Travel Review: Cameron Highlands

We left from Butterworth around 8.30am. Checked the tyre pressure ok and enough petrol. Full tank of petrol is more than enough. At current petrol price of RM1.90/liter, it takes about RM40 one way to Cameron.

The journey was smooth without much traffic on a Sunday morning. After 1.5 hours of drive, we reach Jelapang toll that cost RM16.80. Continuing on, we took the Simpang Pulai exit (RM1.80) to try the new road up Cameron which is wider and less winding.

After passing the toll, at the first traffic light, make a right turn. Then, follow by another right turn at the next traffic light. From here, it's all the way to Cameron. We took our time driving up the mountain while viewing the natural beauty around. Wind down the window and feel the cool breezy air.

After about 45 minutes of drive, we saw the first stop on the right. But we didn't stop. We drove for awhile more and decided to stop at the 88 Holiday Fun Garden, just to look at what it has. We do not recommend buying anything from this stop or earlier stop as the price is simply exorbitant. Maybe they are the first few stops so people might be unaware that cheaper products can be purchased at Brinchang, where there are more choices and prices are more competitive.

We felt hungry so we stop at this 99 CH family food center to have lunch. There are chicken rice, economy rice, fried koay teow. The price is a little pricey but that's expected at tourist places like this. For a plate of chicken rice, it costs RM4. The place was infested with flies though, so I'd recommend trying other places with less cleanliness issues.

After lunch, we continue on our journey to Bharat Tea Estate aka Cameron Valley. We took many pictures of the tea estate and bought some tea products there. Although it's not the best tea estate but it's definitely the most accessible compared to 'Boh' Tea estate at Sg.Palas (more about that later). Disappointing thing about Bharat Tea Estate is there is no guided tour on tea plantation, tea extraction. Just take pictures, get some tea products and leave.

We stop at a few places along the way. There are many stalls along the way. At some places, we stop and bought a small bottle of honey. Honey price are not cheap in Cameron. They go from RM28-35 for the big bottle and RM18-20 for the small bottle. One word of advice is bargain. We manage to bargain for RM12 for the small bottle of honey at the road side stall (later we manage to buy the same bottle for RM9 at Kea Farm). We also bought a pack of strawberry for sample back in the hotel.

We stopped at a mini market and bought strawberry jam and dried strawberry. It was the cheapest strawberry jam you could find in Cameron. Two bottles for RM10. Other places are selling RM6-7 for a bottle.

Next we saw the Sg.Palas 'Boh' tea estate sign and decided to go for it. It's a one and last time experience for us. The road to the tea estate is one of the most narrow we ever drive on. 2km of narrow road. At some places, it's really just one-way for 2 cars. Remember to honk at the curves also as it's impossible to know whether there's car at the opposite direction! It was so scary that we have to concentrate full force and couldn't take photo to show how narrow the road was. The worse part is some unthoughtful drivers who drives fast even though they know that there are traffic coming the opposite direction.

But Sg. Palas 'Boh' tea estate is a nice place. Worth to go at least one time. We've been there once, maybe you should go there once to experience the drive and the place itself. The places is well design and taken care. After parking at the designated parking area, it's about 200m walk up the steps to the tea estate. There's a nice sky cafe where you can enjoy tea. I guess they try not to be too english like hence there was no scone to go with the tea. We had the butter lemon cake and a pot of tea. It's a nice place to take pictures of the tea farm. There is also a guided tour on tea extraction, etc. The main thing is to buy the products. We bought a couple of tea products. Not sure if it's any cheaper to buy here than from Tesco. We'll check that out and update later. We took our time to enjoy our time together there since it's the first and last trip to 'Boh' unless they do something to widen the road. (Few suggestion that 'Boh' can take to ease the way to the estate - (1) put traffic lights at narrow one lane part to allow only one traffic to move at a time (2) put mirrors at the curve as it is impossible to see the opposite traffic.) We spent time until it was nearly time to close about 4.30pm. Then we left. As we left, we still see cars coming in. It's either they're not aware that the place at 4.30pm or they must have started their journey thinking that they can make it to the place before it close but little did they know the road is so narrow, it take a really long time to get in.

