Fraser's Hill

The next few post are basically for family and friends, so if you don't like looking at holiday photos, best to go to some other blog now.

It was a long 3 month holiday this time, covering peninsular Malaysia and Borneo, Dubai, the UK and Turkey. Mostly a birding holiday (but also visiting Liz's family in the UK), which began at Fraser's Hill in peninsular Malaysia in July with our friend Jen.

Our first stop off the plane. Birdwatching at Selangor Dam on the way to Fraser's Hill.

Our accommodation at Silverpark Holiday Resort, a huge complex in a good location, but with moldy old-looking rooms.

The classic photo that must be taken at the Fraser's Hill clock.

A morning spent at the 'Gap' (at 825m) below Fraser's Hill (1300m), a quiet morning birdwise, but the area got us a new bird, Striped Tit-babbler.

The Old Smokehouse, a fancy place to eat at Fraser's Hill, but I did get a bad case of food poisoning later, that lasted two days. Was it from here?

A tower on the way to High Pines, looking for the elusive Brown Bullfinch.

The golf course at Fraser's Hill was a good area to see a group of Javan Cuckooshrike, another new bird for us.

An early breakfast Roti and Dahl, before birding the forest trails. Yummy food that Liz and Jen loved!

Feeling a little better after the food poisoning, I'm out on Bishop Trail looking for Rusty-naped Pitta (no luck).

We did catch a wonderful skink, a Blotched Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus praesignis). I found out later that this is one of the largest Spenomorphus skinks growing to 25cm and is a rarely seen montane species that is found above 800 metres.

Fraser's Hill got us 55 bird species with 13 new ones for Liz and 11 for me. Our next major stop was Miri in Sarawak Borneo. Little did we know of the adventure awaiting us, when the plane developed a faulty engine and had to turn back to KL half way through the flight to Miri!