Cameron Highlands Road Reopened After Minor Landslide

It was reported in the Star Newspaper (19-Dec-2005) that continuous rain for the past two days has caused a minor landslide at the 42nd kilometer Tapah-Cameron Highlands road.

The landslide area could not be travelled and was closed for 4 hours from 10am of Sunday 18-Dec. It was fully reopened at 2pm according to Batang Padang OCPD Superintendent Md Zukir Md Isa. The debris was cleared by Public Works Department workers and Fire & Rescue Department personnel.

So for those you who plan to go up Cameron Highlands during this rainy season do be extra careful!

Today, the Star newspaper reported that 4 states (Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu) were hit by floods. Many roads were cut off due to heavy flooding, and motorist had to wait till the flood waters subsided before continuing their journey.

So I guess more rain is to be expected during this wet monsoon season.

It's Christmas Time! -//- Kellie's Castle

Highlander Newsletter, Issue #05002
-- Take a quick detour to Kellie's Castle from Simpang Pulai

Greetings, readers of Highlander Newsletter!

It is half way through the month of December, and Christmas is around the corner. Many of the shopping malls has done up elaborate Christmas decoration making it a must visit place to go just to admire their incredible decoration!

And some people are already taking their long annual leave trying to clear off their outstanding leaves as their company does not allow them to carry forward to next year. With much free time in their hands, well shopping malls seems like a good place to spend their time (and money too!).

Churches are busy preparing their Christmas presentations about the birth of Christ, the true meaning of Christmas. Carols are practiced often several times a week, to be ready for a Christmas Carol Singing in the shopping malls and in the church.

Phew, a very busy, busy month indeed!

And as for Cameron Highlands? Well you won't get so much elaborate decoration, but you would be able to see Christmas trees on some of the larger hotel establishments.

And the atmosphere would not be as frenzied as that in KL. In fact, it would be more of a quiet affair. After all, going up to Cameron Highlands is to relax and unwind from all the hectic work schedule, right?

Felt that Cameron Highlands was not as cold as before? Should try it now. With the monsoon season still hanging around, sure would make it really a nice cold place to go!

Kellie's Castle

During a recent outstation trip up north, I decided to drop by Kellie's Castle as I had some time to spare on my return journey home. On my many trips to Cameron Highland, I had noticed a sign to Kellie's Castle when I was using the Simpang Pulai way to Cameron Highlands.

Well, my curiosity pique, I made a trip there. So come have a look at Kellie's Castle. If it intrigues you, you might just want to make a quick detour before proceeding to Cameron Highlands!

• How about a visit to Kellie's Castle?
  
• I've also made some Kellie's Castle photo slideshow, perhaps it might pique your interest too?
  

And lastly but not least, wishing all you visitors of Cameron-Highland-Destination.com a joyful Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

Jan.

P.S.: As informed, my newsletter will be irregular, so you might receive this newsletter as a surprised! Nope, I won’t send you too many newsletters in a month lest I’ll be complained upon. You will receive one every now and then, and hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised…

P.P.S.: Oh, by the way, do me a favour and pass along the joy of Christmas by passing along this newsletter for Christmas well wishes and also to whomever might be just about a little tad intrigue about Kellie's Castle!


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East Coast Monsoon, Colder Highlands Weather.

With the early arrival of north-east monsoon season around 25th October instead of the usual in November, the east coast was pretty much inundated with heavy rain causing extensive flooding on the east coast.

Looking for sun, sand, sea and beach on the east coast? Forget it!

November to January is not a good time to go for stroll by the seaside. You will probably end up indoors more than having fun frolicking in the sunshine. And sure enough the hotel occupancy rate will drop during this period. At some time many years ago, in order to entice visitors during the monsoon period, hotels issued a challenge that should there be a continuous 24 hour rain during your stay, you will be given a free day replacement stay.

Well, read the challenge carefully, 24 hours continuous rain? Well it is possible but does not always happen despite the monsoon. More likely the rain will start and stop and start repeatedly. Well, I don't see the offer nowadays anymore.

