwich tu.  Makan one bite, buat satu kat depa.  

Makan one bite, buat satu lagi kat depa.

Orang ka robot yang makan tu? Tak sempat Mama nak makan.

Boleh jugak duduk sambil makan lepas depa dah kenyang.

Tadaaa.... Fraser's Hill.  Tapi ni still kat pertengahan jalan.

Papa masih pening tapi dia yang bawa kali ni. 

So, sempatlah Mama snapped the picture.

Once there, Papa masuk hotel ambik brochure dan tanyakan bilik.  

Mama bawa Meen ke convenient store tepi hotel.  

Meen nak keropok Mi-Mi.  Depan hotel, ada a large and spacious square-cum-roundabout.

Lepas tu lepak kat tepi tu dulu sambil makan-makan keropok Mi-Mi.

Ada ramai bikers veteren kat tepi tu. Hehe...

Lintas jalan untuk ke tengah roundabout tu sebab ada clock tower ni.

Tapi kenderaan tak banyak pun.  Yang lalu-lalang pun slow saja.

 They're getting ready and always excited.

Strike a pose!

It's my turn.

Ini angle lain.  Meaning, ada 4 jam kat menara tu.  Tengok menara jam, square dan roundabout ni rasa 

macam kat a small provincial town kat Peranchis.  Macam everything centers around the clock tower.

Kemudian kita lintas jalan ke sudut seberang.  Ada klinik desa. 

Bangunan cantik, tak macam klinik desa biasa.  

Banyak pokok-pokok bunga yang cantik-cantik ditanam di situ.  

Di belakang sana ialah Pejabat Pos.

Mula-mula tu ingatkan banglo sapa la pulak.

Even Balai Polis pun cantik!

Ini Klinik Desa.  Posing ja. Peduli apa.  Bukan depa kenai kita pun.  Hehehe...

Mama pun mesti la nak jugak ambik gambag.

Lepas ambik gambag, mula lah lapag balik!

Kalut pulak cari empat yang sesuai untuk makan.

Kat town square tu tak ada tempat yang sesuai untuk duduk-duduk makan.

So, Papa drove around for a suitable spot.

Kadang tu masuk tempat yang sama balik sebab jalan-jalan kat situ bersambungan.

Terjumpa jalan nak ke waterfall tapi tempat tu ditutup pulak.

Nasib baik jumpa kawasan parking ni siap dengan beberapa gazebos.

Kita pun mula hampar newspaper dan buka makanan yang lain.  Memang very, very lapag!

Lepas makan baru la boleh senyum sikit.  Alhamdulillah semua makanan habis!

Paling best sebab duit saved. 

Selesai makan, Meen dah kalut nak pi sana-sini.

Jumpa lah batu ni, sesuai untuk dia berposing.

Meen sangat berminat dengan keluarga mat saleh ni.

Dari bahasa yang digunakan, rasanya depa dari Germany.

Active jugak anak-anak depa tu.  

Depa cuba jugak nak pi ke waterfall tu walaupun ditutup. Ketegag no?

Since Nina yang last sekali selesai makan, dia baru mai join.

Asha melayan diri sendiri sambil baca komik kat pondok berkelah tadi.

Ada lah tu yang Meen tak puas hati tu.  Selalunya di anak duduk di tengah.  Hahaha...

Sat saja nak pujuk dia.

Asha tu mesti dah habis baca komik.  Kalau tidak, jangan harap dia nak mai join.

Lama jugak kita berehat kat situ.  Sebabnya tak banyak sangat tempat-tempat yang boleh dilawati di sana.

Banyak bangunan-bangunan cantik serta resort.

Rasanya Fraser's Hill ni adalah tempat orang datang untuk tenangkan fikiran.

Lepas tu, kita round lagi.  Banyak round dengan kereta ja.

Niat nak tidur di Fraser's Hill dibatalkan sebab teringatkan Tareeq yang duduk sorang-sorang kat rumah.

Lepas round-round, lapag balik!  Ada satu foodcourt kat situ.  Banyak juga kedai makanan kat foodcourt situ.  Harga pun berpatutan.  Tak terlalu mahal.  So, kita lepak kat situ sambil makan-makan. Walaupun Papa pening, dia still lalu makan.  Hahaha...

