.fraser hill 2008.

My first little trip finally came about last weekend. I was terribly wedged in at the office with a handful of datelines and meetings to attend so you can imagine how delightfully happy i was to wriggle myself free from Mr D's work force.

The six of us; my close friends and I had the Fraser Hill trip planned since December. We had booked the hotel beforehand, came out with ideas for the trip's activities and tried to keep track with everyone's schedule from time to time to ensure the trip really happen. Prior to the trip, I had crossed my fingers and toes that I could actually join the bunch as:

1- i had an awfully ridiculous and uncertain schedule.

2- since i'll be going with two other couples, i worry that its gonna be a boring trip with nothing to do but sleep.

3- i'm just being drama.

Nonetheless, we hit the road Saturday. A convoy of three cars converged at Sungai Buloh toll, with Eka and Nadiah led the way. The journey was super duper adventurous! First, we lost our way somewhere in Tanjung Malim. We ended up in a place called Kg Lambak; a sleepy town, nearly ghost-town like kampung. Realizing that we had no clue of where our direction was supposed to be, we decided to make a U-turn back to the main road and that was when my dearest car went into a huge drain- oppsie! Twas an absurd accident, come to think of it, because honestly,man...its just plain weird that none of us see the hole!

It happened that some moron had covered the longkang with a few dead leaves, yes you read me right, DEAD LEAVES, in a manner of a camouflage.Too bad that i was slowing down at the junction and as soon as my left tyre hit the stupid leaves, my car went 'BLOOOP' and into the hole. Seriously, I did not see it coming at all! Luckily for Eka and Nadiah as their MyVi sped up so the momentum had saved them. Funnily, the first thing that came into mind was to sell the car, go back to my hometown, dig a 7 feet hole, throw my license inside, stick a RIP sign on it and vow not to drive again. My imagination even stretched to think that I could work full-time at the 7-Eleven near my house, hooked up with the manager, get married and bear four kids.

But my anxiety did not go away, however, especially since i could actually sense that Viv was really really dangling and hanging on to dear life. I didnt even dare to go out of the car, let alone to take a look at the damage. Eka, in her brotherly mannered way opened up the door and put his hand on my shoulder, saying 'Dont worry, i have some cash.' The horror looks of my friends defined how bad the condition was. A few local folks came to aid but the true hero of the day was none other than my buddies; Naufal and Eka. I guess they figured out using scientific way or something. All Naufal did was to push my car up a bit with all his might while Eka reversed her and by a stroke of luck, she's up on the road again! 

I heaved a sigh of relief when told that nothing actually broken whatsoever. She was still in a very good condition, not even a scratch on her body! What a miracle! I quickly thought of my old faithful Kembara, Ped; 'hey hey Viv aint that bad afterall....she's a tough cookie like Ped!' It seems that the front bumper had rest perfectly well on the ground, securing itself leaving the left tyre dangling gleefully.

I tried to keep myself calm all the way up to Fraser, my fears increased especially after Naufal and I once again skided and nearly hit Nadiah's car in front. Twas crazy but we cant help but to laugh about it. So much for an adventure, Ib!

By three-ish, we arrived at the foot of the hill and waited for a good half an hour for the gate to open before we could drive up. It took us another hour or so to reach the hill resort. The journey up was not so bad as neither Naufal nor I suffer from any kind of sickness (except for mental illness, as he would proudly admit) so it was all smooth.

It was already late-afternoon when we arrived. We had a quick lunch at one of the restaurant located at the centre of the town since everyone was super hungry. Reasonably priced food, I should say. Tummy happy, we settled in at The Pines Resort. The hotel was an allright choice and economical. It has three bedrooms, a descent living room with comfy sofas, three bathrooms (the master bedrooms has a bath tub and his&hers toilets) a huge balcony, a TV set, a cool-looking fireplace (which later on were used as BBQ place haha) this place was a steal for RM338 per night. 

Fraser Hill hasnt changed much in the six years I last set my foot at this place. Its still quiet, country-like and quaint with all those old colonial bungalows that accomodate the little town. The clock tower is still pretty much as I could remember it to be. I was very pleased, truth be told, to go back there after all these years. 

With everyone else busy with their own thing; Muzzo was napping, Eka and Nadiah were out cat-hunting and Naufal with his book, Salmi and I decided to not waste the day lazying around. We checked out the town a bit to entertain ourselves. I had the most wonderful time driving around with my best gal, eventhough it was obvious to us that this isn't the place to shop or dine aristocratically. We took a mental note of which places to bring the bunch to the next day. We went to places and roads and found ourselves in sweet wonder. There were just so many little nooks and corners to explore and with Amywine House on my cd player, we enjoyed a breezy sunny evening just the two of us great friends laughing and letting the chill air touched our skin.We tried to check out the Jerai Waterfall but the road leading to the waterfall area looked like its a bit dark that we did not dare to explore. We stumbled upon Allan's water on the way back. Salmi and I jumped up and down as we saw the beautiful lake and paddle boat! So yippie we went on it and like two little kids we paddled round and round and round! 