However, there's a six day Monsoon Cup yachting race going on right now from the 29th Nov – 4th Dec at Pulau Duyong, probably somewhere on the Terengganu coast. The seas are pretty rough but they seem to like the strong winds. They even commented that it is the ideal condition for the race! Talk about crazy!

Thankfully the west coast, though wet, does not experience the heavy rain like the east coast. Sure makes the weather around KL pretty cool.

And what of Cameron Highlands? Well, for those who complained that it is not as cold as before should make a trip to the highlands. Now is the best time to experience the cold climate weather of Cameron Highlands!

October had the heaviest rainfall, and gradually the amount of rainfall will reduce till January. Bring along your raincoat or umbrellas because you just never know when it will rain!

And for all you jungle trekkers and backpackers out there, prepare to get wet!

For those who like geography, here's a quick refresher about the overall Malaysian climate weather. Normally there are two monsoon season, namely the north-east South China Sea monsoon and south-west Sumatran monsoon. The north-east monsoon usually starts in November and ends in January, while the south-west monsoon starts in May and ends in July. And there is of course the inter-monsoon rain which is just as heavy but not long lasting.

With the mountain range stretching out like a spine from north to south, most of the north-east monsoon never quite crosses over to the west coast. Still it does get pretty wet and cool in the Klang Valley. And yes, it gets quite cold in the highlands!

Beautiful Photo Scenery of Cameron Highlands

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? No doubt Cameron Highlands has many opportunities to snap those memorable moments. With its lush greenery, and cool climate, definitely a place where one must simply not forget to bring a camera! And if you forget to bring one? Well there is still that cheap disposable camera which you could get from any tourist shop. Still the best is to bring your own camera to get that perfect moment of you and the cool highlands hills!

If you are like me, it is very easy to snap lots of pictures and use up all those negative films or even quickly fill up those digital memory cards. So do get one big size card as you can affordably purchase. A moment gone cannot be so easily recaptured again! Unless of course you got photographic memory (but you can’t show it to your friends and family!). :)

So come on over to the Photo Gallery and have a look at some of the photo scenery. I will be adding more pages as time may permit what with work and all.

Say, if you like my website, how about sharing it with others and forward this mail?

If you not already in my mailing list, head on over to this page to sign up for the email newsletter or even subscribe to RSS feeds.

Till I get the chance again

Au revoir!

Jan.

Links:

• Photo Gallery
  
• Newsletter/RSS blog feed sign-up
  

Ramadan Bazaar

It's been 10 days into the fasting Ramadan month, and there's just so many food bazaars going around town! I'm not too sure whether it is the same in Cameron Highlands or not. But is liken to their night market food section! I'm pretty sure all around Malaysia there will be many food stalls set up all around to cater for the breaking of fast for Muslims doing their fast.

Food, food, glorious food, aren't we gluttons when it comes to food? Plenty of choices around. Not only that, it is highlighted in the local newspaper. It is crowded and the queue is just so long, especially for popular dishes!

Fortunately for me, one of the bazaars located in Section 14, PJ, is just around the corner from where I work. To get a good whiff at the wonderful aroma, all I need do is just open my office window. From my vantage point, I get to gauge which are the more popular stalls, and thus plan my food buying spree.

The crowd gets really heavy from 5 o'clock onwards, as many offices begin to close shop for the day. For some of the popular stalls, you will need to go there early or else be ready to be disappointed when it is all sold out! I think it is very disappointing if after queuing for a long while, and it just got sold out when it is about to be your turn to make your purchase! Too bad, try again another day.

Still got some time to try out the various food offerings as the bazaars will go on till 2nd of November, the last day of "puasa" fasting month. After that, it is a celebration of completing the Ramadan with the Hari Raya Puasa holidays. That's when almost the whole of Malaysian people will be on the move for the "balik kampong" phenomena where outstation folks will go back to their hometown to be reunited with their family members and have big celebration! Traffic on the highway will get into a snarl as the whole Malaysia becomes one big traffic jam!

Till then, enjoy your "makan" (eating)!

