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It's about that time of the year again. The end of the year where it just seems natural for most of us to take a break from the normal routine, finish off one's annual leave and go on a holiday. Since this is a motoring blog, a drive to holiday destination is what I will be featuring (as usual and as always). Those that have been following MyAutoBlog would notice that I have been writing about road trips in and around Peninsular Malaysia and what you can do when you get to that Malaysian destination. This latest 'drive-to destination' takes us to Kuala Selangor, Malaysia. Kuala Selangor is a quaint old town situated on the West Coast of Malaysia in the state of Selangor. This sleepy hollow is basically an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur or a good five hours or so from the Causeway(s). You could use the ELITE (Nilai-KLIA-Shah Alam) Highway and head towards Klang before heading north towards Kuala Selangor but I would suggest getting to Kuala Selangor using the Guthrie highway, which you can basically reach from the Federal Highway's first exit after the Federal Highway's Shah Alam toll booth. Upon entering the Guthrie Highway head towards Ijok. At the Ijok interchange/exit, head on towards Ijok and onwards to Kuala Selangor. The reason for this not so straight forward route is that the scenery is much better instead of passing lots of workshops, factory lots and used car lots along Kapar/Meru Road. Furthermore, the road is slightly more challenging instead of just a straight line. Once you reach Kuala Selangor you'll note that this little town is indeed a sleepy hollow. Kuala Selangor was once the capital of the State of Selangor and it is fillied with history. I have to say that it is one of the better preserved historical spots in Peninsular Malaysia, up there with Malacca and even Penang. Bukit Melawati, or Melawati Hill holds a heck of a lot of history and a fabulous view to boot. This I believe is a very good reason to spend a couple of days at this sleepy little hamlet. Private cars aren't allowed up the hill. You can either walk up (which won't kill you as it is only a few hundred meters up via a tarred road) or take the passenger tram (which is actually a tractor badly disguised as a train) for a small fee. At the peak, there is a lighthouse, remnants of a fort with the actual cannons, a royal mausoleum (where a supposedly sacred and mystical cannon covered in yellow cloth stands guard), a chopping block which was actually used to chop people's heads off and a museum covering the history of Kuala Selangor. You could actually spend a whole day exploring the hill if you took your time. Now the town itself is pretty cool too. There are pre-war buildings that would capture your sight, a clock tower commemorating Malaysia's independence and other odd bits here and there

When most of us end up going for trips around Peninsular Malaysia a lot of us end up at holiday destinations located along the North-South Highway. Most end up in Malacca, Port Dickson, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Taiping and all the way up North to Penang, Alor Setar and even Bukit Kayu Hitam which borders Thailand. Nearly everyone forgets that there is a highway leading to the East Coast of the Peninsular these days and a trip to the East Coast, aside from the shorter trips to Desaru in Johor is as viable as a trip to Penang. I was in Kuantan, Pahang for a weekend and it was a pretty good drive-to destination. As usual, you have to hit Kuala Lumpur if you're coming from down South (or if you're a little adventerous you could skip the highway and use the coastal road all the way from Johor through Mersing and head upwards. But if you're into highway driving and want to make good time, head up towards the Karak Highway and continue towards Kuantan instead of stopping at the casino at Genting for that round of blackjack. If you're heading towards Kuantan on a normal non-holiday weekend, traffic on the East Coast Highway isn't as heavy as you'd find on the North-South Highway. In fact at around noon its pretty empty. There are ample rest stops and after you cross over the Titiwangsa mountain range its mostly a straight two and a bit more hour drive to Kuantan. - Keropok lekor Mok Su off the Tanjung Lumpur main road- one of the best Keropok Lekor I've tasted - In Kuantan, you can do various stuff, like eat. Food, especially those that come from the sea is abundant. You can get local stuff like 'keropok ikan' or fish crackers in both the 'keropok lekor'