Random Thoughts about the Road to Kinabalu Park

As of Sunday, 14 August 2011, I've been to Cameron Highlands, Fraser's Hill, Genting Highlands, and Berjaya Hills. The road to Kinabalu Park differs in several aspects and has some unique points not found in the aforementioned locales.

: The ascent is much gentler and the climb isn't really obvious until you see the mountain up close.
: Not much primary forest along both sides of the road, mostly secondary growth, empty land filled with grass, or farmed patches.
: At times the road follows the top of a ridge where you can see faraway mountain ranges from both sides.
: Cool weather doesn't begin until a couple of villages before Kinabalu Park if you're coming from Kota Kinabalu. Kundasang's cool, but Ranau's warm.
: We were lucky to have gone on a sunny day. Usually by 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM clouds cover the summit of Mount Kinabalu, but that day the clouds only covered up the summit after 12:30 PM.
: Bring sunblock to protect your skin from the sun's rays.
: It's hot in the sun but cold in the shade. Yes, quite a big difference in temperature between exposed and shaded areas.
: Make sure you have enough petrol. Fill up in Tamparuli if you're coming from Kota Kinabalu and your petrol tank has less than two-thirds fuel remaining. Otherwise the next petrol station is the one and only Shell in Kundasang, and if that one's closed the nearest would be in Ranau.
: Kundasang's a cowboy town with a diamond shaped cluster of shophouses, dusty gravel roads, and scattered farmhouses on hill slopes.
: Ranau's a small town that serves as the district administrative centre. It has all the facilities expected of a district capital.
: You can drive around Kinabalu Park on the tar road all the way up to Timpohon Gate. Otherwise you'll end up walking and hanging around the entrance area where the information centre is. Not to worry you can see Mount Kinabalu towering above the entrance area.
: Allow yourself at least two (2) hours if driving from Kota Kinabalu. The distance isn't too far but the road becomes one lane each side after Tamparuli.

Random Thoughts about Fraser's Hill

The one and only food court in town is uphill from the mosque. Take the 9 o'clock exit at the mini roundabout and you'll see a children's playground. Next to it stands the food court in a small valley.

In days gone by there were two Chinese restaurants. Kheng Yuen Lee 瓊源利 located near the entrance from The Gap along the same road with SM Stores, the post office and the police station was famous for laksa. Now it seems to be closed, so the only surviving Chinese restaurant is Hill View 山景 that used to be located in the town centre but now occupies a lot in the food court.

Most of the Fraser's Hill local Chinese speak Hainanese. They also know Cantonese and Mandarin.

As of mid-July 2011, the "new" road has been reopened so the old Gap road is now used for uphill trafic only while downhill traffic uses the new road.

The Gap is now a ghost town. The Gap Resthouse has been abandoned for years and the jungle is on the way to reclaim it. Hing Kee 興記 restaurant opposite the road has also been abandoned.

Lovely, cool temperatures ranging between 24 degrees Celsius in the day and 14 degrees Celsius at night when you're above the 1200 metre level.

No petrol station on Fraser's Hill. Nearest petrol stations in Kuala Kubu Baru on the Selangor side and Raub on the Pahang side. So make sure you have enough petrol remaining to reach either town from Fraser's Hill.

Old road uphill from The Gap is 8 km long and takes 15-20 minutes to cover. Maximum speed 30 km/h only due to the numerous bends. New road downhill is 9 km long, maximum speed 30 km/h only for the most part except a few areas towards the end. Takes 15 minutes to cover too.

Three primary schools: one Bahasa school, one Chinese school, one Tamil school. All are quite far from each other: the Bahasa school in the northwest, the Tamil school in the northeast, and the Chinese school in the south. No secondary school so the kids have to go to Raub or Kuala Kubu Baru.

You can see Genting Highlands from two places. One is the part of Mager Road near Kingswood Bungalow, another is the south part of Girdle Road on the way to No. 23 (Kamsiah Bungalow). Both are south-facing slopes. Genting Highlands should be 25-30 km away south-southeast as the crow flies, but the road distance is substantially further.

Water at Jeriau Waterfall seems clearer now. Must be because of the sand trap installed upriver near the entrance. Beyond the abandoned bridge is a deserted golf course and clubhouse.

The 4 km of Waterfall Road to Jeriau takes 12 minutes to traverse due to its numerous bends and bumpy condition.

From the Jeriau car park it's a 15-minute walk to the waterfall. The only public toilets are at the very end of the path near the lower pool of the waterfall. Near the entrance there's an Indian man selling snacks and a Malay man with barbecue grill. Everyone leaves the waterfall latest by 6:45 PM because by 7:15 PM it gets dark and there aren't any street lights.

