In my latest trip to Cameron Highlands, I went with my friend, JK. We went in mid November 1999. Thank God we had a safe n enjoyable trip there coz there were landslides the week before n after our trip. I will try to describe the trip with as much details as possible so that I will be able to share it virtually with u. If u dropped by this page it means that u r someone that I know n hold dear to my heart. I really prayed to God to grant us good weather prior to the trip n I thank God that He was faithful n granted us a pleasant trip. I must say that His hand was upon us all the way. Normally, I would only go to CH in the first half of the year coz the second half of the year is rather wet n this time it was quite terrible. A few days before our trip there there landslides there n my friend was constantly asking me whether we should continue with the trip. I just wanted to trust God n I made the right choice. I really couldn't believe how good the weather was when we were there. I would constantly look out of the window n thank God for the good weather. I will share this trip with u n don't be surprised coz I'm expressing my deepest thoughts n emotions here. I know that this page will only be accessible to people that is known to me first coz its very personal to me.
It was a short trip of 4 days 3 nights. On the first day, we visited
the night market only coz when we arrived, it was afternoon already. On
the second day, we visited many places namely Rose
Valley,
Cactus Valley, Sg
Palas Tea Plantation, Strawberry Farm n Ye
Olde Smokehouse. On the third day, we visited Rose
Centre, Raju Hill Strawberry Farm
(near Equatorial Hotel) which is much bigger
than the previous one, had steam boat dinner n laze around the hotel
n took some nice pictures. Below are some of the photos taken during the
trip. Hope u enjoy traveling with me on this virtual trip!
Day 1
Arrived in the afternoon n took lunch at Tanah Rata. We tried the mee
goreng n the murtabak but unfortunately the food there doesn't taste
as good as in Pg. The food at the Brinchang town is much better which is
about 15 minutes drive up. We had siesta in the evening n went down to
the Brinchang town for the pasar malam. Normally the pasar malam is held
during the weekends only during normal days n every night during the school
holidays. We had a variety of food from the pasar malam for dinner.
Although the food was different but it was fun trying all the different
varieties.
Day 2
We went to quite a few places coz we met a good guide, Chandran. Thank God for the courage he gave me to ask Chandran for a lift to Brichang town n that was how we met him. He even treated us to tea at the tea plantation.. Well, he took us to the Cactus Valley, Rose Valley, Sg Palas Tea Plantation, Strawberry Farm n Olde Smoke House. Below r some of the photos to share with u. He was also kind enough to take our photos.
Cactus
Valley is a must see place coz it has a large variety of flowers, plants
n cactus.
This is a sight
to behold. Its actually real tomatoes n it looks so unreal. I was so amazed
by it. They even have a person to guard it in case people help themselves
to it. hahaha! Don't they look so lovely? Its was so tempting just to pluck
one of it huh!
This
was taken with the miniature roses. Although its small but they were blooming
so beautifully n they look so nice. Don't u think so huh?
This was another sight to behold. Its wonderful to see so many varieties
of cactus in one place. The cactus behind me was arranged to make the background
design. Imagine how many they need to create the design!
This is the same one with Jk in it.This photo has been enlarged too.
The following few photos were taken on our journey to Sg Palas tea processing factory. The vast space was filled with absolutely nothing but tea trees which r pruned regularly to get the young leaves. The younger it is the better the quality of tea.
It was so windy and u have
to see it for yourself in order to experience it. It was so beautiful n
incredible and just imagine the people who have to walk up n down the slopes
to prune the trees. Its done with machines nowadays instead of using hands
only.
It was so bright, i can hardly open my eyes here! hahaha! so, don't
forget to use the cap the next time u visit it!
It was quite scary to walk down the slope coz it was quite steep! U
just have to trust me huh!
This was taken at the Rose Garden. Its actually a private garden, the
first one to be established in CH. The have many varieties too but the
collection is a bit smaller. The interesting thing is that they sell rose
jam, rose syrup n wild honey here. You should try it coz its quite nice
although it may be a bit expensive.
