Weekend Getaway in Fraser's Hill

10th Dec 2011, Saturday:

We spent a very relaxing weekend in a small, quiet and tranquil town called Fraser's Hill. (It's just too unfortunate that our visit to this idyllic hill resort was marred by the deplorable condition of the hotel. Hotel update: Mummy emailed the "Discount Company" to voice out our dissatisfaction. The "Discount Company" replied promptly, apologized and offered us a REFUND. Yay!!)

We left home in the late morning and took the Karak highway to Bentong where we broke our journey for brunch. Wantan noodles seemed to be the most recommended food to try there, according to results on Google search. We managed to find the best wantan noodle in town (the one in the unnamed shop next to the Chinese Town Hall). We also ordered some sui-gao (large dumplings) noodles to try.

Fork-licking good! (Mummy prohibits utensil-licking but I find this bad habit hard to kick!)

Noodles for brunch (RM3.60 and RM3.70). The wantan noodle looks messy cos daddy had it stirred (couldn't wait to eat) and then failed in his attempt to undo it back haha!

From Bentong town, it took us slightly more than an hour to reach Fraser's Hill. Daddy was driving at snail's pace because the roads were very winding, narrow and steep. 

Along the way, we passed by many fruit orchards and saw hundreds of durian trees with fruits hanging on them. This was indeed a rare sight for city kids like me ;) 

At the foothill of the long and winding road (about 10km) leading to the hill resort. There are now two separate roads to FH so we do not need to observe the odd and even hours for one-way traffic.

Finally there! The clock tower... the most prominent landmark of FH

This was my very first trip to FH well as daddy's. Mummy has been here twice before, the last was way back in 1991. Although this was her 3rd visit, she noticed that nothing much has changed. It is still as undeveloped and unspoilt as it was 20 years ago.

The very "cincai-looking" hotel lobby 

Upon check-in, we were so disappointed with the miserable and shameful state of the hotel that we quickly settled down with our things and fled as soon as we could. We tried to minimize our time in the hotel and stayed out almost the whole day, exploring and walking leisurely around town. Basically, there wasn't much to see or do here... perfect for boring people like us who love to unwind and walk around aimlessly doing nothing hehe :)

There is a public golf course right in the middle of the town

Obviously, I am not big enough to cover or hide the bin hehe!

Taking a photo here is a must-do!

Yipeeeeee! *happy*

Pretty blossoms adorn this charming little garden

Good weather... it was very bright and sunny but we didn't feel the heat at all :)

We had 4 things on our to-do list... afternoon tea at the Smokehouse, playground-time for me at the Taman Awam (public park), horse-riding at the paddock and an evening at Allen's Water (a lake garden).  

First stop... Ye Olde Smokehouse

Afternoon tea in the garden terrace

 Look mummy, got swing! The service was quite slow so while waiting for our orders, we walked around the garden.

Devonshire tea set (RM18++) which came with 2 warm scones, strawberry preserve, chunks of butter, fresh cream and tea for one (but it came in a pot so we just shared)

Daddy also ordered a Chocolate Lava (RM4++)... oozing with warm, not-too-sweet chocolatey lava... yummy! The scones were very nice too.

The afternoon tea here was lovely and satisfying. We also went inside the Smokehouse for a self-tour...

A fine, vintage style sitting room

Cosy and homely interior

Next stop, the public park of FH... the main attractions here include a mini bike track, miniature golf and children's playground. There's a food court here too.

Our plans to the Paddock and Allen Waters had to be put on hold due to bad weather. Soon after leaving the playground, it rained the whole evening :(

After the rain... it was very cold and misty

After dinner, still reluctant to go back to our hotel room, we went for a spin and spent some time in town again 

It rained the whole night and temperatures dipped to around 16-17C. Somehow, it felt much colder than 17C in reality! The next morning, the town looked like this...

Blanketed in thick fog. Notice how dull this picture looks? It was taken with normal mode and not set to black and white!

Misty, rainy, windy and chilly.... brrr!

Hampered by bad weather, there was nothing much we could do. We also gave up hope on going to the paddock and Allen Waters so we packed-up, checked-out and left. We took the same route back and stopped by Bentong (again) for lunch. 

Both daddy and mummy are no foodies so they encountered a bit of difficulty finding food there. After circling the town a few times, daddy drove past a coffee-shop where we saw a mile-long queue. Curious to find out what these people were queuing up to buy, we parked our car nearby and got down to find out. Oh, it's chicken rice! The long queue simply indicated that this chicken rice was worth a try...

Daddy and I devoured these delicious meaty rice while mummy ordered something vegetarian for herself (mummy doesn't eat meat). The rice was indeed very tasty... fragrant and fluffy! (RM9.50 for both including a glass of herbal tea)

After lunch, we headed to a shop named Kow Po for some dessert. This shop is famous for its homemade ice-cream and local icy delights. 

Mummy had cendol with durian and pandan ice-cream while daddy had ABC with peanut and coconut ice-cream (RM3.80 each)... however, they both look identical here.

Ready to attack! I had a single scoop of banana ice cream (RM2.80)... slurp!