Next stop was at Cactus Point. We bought two pots of plants for RM9. By then we were already tired and decided to drive through Brinchang straight to the hotel and check-in at 5pm. Took some rest and head out for dinner at Brinchang town. We tried the steamboat. The set for 2 ppl cost RM15/person. It was okay. If you really want to try the food, just get set for 1 ppl and try other food nearby. Go back hotel and sleep.

Next morning, we had breakfast at the hotel. We could see Old Smokehouse from our hotel room. Strawberry Park resort is also nearby so we decided to take a look. The road to Strawberry Park is one of the most winding road. This is also a first and last place. It's also a land slide prone place. Not recommended to stay. But the Strawberry Park resort is a nice place.

Next to the Strawberry Park resort is the Kasimanis Strawberry farm. this is a recommended place. One of the best strawberry farm in Cameron. The price of strawberry here is cheap. For a box of chunky strawberry for only RM5 elsewhere selling pathetic small strawberry for RM4. The chunky ones are sweeter and best of all, Kasimanis let you try the strawberry before you buy them.

Next we stop at the Multicrop Central Market. Worth to stop. They sell lots of things. you can get pots, stones, key chains, etc. But remember not to buy any roses from the stall outside Multicrop Central Market. They sell 'treated' roses. A packet of 3 stalks cost RM2.50. Nonsense! We can get better deal at Kea Farm where a packet of 6 stalks go for RM3. The cafe at Multicrop Central Market is worth the price. It's cheap and good. We were little hungry and decided to try the hot drink and apple strudels.

Beside Multicrop Central Market is the Uncle Sam Farm. Worth a visit. Well, can't really say what's worth to buy here except for the cherry tomato if you're a tomato fan. One kg of cherry tomato only RM6 and you get to pick from the basket and the cherry tomatoes are huge. Other place one kg goes for RM7-8 and you get small tomatoes. Or the tomatoes come pre-pack. A small pack of 100gram cost RM2.00.

Next stop is Kea Farm. Look out for the first stall on the right. The malay lady here sell honey very cheap. A small bottle of honey RM9, everywhere else RM18-20. Big bottle of honey RM14, elsewhere RM28-35.

Lunch was at Strawberry View restaurant. Nice food, reasonable price. After lunch it was already 4pm. It's time to go back home.

Fun try: one simple way to know when you're getting near to Cameron is by winding down your window. As you get nearer to the top, the air gets cooler.
Tips:
1. if you feel like, stop and take a look at the shops as you drive up from Simpang Pulai. if you need to check-in late, just give a call to the hotel and inform them that you need to check-in late. Take your time to visit the shops along the way. But we remind you, the price is not worth it unless you really like/want the product.
2. remember to honk on your way to Sg.Palas 'Boh' tea estate. the opposite traffic can't really see you. Honk and be safe.
3. Get steamboat set for 1 ppl share 2 ppl and try other food nearby.

Travel Review: Cameron Highlands part 2

Where to buy:

Roses:

• The best place to buy roses would be at the Kea Farm market.
• Sometimes roses are aplenty - when it's not raining; you can get 2 dozens roses (that's 24 stalks!) for RM5. But during rainy times, roses are less available and goes from RM3 for 6 stalks of non-red roses and RM3 for 4 stalks of red roses. (Not sure why red roses are more expensive??)
• Even at Kea Farm, it's still possible to find different stalls selling difference prices. Some stalls are selling a packet of 6 stalks for RM3. If you buy 4 packets for RM10. There's this stalls that sell a packet of 10 stalks for RM5. Worth it!
  
• Beware of the stall selling roses at Multi Crop market. They're selling for RM5 for only 2 packets of 3 roses each. Super expensive! They're selling on the pre-text that their roses are "treated" roses. (funny look)

Honey

• Don't get honey from the bee farm. Very expensive. Generally they go from RM28-RM35. For this price, it's better to get imported Capilano honey from Australia.
  
