Thursday, December 28, 2006

How I found Janda Baik

My encounter of Janda Baik was about 10 years ago. The first time I came for a holiday with my sister, Kak Cik and family and my Mom. I found that Selesa was quite "selesa" - it's a Malay word which means comfortable. It could be because of the temperature - it's quite cold and very comfortable. That was a long time ago.

We took a drive to Bukit Tinggi until the police station. Curious to know where the road would lead to after the police station, so we just drove off until the arch and there we saw a welcome to Janda Baik.

As I drove further up and I saw "ELEKTRISOLA". We went further and saw Elektrisola Residential Estate. Very nice apartment - looked like a resort-living style at Jalan Damai 2. As I went further inside the village, we found some interesting river and chalets. It's really cool!

That's how I found Janda Baik and Elektrisola. Whoever comes to Janda Baik, will definitely not miss this house (on the left). It has a nice little waterfall at the side of the house. No grass is allowed to grow on that land! Because the road is higher than the house, so we can have a very clear view of the house.

After the holiday, I keep coming back to Janda Baik for a picnic at the river in Kampung Pulau Santap. It's only 45 minutes drive from KL to Janda Baik. Those days, the road was very narrow. In 1999, I found an advertisement in the newspaper a vacancy for a PA to MD at Elektrisola. Later, I moved to Janda Baik on 19 April 1999, which was 1 Muharram 1420 Hijrah ie the new year day of Islamic calendar. People always say that sometimes it is good for us to move to another place (hijrah) to start anew. I guess it's true. I have a better life here... no more traffic jam, no migraine all the time, with the greenery and fresh mountain air all the time. It's really gifts from Allah. Alhamdulillah, thank you very much Allah!

Janda Baik is a unique village. The name itself is already unique. The strategic location which is only about 45 minutes drive from Kuala Lumpur and about 600 metre above sea level. So we can live peacefully here with all the fresh air and still can join the hustle bustle of the city anytime we like. It is also close to Genting Highlands - only 25 km, and Bukit Tinggi Resort is just 22 km away. We are surrounded with the cool mountain air. There are not many villages like this in Malaysia. Another highland village that I have been is Kundasang in Sabah.