Cameron Highlands : Daytrip from Ipoh

Hari tu cuti awal sikit sebelum raya haji, kami sempat buat daytrip naik Cameron Highlands. Tak tido sana sebab datang dari Ipoh. Lepas light breakfast kami terus ke sana, aim nak makan scones, petik strawberry and minum teh kat kebun teh. Muhammad pun dah masuk 3 bulan, dah boleh keluar rumah jauh sikit.

First stop: Scones at Cameronian Inn (gambar bawah ni from google).

Aku ada baca tempat ni served the best scones. Dan dia lain sikit dari tempat-tempat lain. Memang ye pun, dia kat rumah rehat yang kecil. Tak ramai org pun ada kat situ masa kat sana. Sangat rasa homemade. Dan kawasan inn tu agak sunyi, jadi dia ada aroma romantik tapi simple. Dengan taman bunga kecil kat area tu dan suasana sejuk, memang best la tempat ni. Scones pun tak mahal. Best dan boleh ulang lagi datang sini :-)

Next stop : Petik strawberry.

Kitaorg decide untuk petik buah strawberry di ladang di Kampung Sedia. Nak support peladang kampung ni. Mungkin sebab kami datang ni sebelum raya haji, tak ramai langsung orang kat sini. So petik pun aman-aman je. Banyak jugak strawberry. Dan pengalaman memetik tu yang best. Dan bila tak ramai org, tak lah berebut. Sebelum balik, kami singgah makan aiskrim strawberry. 

Final stop : Minum teh di ladang teh
Kat sini ada 3 atau 4 ladang teh. Kami pilih Ladang teh sungai palas sebab view dia. tak sangka nak sampai ke ladang ni kena menapak jauh jugak. Kami pun bernasib baik sebab sampai pun dah hujung-hujung sebelum dia tutup. so dah ramai orang balik dan senang cari tempat duduk. Frankly makanan kat sini tak lah terlebih sedap but ok lah. Mostly packed food. agaknya lebih mudah nak handle orang yang ramai datang minum teh sini. Tapi kami ada cuba cheese kek nasi lemak tu, hmmm... ok lah rasa but tak lah boom yang boleh order lagi, but tak lah langsung tak sedap. Kena berani cuba. ANyway, kami datang sini for the view :-) which was really good. Tak sah datang cameron kalau tak datang ladang teh ni.

Lepas minum teh, kami pun turun balik ipoh, ikut jalan gopeng. Puas hati dapat ke Cameron, dah lama sungguh tak ke sini.

Penang : only for one night

Bila Hessa nampak sangat senang dan selesa berjalan, kitaorg try pulak jalan-jalan ke Penang. Tak berapa nak plan sangat trip ni. Lagipun Penang pun tak jauh mana dan apa saja nak bawak boleh je taruh dalam kereta. Or otherwise, boleh je beli.

So pagi Sabtu lepas kitaorg bertolak ke Penang dari Ipoh. Dah lama sebenarnya tak pergi Penang. Dan first time try Jambatan Kedua.

Apa nak buat kat Penang ni selain dari jalan-jalan cari makan. Tapi rupanya dah ada anak kecik ni, tak mudah jugak nak jalan-jalan cari makan. Nak kena cari tempat yang kurang sesak. So sempat jugak lah makan cendol dan makan kat Hameediyah (tp x sempat la plak nak ambik gambar). Kitaorg terpaksa skip semua tempat makan waktu malam. Dan breakfast plak makan kat hotel je.

But the highlight for this trip was the hotel. Kitaorg rasa demi keselesaan Hessa, kitaorg kena pilih hotel yang ada beach sendiri. Sbb proses dok kat beach dengan balik hotel tu kalau susah sangat mmg tak pergi lah ke beach. Kitaorg booked kat Golden Sands Resorts. Bilik selesa. Tapi agak basic jugak lah, memandangkan reputasi hotel ni. Tapi tenang je kat hotel ni dan ada private beach kat belakang hotel.

