"Back To Nature" Trip at Cameron Highlands

" BACK TO NATURE " may be the suitable theme for this leisure trip I did in the end of November. It was because we mainly visited farms and plantation. We decided to went away from the city crowd in Kuala Lumpur and took a bus to Cameron Highlands. Four hours of road trip was pleasant with comfortable ride and beautiful scenery along the way. Cool breeze hit us as soon as we got off from bus. 

Lucky me, the weather on that day was sunny. We rushed to our first desitnation Bharat Tea plantation to have afternoon tea. We ordered a pot of Masala Tea. It is black tea mixed with aromatic Indian spices and herb (details) . The view from our seats was magnificent, but there's nothing better to explore and see it up close. 

I took the wood stairs down to the farm. Curvy green lines of land from afar welcomed me. There were already few visitors who merged in the vast spread of tea. The sunlight accentuated the beauty. The fresh fragrance accompanied us as we strolled on a solid red soil. 

The afternoon sunlight accentuated the natural curves of tea plantation land at Bharat Tea

A couple in the scenery of Bharat Tea plantation.
Look at the gorgeous hill at the background!

Busy snapping pictures among the lines of tea plantation 

We got back to the downtown of Tanah Rata by the taxi we rented before. There are many restaurants varied from Malay, Chinese, Indian and Western cuisine. Tourists center and tour agents have a lot of package to offer. Surely, we chose to go independently. We booked a taxi for tomorrow trip, which costed RM 25 per hour. 

The next day, the taxi picked us sharply at 9.00 a.m. We discussed the places we wanted to visit and the driver set up the order based on the locations. A nice Indian old man drove the taxi smoothly and started to also be a guide. 

We first went to Boh Tea factory ( yes, tea farm again! ). We took a tour around the factory to see them processing the tea. Too bad, it is surrounded by glass so pictures won't come out nice. The production starts with withering the plucked leaves. Then, the plucked leaves are rolled to crush and fermented. After that, the leaves are dried and sorted according to sizes.

We also enjoyed a sip of tea here. There is a store next to the drinking shop and we didn't miss to grab one or two. 

Enjoying tea in a chilly day with this beautiful view at Boh Tea Plantation

One of a great way to enjoy tea is with its fresh plantation view! 

We moved to the next destination which is Lavender Farm. Contrary to its name, I found out it is dominated by many other flowers instead of lavender. Only few areas near the front gate. It was crowded but I managed to take some pictures. However, it is still beautiful.

Gorgeous lines of flowers at Lavender Farm.
Flowergasm ! Can you name them?

Lavender Blossom  <3

House decorations at Lavender Farm 

A Cute Lovelock. One of many others that pretty stands out because of its big size.

A visitor is taking pictures of the flower farm 

Lovely boot-as-vase decoration 

Blooming flowers for self-pick service  

After that, we went to Bee Farm and Butterfly Farm. Honestly, Butterfly Farm is my favorite destination on this trip. The keeper can caught a butterfly and put it on your hand. I tried it too. The butterflies and flowers are colorful and lovely.

Finally found a bee that flying around flowers.

 Mostly they are inside a wooden house at this farm.

Happy is when a beautiful and delicate creature allowing you to say hi

 

On our way back, we stopped at Time Tunnel, a local museum that preserving old collectibles and memorabilia of older days in Malaysia. There are photo galleries, kitchen area, barber shop, and coffee shop display. The yellow dim lighting and a slight of musty smell strengthened the oldies vibe in this place.

Some collections at Time Tunnel

Coffee shop display

The last destination we visited was Big Red Strawberry Farm. We couldn't resist to do a self-pick service here. The strawberry was so sweet and delicious! 

The day was gonna end and so was our trip. To me personally, the vibe of Cameron Highlands are similar to Lembang or Puncak in Indonesia, but overall it was a nice leisure trip. 

The view from our balcony

Wild & Free at Cisarua Safari Park, Indonesia

Thank God I'm so lucky getting free entrance tickets to Taman Safari Indonesia, which is located at Cisarua, Bogor, West Java province. This place had been so long on my wishlist. Thus I can't hide my excitement to meet these lovely animals!

Here we can observe closely how they live like they should be in natural habitat. The cool breeze and shades of trees make the good atmosphere to explore. The sound of crickets and bird chirping kept us company along the trip. There are some decorated gates and ornaments full of wild plants or sculls. Regulation signs are also appear a lot to remind the visitors.

