ZZzzzz, papa grumbling again.
In the 27years of my life, I've never been to Cameron Highland. Nana didn't need to wait that long. She has an adventurous parent that would bring their baby girl anywhere they went. We departed in the morning, on a monday, without any prior hotel reservation. We took the north-south highway, it was like going to Penang again, only this time at half way point we would break off and follow a mountain trail.
There are 2 routes of reaching Cameron Highland from Perak. Via Simpang Pulai it is further from KL nonetheless roads wider and easier to maneuver the sloppy curves. The old route which is via Tapah is shorter but one has to bear the more tortuous and steep not to mention motion-sickening route. We took 2 1/2 hours to reach Simpang Pulai, followed by another 45mins to reach Cameron Highland's peak district Brinchang.
Misty mountain road from Simpang Pulai.
Maneuvering the curve with my new MPV.
Now this is not a sight you see everyday--Vegetable farms.
Cameron Highlands got its name from Sir William Cameron, a British surveyor who was commissioned by Malaya's then colonial government(Britain) to map out the Pahang-Perak border area in 1885. Developed in the 1930s, the highland became one of the oldest tourist spots in Malaysia.
When the Tapah-Tanah Rata road was opened in 1931,the British and the locals moved in to settle on the slopes of the mountain, They were followed by tea planters and vegetable growers who found Cameron's cool climate and fertile land suitable for growing their crops.
Now, Cameron Highland is a buzzing tourist spot noted for its cool weather, agricultural(BOH tea estates, strawberry farms, flower nurseries, fruit orchards,etc), British colonial cottages, Planters market(pasar borong/pasar tani),wild life, jungle trekking and waterfalls among others. Don't be surprise Cameron even has a golf course on its highland plateau.
Papa promised me strawberry on this trip, are we there yet?
Is Mommy performing Tai chi to promote better maternal and fetal health?
Back to us, the journey was wonderful. A joy and an eye-opener. Karling has been here twice before during her school days so it was just me basking in the hilly scenery all the way to the top. After awhile from Simpang Pulai, we could see green mountains covered with thick mist, and the temperature began to drop the atmosphere felt chilly.
Nana was fast asleep after her milk. The radio was still playing our local station meaning they must have a broadcasting tower somewhere on 1 of its mountain peak. On the way we came across a few deserted wooden huts meant to sell fresh produce. A few aborigines(orang asli) were spotted carrying some planting equipments. Towards the top we were greeted with wide vegetable farms, some types of vegetables even have tent or canopy protecting them from the warm sun.
Dad, the switches aren't even working. Gosh~
Soon we were at Brinchang, 1500 meters above sea level (4921 feet), Cameron Highland's second largest district, harbors most of the tourist attractions nonetheless. We checked into a hotel, which cost not more than Rm100/day. The furnitures were quite old, good thing that the room was neat,clean and cozy.
Surprisingly these rooms were not air-conditioned. It didn't even have a ceiling fan. The mean annual temperature of the resort is about 18 °C (64 °F).During the day, the temperature seldom rises above 25 °C (77 °F); at night, it can rarely drop to as low as 9 °C (48 °F) at the higher areas. Karling convinced me that we won't be needing a fan especially at night and after all we are out the whole day.
Dad, is this the strawberry farm you were talking about. Man, i'm so excited.
Gotta get me some strawberries, only Sumo wrestlers can hold me down.
Huff..puff. You win mummy, which means..
After lunch, we couldn't resist to visit the strawberry farm. Cameron Highland owns so many of them we had to choose the one which has the largest banner. In a typical strawberry farm, they have strawberry orchards with rows of strawberries hanging down from small pots. From green they turn into bloody bright red when fully ripe. Taste wise, for Malaysian standard, as long as they're not too sour they are marketable. In my life I've never known strawberry that taste sweet as apple. And in Sesame Street I've seen big juicy strawberries that oozes a much concentrated syrup-like liquid it smears the mouth. Oh well...
Mommy and daughter already enjoying their holiday. Awww, melts my heart.
The mother of all flowers are still these 2 at the center.
Wait, I know i know, DAisy rite?
Oh yes, in a more commercialized strawberry farm, they set up nurseries which plants and sell various climate friendly floras. Grown and nurtured within different sized clay and plastic pots are a feast of beautiful flowers. Each different and unique in its own colour, texture, formation and scent, God's way of showing what an awesome creator and architect of nature He is.
One has to ponder, and ask the vendors, whether these flower plants can survive and thrive at sea level temperature and altitude. Then one shouldn't hold their words as reliable before taking the risk to bring these fragile floras home. Mind you that apart from conducive climate, these flowers bloom as a result of expert and meticulous garden maintenance in terms of watering, fertilizing and pest control.
Red, pink, yellow, purple. Which is your favorite color?
Hmmm papa, don't think you can take care of these fragile flowers. Patients? that's different story.
Mommy, life must be boring just confined to a pond.
Even self-proclaimed Strawberry farm plants cactus and vegetables. Cactus is another plant that thrive in Cameron Highland. I wont try to make a botanist of myself since i don't even plant things in the 1st place, although i did hydroponically grew vegetable as a school science project once. So I'm not sure why there are abundant supply of cactus in Cameron Highland's nursery. However, judging from the vast amount on display at the sales section, i guess their demand is not so popular.
