Chilled Out at Fraser's Hill

Fraser's Hill, in a way is similar to Kundasang because of the cool climate and fresh air. The weather is rather similar with peak relative humidity at around 89% and an average temperature of around 20 degrees C. Kundasang seems to be wetter with more intense rainfall. The average annual rainfall is 2,900mm while Fraser's Hill is slightly less at 2,700mm. Surprisingly, very little land development has occurred in Fraser's Hill since the colonial era. It is still tucked in thick jungle, a good place to relax and chill out. On the other hand, rapid land utilization and development, some rather haphazardly in Kundasang has gradually made it becoming less and less attractive for a quiet retreat and chill out.

I had wanted to visit the waterfall and go for trekking at some of the mountain trails in Fraser's Hill. We did drive along the road to Jeriau Waterfall but had to abort the attempt when we saw the road closure sign. The road access to the Waterfall has been damaged by land slide. 

Our attempt to trek the nearby trails (Bishop Trial and Hemmant Trail) was hampered by the fairly frequent wet weather. My niece's earlier warning about the trails being infested with leeches did not help either but further dampened the desire. 

Awesome view from the balcony.

Sunrise at Fraser's Hill.

Mystic morning.

We were initially quite concerned whether there is lift facility at the accommodation where we would be staying. Fortunately, the 6-storey apartment where we stayed at the 5th floor do have a lift. That made access for my elderly MIL so much easier.

Interior of our accommodation.

We walked through the little town looking at some of the British architecture in the colonial era old buildings. We also spent a fair amount of time looking at plants and flora at the vicinity of our accommodation and the nearly Taman Lady Guilemard. Bougainvillea is the most wildly planted here.

At the iconic clock tower at the town centre.

Taman Lady Guilemard.

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Seeing durians sold by a roadside store at the little town was something we did not expect in Fraser's Hill. That evening, we had take-away from Hill View Restaurant plus durians for dinner!

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We wanted to have English afternoon tea and had booked for one at the Ye Olde Smokehouse on 22 October. Olde Smokehouse, a boutique hotel with old colonial English architecture and furniture is said to offer English afternoon tea which comes with home-made scones and strawberry jam. In the end, we had to forgo the appointment because of intense rain. That same evening, we went to Aida Daniya Restaurant & English Teahouse for dinner. Parched on a hill site, it has a commanding view of the landscape below. The site of Aida Daniya is designated as Km 0 of Fraser's Hill. This restaurant is probably the centrepoint of Fraser's Hill!

Dinner at Aida Daniya Restaurant & English Teahouse.