Continued from the last post, after much anticipation, my family arrived and I was at last whisked away from UTP. Farewell UTP, we shall meet again in one week time.
I can’t describe how great the feeling was to see everyone again. Dad haven’t in any way changed, mom cut her hair short, my sister have bracers, my brother still so-so, my youngest sister was naughtier than ever. We had lunch in Tronoh, then it’s time for one big HAPPY family on a car trip to Cameron Highlands.
Well, I’m not that HAPPY. The trip consists of nightmarish, never ending twisting, turning, and winding roads that go uphill and downhill. I slept mostly during the trip, maybe out of dizziness. We drove through Kampung Raja and eventually reached the summit in Brinchang. Despite the afternoon sun, the weather was cool and with light breezes in the air. We stopped by a tea plantation for a rest. There’s lot of lush green “tea bushes” (is that how it’s called?) that form a huge maze on the entire terrain. I had fun tinkering with the new camera that my parents bought.
Just got down from the car after a dizzying ride. Can't blame me looking like this
A tea house. Looks like half of it is "sunken" into the hills
hills of tea bushes
Next, we went to a bee farm. Nothing “exciting” happened here (I’m certainly not taking a risk!). Bees are buzzing around busily collecting honey for their hive, which is a honey box that can be harvested after a period of time for the honey. It was a peaceful afternoon surrounded by nature and docile bees. We bought some honey-made products before leaving. I can’t wait to spread the nice, thick gooey honey on a slice of bread and savoured every drop of it! I’m all in for sweet things. ^_^
In the bee farm...
Rows and rows of honey boxes
After that, we check in to our apartment. In a good way, it saves electricity because there’s no need for fan or air-conditioning. The room was cold enough! Stepping on the marble tiles feels like standing on ice with the warmth seeping away from the feet. Besides that, everything was perfect here. We have nice and spacious rooms and with great sceneries. Too bad there’s no internet coverage here, so I’m writing this blog on a Microsoft word spreadsheet. XD Anyway, I spent the rest of my afternoon sleeping. Glad to know all my friends leaving this morning arrived safely at their homes.
The view outside..
My little sister and her strawberry craze ^_^
Night came. It rained a little while. The temperature dropped and it was many times colder than in the afternoon. Luckily, we are having dinner at Chinese café. I ordered black pepper chicken rice and a cup of hot Chinese tea to warm me up. After that, we went to the night market. I was busy and crowded, especially when today is a weekend. Hawkers selling their products, negotiations and bargaining are going on, the atmosphere was lively. I bought some dried strawberries and plan to “ta bau” some home. Everyone else bought something too. Then we bought some supper and head back to our apartment.
That's all for tonight. TO BE CONTINUED….
Part 2
Morning- it was ten times colder than night. I was freezing up again after stepping out of a warm shower. We packed our stuff and check out of the apartment.
We went to visit BOH Tea Plantation. The trip there was not easy. We had to drive uphill on a narrow and curvy road with many sharp corners. No road mirrors so we had to horn all the way up to warn others about our presence. Larger vehicles such as buses and lorry couldn’t possibly drive this kind of road. We arrived finally. The place was many times bigger than the tea plantation we first visited. We have a chance to climb up a hill full of tea bushes. I wonder how they manage to collect all these tea leaves on such sloppy terrains.
It was a long way up to the summit, no doubt tiring but the experience is exhilarating. The wind blowing against you, looking down at the world below, shrouded in wisps of misty clouds…
After the tiring hike, we went to the tea house and enjoyed some delicious vanilla-flavoured tea and munched on some sandwiches. Then we bought some packets of BOH tea to bring home. Of course, it was an irony that we came all the way up here just to buy some packets of tea that can be bought in the supermarket. But again, the fun, experience, and enjoyment are priceless.
After that, we visited the tea factory heavily scented with crushed tea-leaves. There are many gigantic and complex machines in the factory but to summarise things the process involves crushing and grinding the tea-leaves into fine powder, drying and heating them, then processing and packaging them.
Some nice views before reaching the tea plantation
Flowers...
Conquering the hills..It's a long way up.. and a long way down.. (if you turn your head and look down)
Pictures taken on the summit
close-up shot of tea-leaves
Having a break in tea house
One of the giant machines (I think it's a grinder) in the tea factory
Next, we visited Cactus Valley. I never saw so many cactuses in my lives! They are my favourite plants. Eye-catching cactuses of all shape, sizes and colour and species, no matter how weird, can be found. I had a great time looking at all of them ^_^
Next, we visited a strawberry farm. Besides strawberries, there are many fresh fruits and vegetables grown in large scale. We had fun hand-picking our own strawberries and eating them fresh. Strawberry is such a commodity here. Any products can be made from strawberries. Strawberry ice-cream, strawberry pie, strawberry salad, strawberry milkshake, and even strawberry soap.
Stop by a florist shop before leaving. Just look at those Venus Fly plants. Love to have it but it costs too much... >.<
That’s the end of our trip. We had dinner at a café and it rained heavily. That blew our plan to the Butterfly Farm. We headed to Lumut, toured around the shipyards and ports, stayed overnight in a resort, and finally embarked on the journey back home the next day. Home Sweet Home here I come! ^_^
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