Fraser Hill Nov 2008 Trip – WilfridWong.com

My Early Photography Work on Fraser’s Hill

Our (day 1) hotel room at The Smokehouse

Of the few highlands in Malaysia, Fraser’s Hill holds a special place in our hearts. It is tranquil, it is serene. November 2008 seems so distant. It was cloudy, rained most of the time. The same month when 2008 Formula 1 reached its finale. And this afternoon, I was glued to my TV watching the 1 hour qualifying rounds held in Melbourne. Season opening for the 2009 Formula 1.

Back in last November, when F1 was still fresh in our mind, I was racing my 2 litre Honda car – within safety limit of course – through the winding wet road of Fraser’s Hill. Heightened concentration on the road, for the more than 1 hour drive. Why? The final 8 kilometers road connection between the top of the hill and its nearest town is a one-way street. Odd hours up, even hours down, and we were running late. Lots of braking, acceleration, and overtaking. One 4WD overtook me. It must have made it to the gate in time. We fell short for just a couple of minutes. That’s life. We did our best. One too many slow moving vehicles that didn’t give way. And that was one hour’s wait. We drove somewhere else to kill time.

Back in last November, I was still trying to understand how dSLR works. The results are less than impressive. Pretty bad, I think. Cynthia called for a re-shoot. I agree. Nevertheless I put together a little album for memory’s sake. The Smokehouse is a lovely hotel. We always go back to the same hotel. A special thanks to Henry, Bala, Hanif, and Nural for giving us such a memorable stay at The Smokehouse. Hope to see y’all again the next time we visit Fraser’s Hill.

Nokia N96 Test Drive Episode 2 – GPS in the Highland

Ever since I got that lovely Nokia N96, I have not stopped playing with it. I am a big fan of GPS. And this post is dedicated to the computer gamers who often get to experience some forms of what the future will be like, today. Or to experience some forms of what today is like decades ago.

As we were driving up from Singapore to Fraser Hill in Malaysia, I had my Nokia Map switched on throughout the trip. One could argue that the screen is a bit tiny and question the necessity. But not having to pay for an extra GPS device just to tell me where I am serves my need. I now can see when the next highway intersection is coming up before I see the roadsigns. That is neat as I do at times miss the opportunity to bypass the Kuala Lumpur traffic. I can easily zoom all the way out to the country view (or to the planet view if to feel like living in the Moon makes you happy) and look at the overall progress of the trip – very much like what we see inside the plane. Or I can zoom all the way into the street level and see where are the upcoming towns nearby. All the landmarks are categorized into different icons. Including … petrol stations.

Unfortunately, not for the one above.

Before I continue the story of finding a petrol station at Fraser Hill, let me go back to the topic of why I dedicate this post to the gamers. For decades, we gamers explore the virtual world with a mini-map on the computer screen and to know exactly where we virtually are. It adds a lot of fun to our exploration activity. We humans love to travel because it is our innate nature to visit new places, explore new frontiers. Next time when you travel to a new city, try what I do when you are inside a cab. Take out your GPS phone and observe how your position moves across the map towards your destination. I did that often with my old Nokia N95 when I was in Jakarta. First, it gives me comfort that the cab drivers are taking me to where I want to go. Second, I develop a strong sense of where the landmarks are relative to each other. It adds a lot of meaning to my traveling too. Besides, it is closer to the virtual reality I have experienced for decades – a little GPS map right next to my car’s dashboard (note: Nokia Map does work well when you are on foot).

Now, back to the mini-story of our Fraser Hill trip. I had no idea why I did not top up my fuel tank before we climbed up the hill. We were low in fuel and could not find a petrol station within the town. I pulled out my Nokia N96 and did a search for the nearby petrol stations. Horror sank in when the nearest petrol station was more than 20 km away. 20 km may not seem much but with the 8km stretch of one-way-odd-hours-up-even-hours-down road and the average speed of 20-40 kph of bends and ups and downs, it seems far. Fortunately, we found a mini-store that sells … petrol.

I have taken 1,500 pictures with my Nikon D700 over our stay at Fraser Hill and Petaling Jaya and am eager to share some of better ones with you in the next few weeks’ time. Stay tuned for more pictures and stories of our trip. And stay tuned for more episodes on my Nokia N96 Test Drive journey too.

I wish to end this entry with one picture I took when we found a proper petrol station in one of the neighboring town of Fraser Hill – thanks to Nokia Map.