Tapi Hessa macam tak berapa nak ada mood bila bawak ke pantai esok nya. Dia kurang selesa dengan angin pantai. Takpe, tak sampai lagi 6 bulan :-)

For family with bigger kids banyak jugak aktiviti rekreasi kat hotel ni. Tapi kalau tido semalam je, tak berapa sempat sangat lah.

 We got the room with city view... this is the view from the room.

Lepas breakfast kitaorg pun gerak balik Ipoh. A very quick trip, sekadar nak ambil angin.

Kuala Terengganu : CNY unplanned trip

Tok & Nenek (mak abah ibu) cadangkan untuk semua satu family pergi ke Kuala Terengganu untuk cuti panjang Chinese New Year. Memang takde apa-apa plan sebenarnya untuk ke Kuala Terengganu, tapi disebabkan semua orang boleh bercuti masa tu, Tok pun buat hotel reservation - dia pilih untuk kami semua stay di Primula Beach Resort, sbb hotel tu je yang available. Tok as government servant booked the hotel guna govt. servant rate - tp yg best nya, the only room available cuma 1 suite dan 1 standard room. Which is somewhat cool, sbb semua org blh melepak dekat-dekat. And guna govt. servant rate, harga hotel tak mahal sangat. Anyway, plan pun g sana satu hari je.

So pagi 31 January, we left KL awal pagi sebelum solat subuh. Hessa pun tak mandi terus je masuk kereta. Solat subuh di Petronas, tepi highway. For me, dah bertahun-tahun tak drive towards Pantai Timur. So terasa jugak lah pemandangan highway tu sangat cantik. Plus, masa pergi ni cuaca sejuk di Semenanjung Malaysia. So perjalanan tu agak sejuk jugak lah. At one point, di area Chenor temperature drop to the lowest, 19 degree! Wow, Malaysia boleh sampai 19 degree Celcius...

 

We finally arrived dekat ketereh around 12.30 and stop sekejap untuk solat Jumaat. Then terus ke hotel dan tiba di Primula Beach Resort pukul 2.30pm. Lepas check in, we had snack kat tepi laut walking distance dari Primula. Tapi sebab badan penat jugak masa tu,  kitaorg settle makan cepat-cepat untuk rehat-rehat kat hotel.

Hessa was very good.. perjalanan dlm 8-10jam ni dia mostly tidor je kat dalam car seat dia. In fact almost 2 jam berhenti untuk solat jumaat pun dia tak de nangis... I think she loves travelling... like father like daughter :-)





As per our previous trip experience, Hessa would be extremely happy bila sampai hotel. Seronok golek2 dia atas katil, dia seronok when both of us cuddle atas katil sejuk n ada aircond... and sbb kepenatan, tu la activity petang tu before we went for dinner at night.

After full rested and solat... we went out to venture the town. Matlamat utama jalan-jalan ke Kuala Terengganu ni untuk makan keropok lekor, makan sata, makan seafood, makan itu, makan ini... kiranya jalan-jalan cari makan lebih dari lain. Sebabkan trip ni sgt impromptu, makan malam tu pakai redah je, kadang-kadang lagi fun mcm ni, dr tengok sangat review :-) so that night we went to this place yang aku pun tak sure apa nama tempat ni. Perfect place. Seafood sedap, walaupun sbb kitaorg lewat, dah tak byk choice. Tp apa yg ada pun dah ok. Environment best. Restoran bersih dan colorful.

Dan the best part of all... sbb kan cuaca sejuk, dok makan kat sini tak terasa bahang ikan bakar. Lepas makan masuk kereta tgk temperature 25 degree... Cool! lepas makan balik hotel n tido... :-) Ni lah trip yg best, relax, makan, relax.

(trip : 31 January 2014 - 1 February 2014)

Genting Highlands : Weekend getaway (Jan 2014)

Seperti dalam entry sebelum ni, aku plan nak bawa Hessa gi ke Genting Highlands. Kali terakhir aku pergi Genting tahun 2006. So dah 8 tahun aku tak pergi Genting ni. Ibu Hessa banyak kali dah ajak aku, tapi aku je malas nak drive ke Genting.

