For a long time now I have not had the kind of nostalgia that I used to feel about a place, and Fraser's Hills is certainly one of those special places...not that it's about the nearest holiday spot to Raub, it's more like the colonial charm that the place exuded few decades ago when I was much younger and didn't understand any better the world but, when the mind was young and lack devices to record and map, the readily available sensory tools played a big part (mine was visual, and smell)...bref, bad management coupled with bad taste certainly killed the place from the 80s till just about present...gone were the smell of lilies, roses and dahlias from the very English gardens that flanked every road and bungalows, cold chilly air and English breakfast, not to mention the very colonial Hainanese restaurants in mock tudor buildings...somehow, at present, someone in the management partially snapped out of that vicious cycle of misguided modernity and made some effort to rehabilitate Fraser's Hills to her former glory, well almost an effort. The effect can be seen now with better managed public gardens and better choice of flowering shrubs! Left now are efforts of local tourists (STOP the littering!) and perhaps if the locals wise up, they might see their jewel shine again...
Wild raspberry growing in the shades of a roadside from Raub to Gap...
Medinella spp in the shades...
A female spider hunter on a pergola with scrambling Thunbergia and passion flowers.
A tiny fig.
Brinchang Bungalow has one of the most spectacular vista whole of Fraser's Hills.
View of the Main Range from Brinchang Bungalow. Because of frequent and heavy precipitation, the cloud line remains low and visible throughout the day. We even experience mist from the way up, just after Bukit Telaga.
Suddenly, the clouds came over and covered up everything...
Jardin d'antan (old fashioned garden), just the way I like it...
The valley below is the state of Selangor, visible through some bright spots...
wah ! raspberry !
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