W e & You & A Dog named Benson
Week No. 29
18 July 1999

Nice Resthouse over looking Raub Town

As the names of the towns sound further "inland", they gave the impression that the community must be so remote! The town of Raub is one such example. With the Expressway, it is only hardly 2 hours of slow driving from Kuala Lumpur.

Raub Town

This town has 2 main streets running parallel to one another. The main street is also part of the "Trunk Road" where all the out of town traffic passes through. Along it, the commercial area. This place must have grown from a cowboy town. 

Now, development has transformed the inner road, complete with the bus terminal, into the town center. On a different programme, else where just a stone throw from town, rows of new commercial shop houses are changing the town's living standards.

 
Talking about development, it is official, an alternative road to reach the east coast Kelantan State, starts from the town center

The traditional Highway, still in use, meanders through frontier towns of Benta and Kuala Lipis. 

This alternative route will rejoin the usual route outside of Kuala Lipis, in the  north

This new road arrangement  played up the importance of Raub as a junction town.

The main road in town. Notice the narrow divider that partitions the traffic rushing through town.

Then the single lane road, the crowded condition slowed the passing traffic.
Shop houses along the main road, still have windows of the prevailing design. 

The sight promotes that nostalgic feelings, that Raub is an old town..
 
The local branch of the MCA, a political party, perch on a low hills behind the shop houses. 

It looks majestic with the "Spanish Steps" to adorn the old building.
On this adjoining side road, co-incidentally a row of shops, all dealing in the same trade- photographic accessories and film.
Opposite the bus terminal , this restaurant became the talk of town. 

A branch of the famous curry chicken.

The Raub Resthouse

On the northern corner of town, is the administrative center lie, 

There is the football field, hospital, town house, administrative blocks and the Rest house

See this elegance bungalow on a low hillock.
The porch, that is where my car was parked, outside, in the drive way.

 The beautiful architecture, the arched driveway, these features complete the looks of the building.
The Resthouse also have a small dinning area that serve food. This is located at a corner of the large lobby. 

In this picture you can see the high ceilings adopted by old buildings. Vincent was fascinated with the equally tall windows.
Another practice of the old days are these toilets located in a detached building. 

It has been a while that we have come across a building with such feature
 
The semi-circular driveway passes through the porch up and down the other way. 

Huge trees along this driveway provided good shades for those who have left their cars in this place.

Looks like the lawn doubles up as a public car park.
Not only a public car park but also a park for the local to gather and socialize!
The practices here in Raub was overwhelming, 

I have got Vincent seated there and made a shot for our album

The Sempalit New Village

Just a kilometer and a half out of town, there are the remains the "new village" of Sempalit. This is a relic from those days of Communist insurgence.

 
At some part of this village, time has almost stood still. We are lucky to find a substantial part of the original village intact. 

Developments and changes are taking place. Soon this image of new villages will be just a memory.
People staying here with constraints, had to be innovative. 

The more successful entrepreneur is this curry house. 

Business had expanded out to Bentong and Kuala Lumpur.
Another family found a niche in the sale of ground nuts.
People from the outside Raub had also invaded this obscure village. 

Direct sales company found the rural folks more brand loyal and stable customers. 

For those interested:- Sempalit is a dense and large new village shadowed only by the larger ones found in Jinjang or Serdang in Selangor. Most new villages near urban area had transformed their images beyond recognitions, last chance to see an authentic colony before the century turns!

 

Khong's Travel Guide

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