Summerset Colonial Hotels and Villa - Ghost Hotel 2014 Part 1

Finding interesting out of nothing indeed ..

I came here with a car club many many years ago - Summerset has had 257 hotel rooms and 51 private chalets .. and as far as I can recall, it was not cheap either. Located not far from the town of Kuala Rompin, it is about 220km away from Kuala Lumpur. Elegant, with romantic incan lighting throughout the resort, this place was posh in its heyday and truly lived up to its colonial aspirations : main building with a fabulous dome, ornate furnishings, marble table lamps, french windows and doors, solid wood furniture all sprawled along the coast of South China Sea. This is one resort built with passion and a flair for design.

That was some 10 years ago.

In 2014, I was making my way from Pekan - Kuala Rompin on a decidedly long detour back to KL. Kuala Rompin has grown - it has KFC now - the barometer determining how modern a town is :). But what struck me was I didn't recall passing by Summerset ... a quick search on the Garmin and I was routing back to where it used to be ..

Hidden amongst the undrgrowth

"Eh surely cannot be!", i exclaimed. No way can this place bungkus. You can expect the Generic Budget Beach Resorts to fold but surely not a resort of this scale, size and grandeur. The owners would be stark raving mad to allow it to be foreclosed!

The tarmac road is clean - I can explain to you why NOW but I shall leave it for another blog entry involving a mysterious couple dwelling within these abandoned grounds ....

The Lobby

The paint job is holding on well in 2014 - definitely not cheap plaster paint. This is was a quality development.

One of the last few entries by the security guard

Part of the hotel block being reclaimed by the sea

The chalets look like a scene after Hurricane Katrina

Everything was left behind when the hotel was closed : furnishings, beds, TV, lamps, telephones, linen : most of them have been scavenged by looters but you can still find the odd CRT TV lying around (this was in the days when LCD was not even on the market), some of the bedsheets are still pure white after years of being abandoned, divans and mattresses are scattered all over. The office was left as is - documents, files, folders all left behind - printers, even staff shoes and not least the security logs, staff claim logbooks.

The paint job is holding up amazingly well - underscoring what I suspect has always been the mantra of the developer : build quality build posh, Everything just reeks quality - when most hotels go for simple windows and sliding doors, Summerset opted for French doors and windows. When resorts opt for cheaper carpets, Summerset went the country mile and used expensive wood flooring. The selection of paint too would not have escaped the attention to detail of the developers and it shows till today.
My guess is that one day all the staff turned up and found that the resort was locked up by Receivers and Managers. The R&M probably paid for security for awhile before it too ran out of funds - before the looters came swarming in.

Ok finding this place was a mini-discovery in itself - but what made the entire experience surreal was my close encounter with inhabitants of this resort .... next entry!

This entry would not have been possible without pics from the following blogs. I do not claim or own the copyright of the pre-2014 images taken therein.


http://j-travel.blogspot.com/2007/04/summerset-resort-kuala-rompin-8th-9th.html
alvinchew @ panoramio
http://www.my-rummy.com/rompin/Summerset_Resort.html

Further reads can be found here :

http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%2f2009%2f9%2f7%2fsouthneast%2f4640483&sec=southneast

POI : Thai Sabye Sabye Restaurant @ Kelana Jaya

When I saw Rashid Sidek at the door, I knew I found the long lost Thai Sabye Sabye restaurant.

TSS used to be located at a dinghy long forgotten shopping complex along Old Klang Road. It had illustrious neighbours : Ace Hardware, Econsave and a  questionable looking karaoke shop. But best of all it had covered underground carpark which charges RM0.50 per hour. That's cheaper than DBKL parking at street level above! One day the TSS owner lamented that a Singaporean buyer had bought the complex and all tenants have 30 days to go for the new owners have lavish plans for it. That was one year ago. And the building is still as decrepit today as it has always been.

So it was a nice surprise to stumble upon TSS at Kelana Jaya. No other Thai retaurant has a badminton player beckoning you over.

