Hi Bob
I wasn't quite footloose - not with two children, one only five months old!
But I believe having them along made getting along with people much easier.
Everyone made a fuss of baby Rowan, something we were very comfortable with.
While we were eating at the local Indian restaurant (just a corrugated iron
shed) a beautifully dressed (obviously best sari and lots of gold jewellery)
Indian lady who must have been in her late seventies entered, and stood in a
corner wringing her hands, obviously wanting to speak but very nervous.
Finally, at the encouragement of the restaurant owner she spoke. He
translated: She wants to take your baby to show him around the village. We
handed over our fat, very jolly five month old. He came back at midnight
looking very sleepy and contented. Obviously they'd fed him because his
stomach was like a baseball. After that we were treated like family. It
was just a pity none of them knew anything about birds.
At Lake Chini the tour operator's family offered to look after the kids
while we went off in this tiny boat to cross a raging muddy river. Amber's
nose had been out of joint because of all the fuss made of Rowan. But while
we were away the tour operator's brother (and business partner) got down on
one knee and proposed to her, telling her that he wasn't a Muslim, but a
good Christian. She replied that she didn't believe in God. He thought she
was absolutely wonderful.
We had a fabulous time, saw lots of great birds, and made many friends.
Denise
On 2/1/14 8:17 AM, "Bob Ashford" <> wrote:
> Hi Denise
>
> Aaahh! The mid-eighties
> Footloose and fancy free then I was...almost
> Did bird a few spots around KL but never ventured further!!
>
> I think Frasers is the winner
> Thanks for your response
> Bob
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Denise Goodfellow
> Sent: Wednesday, 1 January 2014 10:28 PM
> To: Paul Dodd; 'Bob Ashford'; 'Birding Aus'
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Frasers Hill vs Cameron Highlands?
>
> Hilary Thompson, the kids and I were at Fraser's Hill in the mid-eighties.
>
> I can't remember where we stayed. But I do remember that an Indian family
> took us under their wing and we ate in the same restaurant they did, and
> also visited their house. They looked after us like family.
>
> A Chinese birder who was also visiting, helped point out places to look for
> birds (amazing what one can understand even if you don't speak one another's
> language).
>
>
> Denise Lawungkurr Goodfellow
> PO Box 71, Darwin River,
> NT 0841
> 043 8650 835
>
>
>
>
>
> On 1/1/14 7:14 PM, "Paul Dodd" <> wrote:
>
>> Hi Bob,
>>
>> If you don't have your own transport then do Fraser's Hill. Cameron
>> Highlands is far too spread out to walk. There are a couple of
>> high-altitude specialties that you'll miss out on by not going to the
>> Cameron Highlands, but that will more than be made up for by the
>> variety within walking distance of any of the accommodations at
>> Fraser's Hill. People say that you need to drive around Fraser's Hill,
>> but when Ruth and I were there we had car trouble (we hired a Proton -
>> big mistake!) so we were forced to walk - no problem, we still saw
>> everything we wanted to. Things may have changed, but all
>> accommodation on Fraser's Hill is somewhat tired. We stayed at
>> Fraser's Silverpark Resort and found that the rooms were somewhat
>> mildew-ey, but at least it had reasonable gardens and wasn't too far a
>> walk from the town centre and from the Bishop's Trail. The one trail
>> you probably can't do by foot is the Telekom Loop - which is the
>> highest altitude trail on Fraser's Hill. There are several
>> restaurants on Fraser's Hill - including a Chinese restaurant which is
>> quite good. The Malaysian restaurants (there are two next to each other)
> are OK, but the difficulty we had was in identifying the food - there were
> few that spoke English at either of those restaurants.
>> All part of the adventure, though. As for guides, there are plenty of
>> independent guides operating in Malaysia, a quick Google search will
>> find most. If you are self-guiding, then it will pay to stop in at the
>> Information Centre (near the Mosque and over the road from the Chinese
>> Restaurant, if memory serves me correctly) - ask for Durai - he is a
>> well-known Fraser's Hill personality, and he certainly knows his
>> birds. If he has time he will guide you for an hour or a day or
>> whatever you can work out. He didn't charge us anything, but that was
> several years ago now.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Paul Dodd
>> Docklands, Victoria
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Birding-Aus On
>> Behalf Of Bob Ashford
>> Sent: Wednesday, 1 January 2014 4:31 PM
>> To: Birding Aus
>> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Frasers Hill vs Cameron Highlands?
>>
>> Hi Birders and good birding for 2014,
>>
>>
>>
>> I shall be in Kuala Lumpur between 07 and 11 April (dates not
>> absolutely
>> finalised)
>>
>> And I am intending to go to either Fraser's Hill or the Cameron
>> Highlands
>>
>>
>>
>> I shall probably take local transport to either and then spend my time
>> walking and birding
>>
>>
>>
>> I would really appreciate any suggestions from those that have been to
>> either to help me decide.
>>
>> Access, accommodation, best trails, local on-site birders/guides, etc
>>
>> I am not looking for expensive accommodation just a place to lay my
>> head
>>
>> I understand places to eat may be a challenge
>>
>> Rather spend my cash on a guide than accomm
>>
>>
>>
>> Appreciate any help
>>
>> Many thanks
>>
>> Bob Ashford
>>
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