Thanks to one man’s dream, kampung has the coolest attraction

REMBAU - Friends ridiculed Mohd Khairul Azman Mustakim when he told them about his idea to build a snow house to capture the feeling of being in a country with snow, yet for all their laughing, his dream has now become a reality.

The 31-year-old dad of one opened Rumah Salji Rembau (Rembau Snow House) in Kampung Batu Nunggul in March and it has attracted more than 1,000 curious locals and outsiders so far.

“They’ve come from Putrajaya, Johor, Kuala Lumpur ... maybe because news of it is being shared across social media or they happened to spot it because we’re right on the edge of the road,” he said.

The snow house is located 30 minutes from Seremban on Jalan Seremban-Tampin.

He said the idea took three years of planning but just three weeks to put together, with an investment of RM20,000.

“My cold storage business is how the idea to start a snow house like SnoWalk in i-City (Shah Alam) came about. But when I told my friends about it, they laughed.

“They asked, ‘Why build in a kampung (village)?’, ‘Who will come?’ and so on. So I just replied, ‘Never mind, we’ll see later.’ But a few friends and my wife supported me. Now my dream has come true,” he told Bernama.

Recalling the challenges he faced building his mini snow world, Mohd Khairul said, he had to figure out how to maintain the low temperature and make snow from ice.

“For the construction of the snow house, I used equipment and tools I bought from a factory that was closing down,” said the innovator from Chembong, adding he was already looking to make it bigger based on the recommendation of visitors.

Right now, the playground-like snow house can only fit nine children and three adults.

“I would also like to get a snow-making machine to make powdery snow. What I have now is a little grainy,” he said.

Rumah Salji Rembau is open from 9am to 6.30pm, and from Tuesday to Sunday. The entry fee which includes the rental of winter wear ranges from RM5 to RM15. — Bernama