While waiting for our food, Meen wondered off to the back of the foodcourt.  The real scenery is better actually.  This photo doesn't do justice to the place.

Meen is always on the go.  We have to keep up with her and sometimes
someone has to hold her to get her in the picture.

She managed to stand still with just enough time for me to snap away.

See what I mean?  She's moving here and there.

Kat foodcourt tu ada jugak kedai jual souvenirs.  Tapi Mama tak beli pun sebab tak ada yang menarik.  Perennials. Janji gambar-gambar dah tangkap. Meen seperti biasa hilang dalam kedai-kedai. Asha pulak ada kat kedai souvenir. Nina wajib kat meja makan.  Kat foodcourt ni baru la nampak ramai orang.  Meriah jugak kat sini. Ada playground untuk anak-anak.Mudah ibubapa nak makan

So, Fraser's Hill ni sangat sesuai kalau kita nak tenangkan fikiran.  Tak tau pulak suasana malam macam mana sebab sebelum gelap kita dah turun.  Mama drove sebab Papa masih pening-pening.  Kesian Papa.  I'm not sure how much he enjoyed trip visit because dia pening sepanjang masa kali ni.  Tapi tak pa lah sebab dia mau bawak kita jalan-jalan jugak.  

Masa kita kat situ, tak sampai sepanjang hari pun.  Tapi rasanya dah habis round.  Maybe kalau kita jalan kaki, kita akan lebih enjoy the nature.  Tapi since naik turun bukit ni, lomah den!  

Memang bangunan-bangunan kat situ cantik-cantik. And those are some of the attractions of Fraser's Hill.  Mr Fraser yang mula-mula buka bukit ni pun rasanya tak tau tempat ni akan jadi cantik. Misteri jugak cerita dan sejarah Fraser's Hill ni especially regarding the namesake.  Beliau hilang selepas Jepun menyerang Malaya dan tak dijumpai sehingga sekarang (walaupun rangka).  Maybe because of the dense forest around. Or maybe because nobody really tried hard enough.

Tak tau pulak kat mana lombong bijih kat atas tu yang diusahakan oleh Mr Fraser tu.  Bayangkan macamana depa nak bawa turun bijih tu.  Naik turun dengan kereta pun pening nak termuntah.  Most definitely depa gunakan tenaga keldai ka.  Tapi ada ka keldai kat Tanah Melayu ni?  Tenaga lembu, maybe?  Kesian pulak fikir lembu tu nak panjat bukit ni.  Ish, merapu pulak mama ni.

We Love Penang

Penang is one of the places that we keep returning to.  Every time there, there would be new places visited and things experienced. We are never bored of Penang.

One of the must-visit places is our favourite bookshop - used-book bookshop.  It's in Island Mall, Pulau Tikus, next to Berjaya Hotel.  The shop's old name was Novelhut.  Now it's called "Something" 2020.  Hahaha, I'm bad with names!  We always bought loads of used books and magazines there.

Then, our next stop must always be the Gurney Drive.  Makan rojak kat situ.  Not rojak buah but Pasembor, actually.  The trick is to order RM10 or RM20 and so on.  Not to pick and choose because this way, the cost can run up to hundreds of ringgit! (Cam bohong ja, but you get the drill lah)  So, normally RM10 or RM20 is enough for us sebab penuh pinggan tu as each item costs only between 50 sen to RM1.00.

After makan-makan, our next stop will be the Gurney Plaza.  Nothing to buy there, actually.  Just watching people go by.

We stopped going to the Feringghi Beach now.  It's too developed now.  No more pristine montane vegetation to enjoy, hence, no more clean and fresh air!  Pantai dan laut pun dah tak cantik.  Kalau pi pun, I opted to go to the famous Feringghi Night Market.  Tu pun sebab nak beli cloth bags.  Kalau branded handbags Papa tak bagi beli sebab tak authentic dan cepat rosak.  Just enjoying the atmosphere is enough to make me happy.

You guys, of course, nak beli tu, nak beli ni, especially Princess.  Biasa la... budak kecik.  So, not more than RM10 things for her.

This rojak is RM10.00.  Selalunya cukup la for 3-4 people.  Kenyang!
The Pasembor hawker stall is in the background.

Awat Asha dok jeling tu?