Its Thai food. Reasonably priced. The food is savory for sure. Can't go wrong with the ala carte menu like belacan fried rice (RM8.90) or rice with minced chicken with basil leave. It doesnt have the ambience of the SEA Cuisine chain like Flying Chillies or Absolute Thai : think budget Thai with for the masses kind of serving. Simple melamine plates. What it skimps on plates, it makes up on garnishing. All the ala carte meals come with generous garnish: depending on order it varies from salad to udang kering to savoury chicken to kerabu mangga.  Nothing fanciful but decent Thai fare for the typical salary men. This new outlet is now far bigger (2 storeys) and now offers Thai Steamboat BBQ Buffet as well.

For comparison, we'd rate De'Chiengmai as the leading tasty Thai restuarant, followed by SEA Cuisine chain and Sri Thai. So TSS falls firmly in the middling pecking order. Tasty but not great, tasty enough without being expensive.

But they have a specialty which most Thai restuarant does not offer : Honey Squid! This is a must try dish as we've been sufficiently around doing many other Thai eateries and have never found it on menu. It's RM15 per plate and well worth your time. This dish is LIMA BINTANG !! 

Eat like a badminton champion! And why not!

Honey squid

Who says creativity is dead??

 Judicious use of tracklogs to draw .. ahem .. rudimentary images.

Any budding GPS artists out there???

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/aug/06/runner-nike-san-francisco-penis

10 Most Spectacular Bridges You Must Cross

Langkawi Skybridge is in the list and featured the video made by us. Awesome!

http://goo.gl/3LPGyd

Gua Tempurung 2014

After 44 years, I finally set foot in Gua Tempurung. As is often the case, we tend to miss a lot of our local attractions and end up paying thousands of dollars visiting far flung places overseas instead. We  often hear of Mulu Caves or Batu Caves but Gua Tempurung's name never really struck a chord with potential visitors. Quite why so I can never tell, except that it is one heckuva cave worth your time. Well, better late than never I say.

Get ready for some 1,300 steps along metal ladders that will take you to the far end of the cave. Legend has it, the cave has 2 magical white pythons resident within Peninsular Malaysia's largest cave system. This is a thoroughly entrancing cave, complete with whistling wind corridors, amazing stalactite stalagmite formations and crystal clear underwater river.

KRU filmed Vikingdom to take advantage of of this stunning cave, but unfortunately it was not enough to save the movie :p

The main entrance to the cave - visitors will descend into its belly before ascending to the end of the cave

Steps galore - some 1300 worth

What does this look like to you?

Every Malaysian should go!

Tracking Langkawi Island : Langkawi Sky Bridge Aerial Video

This is a world class suspended sky bridge that is 410 feet long and located high up in Gunung MatCincang at 700+ m above sea level.

Although the video looked serene, the flying conditions were atrocious with really high winds and clouds constantly rolling in. This is one of those places where recovery of fallen gear would be nigh impossible!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PoLTDREUF80

Flashback 2011 : Town of Manong, Perak

Nuvi owner wrote to us asking for his town of Manong to be mapped. And we obliged.



Manong is situated along the Perak River and is shielded by a mountain range. The name is taken from a girl named Sarbanom who rebelled ("derhaka") against her mother.

A hamlet called Manong

Manong is famous for being close to Pulau Semat - an islet on the Perak River itself. Legend has it that before the Sultan of Perak can take the throne, he has to wet his feet at 7 rivers found all over Perak. Pulau Semat is one such location and the ascending Sultan would make his way from Manong to the little islet.

The island itself is mythical for another reason: Makam (grave) Sultan Tajol Ariffin is located on this island and tradition requires his grave to face where the sun sets. Instead it faces the rising sun. As such, this islet is known by locals as "pulau keramat" or a mystical island where 4D punters would flock in search for lucky numbers to buy. Mapio anyone ..

Further up the road, there is Laksa Pak Ngah, a favourite eatery amongst the locals. Next time you travel to Perak, take a trek along unusual roads and you may find an interesting village steeped with mystery and intrigue

Manong map and all POIs along the way was mapped in MSM NT 5.21 back in 2011.