Last weekend's Cameron Highlands (CH) trip was a first-time experience for my family in many ways. Not only that it was my dad's(!) and Rachel's first trip to the highlands, it was also my first time driving there and back in my old and small Kancil. I'm glad to report that my trusty ol' car made it!
Here's our trip report. I've decided to separate it to categories instead of doing it the Day 1, Day 2 style ...
JourneyThe route we took was PG-Ipoh-CH. Ipoh was our breakfast stop. Then from Ipoh town, we went straight to Simpang Pulai without going back out to the North-South Expressway. I highly recommend this route because:
1. The R&R food sucks.
2. Ipoh has nice food!
3. You bypass the Simpang Pulai toll = save some money.
Warning: We started our journey very early in the morning. Because of this, some parts of the highway were misty, and coupled with no street lights at some stretches, it was quite a sight to see ... kind of reminded me of a scene from
Spirited Away. Do drive slower here, and try to follow another vehicle from a distance - its back light will guide your path.
AccommodationAfter extensive Net surfing for information and comparison, I booked the Rainbow Hotel at Brinchang because:
1). Walking distance to the night market. This turned out to be such a blessing because my parents have decided that they owed the relatives and neighbours a favor (okay, just my thinking) that they needed to buy as much things as our hands and my small car could carry. And even after slaving our way back to our hotel room, my parents went back to the night market to buy even more stuff.
2). Town area. I'm not sure whether my parents themselves know this or not, but the fact is ... they are not early sleepers. They like to explore the streets at night, and maybe have some coffee or tea.
3). Close to most places of interest. Brinchang town is somewhat between Tringkap and Tanah Rata.
Warning: As Brinchang is the town area, naturally there are more crowd, and more crowd mean more human noise. our hotel room faces the side lane, and we could see Country Lodge. The next morning, my mom told me about the noise the guests there were making - partying till late. I didn't know, because I was sound asleep then. Then, there's a construction site right next to Country Lodge, which meant noise pollution during the day. But that did not affect my dad and Rachel, who had a long nap till dinner time. Our room window also faces a part of the main road, and CH has only ONE main road, which means all types of vehicles use that main road. Go figure. Last but not least, our hotel is also near the town mosque ... I rest my case.
GOOD: Clean room, near to the night market, and breakfast in bed.
BAD: Noise from construction site, party crowd at Country Lodge, and the Brinchang main road.
Food
As you can see, we stopped at Ipoh on our way to CH and also on our way back, so the Ipoh food is included here too.
1). Dim sum at Foh San dim sum restaurant - Ipoh. I'd been dreaming about this place ever since I've found my way around Ipoh town, and yet ... now that I've tried it, it's not such a big deal after all. The food is okay, but expensive! I simply don't understand the crowd. Our bill was RM36.40 for the following food: 1 big pau, 1 char siew pau, 1 lor mai kai, 1 serving of siew mai, 1 serving of har gau, 1 serving of chicken feet, 1 plate of fried prawn dumpling, and 1 plate of unidentifiable fried stuff. Plus tea for 3 persons.
2). Lunch at T-Cafe - Tanah Rata, CH. This is such a nice place to relax and unwind after a long drive. The environment is cozy, simple and unpretencious. The local dishes were nothing to shout about, but the strawberry scone and the banana pancake were nice.
Far left: Spicy fried rice. Left: Tom yam rice noodles. Far right: Strawberry scone. Right:
Wat tan hor (thick rice noodles with egg)
The strawberry scone deserves an individual shot by itself.
3). Dinner at You Hoo steamboat restaurant - Brinchang, CH. I like this place! I did my research before deciding on this restaurant (among the many there) and was skeptical when we arrived a little past 6pm, because it was quite empty. Only one other table was occupied. But my 6.30pm, it was already full house, and the owners were turning away customers. We wanted to save space in our stomachs for some snacks later, so we ordered a 2-pax set @ RM35 for the 3 of us. We were stuffed and struggled to finish the food. Do give this restaurant a try!