Beside safari track to watch the wildlife, there are also many other attractions such as baby zoo and animal shows. We got to watch bird and dolphin show. Too bad, I later found out that they say animal shows require harsh training. I wish they don't do it here.

Spread your wings wide
The wind is on your side
Hey, the mighty and glorious
The sky is yours !

An eagle is flying low, look at its graceful stance, awesome !

The ruin of gate inside the park 

A beauty in black and white 

We bought some carrots on the way. Of course, we DID ask the ranger before feeding. Since he gave the permission, then we opened our windows in the safe environment and feed them.

A curious Ilama peeking into our car window. Sorry we're running out of carrot! 

Munch, munch, munch 

An eagle resting under the shade of ornament tree 

Hello there! 

It's actually forbidden to open the car windows in the wild animals sanctuary, but we couldn't resist this beautiful tiger. It just woke up from napping, we parked at quite far distance and quickly took shots. Sorry, please don't copy this bad attitude ;)

The Sumatran Tiger sits leisurely after napping 

In the hippopotamus zone, we encountered the river flowing the street. Our car got its turn to bath too, haha. I totally adore hippos. Cute and seems not to be bothered.

Two hippos are enjoying their swim. It's been incredibly hot lately, that must be fun! 

Two otters are playing, or should I say, water dancing. 

Surely I would love to visit again. Can't wait to go to other safari park or even national parks!

Standstill

The window where my face leans on
showing off thousand glimpses of view out there
demanding for attention,
I see, but never really watch

No words come out though the voices in my mind
as loud as the roar of the train.
I love drowning in this moment of still
surrender to its pace,
being pulled away from bad things
that stuck at the place where I left.
Leaving on their own, would they?

Drifting in the muse
the ones nearby do not mind
neither do I

World seems to spin slower
giving a gap to pause.
I walk out from the path
of my dreams are supposed to be,
to do nothing but being grateful
for the verge where I stand now

From the sideline, 
I realize what my eyes used to miss
No one is free from their own struggling

So I take this moment to stop,
perhaps wishing for the time
not leaving too fast
or perhaps waiting for someone kind enough
to let me join him
chasing our purposes side by side

A Bit of Oldies Trail in Solo & Jogjakarta

There's no choice except waiting for a long weekend to go on a trip, especially after being employed. Last May I went in a small group, my fun buddies at heart and TUMMY. Yup, a bit different from my adventurous trip, I decided to just enjoy this leisure trip, eat a lot, sightseeing, and eat again. The local foods are amazing so that we directly eat as soon as it's served (goodbye #instagram #foodporn #foodie ). The price is quite cheap too ( obviously if you compare it to the price in Jakarta ).

I'm still amazed how my friends and I talked all the way from Jakarta to Solo ( Surakarta )! ( more than 10 hours on the train,LOL ). The atmosphere in Solo and Jogja are pleasing. You will find that I wrote many words of "lovely","oldies",and "antique". I think those are suitable keywords for snapshots I posted here. Enjoy!

Lovely signage with Javanese writing found on the way to Triwindu Antique Market, Solo 

"Wayang", Indonesian traditional puppet as the decoration at the front building of Triwindu Antique Market

A vintage typewriter. Wish I could have one :) 

Do you remember seeing these TVs in your younger years ?  

A rickshaw rider who kindly posed for me at the alley of Kauman Batik village

Windows wall.
( Sorry for blurry pict, I also regret not checking thoroughly at that time ) :(

Es Dawet, a traditional drink of Indonesian.
It's made from rice powder & pandan leaves, served with palm sugar 

Spinach noodle with chicken mince at Mie Gajah Mas 

A steam train for tourists rides across the street in Solo ( Surakarta ) city 

Happy passengers on the steam train 

Waiting for our train to Jogjakarta at Purwosari Station, Solo 

The train from Jogja to Solo is pretty comfy. It takes just an hour,making it a nice day trip. Unfortunately, the ticket back to Solo was sold out. Plus, I screwed up by leaving my identity card at the hotel. It was used for a guarantee. I have a spare one, but I forgot to bring it :')  

Then, we rent a car along with three new friends we met at the station. They are so friendly to share the recommended dining place in Solo. After all, it turns out to be a laughable moment now, haha.

The ruins of underground mosque, Taman Sari, Jogjakarta 

The beautiful underground mosque at Taman Sari 

 A random graffiti along the way to the ruins of underground mosque

Despite the hot weather, it was fun visiting these two cities. Thanks so much to my friends : Vinca, Vina, Mike and Rendy for being a nice companion on this trip! Things I'm gonna miss the most are definitely the moments and FOOD!