Fraser's Hill revisited

OK......this time i am going to blog away from the my usual theme as I am going to take all of you to Fraser's Hill. Since bird-watching is indeed a healthy and academic outdoor sport, I have no qualms blogging about my experience here (in Raub, not neccesarily has to be in KL).... i guess i am not too far off from my theme.

I am sure most of you have visited Fraser's Hill (FH) at least once in your life. I vaguely remember going up there with my family when I was only about 6-7 years old.....I could not remember much all that have happened and could only recall that my mom had to visit a clinic after stepping on a nail. Ouch!

So after 26 years.....here I am at Fraser's Hill again.

Two hours away from Kuala Lumpur and about an hour drive from the town of Kuala Kubu Baru, I finally reached the hill tops. It is quieter and less popular than the other 2 mountain destinations (Genting, as it is nearer to the city and Camerons for its many family-oriented activities and vegetations). There is basically nothing much to do in Fraser's hill except if you are into bird-watching (FH boasts over 250 species of birds, including some migratory birds from as far as Siberia) and jungle trekking (Fraser's Hill has about 10 trails).

If you attempt to visit this place, do take note of two important facts.

1) There's no petrol stations in Fraser's Hill. Thus, you would need to pump up at Kuala Kubu Baru before heading upwards.
2) Be mindful of the 'Gap' schedule as the journey up and down Fraser's Hill is only ONE WAY at any one time. So, you will need to find out what time you should be at the Gap if you want to head up or down the hill. Odd hours - Up, Even hours - down

Map of Fraser's Hill

Popular landmarks:
1) The clock tower at the center of the town
2) Post office
3) Fraser's Hill Golf Club (FHGC)

There are only two eateries (the rest are in the hotels) called Hill View Restaurant and Piccadilly Cafe (newly open) which are centrally located.....next to the clock tower. Since I cannot stomach spending RM 10 on a roti canai/prata for breakfast, my husband and I ate at the other alternative restaurant most of the time. Price is reasonable (KL price).

We stayed at Shahzan Inn for its location and also availability......most of the resorts and hotels are fully booked as it is the holiday season. It is a pity that many of the colonial-styled bungalows look as they have seen better days. The best time to visit FH would be in June, when the weather is good and the birds come out to play! A 3D2N trip is more than sufficient to see the whole of Fraser's Hill.

'Must' visit in FH:
1) Jeriau waterfall (see map attached)
Good picnic spot for the entire family. Spotted many birds along the trail


2) Bishop trail
I did not manage this as i've heard it is full of blood-sucking leeches during this time of the year, but highly recommended by the residents of Fraser's Hill (2 hours trek one-way)
3) Allan's water
A small lake next to the Abu Suradi trail (did this trail, got bitten by a leech)
4) The clock tower

In the month of June, international as well as local bird watchers gather at the hill resort to participate in the Fraser's Hill International Bird Race, a non-competitive event that requires bird watchers to race against time to spot as many bird species as possible within the routes in Fraser's Hill. The next race would be held on the 20-21 June 2010. Some of the common birds found in FH are barn swallows, minivets, drongo, Mountain fulvettas and Grey wagtails.

Pic above: Streaked spiderhunter

Pic above: Black-throated Sunbird

Pic above: Long-tailed Sibia

Pic above: Silver-eared Mesia (centre) and Spectacled Laughingthrush

If you love the tranquility of the nature, the cold and misty weather and birds.......this place comes highly recommended.

Eating to de-stress

I bet everyone is guilty of the above more than once in their life time or in my case........definitely more than I could remember....have a good read..

"When the going gets tough, the stressed-out eat. That about sums up what some people call "stress eating".

Put another way, it is the consumption of food in response to feelings of stress rather than hunger"

http://health.asiaone.com/Health/Eat%2BRight/Story/A1Story20091217-186548.html

Money does grow on trees- A visit to Carey Island

I had a rare opportunity to visit Carey Island last Tuesday, which is a short distance away from Teluk Panglima Garang. Carey Island is about 80 km from KL and is actually a restricted area. It is owned by Sime Darby and if I am not mistaken the natives of the island, the Orang Asli (I was told that there is an Orang Asli settlement in Carey Island). Carey island is 1/5 the size of Singapore and 1/2 the size of Penang Island. The visit was necessary as we needed to understand more about palm oil and the extraction of tocotrienol (vitamin E family) from the fruit.

The island is named after the founder, a British named Mr. Edward Valentine Carey. Many crops had been introduced to Carey Island since then, namely coffee, tea, tea tree, basically commodity plants, till the introduction of the oil palms from West Africa, which later transformed the whole island (well about 80%) into an oil palm plantation.

Mr. Carey also built more than 10 colonial houses (still standing) in the island which are currently maintained by the staff of Sime Darby. We visited one of those houses called the 'Hatter's Castle'. The person-in-charge told us that the reason it is called 'Hatter' is because the house was originally built with a hat-shaped roof till they renovated it sometime back. The rooms in 'Hatter's Castle' are huge with secret passage ways that double up as a closet......hehehh i guess that's where they hid the mistresses back in those days......

Since the island is rather far from civilization, the management has built a small but sustainable community facilities and religious houses such as a temple, a small church and a mosque. There's also a small petrol kiosk, hospital or rather clinic and a school for people living in the island.

The plantation manager took us on a walkabout and demonstrated the different stages of the palm fruits. The 'male' and 'female' part of the plant that eventually meet via wind and insect pollination will form bunches of fruits (unriped being the dark-coloured fruits to the ripe ones being bright red). It is also interesting to note that 70% of the entire plantation is made up of 'female' trees and the rest 'male' trees.

