CNY 6th Day 08 Feb 2011

08 Feb 2011 (Tues):

First thing first, Lionel felt much better already. He did not vomit out his breakfast which we had at Century Pines Resort. Although we did not allow him to eat too much. Farewell, Century Pines. We will defintely recommend you to our friends.

Our first stop was the strawberry farm. We went over to Healthy Strawberry Farm & Kasimanis Strawberry Farm but they did not have strawberries picking facilities. We ended up KL (Kok Lim) Strawberry Farm which was just next to the Time Tunnel we went yesterday.

For 500g, we nid to pay RM30. There was only a limited area where you can pick strawberries. There were workers around to direct you to the correct area & they also made sure you do not eat as you pick. Haha.... try telling us that...who do not eat as they pick?? We did!

Our loot of 700g. We need to pay another RM10. Sheesh!!! See the above photo (bottom right hand corner). The 2 kids looked as if they were trying to hold up the giantic strawberry. Hehe...daddy made them posed this way. Rachel was super happy. To her, strawberry is her world. Everything she does & has, it must be strawberries.

Next on our agenda is the Sungei Palas BOH Tea Plantation. It was closed yesterday. We visited the tea processing factory & learned about the stages:

Rolling - machines used to twist & break leaves, liberating & exposing its juices for fermentation.

Fermentation - chemical process whereby the enzymes are exposed to oxygen. This stage takes about 1.5-2hrs during which the characteristics flavour & aroma are developed.

Drying - femented leaves are fed into machines with 100 degrees, halting the fermentation process, reduces the moisture & crystallizes the juices, thus converting the leaves into crisp black form.

And the last stage , sorting - tea is graded according to particle size by passing through a series of vibrating sieves. Each grade of tea has its own density & flavour characteristics.

We also tried some cakes & had tea to wash it all down. Cost: RM14. Look at all the greenary. Surrounding us are all tea plantations. This plantation is not located within the town area but rather on another hill of it own, quite some distance travelled before arriving here at BOH.

After lunch at Water Cress Valley again, we made our way downhill. Daddy got both kids to sleep & the roads got winding again. We went down via Simpang Pulai since Tringkap is located towards Simpang Pulai. Nope, Lionel did not vomit. In fact, he slept thru & only woke up some one hour later after we hit the highway.

We arrived into Malacca at about 7.45pm ( we left Cameron at 2.15pm), had our dinner & proceeded back to Singapore. Initially, i thought daddy would wanna stayed 1 night first so that he can get some good rest before driving back but no, he insisted on driving all the way back. We arrived Singapore at 11.30pm.

Next day, we will be going to Sentosa but not before the kids had their CNY celebrations at their school.

CNY 5th Day 07 Feb 2011

07 Feb 2011 (Mon):

This morning, we visited the Time Tunnel. This must be a newly open attraction since i don't remember seeing this attraction the last time we went up, which was like 5 years ago or is it already there? Anyway, the admission fee was RM5/adult & RM3/child, Again we bought tickets for only 2A & 1C. Rachel's FOC.

A little intro: Experience the rustic charm of a unique museum that captures the spirit of the Malaysian life. View a treasure trove of heartwarming artifacts that depict life as it was lived then. Behold rare nostalgic photographs revealing the history and significant milestones of Cameron Highlands. Truly, a journey back in time not to be missed!
(Courtesy of Time Tunnel flyer)

Noticed the wooden rocking horses we rode as kids back in the olden days? And also the type of TV we have where u can actually slided the door closed if you do not want to watch anymore?

Then the kind of soft drinks we have, corked in glass bottles like 7 up & Root Beer? The marble coffee tables in coffee shops? The very old kind of iron our parents or grandparents used for ironing our clothes? The fire place or kitchen in old kampong houses where ashes & smoke roamed freely? Milo, Ovaltine & Nestum?

You see Quacker oats & Nespray powder milk? Ever ate or drank those before? Baby chair & children tricycle, coffee tea cups & saucers? Remember? Of course there were many more items which clearly brings you down memory lane. If you still cannot visualised, try going down to the Children's Museum back in Singapore. You should see many similar items but here in Cameron, there are much more.

Next, we went into Rose Valley. Admission: RM4/adult & RM2/child, 3-11 years old. So many different types of roses, other varieties of flowers to see. We spent quite some time here, marvelling at all the buds & petals.

