Fraser's Hill is perhaps the least visited highland retreat among the big 3 in peninsular Malaysia namely Genting Highlands, Cameron Highlands and Fraser's Hill itself. But make no mistake that despite its relatively low key reputation, it has lots of hidden surprises to offer. I particularly like Fraser's Hill because of its well preserved natural environment. This is perhaps the positive spin off of being less touristy. During my visit there, I felt that the environment is significantly cooler and mistier compared to the Genting Highlands which has been overrun by massive hotel structures. The fresh mountain air felt revitalizing and I had not breath such good quality air in quite a while.
The infrastructure of the Fraser's Hill does not cater to mass tourism to levels of Genting Highlands. The narrow and winding roads and limited parking space as well as limited number of hotels are just reasons that the place cannot take in huge crowds of tourists. Perhaps three bus loads of tourists would already make the Fraser's Hill town center look congested. However despite the limitations of its infrastructure, the one thing that I liked was that the road leading up to the top from the Gap is a one way road with not much traffic to it. Although it is a narrow and wining road, one can rest assure that no traffic comes from the opposite direction as it is strictly one way up from one side and one way down from another side.
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| An old photo of Fraser's Hill showing what it looked like in the past. |
Don't be fooled by Fraser's Hill quiet and serene nature as it has also got some history to it. Named after the British adventurer-businessman Louis James Fraser, the mountain started off as a tin mining outpost founded by Mr. Fraser himself in the 1890s. At that time, the British army had not yet explored the virgin jungles of the Titiwangsa mountain range hence Mr. Fraser set out on an adventure to the mountains in search of areas with potential tin mining reserves. His efforts came to fruition when he stumbled upon rich deposits of tin ore in the areas surrounding the Fraser's Hill. He recruited Chinese coolies to mine the tin ore and build the mountain road to transport the mined ore to the nearby town of Raub in central Pahang. Being the shrewd businessman he was, he set up opium dens on the mountain which also served as gambling dens to cater for his Chinese workers whom which he profited from the salary he paid to them. Perhaps it was Mr. Fraser's destiny to vanish without any traces within the mountains he spent a lot of his time exploiting. He was never found ever since and only left behind his name for the mountain he so dearly loved. With his disappearance, the hill outpost was left to be taken back by nature until in 1917 J. Ferguson Davie who was the Bishop of Singapore set out to rediscover the mining outpost left behind by Mr. Fraser. He saw its tourism potential and came up with the idea of making the Fraser's Hill a hill station retreat and the rest is history.
Our journey to the Fraser's Hill was very interesting as we passed through the little known Selangor countryside which offered beautiful vistas not typical to the Selangor that we usually hear off. When one mentions Selangor, industrial places like Shah Alam, Petaling Jaya or Subang Jaya usually first come into mind. We took the exit at Lembah Beringin and headed towards the foothill of Fraser's Hill passing through a series of plantation villages along the way. Lembah Beringin is an abandoned housing project which looked like some kind of nuclear war aftermath. Lembah Beringin was conceptualized as a dream housing development within an orchard overlooking the beautiful Titiwangsa mountains. However, the reality of the project did not reflect its dream-like concept and eventually it fell into disregard. Driving through the site gave us all the creeps as it was evident that nature has partially claimed back the site.
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| The abandoned housing project of Lembah Beringin. |
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The sleepy plantation town of Kerling on the way to the foothill of the Titiwangsa mountains.
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We drove passed what was probably the most beautiful part of the journey at the Selangor Reservoir area which offered open vistas of the lake and the surrounding mountains. A picture stop is very hard to resist here.
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| Overlooking the beautiful Selangor Reservoir. |
Upon reaching "The Gap" outpost, it is a one way narrow and winding road all the way to the top of Fraser's Hill where the hill station town is located. Driving up this narrow and winding road can be quite uncomfortable for some people especially those prone to motion sickness. It is suggested that regular pits stops are taken along the way to breathe the fresh oxygen rich mountain air in order to overcome motion sickness. The famous clock tower located right in the middle of town greets visitors upon reaching the top of the hill. This clock tower is probably the most recognizable icon which has become synonymous to Fraser's Hill.
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| The famous Fraser's Hill clock tower which is probably the most recognizable icon of the hill. |
We stayed at the Fraser's Silverpark apartment resort which is located at the highest point of the Fraser's Hill. This apartment complex is largely abandoned despite its ideal location perched on top of a windy and scenic peak. I was told that the developers of the apartment went bust after the project was completed hence the entire running of the complex had to be undertaken by the owners. Unfortunately collection of apartment maintenance fees was a big problem and many of the owners did not pay up as they had lost confidence in the project. To make things worse there are so many owners and many of them foreigners from Hong Kong and Singapore which makes reaching them a hassle. Some of the apartment units are evidently being taken back by nature with thick undergrowth growing in the balcony and probably inside the unit too. Most of the units were empty and the entire place had an eerie feeling to it.
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| The Fraser's Silverpark apartments resort. |
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| Thick undergrowth seen growing inside the unit. The building facade clearly defaced by moss as a result of the damp air. |
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