We left Kuala Lumpur at around 8am, took the PLUS highway towards Ipoh. We were debating about going through the Tapah route or Simpang Pulai. In the end, we chose the 'puke-y' way i.e. Tapah. It was a scary windy single lane with two-way traffic going up and up the hill. Occasionally, you'd come face to face with a bus or a lorry that is about to collide with you head on or...fall into the ravine below. The kids were going GREEN!!! but I was still singing...
There is no way I'm going down the hill the same way. The last time, we went down through the Tapah route, little Luqy, my 5-year old puked. I had to stop the car by the side of the ravine. Luckily I had lots of tissues and towels. Whilst I was tidying him up, a pack of dogs came over to say 'hi' and I was squeezing myself in the back seat trying to get away from those dogs. It was a panicky moment but I was able to go into my 'doctor' mode and was able to clean up all the mess without throwing up.
This time, our journey up the hill was bearable. We stopped over at the teashop to have a look at souvenirs and then, went down to the tea plantations. From the top it looked like a maze. I can just imagine getting lost in there looking for someone...It was an amazing sight MashaAllah. Along the route to Tanah Rata we saw some English looking cottages which has been transformed into guest houses.
Anyway, we got to Tanah Rata in one piece. We decided to book into a budget hotel. Why waste money on anything expensive? It was RM100 per night and was comfortable enough for us. It was also right in the town centre.
Tanah Rata is a self-contained town on top of Cameron Highlands. It has banks...Maybank, Agro Bank, BSN, HSBC etc...etc..., a post office, a klinik kesihatan with an attached mother and child health (MCH) facilities. It has lots of restaurants including steam boats, Indian food, Cameron satay, cafe, Marrybrown and even a Starbuck's. However, if you're craving for KFC you will have to go down to the next town in Brinchang.
We had lunch and spent the entire evening at the Children's playground. The most unique part of Cameron Highlands is the weather. It is the coolest place in the whole of Malaysia. The weather is like a warm spring day in England with temperature around 23-25 degrees Celcius. You could still walk around with short sleeves when the sun is shining. There are less clouds and the sun is brighter but occasionally, a cool breeze will struck you with a little chill.
At night, it gets pretty cold and there is no need for air conditions. It is nice to snuggle under the duvet covers just like in England. I can imagine, it being the only place in Malaysia that one might enjoy sitting in front of a fireplace at night drinking a nice cup of tea.
The next day, we didn't really want to wake up. Cool weather equals hibernation and we just wanted to sleep all day long. However, our stomachs were grumbling so, we went for breakfast at the Hill Station Cafe.
We then went to look at Robinson's waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful but there was no place to sit down for a picnic. Cameron Highlands is a preferred holiday for those who enjoy the outdoors, jungle trekking or nature walks. There are many known jungle paths, some for gentle walks and some for serious jungle trekking. It was difficult to do all those things with two small children. So, we decided not to go further down the waterfall walk.
We went to visit a strawberry farm and bought two boxes of strawberries for RM30. I asked the man to wash the strawberries for us and he asked if we would like him to sprinkle some sugar or add some chocolate on top of them. I was like..."No no no!!!" Plain fresh strawberries ARE THE BEST. So, we sat in the strawberry farm eating some strawberries. We then went back to the children's playground since that is the only thing that the babies could enjoy.
At night, we played Monopoly.
It is time to go home. This time, we will take the Simpang Pulai exit inshaAllah. Goodbye beautiful weather...
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