She always has to sit beside Mama.  Happy sebab dapat komik Barbie.

Mamak rojak yang potong bahan rojak sambil bernyanyi beriringan dengan lagu-lagu Hindustan yang upbeat.

Di sebelah mamak rojak, ada pakcik jual satay.

Gurney Drive's landmark - roundabout dgn arca ombak menggulung.

Meen seperi biasa heret Kak Nina untuk tengok knick knacks dan supaya Kak Nina pujuk Mama beli something untuk dia.

Belek, jangan tak belek.

Lepas ke toilet. Hahaha... sempat jugak dia!

More places to visit the next time there.  Don't worry, Papa and Mama will retire somewhere near Penang Island - in 13 years' time.  So, we'll be close to Penang everyday.  Ish! Tak sabag rasa nak balik duduk sana.

Cameron Highlands Re-visited

The first time Papa and I brought you guys to Cameron Highlands was back in 2010.  This time, since CH is on our way back to Kedah, we decided to visit there again.  It was just before the Chinese New Year of this year.  We booked a homestay at Lily Apartment for 2 nights and we brought many maggi mee. Hahaha...

We took the Raub route this time.  It was tiring because I felt Raub is very far from Karak Highway.  Nevertheless, it's one of the shortest routes to CH.  We stopped for lunch in Raub.  It was a moderately busy town.  After Raub, it's winding all the way up to CH.  Kepala pun sakit dan pening jugak la.

First we stopped at the Boh Tea Plantation and had some drinks at Boh Cafe.  I decided not to buy the cakes because they didn't look that inviting.  We enjoyed the scenery, though.  It was cool (both weather and ambience) and it was like JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth - peminat tegar la ni.

It was still fun even though that was our second time there. We were still excited looking at the beautiful flowers and strawberries (of course!).  I bought too many strawberries this time around sampai sapa pun tak lalu nak berebut dah.

As far as souvenirs were concerned, we didn't buy any.  Selamat duit!  We spent more on food.  So, lain kali boleh pi lagi, kay!

 This was at Boh Cafe.  They serve hot drinks and cakes, cookies and sandwiches too.
We only ordered drinks as we just had lunch in Raub before that.  

The weather was cool that day so it's convenient and suitable for hot drinks.

After that we went to a Bee Farm.  However, the operator  informed us that they're not collecting honey because the bees were angry that day.  So, we ended up taking pictures with the flowers, instead.

A rare occasion to see them together. So, this is nice.

They're allowed to touch but not to pick the strawberries.

Everybody was happy after loads of strawberry sweet treats.
Ha! Ambik! Makan sampai tak lalu dah strawberry hari tu.

This was at the S-Corner cafe.  Since everybody was fulled of strawberries,
the ones I bought here were safe.  These were for Maktok and Tokwan

We ordered a cup of coffee - for politeness sake - since we were sitting at one of the cafes there.
Satgi tuan cafe tu marah pulak dok lepak-lepak tapi tak order anything.

Cool and nice view.  Kebetulan hari tu hujan rintik-rintik.  Jadi atmosphere pun cantik.
Ini kat Bharat's Plantation.

You guys were ready to explore the tea plantation.  I think I was more excited, though. Hahaha...

As usual, Tareeq was ever ready to layan Meen.
The building in the background is a cafe.

Dua orang budak ni were overly excited.  So they moved quickly to get to where I wanted to go - a bit farther down from where we were.

Di celah-celah pepohon teh.  Bila tengok dekat-dekat, rupanya batang-batang pokok tu penuh lumut.
Now, that made me think twice about drinking tea!  Adakah daun-daun teh dalam uncang teh yang kita minum tu bercampur dengan lumut-lumut tu? Eeuuwww...

Sebenarnya Mama yang teringin nak ambik gambag di celah-celah rimbunan teh tu. 

Lepas selesai berposing di celah-celah pokok teh tu dan lepas Mama jatuh gedebuk! giliran Meen beraksi pulak.  She wasn't about to climb the slope but just froze there long enough for me to snap her picture.  Hehehe....

Teenagers will be teenagers. Gadgets in their hands except for Asha.  She seemed indifferent about gadgets here. Actually, she had her beats attached to her MP3 and was listening to music all these while.  Hahaha 

Then, we moved to Tanah Rata.  Okay, another posing time!

