On the 18.11.2011 & 19.11.2011 I went on a trip to Cameron Highlands with the family. Cameron is one of the highlands tourist spots in Malaysia. It's traditionally a rural farming community where folks plant fruits and vegetables and flowers for sale. People go there for the cool climate because it is 1500 metres above sea level.
I have not been to Cameron Highlands for quite some time. The last time I was there was about 4 years ago but things have not changed much. Life is still slow paced. People are still farming and selling produce. Restaurants are still trying to rip off the visitors. There are more resorts there now that's about it.
This time I took the Simpang Pulai routeinstead of the old Tapah route to go up to the highlands. The Simpang Pulai route is much easier to navigate as the road is wider and not as winding. Taking the Simpang Pulai route you will reach Kampung Raja first instead of Tanah Rata if you take the Tapah route. You can say the Simpang Pulai route comes in at the back end of the highlands while the Tapah route comes in from the front.
When we reached, it was around 1.30pm and it started to rain. Not wanting to chance the local restaurants of which most will take visitors for a ride by charging exorbitant fees for a steamboat meal that consists mainly of local vegetables, we dashed into the Equatorial Hotel for lunch. At least at the hotel we can get decent food for a decent price although the price is slightly expensive comparatively.
Since the rain was not showing any signs of letting up, we took our time with lunch. It was after 3pm when we left the coffee house in Equatorial and headed to our apartment where we would stay the night. The kids were excited as this was their first time staying overnight on a holiday trip. The whole trip was organized because grandpa promised my daughter that he would take her to a strawberry farm and let her pick strawberries.
Rain ruined that plan on the first day so we decided to just chill in the apartment and go strawberry picking the next day. And by chill, I meant really chill because the rain made the day cooler than normal. We all had to don sweaters or put on an extra layer of clothing.
Alright, enough of words! Let's have the pictures do some talking instead:
Above: Little shoes keychains. Colourful. Below: I saw that the sky is nice so I took the shot when we visited the night market or 'Pasar Malam' after the rain finally stopped around dusk.
A vendor selling roasted chickens that he roasted on a makeshift grill from a cut oil drum at the night market in Brinchang.
Above & below: Some flower shots when we visited a butterfly farm the next day. It was still drizzling slightly in the morning but the butterfly farm was covered.
Meet incy wincy spider! He made his home in the butterfly farm. Wondered how many butterflies he ate.
Below: One of the butterfly on the floor. The butterflies were still sleepy I guess as they were not very active. Maybe it's too early in the morning for them as we were the first visitors to the farm that day.
A cocoon on a leaf. Don't ask me what kind of butterfly will come out from it.
Below: Some cute little plants on sale outside the butterfly farm. I can fit two little pots in my palm. Yes. They are tiny.
Also on sale were cactus plants and pitcher plants.
Below: Some weird looking cactus plants, I guess. Somehow they look like they originated from some alien planet to me.
Of course no trip to Cameron Highlands is complete without a visit to a tea plantation. So here are some shots I took of a tea plantation that is located just off the road. Yup! I'm lazy to venture into a better looking plantation for better shots. Lugging around 2 toddlers, I'm all for convenience. Maybe if I were alone, I might go to another plantation that's more of an authentic farm rather than a tourist attraction.
Enjoy the pics. I'm sorry they are not the best but I was shooting in a hurry.
0 comments:
Post a Comment