---

If you are around Petaling Jaya, these are some of the areas having the Ramadan Bazaar:

AREA                 Stalls
Section 17/1A        = 100
Section 14/27        = 100
Subang               =  40
Desa Mentari         =  20
SS8, Sg Way          =  80
Damansara Damai      =  60
  (Vista Biz Centre)
Jln Othman           =  20
Kg Baiduri, 51A      =  40
SD 13/2              =  60
Sect 6, Kota D'msara =  50
Kg Sg Kayu Ara       =  50
Sect 7 Kota D'msara  =  50
D'msara Damai        =  50
   (Idaman Apt)
SS6/1, Kelana Jaya   = 200
PJS 8                =  20
Pelangi Damansara    =  50
Taman Medan          = 150
PJS 6/8 Kg Lindungan =  50
Taman Sri Manja      =  50
Kg Taman Dato' Harun =  26

Water Woes in Cameron Highlands

The irony of it all! October being the rainiest period in Cameron Highlands, and guess what? Water shortage! Just came across an article in the Sunday Times, where a group of motor bikers went for a trip to Cameron Highlands. Despite the rain, the group of intrepid bikers went up the winding slippery road.

Upon checking in the hotel, they were informed that the hotel swimming pool was closed due to water shortage. It seems several other hotels including the 5-stars hotels are facing the similar problem.

How could this be despite the rain? It seems “excessive development was the cause for the water shortage” as explained by one hotel manager. “Excessive development” indeed; the many times that I visited Cameron Highlands, I never failed to see some form of construction activities going on here and there. I don’t quite understand the logic for the ongoing construction of buildings; isn’t there sufficient buildings already?

Granted that upgrading of the old roads should make it more safe for travelers to use, but plastering the hillside with cement reinforcement does makes it unsightly and makes it out of place with the surrounding tropical jungle.

Much of the appeal for visiting good old Cameron Highlands besides its cool climate weather, is its greenery and lush tropical jungle stretches. Imagine if all this were to be replaced with concrete jungle instead; I may as well stay put in Kuala Lumpur.

Development of an area by frenetic construction does not always equate with progress if the preservation of environment is not taken into account as well.

Here’s hoping the authorities would come to their senses and limit the amount of construction. Already the Sultan Abu Bakar Lake opposite the Lakehouse Hotel is one of the casualties not to mention the lessening cooling climate weather. And now with the addition of water shortage woes, the powers to be should take note because ultimately tourist will shy away and where will this lead to?

Buka Puasa Time!

Ramadan sure brings out the appetite in you! With fasting month for the Muslims means that many food stalls are set up to cater for the breaking of fast. Yep, whether in Cameron Highlands or anywhere else in Malaysia, we will get a good variety of goodies for a yummy feast!

Now, these stalls aren’t just for the Muslims only, even for us non-Muslims, we get to savour these mouth watering foods as well.

Ramadan is the period where the Muslims do their obligatory duty to fast. Fasting is not just abstaining from food only, drinking water is also not allowed, no smoking and a few more other rules among others. Of course there exception for people who cannot fulfill the fast, such as sick or traveling people where fasting will aggravate their hardship. But they must replace the missed fasting on another day.

Fasting starts from sunrise and ends by sunset. As the time draws near to break the fast, starting by about 4 o’clock, the traders start setting up their food stalls. Smoke rising from the charcoal grill can be seen from afar! Fortunately there’s no haze about, so you can’t blame it on the grill! But the area does take on a hazy look, but this haze smells good!


The kinds of selection available would surely make Alain Bourdain want to come here and try them out! We got the usual assortment of curry chicken, beef rendang, that goes with white rice. Ikan bakar, nasi lemak, roti chanai, murtabak, satay, kuih-muih, otak-otak, etc. The list goes on…

Definitely spoilt for choice here!

And the aroma… Just breathe it in and smell it, smoke and all! Just can’t stop yourself from drooling! Excuse me; pass me the tissue please…


Before the office closes for the day, the people already start to come out to pick out their selection before there is not much choice left. And yes, the ever popular popiah store, the queue is so long! And long queue means it must be tasty, right? Every year I see this same stall with its ever long queue. Just my colleague luck, she wanted to try some one day, so she wait patiently in the queue. When it was her turn to take her order, it was all sold out! Just too bad.