This particular
rose with mixed colours is known as "Kiss of Fire" and i have no idea how
they got the name. Below is a photo of us fooling around n it looks quite
comical huh!
The following few photos were taken at the Olde Smokehouse. I have
no idea why we took so many photos here. Just enjoy it!
Its looks
like an authentic English home with colonial designs. Below is another
part of the house. I think u can imagine how it looks like from the different
angles that we took.
This is
taken at the back of the Smokehouse. Don't we look so tiny? Anyway, we
wanted to see the structure of the house.
The garden looks so beautiful and would be a nice place to have tea
n to enjoy the surroundings. Its looks pretty nice fr the outside. Below
is the enlarged version of the photo. It looks much better isn't it?
This was taken at the
Rose Valley. Its a place to go if u want to buy green or blue roses. That
is the only place selling such roses coz you can't even find it in the
market palace.Sorry I forgot the snap it to show u. The flowers in
the photo are gerberas. Don't they look nice n colourful? I don't mind
looking so tiny in this photo!
Day 3
This was taken
at the Raju Hill Strawberry Farm. Its just a 5 minute walk from Eq Hotel.
The farm is quite large. I think the largest I have seen so far anyway.
Well, the customers are restricted to certain areas in the farm only for
photo taking. too bad huh! I can't find really big ones here.
This is JK
with the small strawberries. Actually, the ones which was sold was quite
large too. The larger ones are sweeter.
This was taken at Rose Centre which is within walking distance fr Eq Hotel about 25 minutes walk.
Well, I
had to walk many countless steps to get here. Phew! finally made it. This
is quite near the top already. This is after the flower garden. We saw
really big sunflowers here but unfortunately it was wilting already. This
size is as big as a face. Can u imagine it? The soil is so fertile
here.
I had to be convinced
to get here coz i'm afraid of heights! I'm at the top now. You can
see Eq in the background. Its actually quite a nice place to stay. The
design looks quite amazing from here huh! U can barely see the Kea Farm
in the valley between Eq n RC. Below is another photo of JK at the steps.
.
Look the cut
hills in the background. That's the price to pay for development!
You can see
a really interesting plant here behind me coz its white in colour. That
was why i took a picture with it. Below u can see JK posing with Eq in
the background.
This was JK taken at the
roof top of Eq with the hills behind him. It was a fantastic sight coz
it was almost an aerial view of the place. You can actually see so many
hills being utilised for planting vegetables but some had to make way for
development.
We had steam boat for dinner at a restaurant within walking distance
fr Eq n had cheese cake fr Eq for dessert. It was simply delicious!
Sorry, I forgot to snap some photos for you! Well, anyway, I have saved
the best for last ( as what Vanessa Williams sang) and the following is
a compilation of the photos we took at Eq. Unfortunately, the one taken
outside Eq didn't turn up at all.
This was taken
near a real fire place. It was pretty hot posing near the fire place. The
hotel was actually warmer compared to outside. The temperature is around
18 degrees C at night and 19 degrees C during the daytime.
This was taken
at the lobby but since it was quite small, i had to enlarge it a bit to
make it clearer. Thanks to MS Photo Editor, it looks much better compared
to the real photo. do u believe it?
Well, i decided
to save the best for last coz i like this one most. I find the posing looks
much better here. What do u think? Guess that's all for now.
Day 4
Went to the market n bought lots of flowers. In fact , dozens of
them. Going back to Pg with lots of flowers! Thank you for joining me in
my trip! Hope you enjoyed visiting CH virtually with me but nothing
can replace the real thing. You have to smell the flowers, enjoy the fresh
air n the sights for urself n I know u will like it as much as I
do. Actually this is my 5th trip already. I have always loved the
place n do intend to go back in the future. Bye n take care. God bless
u!
