Cameron Highlands Revisited - Day Two

Day Two of our Cameron Highlands trip started with breakfast at Brinchang.  Brinchang town was already busy as early as 7am.  Locals started the day early to do marketing before heading towards their workplace.  As most of the populations are farmers, the town was full of land rovers, a popular transport among farmers, in the morning.   After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel as it was still too early to visit any of the touristy places.  The kids enjoyed themselves at the playground in the resort and I enjoyed myself taking pictures of them.

 

We travelled to the Lavendar Farm in Tringkap soon after.  It took about 15 - 20 mins to reach the farm in usual traffic condition.  The Lavendar Farm is not that large.  But once again, it is not the size that matters.   The purple lavender was a pretty sight.  Besides lavender, there were other flowers available, petunia, chrysanthemum, gerbera, roses, etc.  The gerbera was available for self picking at RM2 per stalk.  There was a strawberry farm too and one could pick the strawberries oneself for a fee.  However, we decided to leave the strawberry picking to the later of the day.  

 

 

Lavendar in Lavendar Farm

Gerbera at Lavendar Farm

Gerbera at Lavendar Farm

 

 

After visiting the lavender farm, we headed to my former school mate's flower farm in Kuala Terla, a small town about 5 mins away.  My friend brought us around to see the flowers that he planted : lilies, chrysanthemum, gerbera, roses, peacock, etc.  He planted the lavender too.  After that, we watched how the flowers were plucked and packed, before being collected by the lorries for export.  My friend generously gave us some lilies and vegetables to bring home with us.

 

 

Peacock at my friend's farm

 

We had lunch at Kg. Raja, at a restaurant near a Chinese temple, as recommended by my friend.  It was then that we decided to buy more of the organic pearl corn that we had the day before and as we are already in Kg. Raja, we made the journey to the KC Kwang's farm again.    

 

Thereafter, we travelled back to Brinchang, stopping once in a while to soak in the beautiful sceneries around us.  My friend also recommended that we stop for a cup of tea at Cameron Tea Valley in Kuala Terla but we decided against it as we were still full from lunch and we planned to have tea at the Bala's Holiday Chalet anyway.  We also skipped the Sg Palas tea plantation that is famous for the spectacular view as there were elderly among us and it is not safe for them to climb up and down the steep and slippery walkway.

 

There were many strawberry farms along the way back to Brinchang and we stopped at one of them for some strawberry picking.  The kids have been looking forward for that all day long.  The self picked strawberries cost RM35 per kg, with a minimum weight of 500g (RM20).  For this price, two adults + one kid are allowed to enter the farm for the picking.  The price is pretty standard in all strawberry farms in Cameron.  The kids had a wonderful time picking their own strawberries.  Even my mother in law and her aunt enjoyed themselves too.  After picking, we handed the baskets to the staff and they sorted and discarded those not so good ones.  Only those good and nice strawberries were weighed and ours weighted to 2.2kg!  The strawberries were then packed in boxes and we had some on the spot!

 

 

 

 

Picking strawberries


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Showing off the self picked strawberries

 

 

 

Enjoying the self picked strawberries

 

 

The owner of the strawberry farm also let us tasted different types of wild honey.  The honey tasted very good and we ended up buying a bottle which cost RM100.  We would have bought more but were cautious as there are many non authentic wild honey out in the market.  After checking with the locals, we get to know that the wild honey is indeed authentic.

 

Bala's Holiday Chalet is a small colonial style hotel near Tanah Rata, just before the junction to Taman Sedia.  It boasts of beautiful scenery and also their freshly baked scones, served with homemade strawberry jam and cream are to die for.  We had the tea at the garden.  The weather was perfect.  The kids enjoyed themselves with the swing while we adults enjoyed the tea and scones.  Kids ran to the table to get a bite or two of the scones now and then.   It was as if we were transported back in time where elegant English ladies in hats and parasols enjoyed their afternoon tea with their kids and nanny in tow.  It was a peaceful and happy afternoon.

 

 

Colonial style Bala;s Holiday Chalets



 

Freshly baked scones at Bala's Holiday Chalets

 

 

Homemade strawberry jam and cream served with scones

 

 

 

We went back to the hotel for some rest after having tea as the kids needed their nap.  We had dinner at Tanah Rata that night as we still have not visited that town yet.  I was all nostalgic when we passed by my former school.   I did my primary school in the Convent, Tanah Rata.  It is a beautiful building that can be seen from the main street of Tanah Rata.  Though it is a convent, the school is actually a co ed school, not only for girls.  My secondary school was the Sek. Men. Sultan Ahmad Shah (SMSAS).  As the years passed, the school has expanded and it is now a Sek. Men. Keb.  It is situated at the far opposite of the hospital in Tanah Rata, overlooking a field and a playground.  During my time, the school had classes up to Form 5 only.  6th formers will need to go to Bentong.  Now, the school caters for Form 6 as well, both science and arts stream.





