It took years and hundreds, perhaps thousand of Indian laborers working with their bare hands and basic tools to complete the 13 kilometers road that leads to the top of this amazing mountain range. The top most is 1250 meter from the sea level. It is not an ordinary road likes that one see at Cameron Highland and Frazer Hill. The climb was almost vertical with 93 hairpin corners which made it impossible to drive up there using an ordinary car. We were driven up there using the Land-rover, that hardy British made four-wheel drive, an amazing workhorse that could take the hairpin corner with ease. The 13 kilometers drive up to the top took half an hour. The road was narrow and only with the expertise of the driver made it possible to drive both ways. All throughout the ways one see greens of the tropical jungle that had been there for the last 1.5 millions years. Other then the green that is often blanketed by thick mist there are nothing much to see except dilapidated houses that once was the residents and rest-house of the British officers and their families in the hay day of the colonial era.
From what I notice only little repairs are done here and there but mostly all the buildings that I saw are left to the elements and in the process of decay. It looks like the maintenance is a bare minimum. The road looks like it needs a major repair and broadens but it seems it has been like that for years. Had it not been for the wonderful driver that took us up and down the whole trip would be a total waste. Such a gem of a cool resort on the top of the world with cool temperature seems to go to waste. What a waste to our national heritage. Had the place been given due maintenance and the road widens, flower garden maintained it would be a heaven for tourist. The 1.5 million years old forest is already a ready attraction to nature lover all over the world. We should remember our Main Range; the Banjaran Titiwangsa had never been devastated by the Ice Age like that in the western hemisphere, so our forest is actually exactly as it was when the first plants start growing. That is our asset and it would attract visitor from near and afar. Yet it look like nothing serious is been done to preserved this national treasure of ours. Except for the service provide for one to go up and down, very little seem to have been done to preserve this gem of a Hill Resort. Sad indeed, when million are spend on new recreational projects but this one that is so close to the Taiping town has not been given due attention it deserved.
The drive up and down are dangerous and I would advice folks not to bring their children along on such a trip. At present there are nothing to see but the flora and fauna of the tropical jungle. How we wished that they had set a rest site where we could enjoy Teh Tarik in the cool comfort of the green surrounding. The whole areas are suitable for planting of flowers but the only flowers that one sees are the wild flowers or some old one that had managed to survived on its own. I hope that the authority concern would look seriously on the redevelopment of this resort rather then developing new one. Even the resort north of Taiping that was developed recently seem to be almost deserted on the day we visited it; the buildings and the landscaping look like it need a professional maintenance. So I felt that it is wise to spend money on the Maxwell Hill rather then on any new resorts.
The Maxwell Hill project was completed in 1884 and in 1910 it was gazette as a Forest Reserved. I hope that it would stay as a Forest Reserve for eternity. So to nature lover who are interested is just the flora and fauna where time stood-still for millions of years, this is still the place to visit and enjoy the greens as well as bird watching. For the youth a hike up is an adventure not to be missed. On our way up and down we saw a numbers of local hiking and they seem to be enjoying the adventure.
It is now renamed as Bukit Larut but whatever name they choose to replace the colonial name it should not be left to rot and eventually destroyed by the elements. It is indeed depressing to see such a wonderland of nature which was built with the sweats of thousand of laborers is left to rot. Anyway do have a nice day.
From what I notice only little repairs are done here and there but mostly all the buildings that I saw are left to the elements and in the process of decay. It looks like the maintenance is a bare minimum. The road looks like it needs a major repair and broadens but it seems it has been like that for years. Had it not been for the wonderful driver that took us up and down the whole trip would be a total waste. Such a gem of a cool resort on the top of the world with cool temperature seems to go to waste. What a waste to our national heritage. Had the place been given due maintenance and the road widens, flower garden maintained it would be a heaven for tourist. The 1.5 million years old forest is already a ready attraction to nature lover all over the world. We should remember our Main Range; the Banjaran Titiwangsa had never been devastated by the Ice Age like that in the western hemisphere, so our forest is actually exactly as it was when the first plants start growing. That is our asset and it would attract visitor from near and afar. Yet it look like nothing serious is been done to preserved this national treasure of ours. Except for the service provide for one to go up and down, very little seem to have been done to preserve this gem of a Hill Resort. Sad indeed, when million are spend on new recreational projects but this one that is so close to the Taiping town has not been given due attention it deserved.
The drive up and down are dangerous and I would advice folks not to bring their children along on such a trip. At present there are nothing to see but the flora and fauna of the tropical jungle. How we wished that they had set a rest site where we could enjoy Teh Tarik in the cool comfort of the green surrounding. The whole areas are suitable for planting of flowers but the only flowers that one sees are the wild flowers or some old one that had managed to survived on its own. I hope that the authority concern would look seriously on the redevelopment of this resort rather then developing new one. Even the resort north of Taiping that was developed recently seem to be almost deserted on the day we visited it; the buildings and the landscaping look like it need a professional maintenance. So I felt that it is wise to spend money on the Maxwell Hill rather then on any new resorts.
The Maxwell Hill project was completed in 1884 and in 1910 it was gazette as a Forest Reserved. I hope that it would stay as a Forest Reserve for eternity. So to nature lover who are interested is just the flora and fauna where time stood-still for millions of years, this is still the place to visit and enjoy the greens as well as bird watching. For the youth a hike up is an adventure not to be missed. On our way up and down we saw a numbers of local hiking and they seem to be enjoying the adventure.
It is now renamed as Bukit Larut but whatever name they choose to replace the colonial name it should not be left to rot and eventually destroyed by the elements. It is indeed depressing to see such a wonderland of nature which was built with the sweats of thousand of laborers is left to rot. Anyway do have a nice day.
