NUS Gang in Cameron Highlands Day 1 (26 July 2014)

25 July 2014 was quite a memorable day for me as it marked the last day of working for my first employer.  The day passed by pretty fast with farewells and photo-taking and hand-over of my laptop.   I was still going to the yoga class at office gym during my lunch time on the last day! With my gym stuff, farewell presents, and other mementos, I really had tones of things to bring back home. When it was time to leave, I couldn't get myself to leave the office at 530 pm on the dot. It was so hard, like something was pulling me back.  Even though I had known it would be my last day at work for a while, I just couldn't help but feel so sad! 

So there I was, dreading to leave office for the last time T-T It was already past 6pm and my kind manager offered to drive me home with all my stuff as it was on her way! And I really needed that as I had not started packing at all for my Cameron Highlands trip! The initial plan was to leave Singapore around 10pm and it was already 7pm by the time I reached back to my room.  I had a quick dinner, packed haphazardly and took a nap for about 90 min. 

Then Mister arrived and we waited together for my friend's family to pick us up. We left my place around 11pm and fortunately for us, there was no queue at all at the Woodlands checkpoint, so we sailed through to Johor Bahru side. Our friend and Mister took turns driving through the night and we first experienced our holiday jam in the KL area, only around 5 am. 

Here is a shot of tea plantations, about 1 hour away from our Strawberry Park resort

Soon after sunrise, we started our ascent to Cameron Highlands.  To avoid the traffic jam, we chose to go by the route which is shorter but with more twists and turns.  The journey wasn't really kind on my stomach.. Our friend's son threw up even! But alright, that route's major benefit is lack of traffic jam. Oh one thing to take note, please make sure you check your fuel level at Ringlet as the next petrol station you will encounter is only at Brinchang. Even after the long ride, we didn't really feel that tired as the weather was pretty cooling.  

I think this is like the only photo he posed willingly for me :D

We found Strawberry Park resort (Brinchang) without much trouble and reached there around 930am.  Our other friends who took overnight bus from Singapore had not arrived yet. Also the rooms were not ready either, so we couldn't check-in yet.  So we drove down to town area to grab a late breakfast.  As soon as we got out from the car, a random bird shat on my friend's head!!!  She was like "that's the sign!" and bought lottery ticket immediately :D 

After a late breakfast, we went to the souvenir shop nearby as well as the Sam Poh Chinese temple to kill time till noon – when our rooms will be ready.  It was a bit confusing to drive around Brinchang as most of the roads were just one way but after awhile, we figured out our way.

We were really delighted with our hotel suites.  Our group has 8 adults & 1 child, so we booked 2 suites next to each other. Each suite has 2 bedrooms, a bathroom & a huge living area! The rooms were clean, spacious and beautifully decorated.

There was even more than enough space for my accessories & cosmetics :D

We took about an hour to shower and freshen up, before heading out again for lunch.  Mommy and Daddy were tired so we took this little boy out for lunch and Mister was in charge of driving us.

Beautiful resort yea?

Testing my selfie stick

Just a so-so lunch

We had lunchboxes to go for the couple and went back to the resort to pick them up.  Due to the great weather (dry air & temperatures that hover around 20 degree Celsius), so rare in this tropical part of the world, there were too many farms  - strawberry, cactus, tomato, mushroom, bee, butterfly, tea, lavender – and you gotta prioritize the ones you want to see. Unless you are there for a week, I don't think there would be sufficient time to cover all the farms.

Our first stop for sightseeing was the Big Red Strawberry Farm, from 3pm till about 430pm. It was pretty close to our resort and had more than just strawberries. There were roses, lettuces, cactus, strawberries, a café and many types of flowers that I don’t even know the names of.  You can even pick your own strawberries for 25 Ringgit per kg! You might think "what is so special about picking strawberries? The farm is making you do their job for them." For us cityfolks, anything related to farm activity can be considered novelty and we happily bounced off to pick our own strawberries, and of course, snapped many pictures :D

Lettuce with power to induce your salad craving!

Highlight of any Cameron Highlands Trip XD

Strawberries are full of anti-oxidant, good for your skin & health in general.  Plus, they are so photogenic – one of the main ingredients in many dessert dishes.  Need I say more? You just have to stuff yourself with strawberries every single day while you are in this resort town and these fruits are ridiculously expensive in Singapore.

With our very cute photobomb

The Big Red Strawberry Farm is open daily from 8:30am to 5:30pm. It is located very close to the Star Regency Hotel & Cactus Valley. Entry is free but you gotta pay to pick strawberries and charges are based on weight (minimum half kg). Their café had all sorts of items made with strawberries such as cakes, scones, ice-cream, ice-lolly and fruit juice. Oh and this café sells freshly picked strawberries for 10-15 Ringgit per kg (much cheaper than picking on your own and a great option if you just want to enjoy berries).

Our next stop was Ye Olde Smokehouse Hotel, located between Brinchang & Tanah Rata, for a late afternoon tea.  It is an old English Tudor style building & makes for beautiful backgrounds of your holiday photos. I'm not sure if its just me but something about old colonial building just charms me. Of course, it was obligatory to order strawberry scones but they fell short of my expectations. I would have liked them to be a bit more dense & richer though. Compared to Singapore, I would say the prices could be considered affordable as we only spent 96 Ringgit for all of us.

Sipping tea & nibbling on scones, surrounded by lush green garden, made us feel posh so we acted out our own versions! Huge hat was graciously sponsored by yours truly :D

A group selfie (or rather wefie)

After disturbing the peaceful ambiance with our rambunctious laughter, we left SmokeHouse around 6pm for a night market, situated in the middle of Brinchang. We had a hard time looking for car parking by then as there were already so many people there :( 

Fresh vegetables were soooo cheap and in abundance at Cameron Highlands

Look at that gigantic radish!

Beautiful flowers 

We devoured 2 durians in a few minutes, between 8 of us. Just 50 Ringgit!

We enjoyed many yummy street snacks too :D Watercress tempura was definitely a favorite!

After walking around the market for about an hour, we went in search of dinner. Although our initial plan was to enjoy steamboat buffet, we decided to enjoy ala carte meal since glutten us were already so full from breakfast, lunch, strawberries, tea, scones, durian & street food. In Cameron Highlands, you just have to enjoy lots of vegetables as they were bountiful & tasted so fresh!

Our dinner was much better than the lousy breakfast & so-so lunch! Plus, it was cheap too - 146 Ringgit for all of us. We ordered about 7 dishes on top of rice & drinks.

This happy escape from stifling humid weather had me forgetting the sad evening from previous day (: We had a lovely time touring and eating and sightseeing for the next 2 days, which I will share with you guys in the next few posts!

Cameron Highlands & its tourist attractions

Adios!

xoxo

Missy