Both kids enjoyed the slides & loved taking photos. I was exhausted so i sat down on the nearby benches while the kids have a whale of their time.

Next, we adjorned for lunch @ Water Cress Valley, Tringkap. Lionel, who was well 1 min, told his dad he wants to vomit. Daddy rushed him to the sink. Whatever breakfast we had at Smokehouse, his was not digested & he vomitted all out. We ordered egg noodles & water cress soup with dumplings for lunch, spent about RM40+. Our little princess was already sleepy & while we waited for the food, she fell asleep.

Lionel ate very little. Thru out the day, he wasnt feeling too good & whatever he ate, it all came back out. I suspect Lionel's having motion sickness cos we need to travel along winding roads to visit different places of interest.

Cactus Point was our next destination. It was only a touch & go, spending at most 15 mins there.

Not be missed out were the butterfly farm & bee museum. A comparison made, the butterfly farm is a attraction not to be missed out. There were many varieties of buttetfly & they flew freely inside an enclosure.

There were also many different types of creepy crawlies such as beetles, scorpions, snakes, lizards, etc. Of course, they were all caged up or inside glass tanks. Lionel was very excited about seeing so many of this crawlies.

As for the bee museum, it only showcased the different types of bees & their position in the bee colony. We saw the Queen bee, the workers, honet, carpenters, etc. There was also a blocked off area where they kept & rear bees. The guide explained that some bee stings are curable with the help of medical intervention whereas others are deadly. He metioned that a little boy was killed when he was stung by a killer bee last year just at their compound. What do you think?

Lionel vomitted again after we visited the bee museum. I gave him a little of my anti giddiness/vomit tablet. We decided to check into Century Pines Resort for some rest. I loved this hotel. Strongly recommended!

Rachel had already fallen asleep on the way to Century Pines & she slept right thru to about 6pm. Daddy decided to tapao (takeaways) for dinner. We went to You Hoo (another forum recommended restaurant) located at Brinchang. Cost: RM56. I thought of taking Lionel to the clinic which i saw at Brinchang. But daddy said its not a cause to worry yet. Its just a motion sickness in Lionel.

We saw some other recommended cafes & restaurants like Oldies & Goodies, Strawberry Golden Moments but no, we did not try those. In the night, Lionel vomitted yet again & i made a note to bring him to see a doctor before we go down the hills & onto the highway. Yes, we will be checking out tomorrow & might just stayed 1 night at KL or Malacca before returning to Singapore on the 09 Feb.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4-tBi8Sd9Y

A video clip inside Time Tunnel. Found or seen anything which brings u back fond memories?

CNY 4th Day 06 Feb 2011

06 Feb 2011 (Sun):

Our last morning in Ipoh before we head up to Cameron Highlands in the afternoon. After breakfast, we went across to the Polo Club for some horse riding or so we thought. Daddy saw an advert in the hotel's lobby on this. But alas, there was riding classes going on that morning, hence its not open to the public for horse riding. Nevertheless, we were still allowed in on the grounds for a look look see see.

Then we proceeded into Giant supermart to buy a container of milk formula as i only brought less than half container up this trip. Also brought a pair of sandals for myself & a pair of shoes each for the kids.

Upon reaching Brinchang, Cameron, which took us about 1hr 15mins, we stopped for lunch. We took the new route, Simpang Pulai, which is less winding & the road is wider.


We had our lunch at OK Tuck Restaurant, located at Brinchang. This is one of the recommended place to eat. We ordered spare ribs, hotplate tofu, shrimps omelette & stir fry mushrooms, spent RM71.80 in all.
The kids got themselves a lollipop each after lunch & then we proceeded to check in at the below hotel.

Yes, the Ye Olde Smokehouse @ Tanah Rata. Yah, the English experience. Cool. But we experience a major hiccup here. You see, when we did the booking via Agoda.com, we indicated as 2 adults. We wanted to have the children sharing the same room as us. Usually, most hotels would accomodate this kind of arrangement with no problem. But not Smokehouse.

When we checked in, the staff ( small reception area) informed us that all rooms are designed for only 2 people, regardless of adult or children. They CANNOT accomodate 2children of only 3 & 5 years in the same room as the adults. Isnt this RIDICULOUS???