Ikan bakar (translated literally: burn fish!), just about everybody’s favourite. Choice of seafood can be stingray, squid, or fish; marinated with spices and sauce, placed on a banana leaf then cook over a steel hot plate. Sizzling away, while you wait for your turn to take the order. Mmm… just can’t wait to take it back home and ‘makan’ (eat)! This is good and should not be missed!

Satay, yeay! What is it about food grilled over charcoal fire that makes it so yummy? These are diced chicken or beef pierced on a bamboo stick and grilled over charcoal fire. Order as many or as few sticks as you wish in any combination. Though the meat is marinated, the satay sauce is what makes or breaks its savoury taste.

And after a main meal, it’s time for dessert! Assortment of kuih-muih (cakes) to try, or how about apam balik, which is something like pancake with nuts & corn added? I like this, and can be very filling.

And after that, wash it all down with crushed sugar cane juice. Ugh, I think after Ramadan is over, I will need to go on a diet!

Wet Month for a trip to Cameron Highlands

October month being the wettest month in Cameron Highlands, it means the incident of potential landslide occurrence will be more frequent. The roadworks (JKR) department will be very busy working hard to clear the road should there be any landslide occurrence.

If you are driving up, well, you could give a call to the hotel which you plan to stay and ask them how is the condition of the route to Cameron Highlands. As there are now two ways to go up, IMHO, the newer road from Simpang Pulai would be the better choice with the sheer hillside well reinforced with unsightly concrete reinforcement and the jungle cleared away from the main road. The chances of landslide might be less on this new route.

Oh, and don't forget to bring along your brolly as the Brits would say it and well, have a hot cup of tea in the shops and chill out (as though it is not cold enough already!) while waiting out for the rain to stop!

Working on my new PC

Everything grinds to a halt when your PC is down these days. Yeah, haven't been able to work on my Cameron Highlands webpage for the past few weeks. With my new PC up and running, purring away like a cat (actually, sounds more like the washing machine as what my wife says, boy the cooling fan sure is noisy!), hope to work on my articles and improve some of the pages.

Come back and check often for updates. Or, if you have not done so already, sign up for the email newsletter or subscribe to my RSS feed!

Eat, Drink and be Merry!

It's been awhile since I last posted anything about Cameron Highlands. Phew! It's been some busy days after returning from my Church Camp that was held in Cameron Highland last end August. This time I managed to savour some of the recommended eateries and tried some of their specialties. What with work and activites, I finally cobbled together something about food and published it on the web.

Like any Malaysians (or anybody in the world for that matter), we all love to eat! Is it a case of "eat to live, or live to eat"? Just about any major city in Malaysia, you might just find a stall or a restaurant still open in the wee hours of the night, full of patrons (don't they ever sleep?).

And of course, the ever popular mamak stalls seemed to operate 24 hours a day! Yeah, give me roti chanai and teh tarik please? That's the usual order. A light enough snack for the wee hours.

Yep, in Cameron Highlands, it is no difference. But they don't operate 24 hours a day. The mamak stalls do close late, up to maybe 11pm...? With the cooler night time climate, it is always nice to have a cup of hot tea or teh tarik. Having some company around is always welcomed!

Colours of KL

Nowadays, the old buildings of Kuala Lumpur has been given a facelift. What a difference a new coat paint can do to old buildings. Even the backlanes are repainted. With its coordinated colors and regular pattern of the windows, well it looks pleasing to the eye.


I'm sure this Burger King outlet will have no problem attracting customers. It is so bright and colourful, it just jumps out at you! I didn't get a chance to 'makan' there though, as I was stuck in the awful Saturday afternoon traffic jam to downtown Petaling Street.

More pictures of KL at Jan Sojourn Blog.

Rain, Rain, Glorious Rain!