4). Snacks from the night market - Brinchang, CH. Against my better judgement, instead of buying steamed potatoes and corns, I bought 4 types of fried snacks and couldn't eat them because they were too oily. I ended up scraping the batter off, but had to give up the fried straw mushrooms because, well ... I couldn't get the batter off the mushrooms. I'm missing my corns n potatoes even as I'm typing here.
5). Dessert at Strawberry Moments Dessert Cafe - Brinchang, CH. A lovely dessert place between the Regency Apartments and Cactus Valley area. We shared a mini steamboat of choc fondue and a 'strawberry' split (similar to banana split, but the strawberries replaced the bananas).
An array of yummy dessert for your pick.
Left: Mini steamboat for 2. Right: Melt-in-your-mouth (aka 'stawberry' split)
6.) Lunch at Onn Kee [ibu pejabat (headquarters)] - Ipoh. Okay, I've finally tried the 3 beansprout chicken restaurants opposite one another, and my favourite is Ong Kee. The first time is always the best. Or maybe the novelty has worn off.
7). Takeaway salted chicken at Aun Kheng Lim - Ipoh. After a few unsuccessful attempts of buying this chicken, I've finally bought it. And tried it. And ... I like the other shop's chicken better. The shop which, I've bought the chicken from twice but never bothered to find out its name. I will go back there again. And this time, I will remember the shop's name.
Places of Interest
1). Rose Centre. This was our first stop upon reaching CH. Maybe this was too extreme for beginners, for, upon seeing the place, my mom asked "Do we have to walk up the stairs?" while my dad, who'd been deprived from a good sleep said "what sort of a hotel is this??" I might have forgotten to remind my parents that CH is not as developed as Genting Highlands, where almost everywhere are connected by escalators. The Rose Centre was more or less our first and last "adventure" throughout the trip.
It's a little further in from KEA farm. I saw groups of people walking in, but I wouldn't do such thing.
At the Rose Centre.
Hibiscus ... what is it doing in a centre for roses?
No idea what flower this is, but it looked pretty.
Rachel recognizes "Mickey Mouse". By the way, do you like her new hairstyle?
The ones in Penang Hill look better.
It goes all the way up! A nightmare for ladies in heels.
2). Tanah Rata garden area. I'm not sure why such a place can be 'of interest' ... but I took my family there for nostalgia purposes. There's an area with gigantic man-made vegetables and fruits that plenty of tourists took pictures with whenever they go to CH. This area was built probably eons ago, and the colors on the fruits and veg have faded. I think every kid should have a picture taken there. And then have another picture taken when the kid grows up. In fact, I made Rachel pose for a picture, but she was so tiny that my camera could only capture the corn behind her.
"Look at me, I'm teeny tiny".
3). Big Red Strawberry Farm. Admission is free. And the path leading to the entrance is right beside the entrance to Cactus Valley (side by side). You get to see a few varieties of vegetables and strawberries grown there. There's a cafe where you can buy some strawberry snacks, or drink butterhead juice. My dad liked the juice. I liked the strawberry ice stick. There's also a giant pumpkin near the cafe.
Left: At the Big Red Strawberry Farm. Right: ~ Wherever I go, whatever I do ... I have to find a kiddie ride ~
Different areas around the Farm. Bottom centre: the butterhead plant. Bottom right: the giant pumpkin. See my mom's hand for size comparison.
4). Cactus Valley. We did not go in despite the fact that it's just next door. My mom took one look at the place and said "I'm not climbing anymore stairs". So there.
5). Night market. Opens on weekends and long holidays (I'm not so certain about this). The perfect place to hunt for snacks and cheap vegetables. The atmosphere is very festive.
On a separate note, I realized that CH has changed so much that I'm not sure I like it that much anymore. I used to have the notion that everyone should stay at the highlands once in a while to escape from the city life, to be free of the noise and dusty air, to breathe the cool and fresh highlands air.But at CH, we were greeted by the same old, same old. Construction sites were everywhere, contributing to noise and air pollution. The places of attraction were not well maintained as well. I feel quite sorry for CH, so much potential, but losing its glory because of irresponsible developments and even the visitors' attitude.