Convent Tanah Rata

 

We called it a day after dinner and went back to the hotel as everyone was tired and a bit dizzy from all the travelling.  The night was cold and it was heart warming to see the kids tucked their 'babies' to bed as well.  Thus, this ended our second day in Cameron

 

 

 

 

My kids' 'babies' tucked to bed



 

Go to Day One

 

Continue to Day Three

 

Cameron Highlands Revisited - Day One

Whenever people asked, I am forever proud to say that I grew up in Cameron Highlands.  Then I waited for people to gasp and say 'Wow!  You grew up there.  So nice!!'  Cameron is a place that holds dear in my heart.   All those greens, misty and cold weather, flowers, etc, etc were once part of my life.  They were so common at that time that no one in Cameron would give them a second look or even a second thought.  It was a sad day when my parents decided to quit Cameron for good, almost 13 years ago.  Although I do visit Cameron once in a while all these years, it is not the same as staying there. 

 

I was all excited when we made a trip to Cameron again last week with the kids.  I was eager to show my kids the place that mummy stayed, the school that mummy went to, etc, etc.   It was a 3 days, 2 nights trip and I have booked ourselves at the Strawberry Park Resort.

 

We travelled to Cameron through the Simpang Pulai route.  Once reached the highlands, the first stop we made was to the KC Kwang and Sons  grape and tomatoes farm.  We were happy and excited to see those grapes dangling from the branches though we did not get to taste the grapes.  

 

 

Grapes at the KC Kwang and Sons Farm

 

Then we visited their vegetables and tomatoes packing facility.  It was an eye opener.  The tomatoes packing machine 'cleverly' brushed and cleaned the exterior of each of the tomatoes, and then sorted them according to the different ripeness of each fruit.  While such facility is common in developed countries like Japan and Taiwan, I have never thought that it is available here in Cameron.  It is a good experience not just for kids, but for adults as well. 

Tomatoes having their exterior cleaned

Tomatoes sorted to different ripeness

 

Another well worth experience is to taste the freshly harvested corn raw.  The corns are organic and can be eaten straightaway without rinsing.  I was at first sceptical to eat the corn raw but after the first bite, I was impressed.  It was very juicy and sweet.  The kids love to eat them too.  And needless to say, we bought a big box of it to bring back to KL.

 

Raw organic pearl corn

 

It was about noon when we left the grapes farm and we decided to stop for lunch at the Watercress Valley, which is situated between Kea Farm and Tringkap.  The restaurant overlook the watercress farm and the wind was blowing soft and cool while we enjoyed our lunch.   The menu selection was not that great but we did not have any complains.  Vegetables were fresh and that's what we were looking for.  The price was reasonable for a tourist spot.

 

Water Crest Valley for Lunch

 

View from Water Crest Valley

 

Watercress farms

 

After lunch, we checked ourselves at the hotel.  Strawberry Park has recently renovated their rooms and apartments.  It was clean and comfortable.  Wifi however, is only available at the hotel lobby with a charge.  I find that staying in Brinchang or Tanah Rata would be more convenient than other places as they are close to the sightseeing places as well as restaurants and night market.

 

After rest, we were eager for some action again.  We went to the farmer's market at Kea Farm.  Bought sweaters with Cameron's logo for the kids at RM20 each.  They were warm and comfortable and I would say the price is very reasonable too.  The kids looked like dolls wearing the sweaters with the hood.    Other than that, we did not buy anything as we decided to only buy the fresh produce on the way back, on the last day. 

Fresh produced sold at farmer's market

 

 

Fresh produced sold at farmer's market

Fresh produced sold at farmer's market

 

After that, we visited the cactus farm as well as the mushroom farms at S Corner.  The place was small but sufficient for us to see what we have got to see.  Some places are not measured by how large they are, but how much we gained from it. 

