There had not been much change with the town center since our last visit. If anything, it had gone quieter. And we were talking December here, at the peak of the school holiday season.
At lunch, I spoke to the store owner. Apparently, business only picked up during weekends and even then it was pretty modest. During weekdays, she only served a la carte. Compared to last year, business had really suffered.
Visitors tended to stay only for the day, not spending the night. After all, you could reach KL in under 3 hours from here. Those who came, tended to bring their own food and had a picnic, skipping lunch. Business at night depended on those who stayed and on one of the evening when we went out for dinner, the food court was practically empty.
Visitors also spent less, only coming for photographs and then head off home.
We drove around the smaller roads up the hill where the corporate holiday bungalows were. They were either empty or not maintained. Some of them were in really sad state. Even the roads were not paved well and clearly lacked maintenance. The golf course also looked empty.
One would expect that with the economic downturn, those who usually spent their holidays abroad would try something closer to home. Clearly that has not caught on. For a place which depended solely on tourism, this was worrying. It would be a shame should the situation deteriorate further as it would start a downward spiral .....
Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 7:12AM 
Goodbye Downton
Finally, I've run out of episodes of Downton Abbey. I watched the final episode last weekend during a night of marathon Doynton watching, downing the last couple of episodes - which lasted around 3 hours on my Apple TV.
It brought closure to most of the story arch, but left enough room in case the production were to go on in the future. Reception, and happy endings. The final episode being a Xmas special featuring a wedding. And no, it wasn't Lady Mary's.
So, finally I completed all the six series, and for good measure we went back to watch its pilot episode, just to see how the story had developed over the years. Yes, the household used to be bustling and with the passage of time, the transformation of the British society as a whole after the World War, the high society had stopped being the norm.
Great series and would be difficult to replicate. At the end of the fifth season I thought the series would expend to the States. But that didn't materialise. Missed opportunity. Great six seasons. And best to leave while it was still on top.