After Issac’s seminary class at the chapel, we did not attend his art class but three of us drove down Segambut to Alvin’s work site to pick him. Alvin took an half day leave as we had a weekend getaway trip to Kuala Kubu Bharu.
The journey to Kuala Kubu Bharu took us about an hour. From the sight of fast-moving cars on highways to narrow-paved roads. From a lot of cars to lesser and a few.
Alvin stopped and drop by a roadside selling durians stall, it was so happy of them seeing 3 of them enjoying their delicious durians!
Upon arriving, I called Aunt Jasmine and got the information of the home stay. After settling down our luggage and stuffs, we had a quick lunch at the famous Restaurant Xin Yuen Kee.
Restaurant Xin Yuen Kee is famous for its own homemade noodles. In addition to their signature Loh Mee, Alvin also ordered a special dish – stinky bean fried noodles. We have never seen it in other places that serve this dish, thus it is a dish that not to be missed.
Other than that, he ordered a small plate of fish cakes, and the Hokkien Mee. All of us were hungry and we quickly finish the meals on that served on the table.
After that, we joined Aunt Jasmine and the 小feel文创市集新古毛造势活动 activities onwards. Our tour leader is from local, she knows everything about KKB from its history down to the people here. She told us that for decades, the people worked together to rebuild the town.
She brought up the stories behind Kuala Kubu Bharu, when the Sungai Selangor Dam broke on 1883 and caused a massive flood. The second time it broke in 1926, it wiped out the whole town except for Guan Yin Gu Si Temple and Al-Hidayah Mosque.
After the flood happened, the British moved the town to a higher place and started the reconstruction. The town was then named Kuala Kubu Bharu, meaning New Kuala Kubu in English.
This town seems like still stay in the tunnel of time. It was the first town in Malaysia that was properly planned by the British Government during British colonial period. The trees that planted along the rod are neat and beautiful. Each street is well-planned, and various buildings and public facilities were wisely planned.
The heat from the sun did not stop our excitement to discover more of the town. We walked pass the heritage sites while Sue explained to us about them. From the way she described the town, I could tell how much she loved it. I found myself impressed by small details, from the old-school patterned mosaics paved in front of old store to the Chinese characters plastered on the discoloured walls.
Sue told us that shop owners of the past purposely designed different arches for every front elevation of the buildings. Various plasterwork ornaments were being used on each arch which they believed could welcome good fortune. Most buildings in the town are old-style and double-storied yet there were some new ones with an extra floor, built using the same style. The locals wanted to preserve the uniqueness of its architecture.
On each block, beautiful mural paintings can be seen on the wall. The townsfolk have beautified the town by painting murals on the walls of old buildings. They record on the memories of Kuala Kubu Bharu in the past, depicting activities in the past including tin mining and rubber tapping.
After we down to the memory lanes, we went to the Guan Yin Gu Si Temple. It was quite far away from the town and we need to drive there. The temple is a history itself watching over the whole Kuala Kubu Bharu town. It’s quite a peaceful and serene place to be.
After the temple visit, we came back to the homestay and take a rest. We did not join the next trip to the Sungai Selangor Dam at the second bridge to see the milky way (if the weather permit), as Alvin was too tired.
We had our dinner at the Art House Café just immediate next 2 shops from our homestay. It is an interesting art murals decorated café with very friendly restaurant owner and helper.
We have some Kimchi Fried Rice, Carbonara Mushroom Fettuccine, Japanese Curry Rice and Mee Goreng with sausage and egg. There is a Night Fun Run at the evening, we can see a lot of crowds at the field nearby the town as our homestay located at the town centre.
It was drizzling rain. We did not join but just sitting at the dining table, having drinks and chit chatting. It was just so relaxing. We wish that we still can stay a little longer but we need to attend the Church tomorrow and need to sleep early and wake up early too.
These are the photos that we took together for this trip! So lovely!
