Colmar

Colmar is a town and commune in the Haut-Rhin département of Alsace, France. Colmar was founded in the 9th century. This was the location where Charles the Fat held a diet in 884. Colmar was granted the status of a free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire in 1226. During the Thirty Years' War, the city was taken by the armies of Sweden in 1632, who held it for two years. The city was conquered by France under Louis XIV in 1697.

In 1679 (Treaty of Nimwegen) Colmar was ceded to France. With the rest of Alsace, Colmar was annexed by the newly formed German Empire in 1871 as a result of the Franco-Prussian War. It returned to France after World War I, was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1940, and then reverted to French control after the battle of the "Colmar Pocket" in 1945.

Its location is shown in the map below (the yellow dot).

You can wiki more information about Colmar here.

So isn't it wonderful if we could just take a less than 2 hours drive from K.L to get a feel of this historical and cultural French town? Yes, K.L means Kuala Lumpur. Shocked? Don't be as Asians are really good copycats.

I would jump on every opportunity to visit this place, especially if it's going to be free, including food :) And that was exactly what happened on the 14th August when I participated in an outing with Hospice patients. (Read about Hospice here and here). The trip was sponsored by the Lions Club of Kuala Lumpur.

For a start, let's look at how the real Colmar in France looks like:

The classic view along the Quai de la Poissonnerie (courtesy of James Martin)

And compare with:


The classic view at Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia.

See, I wasn't lying when I said that Asians are good copycats ;)

More photos of this "copied" town at the end of this post.

Back to my trip. The patients and volunteers gathered at the Hospice center in Cheras around 10am and then boarded a bus. The journey up to the hill took about one and a half hour.

It was almost lunch time when we reached there so we proceeded to the restaurant.

After lunch while having coffee and tea, there was a band performing at the alfresco dining area. So Irene, one of our volunteers, ushered all the patients outside to enjoy the performance. Immediately the Hospice gang became dominant after chasing away other people. The place was instantly turned into party ground !!!

And we even had a macho fella proposing to Madam Toh :)

And what a great way for Mr. Ng to celebrate his eighty-something birthday.

After having a great time singing and dancing, we went to the nearby rabbit farm.

The final event held before we left was an exciting acrobatic show by performers from mainland China.

Definitely a very well-spent afternoon.

For more pictures of the "copied" Colmar at Bukit Tinggi, Malaysia, click here.