 

 



Flower at Cactus Farm

 

 

At Cactus Farm

 

 

At Cactus Farm

 

 

At Cactus Farm

 

 

Different varieties of mushroom

 

 

 

It was dinner time by the time we went back to the hotel.  We had the conventional charcoal steamboat for dinner in Brinchang.  It was priced at RM18 per pax and one kid eats for free.  Since we have 3 kids with us, we were charged an adult price for the 3 of them.   Sure there are other restaurants that charge as low as RM9.90 per pax.  But one need to see the quantity of food served.  As the saying goes, you get what you paid.  One may have to order extra food and ended up paying more for all the extras.  RM18 per pax is reasonable for the quantity of food served and were enough for all of us.  The food of course, cannot be compared to those that we have in KL.  For the price, we had chicken, fish, pork, some sea produce, mi hun and noodles, eggs, variety of chicken, fish and pork balls as well as variety of fresh vegetables.  The highlight of the steamboat is the vegetables of course.  They were very fresh and added to the sweetness of the steamboat broth.  It was really nice to have gather around a  pot of hot broth in such cold weather.

Charcoal steam boat

 

 

Charcoal steam boat

 

 

 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel. It was very cold at night and we did not feel like taking a walk out door.  Plus, all of us were tired from all the travelling of the day.  The kids fell asleep almost immediately once their heads touched the pillow.  The girls snuggled up comfortably and warmly beside their grandmother and my little boy had a mattress all on his own and slept spread eagle as if he owns the earth.  It was the ending to a perfect day.



Continue to Day Two

Continue to Day Three

Costumes for Kindy Concert

It is the time of the year where schools and kindergartens are busy preparing and putting the final touch to their respective annual school concert and prize giving ceremony.  While my kids are not at performing age, nevertheless, I helped sew some costumes for a kindergarten.  It is a fashion show, depicting uniforms of different occupations.

I hope the kids have as much fun parading these costumes as I did sewing them.

Here they are :

Nurse

Vet / surgeon

Fire fighter

Pirate



Soldier



Magician

Baker



Clown
 

 

 

Lantern Facelift

A pictured step by step guide on giving a facelift to an ordinary paper lantern. 


Materials needed :

Paper lantern
Colored card board / manila board
Double sided tape

The pictures are rather self explanatory :

1)



2)

 

 

 

 

3)

 



 

4)

Hello Kitty Snow Skin Moon Cake

My niece is a huge fan of Hello Kitty.  My sister in law had to had Mc Donald every week when the Hello Kitty toys were launched recently (the sacrifice mummies make!).  As such, it is no surprise that she requested for Hello Kitty moon cakes.  I have thus, made these to tempt her..


The recipe is the same as what I made last year (Mini Snow Skin Moon Cake) with the exception that I substituted the pandan juice with water.  This is because the pandan juice will make the skin greenish in color while I wanted it to be white for the Hello Kitty.

DIY Fish Lantern

Mooncake festival is round the corner again.  I made a traditional lantern for my girls last year (DIY Lantern for Mid Autumn Festival).

 It came across me that such design is not really suitable for a little boy.  As such, this year, I decided to make a fish lantern instead.   Here's the step by step guide :


Materials :

Wire
Glass paper (orange, blue and yellow)
Cellophane tape
Glue
Poster color
Thread
Stick




Steps :

1) Make 2 circles of about 25cm diameter and wrap the end of each with cellophane tape.  (The circles can be made free hand but both must be identical.  Bend the circle into an elongated shape, resembling the body of a fish,



2) Similarly, make 4 circles of about 13cm diameter each and another 2 circles of 8cm diameter.  Bend the 13cm diameter circles to resemble fins while the 8cm diameter circles are to be made into tails.

 

 

 

 

3)   Join the fins and tail to each side of the fish's body using cellophane tape.

 

 

 

4)   Bend the centre of the fish so that it is a little curvy.

 

 

 

5)  Placing both side by side, join the pointed end of the fish and at the tail

6)  Thread a string of wire around a candle to make the candle holder and secure it in place at the bottom of the lantern.

 

 

 

 

7)  Cut 2 pieces of yellow glass paper to the size and shape of the body and glue in place.  Be careful as the glass paper tears easily.  However, once wet with glue, the glass paper will soften and can be folded easily.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8)  Similarly, glue the red glass papers to the fins and blue glass paper to the tails.

 

 

 

 

9)  Once the glue has dried, paint the fish's features using poster colors.

 

 

10)  Thread a string of thread to the fins and tail of the fish and tie the end to a stick which serves as the holder.

 

 

The lantern is now done.

 

 

I lighted the lantern at our garden.  The way it rotated around makes it look like a real fish swimming around.