Detour to Fraser's Hill

We last visited Fraser's Hill almost 50 years ago in 1973 when I was a freshie at Malaya University. The 5th Residential College Christian Fellowship organized a trip to this place in one of the uni-short holiday break.

Taking advantage of the family reunion in West Malaysia this October 2022, we decided to drive to Fraser's Hill and spend two nights immediately after the reunion gathering in Ipoh. When my SIL's heard about our impending trip, they too wanted to join. In the end, five who joined this outing were almost the same people in a similar outing in October 2009 with one exception - my SIL's Aussie friend was replaced by my MIL this time. 

Somehow, visiting Pahang has not been without incident and excitement. In my driving tour in October 2009 where we started from Kuala Lipis (Read here), Ms. Garmin, our navigation tool was not that "smart" and led us instead through an almost impassable road (Read here). That stretch of road which was under reconstruction was just muddy earth track used by the construction machineries and dump trucks. Just when we were about to make a U-turn to look for a better alternative sealed access road, we decided to have a go through this seemingly impassible earth track. Somehow, to the relief of all, we made it through in the end in our Lexus then!

Fraser's Hill was one of the favourite places of the British during the Malaya's colonial era. They loved the cool weather and the thick forest and they built many holiday homes. These houses are still around but many have been abandoned and are in very bad condition. 

The access road built by the British from the nearest town, Kuala Kubu Baru to Fraser's Hill follows the hilly terrain. Hence, the road is winding and with occasional fairly steep gradient. This road has not changed much since the colonial days. The only change is the stretch from Gunung Gap Junction to Fraser's Hill. In those days, there was only one road access of single lane width. Hence, each end of the road was closed alternatively to allow one-way uphill driving or downhill driving. Now, an alternative route has been built for independent uphill and downhill driving.

Photo from internet.

The road to Fraser's Hill is popular among cyclists.

Photo from internet.

Fraser's Hill is also popular among bird watchers.

Equally as numerous as the cyclists are the monkeys. They appeared to be very accustomed to people. Many were seen loitering by the road side waiting for anything edible to be thrown to them!

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Approx. 10Km shy of reaching Fraser's Hill, our car could not move further and we were caught in a long line of stagnant vehicles. We soon discovered that the road in front had been rendered impassable because of fallen trees. Just when we were unsure how long we would be stuck there, I was assured by a fairly elderly Indian couple in the queue who are residents up at Fraser's Hill. He was fairly used to this kind of situation and he estimated that the affected area should be cleared in two hours time. An Indian couple workers with just one single chain saw then arrived. With help from the motorist by-standers, the fallen trees were cleared in just over two hours. All then could move on to our destination - Fraser's Hill.

Exploring Ipoh

It's hard to believe that more than 10 years have lapsed since we last visited Ipoh in February 2012. I could only remember two things about Ipoh - the Bean Sprouts Chicken and the Taufu Fah. 

In the evening of 19 October 2022 as we drove around Ipoh city, we decided to visit Ipoh Night Market at Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah Utara after browsing the internet for places of interest. This market is huge and is of similar concept and size to the 1766 Night Bazaar/Food Court at Jalan Lintas in Kota Kinabalu not far from the Lintas Fire & Rescue Station.

Most of the food outlets are offering local Malay food. We finally decided to go for the Otak-Otak before leaving this place.

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The next evening, we were joined by Hee Sing, my wife's eldest brother as we ventured out for more places of interest. Our first stop was Kinta Riverwalk at the Kinta River Front. This is a good place for an evening walk!

Right photo: With brother-in-law, Hee Sing.

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After the Kinta Riverwalk, we headed to the Tong Sui Kai (糖水街) or the Dessert Street for a simple dinner. This is a long row made shift building which houses 50 stores of food outlets. 

Driving Tour in West Malaysia - Ipoh

Just before arriving at our homestay in Ipoh, we made a detour to Tanjong Tualang, a small town approx. 35 Km south of Ipoh city. We went there specifically to have lunch at the Thong Lok Seafood Restaurant.

In this restaurant, seafood（海鮮 ) is not called seafood as we are used to. Instead, it is being referred to as "riverfood"(河鮮) . In this inland town of Peninsular Malaysia, aquatic produce is mostly sourced from rivers and freshwater ponds.

The food served there is really good. The satisfied smiles speak for it all!

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The homestay where we put up for two nights is a double-story bungalow. It has seven rooms, two of which are single rooms. Unlike OTM BP Homestay, the common lounge and kitchen of this homestay are really small. 

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In Ipoh, there was no specific program planned for the group. The only program was lunch at Durbar at FMS on 20 October 2022. This restaurant is reckoned to be the oldest restaurant in Malaysia. The restaurant is located at the junction of Jalan Sultan Idris Shah and Jalan Sultan Yusof and adjacent to Ipoh Padang. It was closed for 11 years and only reopened in February 2019. Displayed on the walls are photographs of old Ipoh during pre-war era and some old newspaper articles.

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While the majong gang preferred to spend time in the majong sessions in the homestay, we instead chose to do a bit of exploration around the homestay's neighbourhood.

We visited very briefly the Sam Poh Tong Temple, Nam Thean Tong Temple and Ling Sen Tong Temple. In the end, we spent more time looking at the troop of monkeys scavenging for food scraps at the temple compounds! 

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Initially, we were a bit apprehensive about driving into Ipoh city because the parking fee is paid through a handphone App operated by the local authority. In the end, we managed to find a cash-paying private open car park not far from the Concubine Lane.

It is said that the Concubine Lane also known as Second Wife Lane or Mistress Lane existed since 1908. The shophouses at the area then was a centre for opium smokers, gamblers and prostitutes owned by tycoons, millionaire miners around Ipoh. Nowadays, the area is occupied by food outlets, gifts and souvenir shops and is a popular tourist attraction.

As we posed for photograph at the plaque erected at one end of the Concubine Lane, a spotting tourist joined in to pose at the other side of the plaque.