TIme to head home

Year’s End Vacation 6: Heading Home

The next morning after breakfast, we packed up and said goodbye to the hotel apartment. The strawberries needed to be finished off as it was getting mushy. I can still remember the smell and the taste of the berries. We headed off with both vehicles in a convoy, but we stopped at the Kea Valley Farm complex where fresh produce was sold. Because of the traffic, I had to drop them off while pointing out an empty parking spot for Atok. Then, I spent nearly 30 minutes driving in a traffic jame down the mountain back towards Brinchang and forced a u-turn to head back to Kea Valley. I met up with Irfan who was waiting for me up front at the complex. Because we had no idea where the others were, we waited for them at the junction where we would be able to spot them emerging from the […]

Continue reading
We turned towards a side road

Year’s End Vacation 5: Evening Exploration

After Atok and Opah rested for the evening, we set off to look for a place that Ain once visited 30 years before: The Boh Tea Plantation. We followed the map up a hill to the north of Brinchang. It was a hillside path which allowed for only one car to pass. Unfortunately, more cars were driving in the opposite direction. We had to part in small alcoves by the hillside to allow them to pass. We also had to jump from alcove to alcove when we could. Soon, the flow of oncoming cars had dwindled. The reason for the outflow of cars, we soon discovered, is that the plantation had closed for the day. I was also looking for the Mossy Forest, which the map indicated was on this particular route. I took a side road and found the way up to the Mossy Forest. We did not advance […]

Continue reading
They tasted sweet

Year’s End Vacation 4: Strawberry Picking

Immediately after the tea plantation foray, we headed out towards another type of farm. There were many strawberry farms here. We selected one on the phone map but the horrible traffic jam pushed us towards another direction. The farm we stumbled across while navigating the twisting roads on the hillside was quite an impressive one. More than a strawberry farm, it was a full on orchard that sold everything from roses to herbs to unidentifiable (to me) local wild flowers. To pick the berries, we had to pay for plastic containers. Only with the containers were we allowed to pass through the inner gate, and climb up the stairs to a higher level where the strawberry greenhouses were. Check out the pictures below. Photo Gallery The fragrance of the greenhouses was unforgettable. We left with two containers of strawberries and three jars of strawberry jams. I never thought I would […]

Continue reading
It's us

Year’s End Vacation 3: Tea Farm

The next day after breakfast at the hotel, we set out for one of the nearby tea plantations. Following the phone map, we headed south. Ain wanted to see the Boh plantation, but we shall see. Atok and Opah holed up at the visitors’ building of the plantation where there was a cafe while Irfan, Ain and I headed down to the plantation after purchasing tickets. One thing was certain: the view was spectacular. Here are some of the photos of our time there. Most of them can be clicked on for a larger view.

Continue reading
Looking for a late lunch in front of our apartment

Year’s End Vacation 2: Arrival

It was two days after we arrived at my hometown… The next day Atok lead the way towards Simpang Pulai with his car. After that, I took the lead en route to Cameron Highlands. Our handheld maps informed us that although it was only about 75 klicks from there to Brinchang, it would take us over three hours to get there. Surely the devices calculated wrongly. Perhaps, the data it had access to was in error. Unfortunately, the map was correct. When we turned into the junction towards Brinchang, a jam had begun. We also caught sight of the structure that Irfan photographed with my phone. I was at awe at the climate-controlled farm on the hillside. I thought it was the only one of its kind. Little did I know dozens and dozens of such farms pepper the landscape on either side of the jammed up road en route […]

Continue reading
Lunch panhandler

Year’s End Vacation 1: Sitiawan

After a couple of weeks planning for it and applying for leave, it was time to execute the end-of-year vacation plans. We exited the highway near Selama and proceeded towards Taiping using the Federal roads. There was a convenient new road from Taiping to Changkat Jering. We stopped for lunch at the food court at that town. There was a cat who asked for food at the restaurant. Later, we headed for Beruas. It was quite a long winding road to reach Beruas from Changkat Jering, but soon we found the turnpike into the new West Coast Expressway which would theoretically be a faster route to Sitiawan. The WCE Sitiawan exit was near the original (and once upon a time, the only) road to Ayer Tawar. We had dinner with Atok and Opah that evening. The next day we went to the Aeon Manjung mall. I could not locate a […]

Continue reading