The last installment of Smokehouse

From what I gathered, the house was built at the beginning of the last century as a retreat for the colonial civil servants who were posted in the Old Malaya. I must say that they picked the right spot.

Fraser's Hill remained rather exclusive and secluded until this day. The town was quiet enough for a quick break, but remained connected enough that you could easily still get food when you were up there. The were a few resorts and hotels around there, but I still think Smokehouse remained the nest Fras's Hill had to offer. Yup! We would definitely be returning back ..... More on the Fraser's Hill stay here.

More photos of the Smokehouse

As you can see from the photos, the main hangout was the main lounge where it was nice and cosy. It was the place where we had our hot chocolate in the vending as well as watching a quick TV. The Wifi signal was also pretty strong there. I loved it the most when it was raining outside, with the windows opened.

This was actually the patio between the main house and the annexYou heard it ....The main lounge, but the fireplace was not on except in DecemberChatting with one of the staffsWhat's on the menu?The cosy dining areaOn our last visit, the fire was on, making the whole lounge nice and hot. They only put the fireplace up during December, around Christmas. Appropriate I thought. When it was warm, it was really hard to leave the lounge to head back to the rooms .....

By the barOn the fireplaceCosy lighting

More on the Fraser's Hill stay here.

Selamat Hari Raya

It had been a full day of eating, drinking and all round partying. After the prayers in the morning, my brother-in-law came to visit and hang around for a bit before I received a call from my sister to come over to Bukit Antarabangsa.

More food. I was really full even before lunch. For lunch, my sister went over to one of the celebrity who lived in my Mum's neighbourhood for more food. We did not join them, and called it the day.

Irfan and his grandparentsCome evening, we went over again to my parents house and it was havoc. The sparklers were out and the boys with their cousins were really having a ball. Even helping out clearing the mess they created after playing with the fireworks.

As I was blogging this entry, I was still at my Mum's having more food, while waiting for the children to calm down. Chelsea was playing Wigan on the TV, leading 2 nil. It was halftime. I might hang on until the end of the game.

To all my friends, colleague and family, thanks for all the Aidilfitri wishes. I may not be able to reply to all of them today, but I was sure I would get around to it soon. Selamat Hari Raya.

Last Tarawikh

After Tarawikh last night - probably the last one for the year, I brought the whole troupe to join Julia's children at my Mum's place. It was havoc and we stayed well past midnight.

Julia wanted to go to Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman to look for some bargain, but I would imagine that the traffic going to be a nightmare! It sure would be fun though.

My parents would be in Kuala Lumpur through out Raya, but talking to my Dad, he was keen to head back to Penang for a couple of days after that. I don't think I could spare the time though. My break would last until Wednesday, and I would be back to work - on call as well - next Thursday. The week would just fly by like a breeze I was sure.

Dark Knight Rises

It was a bit tricky to blog about a third installment of a series when you did not pay attention to the first, and completely missed the second. Well, that was me with the Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy. I saw the first one on ASTRO, missed the second and watched Dark Knight Rises last weekend. And, true to the artful direction of Mr Nolan, I was able to keep abreast with the plot.

Close to three hours and the pace of the movie was relentless. Complete with a revelation in the end. The special effect was spectacular, but the storyline was strong enough to carry the movie through. At the end of it, it was pretty clear that Anne Harthaway can kick ass and there were room for sequel, although Christopher Nolan had made it clear that he would not be continuing with the franchise. Better quit when you were on top I supposed, because it would be kind of difficult to top this one. Great action, great storyline and superb acting, especially by the supporting cast, although through to any Batman movies, one should not take the plot too literally. Otherwise, how could you explain being alive after being trapped underneath subway rubles for three months.

I watched the movie with Puan Anita at Mid Valley, on my first day off for Raya. And as you could imagine, we were interrupted a few times with phone calls calling for errands. And even then, it was easy to get in and out of the movie. Now, what we had to do was watch the second installment. I thought it was playing on ASTRO. A highly recommended movie.