The Sunday rain brought much relief for us folks in Kuala Lumpur. Though the haze was much less on Saturday, the added heavy downpour on Sunday not only clear up the haze but also cooled down the climate weather. Us folks in KL now can breath easy!

But the sudden downpour did wreak some havok, especially in some of the poorer drainage area of the Klang Valley. Some minor flash flood was experienced. And not only that, my ADSL modem was hit by lightning and now all it does is making beautiful blinking lights on its led display with no data passing through at all! Ah, well, looks like I have to buy a new ADSL modem.

The heavy downpour made outdoor activities rather inconvenient and many people resorted to dropping by the shopping mall (me included)! Pretty much jam up the shopping mall addionally as if they are not jam enough already during the weekend!

Bad Haze in Kuala Lumpur, No Haze in Cameron Highlands

Lately, we are having some very bad haze in Kuala Lumpur and the surrounding Klang Valley and some parts of Malaysia. Fortunately, Cameron Highlands is spared from the terrible haze. The haze originated from Sumatra, Indonesia. It is caused by the burning of peat in the plantation or jungle area. This type of fire is very difficult to put out because the amber fire is smouldering away deep into the ground, fueled by much of the decomposed vegetation and trapped methane gases.

I took some shots with my Nokia 6600 mobile phone around my office working area. Visibility is probably only about 1~2km. The air is somewhat smelly and feels irritating in the nasal passage when you breathe.



I have an earlier picture of the park before the haze came over. What a difference! The sun shines through clearly and the trees looked really healthy. Just in case you are wondering why the trees had become leafless; the leafless trees of the hazy picture are not caused by the haze, but by the city council pruning the trees.

All of us in the Klang Valley is hoping to get relief from this haze soon. The Air Pollution Index (API) is in the hazardous region. Any rain would be good to wash away the smog, but the weather is a little dry and the water authorities is planning for water rationing too as the water level in the dam is getting kind of low.


Ah, how I wish I could go away to Cameron Highlands and get away from this haze! Seen here, a recent view of Cameron Highlands taken from the Heritage Hotel web cam. Nice, clean, clear air!

Cameron Highlands Strawberries

Cameron Highlands Strawberries grows very well in the cool climate weather. All year round the strawberries are available and grown at the various strawberry farms. Visiting the farms and markets I managed to get a few interesting shots of the juicy red strawberries.





Strawberries starts off as green and turns red as it ripens. This shot seem to sum up its metamorphosis from green strawberry to ripe red juicy strawberry.





"RM$10 for 5 plastic packs of strawberries!" said the stall seller! Well, if I have known, I would have waited before making purchases! That's the problem with the prices of vegetables, fruits and produce sold in Cameron Highland. The prices varies, and if you got the time, check around before making your purchase. Haggling is necessary to get better prices. But frankly speaking, I don't find the prices here any cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur!

Just for the fun of it, bargain some and try not to regret too much when you find other stalls sells cheaper! After all, the stall holders survive by selling to the tourist. And there are lulls and peaks of when the tourist comes and goes.

Weather Station View

One thing about Cameron Highlands, there are many little nook and cranny to explore. Most people would just head for the main tourist area like Tanah Rata town, Brinchang town, or the farms, etc or even just go to the main jungle trail.




Well this don't require walking, just driving around and enjoying the surrounding. With a map handy, my wife and I decided to try this scenic point located at the weather station.

This place is simple to say the least. But nevertheless, with a nice simple garden, and hut to sit by, and a very beautiful view of the area.

The weather station is curious enough with the weird weather recording contraption makes for a different kind of visit.

Cameron Highlands

I have made a recent trip to Cameron Highlands and stayed at Equatorial Hotel. This was my first stay at this hotel, and my dear wife managed to get a valley view overlooking a cliff.

On one of the moody cloudy days, I thought the distant hills look rather interesting. Used my newly acquired digital camera Panasonic Lumix with its 6x optical zoom, and tried my very best to take picture! Should remember to bring along a tripod for those zoom shots! Steadied my camera against the room balcony railing and fire away!

Quite a nice layered monochromatic shot! Did some cropping to make it more panaromic like.