Vegetables on the other hand, looks very appealing. Especially for the Chinese community, green leafy vegetables are a neccessity in every meal. We stir-fried them, steam them or cooked them in soup. It is healthy, complete with vitamins, minerals, fibres, antioxidants and other anti-carcinogenic properties. And its very encouraging to see such healthy food being planted abundantly in Cameron Highland. It not only provide the local population comfortable source of income therefore boosting country economy in agriculture, but also improving the general population's health and lifestyle which prevent potentially debilitating non-communicable diseases.
Beats me how cactus are grown.
Hey, I thought cactus are only found in the dessert.
Feel like munching on these raw salad, don't mind a lil' thousand island topping.
A tourist spot should never be short on cashing in on souvenirs. Fair to say the bulk of souvenirs are themed around Cameron's exclusive strawberries. Strawberry key chains, magnets, soft toys, pillows, umbrellas, T-shirts and everything the creative "strawberry" community can possibly think of. I almost forgot to mention one can enter a strawberry orchard and pluck fresh strawberries for a fee.
If strawberry fruit per se doesn't appeal to you, how about dry strawberry pickles, strawberry jam, or strawberry sweets and chocolates? There are of course, other things one can bring home from Cameron Highland and we shall come to that as we continue our adventure. Right, Nana? (Nana is just so cool..)
Papa, can these strawberries, banana, watermelon and grapes be eaten?
Can the real edible strawberry please stand up?
Daddy, i think i saw the gnomes at the fountain behind us moving.
What is a trip to a strawberry farm if one does not sit down to indulge in its fresh strawberry products? Just look at the picture I'm about to show you. At the eatery where customers place their orders, I simply selected almost everything that looks nice. In fact, almost everything there is to offer appears so appetizing and sumptuous, I didn't know where to begin, or how. They have Strawberry Milk Shake, Strawberry Muffin...their signature Strawberry Waffles accompanied by Fresh Strawberries, in Strawberry Syrup, topped with Vanilla Ice-Cream and Whipped Cream...OOOOO MMMYYY GGOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD~~~~~(soo geram@#$%*)
Ahem, excuse my explicit expression. 1 milk shake wasn't enough. It was simply refreshing, thirst quenching and flavorful, plus I love milk. The muffin was rich, freshly baked hot from the oven, love the soft crunchy texture, the warm strawberry filling melts in the mouth and tantalize the taste bud. The waffle, oh man, gotta savor every mouth of the waffle with ice-cream and whipped cream on it. And before the luxurious combined taste dissipate, ingest the sliced strawberry brushed with whipped cream to further enhance the experience that cannot be found anywhere else except in Cameron Highland.
..and drink some more of the healthy Strawberry Milk Shake :-D.
Nana could hold her gaze longer into the camera, and wave hi-5 too.
Strawberry temptation: muffin, milk shake and waffle.
Papa, faster, the ice-cream's not gonna stay like that forever~
I wonder if Nana's gonna stick closer to me or mommy when she grows up.
Just when we thought there wasn't anything else left to see/do approaching night fall, we came across a night market(pasar malam) at Brinchang. At 6.30pm, the market was buzzing with both locals and tourists alike. The long stretch of market has lots to offer, catering for routine groceries shopping, or souvenirs hunting, or for the hungry souls searching for yummy food.
There were farmers vending fresh produce like vegetables and fruits, planters selling flower products, hawkers selling all kinds of mouth-watering food, among others. Since it was our 1st day here, we were just window shopping and taking note of the price of goods sold, so that we would know a good deal when we come across it.
A foreign worker selling strawberries, can be eaten on the spot with chocolate dipping. Is that heaven or what?
Ayam pangang( Grilled chicken). Don't mistaken these hormone injected chicken for little turkeys.
Deep fried finger food. Tasty hunger buster but just not recommended as healthy.
All the while we were just carrying Nana and pointing to her everything that was worth seeing. We described names of each items and happenings and waited awhile to let her soak it in. At 1 year old, she was curious and attentive. She was enjoying herself, not being cranky despite lacking afternoon nap due to traveling. She turns left and right to witness the occurring around her, processing stuff with her senses, much like her adventurous parents.
I wish Nana doesn't grow too old too soon. God don't let her youth slip through my eyes with swiftness i cant grasp.
The parting of the Red Sea of crowd by these 2 enigmas.
Fresh honey from the bee farm. I already have my honey :-).
At the end of the day, we just bought food back from the night market to have dinner in our hotel room. Wasn't the most ideal in terms of balanced diet but we wanted to budget our expenditure. Not to say lodging, food and stuff were exorbitant in Cameron Highland, they were in fact reasonable. But hey, daddy promise to bring mummy and Nana for balanced diet in a proper restaurant tomorrow kay?
It was a quiet night that night. Most restaurant were closed before 10pm and no sign of nightlife was spotted within the vicinity. Christiana was exhausted and slept early. Daddy bought some imported beers from the grocery shop outside the hotel and chill-out with mum. We both reflected on that day, before cuddling each other to a peaceful and sound sleep. True enough the weather was cool we didn't need fan, at one point past midnight daddy had to shut the window to prevent cool wind from blowing in.
It was one of those times life with Karling was perfect, I wished it had stayed stagnant forever.
Strawberry-themed soft toys and other souvenirs.
Splendid moments can only be captured with the discerning skill of a good opportunist.