A little playground near Ye Olde Smokehouse along Waterfall Road offers beautiful sunset views. Prepare your camera and note that colour changes last only for a minute or two before it's gone or transforms into something else.

Two Hindu temples: One near Allan's Water and another one along a bend in Waterfall Road.

Guangzhou Trip Itinerary for December 2008

[I first wrote this on Monday, 15 December 2008, a week after returning from my first visit to Guangzhou, China.]

Thursday, 4 December 2008
: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
: Check-in to Hotel Canton 广州大厦
: Lunch at hotel
: Leather goods shopping at Zhonggang Leather City, Sanyuanli 中港皮具成， 三元里
: Goodies shopping at Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Shopping Street 上下九
: Drop by 6th Grandaunty's place at Zhongshan Balu 中山八路
: Dinner at Panxi Restaurant 泮溪酒家 near Pantang Lu 泮塘路
: Back to hotel
: Quick walk to Beijing Road Pedestrian Shopping Area 北京路

Friday, 5 December 2008
: Breakfast at hotel
: Depart for Zhaoqing (Siu Hing) 肇庆 by rented van
: Modern highway from Guangzhou 广州 to Sanshui 三水 , trunk road from Sanshui 三水 passes by Dasha 大沙, Sihui 四会, Lianhua 莲花 before reaching Dinghu 鼎湖
: Tour of Dinghu Mountain 鼎湖山
: Lunch at Zhenbao Hotel, Zhaoqing 珍宝酒店， 肇庆
: Drop by 7th Grandaunty's place near "Sekolah Menengah Bandaraya Siu Hing Ke-Dua Belas" 肇庆 市第十二中学
: Visit to Seven Stars Crags 七星岩
: Return to Guangzhou
: Dinner at Hongxing Seafood Restaurant (Yidu) near the Pearl River 鸿星海鲜酒家 (艺都)
: Shopping at Beijing Road
: Salsa at Wind&Flowers 风&花

Saturday, 6 December 2008
: Breakfast at hotel
: Start off the day tour of Guangzhou
: University City 大学城
: Whampoa (Huangpu) Military Academy museum 黄埔军校旧址
: Tianhe Sky Metro City 天汇城广场
: Museum of the Nanyue King's Tomb 西汉南越王博物馆/南越王墓
: Lunch at Xintaile Restaurant 新泰乐
: Yuexiu Park, 5 Goats Statue 越秀公园, 五羊石像
: Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall 中山纪念堂
: Chan Clan Academy 陈家祠
: Pearl River Cruise from Dashatou Wharf 珠江夜游 / 大沙头码头
: Xinjiang Daxia Bogeda Uighur Restaurant 新疆大厦/博格达
: Salsa at Qba, Westin Hotel

Sunday, 7 December 2008
: Check out
: Last minute shopping
: Computer City, Tianhe 电脑城
: Shangxiajiu and Zhuji Road for pine nut seeds 上下九 / 珠玑路
: Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport and return to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Bitten by the Travel Bug

I've been bitten by the travel bug and hence felt the need to explore more potential leisure destinations. Lots of gems are waiting to be discovered. They need not be super far, perhaps an hour's drive away at furthest, yet they're good spots for relaxation, food, leisure etc.

The trick is knowing when to be there and how to get there. Sometimes it involves getting out of one's comfort zone where everything's familiar. Often a spontaneous discovery leads to another new place and so on.

For the first half of this year, I've covered Tanjung Sepat, Hulu Yam, Bentong, Broga Hill, Malacca, Port Dickson, Kuantan, Sungai Lembing, Cherating, Kemaman, and Kota Kinabalu, not to mention numerous small destinations within the Klang Valley.

First Day of July

TGIF = Thank God It's Friday. It's also the first day of July in the year of our Lord two zero one one. Officially the second half of the year 2011 begins and before we know it, summer's over, autumn's here, winter's around the corner and the New Year 2012 begins.

LG = Life's Good. I appreciate the good things I have, the people around me, and am thankful to be in good health.

The Treachery of Humans

Some people by nature are treacherous. They manipulate, incite hatred, sow discord, do all kinds of nasty things to others. They go back on their word and use unethical means to get what they want from other people.

Fahmy told me to beware of "friend hijackers". In his words, they meet people through you, get their photos taken together with you and your friends, get into your Facebook friends network, and hang out with your friends. Before you know it they have influenced your friends to ditch you and join the hijackers' group. Now I really despise this kind of devious people, and I wish my family and friends will be able to identify and cut them off before they cause any damage.

