It was a wet May morning, it was drizzling but not that heavy. Being the first of May (remind me of an old song by the same name)everyone was in the mood of having fun and fun was what we are after. Some of us were enjoying chatting in the drizzle. The location was Gombak Toll House and by 8.45 am 8 minis with three support cars were ready to roll. The conversation was centred around the trip up north the previous week where we had a lot fun and laughter. By the time we rolled off it was 9am. As we drove uphill along the winding Karak highway we were overtaking a horde of other cars making way to Genting and Bukit Tinggi. You can see the nod and thumbs up sign of approval of occupants young and old in the other cars as eight tiny but mighty minis weave their way up the meandering and slippery road. We responded by smiling back and waving at them. One Honda Accord (VTEC - i think) overtook me at a bend, hooted and wound down the offside windows. Trouble brewing ? no way men. The young Chinese lady in front screamed "Where to abang ?" She couldn't believe when I shouted back "Frazer Hill". Spontaneously she screamed back "Banyak syok lah". The driver, presumably the husband gave a grin and a thumbs up in approval. The mother-in-law in the back seat waved sheepishly. If I could read her mind she was reminiscing the good old days where her date was driving a similar car. The signs of approval from other road users made our day.

    As I entered the tunnel at Sempah, I could hear the roar of a V8 at my tail. I was not ready for a race down hill so I pulled over to the left and this car with the roar of a V8 passed me. What a pleasant surpise it was another mini piloted and navigated by Barry and Adeline respectively zoomed past. The Kent Cam 276 with flat top pistons and straight through single box exhaust with the echo in the tunnel made this 1 litre mini sound like a V8 monster. Well done Barry and Adeline.

    The first wrong turning was at the R&R Sempah. I thought that was Lentang so I exited much to the displeasure of the sweepers Jack and Rose. Mizril and Arsa saved my skin when they decided to do an unschedule refuelling stop. Thank you Mizril and Arsa. I owe you one. Got back on the Highway and headed straight to Lentang for breakfast. The nasi lemak, compliment by Che Na, wife of Ramli was excellent. Sofia, Ismail Taliban's daughter had a gala time playing along the river bank under the watchful eyes of the ladies in attendance.

    Breakfast done we headed for Tranum via Bentong. The road was windy, wet and slippery - ideal to enjoy driving. From time to time a stream of run off water criss crossed the road. I had a gaping hole at the gear lever and everytime the car hit these streams I had a steam bath in the car. Hisham (James Bond 007) did a splendid job as a Marshall in his VR4 powered Wira. At corners he still think that he is driving his mini. The road from Tranum to Gap was full of excitement avoiding fallen trees and rocks that came down with the previous night's land slides. We passe at least 2 dozens landslides if not more, but finally we have to give in to the power of nature - a landslide has completely blocked off the road. We had to wait a good 45 minutes before workers cleared the rubble. What a pleasant suprise when Nurul decide to drop in with his ala Italian Job red mini. Good of you old chap to come from behind and join us. Once the road cleared up we drove to Gap where we stopped at the century old rest house. The place was warm and and the colonial air still breath in there. Lunch was rather cheap there. A small tip - if you want a nice plave for a weekend stay at this rest house. But I cannot guarantee you it is not haunted.

    After lunch we drove up to Frazers and enjoyed the cool mountain air. We spend a good three hours there. If you have not been to Frazers then go there but bring a Cha Bo along to keep you warm.

    The drive from Gap to KKB was super fantastic. Mat, Azli, Zaki, Pak Lah and Ramli thought that for once they were The Shueys and Montoya and Ruben. The road was wide, dry and full of corners - ideal for fast mini drivings. A few volvos, Mercedes, SUVs were no match for the mighty minis. Hishams VR4 had a run for his money keeping up with the minis. Literally money was running out of his pocket when he shattered his front wind screen. Sorry Hisham. The teh tarik at Pa Lah's home town of KKB was good. Abang Ramli not only finished teh tarik, he finished a plate of mee goreng and a roti canai before we can have a second seep of teh tarik. We would like to nominate Abang Ramli for the much prestigious Malaysia Guiness Book of Records for eating.

    Once we hit PLUS H'way everyone opened up. Good or bad, I was second last just ahead of Jack and so everybody opened up. If I were up front leading I will shoot whoever overtake me :-) (no pun intended). Towards Sg Buloh I was doing about 140kph but still lost sight of the Shueys, Montoya and Ruben. To you guys who drove faster than me, be prepared to receive a show cause letter. He! He! He!

    All in all we had a super time driving along wet, slippery and winding roads avoiding landslip and fallen trees, along a super mini country road and finally the open road. The half dozen or so children who came along had a lot of fun too. So were makciks Rose, Adeline, Che Na, Mak Lah, and Azli's better half. Thank you all who made this trip a memorable and enjoyable one. Thank you Jack for organising this trip within less than 48 hours. Thank you Rose for the impressive car stickers and T shirts for the occasion.

    Finally please add more to this story. We want to hear your side of the story. Better be good. If not you will be banned from future trips. He! He! He! ;-0 :-)

Warm regards

CE