"When is the best time to harvest the fruit? and how can one tell whether the fruits are ripe?" one of my curious colleagues enquired.

"Oh, simple, just look at the ground......if you see loose fruits on the ground (1-2 loose fruits), that means that the particular bunch of fruits are ready for harvest" replied the plantation manager. "And after the worker has harvested the bunch, he needs to carve his staff ID onto it, so we could trace back if the fruits were harvested too early, just nice or waited too long until they are over-riped. Then there goes the KPIs. The supervisor will also be held responsible if any bunches of fruits were left out and turned rotten".


What fascinated us was the fact that the management does not use any chemicals to rid the plantation of pests and insects. Instead, they planted many types of shrubs that are beneficial to the survival of certain insects and these insects, in turn, are the ones that keep the the population of pests such as bagworms and catterpillars in check (biological population control). This is because, the pests devour the fronds and this may affect the yield of the fruits by up to 30%.

Not only that, the number one pest in any oil palm plantations is the mouse/rat and this, the management has cleverly welcome the barn owls by building small houses for the owls to live and rest during the day (99% of the diet of the barn owls are rodents). These methods are effective in keeping pests at bay, ensuring high quality yield and does not damage the environment. How clever is that!


We also visited a mill and was given a short briefing on the extraction of crude palm oil (CPO) from the yellow-orange flesh (mesocarp) of the fruit. All parts of the fruit are used; to produce cooking oils, supplements in the form of vit E (beneficial for the skin, heart and certain types of cancer), in food ingredients and as biodiesel. The endocarp (the white centre) can be used to make soaps and cosmetics and the kernel (the black ring surrounding the endocarp) can be used as fuel for machineries.

I guess we Malaysians are truly blessed for having oils from both the ground (petroleum) and trees (oil palm) and we should never take these commodities for granted. We are indeed one of the top two CPO producing countries in the world.....thanks to the British people who brought the trees into Malaysia. They originally had the intention of using the trees as ornamental plants! who would have guessed?



As for me, the oil palm holds much potential in the future. Think about it......oil can finally be grown to run vehicles, machineries and even generate power someday.......Malaysia will stand to gain alot! No wonder Sime Darby is treating these trees like babies......money does grow on trees......literally-speaking....

Birding & the City - It is an eye-opener for my husband and I when we visited Lake Gardens recently.

I am a city gal....born and bred in KL. Even though i love the rustic life of the "kampung", I do get bored easily and can't wait to get back to the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan city.

But then, I have long passed the joy of clubbing, partying and shopping. Not that i totally shun these activities, but I guess when you reached the age of 32, you start to wonder whether there's anything more to life than just spending your hard-earn money on superficial stuffs such as partying and shopping........

Bird-watchingPic above: blue-tailed bee-eater

I have rediscovered that there are plenty of 'healthy, educational and fun' activities one could participate in the city. Yes, you do not need to go out of the city to indulge in these activities. Rather than taking your children to the hypermarkets and shopping malls (I know many young parents do), why not take them out to the Lake Gardens for bird-watching? Not only is it free, but everyone gets to sweat a little, which hey, is always good for physical and mental health.

Pic above: Common Flameback (wood pecker)

Instead of letting them have a go at the playground, you can take the opportunity to teach them about the resident birds that make Lake Gardens their home. Before this, all we know about birds that strive in the city of KL are the notorious crow (gagak), burung pipit, pigeon and the common myna.

Pic above: Black-naped oriole

Birding is a great side-hobby for photographers. They can take this a step further by identifying the birds that they captured on films and studying these birds (about their habitats).

Pic above: Hadida Ibis from South Africa

Being with nature is a humbling experience as it helps us (and the younger generation) understand that all living creatures should live in harmony and to be thankful for all the wonderful flora and fauna that god almighty has created.

Pic above: Green-billed Malkoha

The time is definitely now, that everyone of us should make a conscious effort in preserving what we have and what better way to do so.......... by educating ourselves, our children and youths. This is what this blog is intended to be........to be read and shared to those interested in making a difference in their lives (be it your health or preserving mother earth and all her inhabitants).

Pic above: White-breasted waterhen

Pic : White-throated Kingfisher

Some of the wild birds captured (on digital cam) and identified at Lake Gardens, KL (These bird pics are not taken in bird park, but free-flying ones around Tasik Perdana).

Pic above: Asian Glossy Starling

Pic above: Pink-necked Green pigeon (far left) and its female counterpart (right)

Photos courtesy of David Chan (photographer and an avid bird-watcher)

Can soya milk cause men to grow breasts?

Extracted from Asiaone news.

"No, there is little evidence to support this belief.

A dietitian with the HPB says soya products such as beancurd and soya milk are low in saturated fat and a good source of protein and can be consumed as part of a healthy balanced diet.

But soya beans do contain isoflavones, a naturally occurring antioxidant with weak properties of female hormones, which has been thought to increase the risk of gynecomastia (development of abnormally large mammary glands in males) and decrease a man's libido.

But the amount of isoflavones is insignificant, so it is safe for men to drink soya milk.

However, some studies have linked excessive soya consumption to certain health problems such as dementia, so it is best to drink soya milk in moderation.

'For people with hormone-sensitive cancers, such as breast, ovarian, or uterine cancer, consumption of soya products is discouraged due to concerns about the female hormone-like properties of isoflavones, which may aggravate their condition.'

Other common myths on food shared on this link........