Beware of those who can't keep their mouth shut. Some people may not be treacherous by nature but they're prone to accidentally revealing other people's personal matters, or inadvertently divulging things that should remain under wraps. I've seen that happen too often and the consequences are horrible to say the least. Certain people also like to bring up other people's private matters or personal lives as talk topic material. So, everyone should be careful of what they tell others.

If there's one type of treacherous human I really can't stand, it's those who use their knowledge of you against you. This kind of people I consider worse than dirt, they're despicable scum. Better they know nothing about you. That's why you must always be careful of what you say and to whom you're talking to. As always, prevention is better than cure. All the best.

Summer Solstice 2011

I've always heard about Tung (Chinese Winter Solstice Festival) but never about Ha (the corresponding summer solstice). All I can think of about Tung is eating Tong Yuen, although there's really much more to the tradition.

The summer solstice passed by with no fanfare a couple of days ago. As Tung marks the shortest day of the year, Ha marks the longest day of the year. Where I am three degrees north of the Equator, the differences aren't that big, but the further north you go the greater the difference.

Three and a half weeks. So far so good. At some point I have to re-enter the drift, but for now things are smooth sailing. The negatives will fade away into the sands of history, the positives shall remain close to heart.

Weather's been harsh. Nearly fell ill from the intense heat and had no choice but to switch on the AC. Yes, that's how they refer to the machine in India. Better don't get sick otherwise can't do anything.

I feel happy. Or should I say, relieved? I tell myself to accept that in life there will always be supporters and detractors. It's true, not everybody will be able to get along with everyone for whatever reason.

A lesson learned some years back tells me to cherish, nurture, appreciate, and enjoy the journey taken. Treasure those who are nice and kind to you, take positive action for a win-win situation, and learn to anticipate and do what ought to be done.

More Road Trips Taken

Back in December 2009 I wrote down a list of road trips taken. That post is available at:
http://ujoelee.blogspot.com/2009/12/road-trips-to-date.html

Since then, I've achieved the following visits from that list:

01. Port Dickson (twice)
02. Kuantan (Secret Beach & several other beaches)
03. Hulu Yam Lama (Fishcake)
04. Malacca (thrice, all including Historic City, visited Portuguese Settlement but not yet Umbai)
05. Sungai Lembing (Lembing Mee, Tin Mining Museum, but not yet sunrise)
06. Seremban (to attend the funeral wake of a friend's father)

Also revisited Bentong twice and Tanjung Sepat thrice. Went to Penang once, and stopped by Ipoh on the way back. Went to Singapore thrice.

Taiping (Wild Boar Temple) and Kampar (Food, Waterfall) have not been achieved yet.

Kota Kinabalu can be considered a local overseas trip, as the only way to get there other than by ship is by aeroplane, a 2½ hour flight. The distance is roughly equivalent to that of Philadelphia to Miami, i.e. a journey of a thousand miles (1600 km).

I would like to revisit Sekinchan, and also explore other places within an hour or two's drive of Kuala Lumpur. I have several other potential holiday spots lined up in mind, but as per my modus operandi I'll only talk about them after I have personally recceed and evaluated the places first.

What to Write

Once upon a time I wrote anything that came to mind. Now I think and rethink everything before publication. It's because not everything can be published; certain writings can land the writer or other people into trouble. So better to be on the safe side and keep a stance of reticence.

Or just stick to so-called safe topics. Stuff that doesn't get controversial or polemical. Stuff that pretty much stays G and PG-13. Boring perhaps, but probably a tad too common. Maybe stuff on wordplay, learning languages, observations on the characteristics of non-living, non-human beings.

Those were the days I could write just about anything spontaneously. Today, so much thought goes into the production of a written piece, and even that is no guarantee of reaching the finished, published product. Burned out, perhaps? Meanwhile the world goes on, things move as they always have.

Reasons to be Proud of Tamil

Tamil produces great thoughts. The likes of Thiruvalluvar and Tolkappiyar. Thiruvalluvar wrote Thirukkural, a summary of Tamil wisdom covering lifestyle, ethics, and guidance in 1330 couplets in 133 chapters. Each couplet has 7 words, 4 on the 1st line and 3 on the 2nd line. Tolkappiyar wrote Tolkappiyam, the oldest surviving Tamil grammar book that prescribes the pronunciation and spelling of Tamil letters.

Tamil achievements that stood the test of time: Banana leaf rice, world's oldest buffet spread, environmentally friendly too. Olaichuvadi (palm leaf manuscripts), ancient Tamil publishing and SMS technology. Thaipusam, longest-running festival celebration. All these have been around for more than 2000 years. And yes, Tamil was spoken way back then and is still spoken today.