• The best value honey can be found in Kea Farm market also. The first stall on the right along the road, you can buy the honey for RM15 for the big bottle and RM10 for the small bottle. We manage to bargain it to RM14 for big and RM9 for small.
  
• The other stall along the road and mini markets are selling at RM28 for the big bottle and RM18 for the small bottle. At the mini market, it's fixed price. At the stalls, because you can bargain, you can get the big bottle at RM25 and small bottle at RM15. But if you want it cheaper, try Kea Farm.

Strawberry

• This is tough. Everywhere strawberries are selling from RM4 for a small box to RM15 for a big box.
  
• When buying strawberries, choose the bigger berries as they are sweeter. The smaller ones , even though they are cheap, are not worth it.
  
• The best place to buy we think would be Kasimanis Strawberry farm. you can ask to taste the strawberry first. their strawberries are bigger and taste sweeter.
  
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Travel Review : Gua Tempurung, Perak

Head for the hills!! Ok, so it's a cave in this case - Gua Tempurung. Located in Perak near Gopeng, the largest limestone cave in West Malaysia is easily accessible off the North-South highway using the Gopeng interchange.

We took a day trip to Gua Tempurung after hearing a lot of good reviews of the place. Upon arrival, we checked out the available tours there. There were 4 different types of tours. If you are aiming for the Grand Tour, make sure to arrive early as the last entry for this particular tour is at 11am.

As it had been raining the previous night as well as having some light drizzle in the morning, the wet tours were closed as the water level was too high and therefore considered dangerous. We settled for the Top Of The World tour instead.

The tour turned out to be pretty informative as we slowly walked along the pathway. The rest of the group had gone ahead so the tour guide stayed with us instead and gave us some tidbits of information. We were shown the various landmarks formed by the stalagmites and stalactites of the cave - the Cat, the Old Man, the Jellyfish were among them.

I call it - THE BULL.

As a last note, remember to bring along a complete change of clothes if you want to go for the wet tours. Sport shoes and a torchlight are mandatory. Most importantly, bring your waterproof bags around to protect your electronic items (handphones, car keys, etc) as you may get submerged completely in the water at certain points.

Travel Review : Penang Butterfly Farm

Running out of ideas on places to bring your family during the school holidays? Why not visit the Penang Butterfly Farm? It's open daily from 9am - 5:30pm (or 6pm on weekends). Located in Teluk Bahang (near the famous Batu Ferringhi), this is an ideal place to bring your kids to. Not only do they get to learn about nature and develop an appreciation for living things, they can also join in various tours and get up close and personal with nature. This outing can easily take up at least half a day if you look at all the sections and spend time to observe the flora and fauna in the farm.

Rice Paper Butterfly - a beautiful black and white butterfly species

Priced at RM20 for adults and RM10 for children, at first the entrance price seems quite steep. But no worries, if you are a Malaysian citizen, just produce your MyKad to get a 50% discount on the entrance fees. They also give the 50% discount for Jusco and Sunshine member cards. :)

The famed Rajah Brooke Birdwing - Malaysia's national butterfly

Besides butterflies, there are also other insects like the leaf and stick insect section -try to spot them as they camouflage into the greenery! They also keep squirrels, monitor lizards, iguanas, scorpions, toads, tarantulas and tortoises among others. Of course, this is not an exhaustive list - there are many other types of animals there. Walk several rounds in the enclosure, you may have missed something on your first round.

A regular branch.. or not? Spot the leaf insect and how many?

If you feel too hot and need to cool down, head for the mini cinema which has air-cond and shows a 15-minute documentary every 30 minutes. There are also live shows where the handler will bring in some small animals and insects - the gecko, some beetles and the stick/leaf insects. You'll be able to touch and hold them with the handler keeping a watchful eye.

Our friendly neighbourhood gecko

On your way out, do stop by the souvenir shop where you can look for some good bargains and pretty trinkets as a remembrance of your trip to the Butterfly Farm. As a final reminder, please remind your children not to litter the grounds and to treat the free-roaming butterflies gently.