Later in the evening, we decided to have BBQ session right in the room. Muzzo and Naufal helplessly tried their best to light the fire while Salmi and I had a fun time in the kitchen frying sausages, crab meat and potato wedges. The BBQ session survived as the gentlemen finally lighted up the fire and got the meat done. Twas an enjoyable night despite the fact that we nearly turned the barbecue session into a campfire. Okay, sorry dudes, I kid. Eka and Nadiah joined us halfway through and by the end of the evening, we had stuffed ourselves good and ended it with yummylicious cheese choc cupcakes with cherrie topping made by Salmi. Two thumbs up for the cute cuppies, Salmi! We headed out after dinner in search of some warm tea or coffee but ended up walking back after ten minutes. My goodness the weather was sooo chilly at night! The temperature dropped further leaving me shivering cold. Put aside Eka, Nadiah and Naufal who've been living oversea their whole life, I think Muzzo, Salmi and I could not stand the air not even for a frikkin 5 minutes! I suppose we werent adventurous enough to roam about in the dark so we headed back to the hotel and watched DVD instead.

The following morning, woke up early to find the rest were still asleep. Without taking a shower or change my pajamas (for the very least), I headed out to enjoy the nice privacy of my own. The air was rather chilly as I stop by at a little hut along the road and did a self-tortured act by sitting down on the bench without my jacket on and froze myself in the cold wind. I brought my sketch pad along and began to sketch a little, something I had not done for quite some time.

One of my favorite places in Fraser Hill perhaps is a small cosy cafe at the strawberry farm. I was greeted by two humming birds flying around me so I thought 'wouldnt it be nice if i could stay for one more day and escape Monday?'. Ironically, as I made an entrance, the local radio played the song...

'if you leave me now, you take away the better part of me...

oooh....dont baby please dont go..'

Its a great place to just chill and relax with a book and a cup of warm coffee. I had my breakfast alone; teh tarik, nasi lemak and toast bread. Twas a nice fuzzy feeling to just be with myself enjoying the morning away. After working hard for weeks and weeks, that was just what I need. Ignorance is bliss, they say. It seemed a bit lonely but surprisingly i liked it a lot.

Eka and Nadiah joined me later on. The audacious couple came up with the idea of a good morning exercise: jungle-trekking! I did not have a proper attire, but heck. Geared up with my pajamas, flip flops and cellphone the three of us hit the trail. The track is not as hard as I had imagined - there were helpful steps and ropes to help us secure our footholds. 

But I suppose, I have underestimate the bugs and insects of the forest. Note to self: trekking in pajamas and flip flop is dangerous. Half way down the track, I stumbled upon the first leeches of the day (to which I stupidly said hello to think 'what a sweet little creature you are'). Nadiah and I then talked about leeches and bugs when suddenly, in a low deep voice she said 'Ibah, I hate to say this but there's one on your feet' and yes, ladies and gentlemen, do not ever tell anyone they have leeches stuck on their body! I shrieked on top of my lung, my cellphone flew off in the air and boy, can I really freaked out like mad! Poor Eka and Nadiah had to rescue my cellphone (2 more inches and I had to buy a new one) while kept on saying 'no, no! There's nothing on your leg!We didnt see anything!' But of course, I knew i had one stucked on my right ankle and five minutes later, another one managed to suck my left calf. I had to shake my mind off horrific thoughts of giant blood-sucking leeches crawling up my thigh and into...lets not go there. Apparently, both of them was attacked by leeches too with Nadiah had a baby leech bit her right feet. She had her eye on me like a hawk all the time, reminding me to slow down every now and then. She was afraid that I might fall of the slope as some part of the trail are a bit steep and slippery plus its kinda dangerous for flip flop-wearing people like me. I had to really concentrate on the trail and not mind the itchiness on my legs beause one wrong step would send me rolling down the slope happily. 

We checked out that noon and settled on the idea of having an English style lunch down at the Ye Olde Smokehouse. The ambience is exquisitely high-class; I had to say, it fits the description of 'English' - plainly snobbish. I felt a bit out of place with my simple white tee and jeans. The place is a great romantic escapade for two- unfortunately not for singleton like me. But still, i had yet another pleasant moment with my great friends. With the right company, anything is always fun!

On our way back, we made a stop at the dam area and just chill. We climbed up the restarea -  which was actually closed for public and Salmi took out her mini stereo and we had soothing Cade Voce playing on the background. There were enough cupcakes leftovers for everyone so we just lazed around looking at the scenery while munching on the sweet stuff. 

It has been a great wonderful trip for yours truly. A quiet, short mini hideaway nearby was just perfect for workaholics. I'm also glad to know that everyone else had a nicest time as well so yea...i'll plan for yet another wicked (budget) roadtrip somewhere pretty soon!