And another one.  At first I thought this was a clock tower.  Tapi tak nampak jam pun.  So, maybe this was all-for-nothing tower, erected for the sake of having a standing structure there.  Hihihi...

Hujan masih rintik-rintik, tapi Meen peduli apa. Janji dia boleh posing sebagai bukti dia dah sampai ke Cameron Highlands..

This was on our last day.  On the way to Tapah, we stopped at this place - I forgot the name - which has a large shop and eating area and more strawberries.  I'm not sure Meen buat perangai or merajuk but Papa seemed to try to pujuk dia and Asha was typically bored, as usual.  Haha...

After that, Meen's mood became better.  So, she started to enjoy herself with those strawberries - again!
Geram nak petik tapi tak dibenarkan.  Dibenarkan beli yang kat dalam shop ja.

Meen pun geram jugak dengan strawberries yang gumok-gumok tu.

Two-third of the family.  Abang hilang pi mana ntah sepanjang masa di sini.

We will visit Cameron Highlands again in the near future.

Johore Baharu, Johor

After we got back from Tanjung Piai, we decided to explore Johore Baharu.  Before that, since we had to pass through Skudai, we decided to enter UTM as Papa wanted to see his alma mater.  Once there, he's not that excited to explore the campus, though.  So, we just drove round and round and round circling the same buildings before we decided to stop.  Penat pusing ja!  Papa pun tak tau nak pi mana.  There weren't many people or students around - cuti semester kot, so the place seemed deserted and we couldn't show you the excitement of studying in a university.

Now I'm really not sure the correct spelling of the capital of Johor but the one I'm using is one of the variations.  So anyway, JB is not a tourist-friendly city.  I didn't believe it when a colleague from Muar informed of that me before we went there but we got lost just to enter the city center and lost some precious hours that we could use for sightseeing (or shopping!).  It was mainly because the signposts didn't really help.  My GPS brought us to some kampongs! Mengarut betoi!

In the end, we ended up parking our car in some corners and walked to one of the shopping complexes there. I don't remember the name, though. We didn't buy anything because that's not about our trip.

Hajat nak makan mi lah, laksa johor lah, kacang pool lah and a few others yang I googled tapi satu pun tak nampak, because tak tau nak cari jalan.  Papa said the place changed a lot.  Danga Bay pun lengang because we arrived there around 3pm and the shopkeepers were just starting their activities.  Nasib baik ada satu kedai makan yang dah buka, so, makan kat situ and nasib baik sedap jugak ikan bakar dia.  Meen dah nangis-nangis sebab lapag sangat.

I guess it will take us a long time before we go there again!

The next day we headed to Johor Premium Outlet.  Just for the fun of it.  Nothing interesting there for me, really.  Beli handbag pun just for the sake of buying something at JPO.  Tapi manusia punya laaaaa ramai!  So, a no-no for us the next time around.

After that we went to the famous Kluang Station - an authentic train station famous for it's side cafe selling roti and kaya.  Personally, the kaya there was just like the kaya Maktok made.  So, it wasn't really a surprise or out of this world for me and I have the recipe.  So, no worries!  We'll make the kaya one day (one day... hahaha... bila la ntah!).

All in all, I just love travelling and seeing new things, especially with my family around.  I hope you will remember all these trips for years to come.

This one was in front of Masjid Sultan Ismail, UTM, Skudai.

This was in front of Masjid Sultan Abu Bakar - overlooking the Teberau Straits and Singapore.

Okay! One with me in the picture.

Inside the masjid, after performing the Asar prayer.

I love the architecture.

After the prayer, we ventured outside. It was beautifully landscaped and very clean.

Papa and his girls.

Inilah one of the corners where we parked our car and walked to the shopping complex.

Nina memang sukaaaaa la sangat jadi model.

 Bukti dah sampai JPO eventough I didn't buy anything worth-mentioned.  Berapa kali sesat pusing-pusing tempat yang sama, rupa-rupanya JPO kat tempat lain. GPS tipu!

After JPO, we proceeded to the famous Kluang Train Station.
There was a train there, and Meen started to become excited.  

Asyik kalut nak naik keretapi tu ja. Jenuh kepung dia!

  

Then, a simple treat at the cafe.  Alamak, we're not in the picture.