"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

One Fine Day in Malacca

Last September thankfully I got a short trip with my family to Malaysia. It was supposed to be Dad's medical check up by the way, but Mom's birthday was also around those days, so she decided to take this chance to gather. We are rarely in a full team since my bro and I left home at 15. We left at Wednesday 24 and took a night flight to Kuala Lumpur. Dad got his check up at Thursday.

The next day, my brother skipped work and brought us to Malacca. It just spent two hours drive by bus from KL. The bus was comfortable and spacious, making the trip didn't seem long. We arrived at noon and took a taxi to the guesthouse. We stayed at Zheng He Tea House at Kg Kuli Street, near Jonker Walk. This place is recommended! It offers convenient and spacious room with affordable price.

We looked for lunch as soon as finished putting our luggage. We headed to the famous Famosa Chicken Rice Ball restaurant. It is indeed must be in the must-visited-list. The foods are delicious and its interior are nice. My family did the order stuff while I walked around the restaurant to sightseeing. I met few visitors who also couldn't resist to take some pictures of the interior. Not long after that, the food was served. I stole a moment when they were started picking the food ( they didn't spare a time for instagram or blog food porn things like that, lol ). We ordered roasted pork, BBQ Pork, Rice Ball, Fish Ball, and a plate of Pak Choi ( the vegetable ). Hmm, yummy!

Inside the Famosa Chicken Rice Ball Restaurant

The back interior of Famosa Restaurant

The front interior of Famosa restaurant. It was crowded during lunch time.

A moment I stole while they started eating.

Then, we took a walk around. We visited Baba & Nyonya Heritage Museum. The museum was great but unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take a picture. After that, we went to Christ Church of Malaka. The building has a red distinctive color. Many tourists are touring around with full decorated  becak or old bikes. Next place we visited was the ruin of St.Paul Church. There was a street musician cheering up the atmosphere. Then, we went to A Famosa, a Portuguese fortress and Sultan Palace nearby.

The Lovely Christ Church Melaka

A bike touring around Christ Church of Melaka

An old fire engine truck on our way to St. Paul Church

The St. Paul Church frontyard 

An old tombstone in St. Paul Church's ruin 

Time flew fast. We were back to the guesthouse and took a rest before dinner. Weekend is the best time when it comes to visit Malacca, because the night market at Jonker Street/Jonker Walk is just available during that time. The street was filled by pedestrians. My Goodness! I was so happy seeing bunch of local street foods. Even after having a dinner, my tummy still found some places for them, haha!

Jonker Walk's Night Market Atmosphere. Met a visitor playfully waving his hand, hehe 

Kuih Lobak ( Radish Cake ) 

Ahh, I forgot the name of this cookies

Street Dimsum, RM6 for 10 pieces. Ah, I was full of them!

One of street dimsum I bought 

Well then, the trip was really short but memorable to me since I enjoyed it with beloved ones. Malacca itself has captured my heart with its oldies atmosphere and stuff. Oh, plus its delicious foods too! Slurrrrp!