Students waiting to enter the lecture hall.
OB for me! (my daughter's hostel).

Kolej Matrikulasi Negeri Sembilan (KMNS)

My daughter was accepted by KMNS to do matriculation. I went to Kuala Pilah, yesterday to register her admission. Kuala Pilah is known as the driest place in Malaysia as oppose to my hometown Taiping being the wettest one. If not for the admission I do not know when do I have the opportunity to land myself on this town.

We exit PLUS at Senawang and followed the road signs. The road was a winding one once you past Senawang township. It reminded me of my drive to Fraser's Hill few weeks earlier. After travelling for about 35km we reached Kuala Pilah town. KMNS is located further up by 5 km toward Tampin.

The campus looked very presentable despite earlier input from friends who said it was a run down facility. He probably comparing it to some of the new establishment in other states. Despite influx of new student coming to register the staff handled their job like professional. It gave the parents so much confidence to leave their children with KMNS.

I was fortunate enough to meet En. Mat Sani, Penolong Pengarah who head of the IT Department. He went beyond my expectation in answering all my enquiries and his conduct is exemplary to other officers.

I looked forward to my future visit to KMNS to see how my daughter is getting along.

The mini clock tower.
The origin of Frase's Hill.
The Police Station built in 1919.

Fraser’s Hill being more than 1500m above sea level enjoy a cooler temperature compared to Kuala Lumpur but apart from that it is just as humid and wet like the rest of Malaysia. What make this hill resort more unique compared to the other hill resort in the country is the ‘Little England’ atmosphere it try to portray.
Fraser’s Hill was named after Scottish tin trader, Louis James Fraser who was operating there in 1890s. The mining activities ceased by 1913 when the place ran out of tin deposits. The former mining area is where the present day Fraser’s Hill Golf Club is located.
The British colonial administration decided to developed the area into a hill resort in 1917 to serve as a week end retreat for the Europeans who resided in Kuala Lumpur. Many of the old building still have the old colonial architecture to remind us of the era.
There are numerous trails to choose for those who like to explore the green forest where 250 bird species can be found. The trails carry name like Maxwell trail, Abu Suradi trail, Bishop’s trail, Hemmant trail, Rompin trail, Kindersley trail, Mager trail and Pine tree trail must have mystery tale behind it.
Now is the time to visit this interesting hill resort before further development robbing its uniqueness.

DINING at THE SMOKE HOUSE.
(Friday 9th. May 2008)

The Smokehouse Hotel is a small establishment in Fraser’s Hill. It only have 14 rooms. What make it very special from the rest is that it was set in an English Tudor style. The hotel was built in 1939 during the colonial era. The interior is decorated English style. It remind me of bed and breakfast set up that is very common in UK.
I went to the hotel with my family to have dinner. I hardly parked my car when the manager came out and greeted us. We were the only customer at that time. He invited us to come inside for tea while waiting for our dinner to be prepared. We were given a quick tour of the honeymoon suite since time was on our side.
The dinner was finally ready and we were served like some colonial masters who just came in for week end retreat from the City. It was a memorable experience for us.

DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD.
This is a collection of 50 historical events occurring in the last 2500 years that leave an impact on today’s world. Each event was analyzed by the author in details to explain their causes and consequences. Starting from assassination of Julius Ceaser right up to the destruction of World Trade Center.
If man can learn from history, we will have an everlasting peace on earth but that is not to be so. Throughout the history of mankind we have been fighting culminating with the two world wars.
Many scientific discoveries which changed the way we live were also covered, including invention like telephone and steam engine.
The book make an interesting reading as well as very educational for all ages.

Author: Hywel Williams
Publisher:Quercus 21 Bloomsbury Square London WC1A 2NS

Week end at Fraser's Hill.

The last lime I went to Fraser's Hill was about 6 years ago. So I really looked forward to spend my week end there with my family. We left KL at 0200 pm and reached the foothill of Fraser's Hill called the Gap, about two hours later. We just missed the slot to go up, so had to wait about an hour before we could continue our journey. As road from the Gap to Fraser's Hill was quite narrow, for safety reason, the traffic had to be regulated at hourly interval.

There were a lot repair work going on along the stretch between Kuala Kubu Bahru and the Gap which slowed us down. I could not locate the spot where Sir Henry Gurney was ambushed by the bandit during the emergency period. I wanted to show my kid the historical place. There was a sign telling the road to Kuala Lipis was closed until further notice. No wonder the traffic was rather light. To be continued.

Danielle Steel – H.R.H – (Her Royal Highness)

Princess Christianna of Liechtenstein was destined to rule her country one day. A glamorous job which she dreaded as she preferred to lead a normal life. While serving as a Red Cross volunteer in Africa she met and fall in love with a co- volunteer, Dr. Parker.
Torn between state constitution which obligated her to marry a royalty, Christianna face the prospect of unhappy life as her father, Prince Hans Josef refused to give his consent.
In an unfortunate event, her father was killed in an assassination attempt.
She was then installed as the next ruler for her country. As the reigning monarch she was able to shape her future through constitutional amendment which entailed her to marry the man she loved., giving the story a happy ending.
Light reading recommended especially for romantic readers.

CAN YOU SEE THE STRINGRAY? WHAT CAN YOU SEE WHEN THE WATER IS CLEAR.

I was at fresh fish market, Baserah during the week end. I saw this small stream beside the fish market. The water was crytal clear. You can see all kind of things being thrown in there including dead fish and squibs. I imagine the dead fish will be washed to the sea eventually and the food cycle will be repeated.

The prices for fresh fish is so expensive nowdays. It is really a waste to see the dead fish ended at the bottom of the river. If only we can redirect them to the needy. We have to keep the river clean too if we want to manage our environment efficiently.

YOUNG BIKERS HAVING BEST TIMES OF THEIR LIFE.

I was at Batu Hitam beach, Baserah, Kuantan when this group of young bikers stopped near my car. What attracted me was the way they parked their machines, in a nice orderly manner, as if it was their standard operating procedure. They gladly posed for me when asked.

Are these the Mat rempit gang who raced their machines during weekend endangering the life of others? I do not think so judging from the polite conversation I had with some of them.