Woah.. finally back in Singapore. While i am glad to be home, yet i missed the cool weather especially back up in Cameron Highlands.
Finally realised this trip with my 2 other friends, J & L. We have been talking about having a trip together since last year... due to many factors, schedules, committments etc, we finally made it this time round, praise God.
15 May 08 (Thursday)
We boarded bus at Konsortium (Golden Mile) at 10.30pm. Finally on our way !
16 May 08 (Friday)
After 9 hours of bus-rides (with 3 toilet breaks), we finally arrived at Cameron Highlands. It was cold... brrrrhhhh... We were introduced to some local tours by the boss (Jennifer) of a local tour agency, Titiwangsa. We decided to upgrade our tour package by paying an extra RM$130 per pax to join the Agro & Sunrise Spectacular tours.
As it was still considered non-peak yet, we managed to check-in at Strawberry Resort very quickly. Room 112. There is a queen-sized bed for the 2 ladies and one extra bed in a separate room for the gentleman. Just nice. A balcony that overlooks a small car-park and scenic mountains. I like the room for its simplicity yet practicality.
Agro tour brought us to many places. The traditional method of growing vegetables (chye-sin, broccoli, butter lettuce, maize, sweet potatoes etc) in the soil, the new hydroponic method whereby no soil is involved, only water with fertilizers in them to irrigate the seedlings. The tour also tells us the various methods used by farmers to stimulate faster growth of the vegetables (such as by turning on the lights at night to stimulate sunshine etc). We also visited strawberry farms, where we get to pluck our own strawberries and eat them (of cos after paying for them!). Also, the cactus farm, flowers plantations etc. Very interesting. Agro tour ended with a steamboat dinner at a local restuarant. We were hungry and the vegetables were so fresh ! Cool weather + hot steamboat. Combination fantastic !
17 May 08 (Saturday)
Woke up at 5.00 am this morning as we signed up for the Sunrise Spectacular tour. The tour transport picked us up at 5.45 am at the resort lobby. We drove up to one of the mountains and waited for sunrise. Cool winds, misty, and sounds of insects greeted us as we stepped out of the van.
After a brief explanation from the guide, we walked down the slope and waited with our cameras to capture the sun. Unfortunately there were huge clouds blocking the sun, thus we couldn't see the whole red sun as it rose.
Despite that, as the skies slowly lited up, we could feel God's presence enveloping the whole area, it is an awesome, spirit lifting moment... words are not able to describe the feelings then. I stopped taking photos (using my handphone), cos nothing beats seeing the whole process with your own eyes.. i don't want to miss the moment by staring at the small little screen in my handphone busy taking down shots while i can take in the full-shot of the atmosphere, surroundings with my senses and memory.
As the skies slowly lited up, we even saw great droplets of dew condensations on the leaves of the big lettuces plantations next to us. The wonders of nature...
We were also served a cup of tea/coffee/milo of our choice together with some cakes and pastries. It was just so peaceful, so surreal..
After that spectacular sunrise, we were sent back to our resort/hotel for our breakfast (breakfast included in the room package). Strawberry resort's international spread for breakfast was good. We ate to our heart's content. Then we proceeded back to our rooms to catch a nap before going for our leisure tour in the afternoon.
Anyhow, we decided not to go for the leisure tour in the afternoon but to roam around on our own in Brinchang town itself. Brinchang town is not a very big place. We walked and explored the various areas, spotted various hotels, discovered new makan places and shops. We stopped for a afternoon break at a strawberry themed restaurant that serves everything with strawberries. We had green tea, fresh strawberry juice, fresh passion fruit juice and a strawberry crepe. Superb !
After resting our feets, we decided to walk to the nearby pasar malam. There were many stalls selling their fresh vegetables, all kinds of them, flowers, cactus and many food stuffs. We had smooth beancurd soup and bought some cherry tomatoes, chilli, and strawberries. We also bought some souvenirs.
Dinner was a simple affair of zi-char at one of the local restaurants. We ordered 4 dishes, sambal prawns, fried spring rolls (with meat inside), asparagus beans fried with chilli and chicken slices fried with spring onions. It was delicious. The food was so fresh ! I could easily turn into a vegetarian over there and have a detoxification program ! Haha..
But of cos, for the canivores kind, this place is rather kind too, they have a KFC outlet here too. There is also a small bakery, many steamboat restuarants and indian restuarants, even a vegetarian restuarant here to satisfy our different tastebuds. No worries for not enough foods ! Hee hee.. guaranteed to find something you like.
We sleep early on the 2 nights here as it was so relaxing. Nothing much to do after dark really..
18 May 08 (Sunday)
Holidays passed by quickly. Its the day of our departure. We had breakfast at the resort. Checked out by 9 am and waited for our transport to pick us up from the resort lobby. The number of guests had greatly increased since Friday cos its the weekend plus holiday.
We finally boarded our bus at 11.00 am and made our way down the mountain towards home. I find the road down was more narrow and winding compared to when we were climbing up the mountain. Perhaps due to the heavy traffic, perhaps due to the mood of the driver. Whatever it is, i thank God that we made our way safely downhill to the base of the mountain.
Reached Golden Mile finally at 9.15 pm. Hitched a ride with J (he is going home) to Chijmes as i had a wedding dinner to attend. When i reached home (after the wedding dinner), it was close to 12 midnight. What a day of travel ! Phew.... nothing beats home sweet home, own bed. Hee hee..
All in all, i find this trip very relaxing. What more to go with good travelling companions, praise God indeed.
J & L, are you reading this ? When's our next trip coming ? Next year ?