I argue the fact that the kids are still young & normally, most hotels do not have this problem. Well, they claimed that this is their resort policy. Upon seeking the management's help, the manager came up to us to offer another suggestion.

We paid USD114 per night. So what she can do is to give us another room, we pay another USD114 but the rooms cannot be adjoining. So means to say, we have to split. Another suggestion, we upgrade to the family suite at the same price of USD114. The manager also claims that usually the family suite cost RM800.

Let's do a little calculation here: USD114 ~ RM350 (approx). So apart from what we have paid Agoda @ USD114 ~ RM350 for a Superior room, we got to pay ANOTHER RM350 for a family suite = RM700 for that room alone. So its only a RM100 discount afterall. The most expensive room we ever stayed.

You may asked. Why do we not scoped around for other hotels? We really intended to do that cos paying RM700 for 1 night is too much. But we have also thought of the CNY period & we're sure those other hotels wouldnt come cheap either & there might not be rooms avaialble as well.

So we got no choice but to pay ( with a broken heart) that RM350 & checked into the family suite. Well, what a room! ** i found that the layout/design tof this room is weird. In front of the 2 single beds you see in the below photo is actually a cupboard, separating the living area. Funny! **

Fast forward slightly. (since i lumped all Smokehouse photos together) We had breakfast the next day & they served only English breakfast. 2 types of meal to choose from:

Light breakfast consisting of a selection of juices or fresh fruits, a choice of cereals (cornflakes) or porridge (quacker oats), toasts & croissant or muffins with marmalade & strawbeery preserve, coffer or tea, costing RM26.

Traditional English breakfast consisting of the above mention but with additional country eggs with bacon & sausages, costing RM39. So with eggs, bacon & sausage, you got to pay additional RM13. How's that for a choice? You decide.

(Back to today's post). After a little wash up, we went out into the town areas to have a look. Knowing that BOH will be closed tomorrow, we came upon Bharat Plantations instead. And we stopped for a little snack, strawberry flavoured tea, 1 carrot cake & 1 brownie @ RM20.

Then we went around Tanah Rata's pasar malam & looked at their market place.

For dinner, we had ours at a Hongkong Restaurant, ordered fried rice & noodles, costing RM40+. Then we retired for the night.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmU2WBl3M-Q

Cameron Valley Bharat Valley

Remember to look at 05 Feb's post to keep track.

CNY 2nd Day 04 Feb 2011

04 Feb 2011 (Fri):

It was a last min decision to make this trip up to Ipoh before our 2 nights stay up in Cameron Highlands. And so we search the internet for available rooms. Luck has it for we managed to get 2 nights @ Heritage Hotel via Agoda.com

We were supposed to set off at 6am as hubby feared that there wld be traffic jams along the causeway but as usual, we overslept. It was around 7.30am by the time we left our home.

After lunch at Nilai, we proceeded along the highway towards Ipoh, Perak. Why Nilai? You wonder. I read on some internet forums that going towards Nilai/Shah Alam/Ipoh direction is faster & you don't have to go through KL & get hit by jams. But when we turn into Nilai, there were no such signage or directions. So in order not to get lost & waste more time, we turned out up on the highway again. Safer. :)

By the time we reached Ipoh, its already in the late afternoon. We checked into our hotel & got sme rest.

We got a view of the Perak Turf Club for we were given a room on the 8th floor. Heritage hotel is located in the city centre, just 10 mins drive from The Lost world of Tambun. That's where we will be heading the next day. And being the Chinese New Year period, we were given a welcome gift bag consisting of a packet of peanuts, 2 mandarin oranges, 2 packets of chrysanthemum drinks & a packet of cookies.

We drove along the roads & noticed all the shops are still closed. Being only the 2nd day of CNY, we got no choice but to have our dinner at 1 cafe which was opened for business, Delight Cafe. RM73.35 for a 5 course dinner but we were allowed to choose our own food.

Then later in the evening, after we finished some shopping at The Store, we saw that there is a night market (pasar malam) nearby. And who could have thought of it but to see the famous Lou Wong Tauge Chicken right there & then. But look at crowd, there were no seats at all, not to mention those standing around waiting for tables.

Okay, so we decided to come back the next evening to try our luck. The kids got some watch & i bought one too as my old one died.

Back to the hotel for a good night sleep as it will be a full day tomorrow.

** Be sure to check back the post for 1st day of the CNY so that you will be able to keep track**