SOURCE: HISTORY INSIGHTS - MALAYSIA
The Gap is the name given to the highest point of the pass which cuts through the Titiwangsa mountain range on the road linking Kuala Kubu Bharu in Selangor with Raub in Pahang.
The Gap is situated about 800 metres above sea level and from here a narrow single track road winds its way up a further 400 metresr to the cool resort of Fraser’s Hill.
In fact the resthouse is even older than Fraser’s Hill which was not really developed as a hill resort until the 1920s.
A travel guide book from 1913 says: “Here begins to blow a breeze which starts in the China Sea and is going to end in the Straits of Melaka. It is deliciously cool and the views on both sides of the ridge along which the road runs are magnificent.
It’s best to reach the Gap resthouse by 3pm so there will be enough time for tea and to admire the roses and dahlias which grow so well at this height.”
The road to Fraser’s Hill is so narrow that they used to operate an alternating direction system so that at odd hours the road was reserved for traffic going up and on even hours for traffic coming down.
Travellers who mistimed their arrival at the Gap might find the road closed, leaving them with an hour to kill.
No doubt the resthouse picked up a lot of business that way, as a convenient place for travellers to wait in comfort and enjoy a cup of tea.
A few years ago however a second Fraser’s Hill road was opened and now the old road is permanently open for traffic going up and the new road is for traffic coming down. Since travellers no longer need to wait, this may have affected the resthouse’s business.
The Gap remained a popular hotel right until the 1980s and 90s and was run by the government. Bird watchers in particular liked to stay here.
A few years back it was temporarily closed for renovation but for some reason the work was never completed and to this day the building is abandoned and under threat from the elements.
The nearby Hing Kee Coffeehouse which would have catered for those on a lower budget than the resthouse’s target market, has also closed down.
Henri Fauconnier, in his book The Soul of Malaya, writes about this resthouse thus:
The best and most unlooked for of welcomes – tall flames were dancing in a fireplace.
F Spencer Chapman also refers to this place in The Jungle is Neutral, his famous account of guerrilla warfare against the Japanese in Malaya in World War Two.
This heritage building can still be saved and restored to its former glory provided action is taken now, before the elements and vandals damage it beyond repair.
Source and image credit: Free Malaysia Today
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21/1/2015: 11.00 p.m
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