Memandangkan trip ni rest and relax je, takde nak kejar apa-apa. Kitaorg bertolak ke Genting pun selepas makan tengah hari dan visit kawan aku yg baru je dpt anak. Lagipun, check in time untuk Hotel Awana ni pukul 3pm. So kitaorg pun plan untuk sampai di hotel lebih kurang jam 3 petang.

Check in hotel ni agak cepat je. Takde masalah dan tak ramai. Bilik hotel ni pada aku besar... kalau setakat bawak anak bawah 10 tahun 2 - 3 org, muat je nak tidur satu bilik. Cumanya takde breakfast. Tapi hotel ni dah wujud lama dah, 20 tahun sudah aku pernah stay kat apartment sini. So ada benda yg nampak sangat lama dan deserved refurbishment. Toilet bilik tak lah elok sgt, tp ada lah bathtub. Sink dia tersumbat, tp sebab aku dok sehari semalam... malas nak complain.

Dan aku dapat tahu yang pool hotel ni heated... meaning walaupun dalam cuaca sejuk, air dia agak panas... so memang sangat sesuai lah bawak anak-anak... tapi anak aku masih kecik sangat nak try pool ni... so tgk je lah.

Lepas check in, solat asar dan rehat-rehat... kami pun terus ke puncak genting highlands tu utk jalan-jalan. takde plan pun nak main apa-apa ride. Cuma nak g minum kopi... tgk-tgk perubahan genting dan dinner... Hessa happy je tengok lampu... and kitaorg g dinner kat Coffee Terrace (RM84 per person for buffet dinner). Dinner tu biasa saja le.. for the same price some hotels kat KL maybe boleh bagi better food.

The next day, check out pukul 12pm. Setelah breakfast (spread kat hotel ni so-so je). kitaorg jalan-jalan sekitar hotel. menghirup udara segar. Memang tu lah sbb nya aku pilih hotel awana ni, sbb dia ada garden boleh jalan-jalan. Kalau ambik hotel kat puncak, takde jalan-jalan outdoor sangat. Bila jalan-jalan... ada lah sign tunjuk ada other kids activities... sapa dok sini lama-lama sempat lah join kot.

Oh for those yg might not know kat mana Awana hotel ni. Awana ni dekat sangat dengan station cable car ke genting highlands resort tu. Kiranya halfway utk ke puncak. Sesapa yg nak stay sini dan tak nak drive ke puncak. boleh naik shuttle utk ke cable car or shuttle terus ke puncak. Tp aku ada baca review, shuttle ni slow sgt.. kena tunggu lama. n kalau penuh, kena lah tunggu sejam lagi.

Final say... memang boleh datang lagi and stay kat awana ni for weekend getaway. worth the stay. *note - Genting Highlands outdoor theme park is currently closed for renovation. 2016 nanti baru dijangka dibuka semula.

(trip : 18 Januari 14 - 19 January 14)

Quick holiday...

There are so many public holidays in December and January and better still, they fall close to the weekends. This gives us longer holidays and can plan for a quick weekend getaway. But as they are very closed to each other and the recent prices hike up, we can't afford to go on holidays every other week. Therefore, let's plan for a quick and reasonable weekend getaway during one of these holidays.

We've been planning to go to the highlands for many months... so there are a few to be considered. Our main aim is to walk around with the baby and enjoy the cool weather. We are taking the risk that if the baby feel too cold, she might get sick. But lets try.

1. Frasers Hills
2. Cameron Highlands
3. Genting Highlands

I personally wanted to go to Frasers Hills. I've been to the place perhaps over 20 years ago. So I wonder how much the place changed since then. But, after a few research on the hotels/ accomodation, it seems like the place has not changed at all. The Puncak Inn still there, the Ye Olde Smokehouse is highly rated and Shahzan Inn still popular. I can't find any reasonably price hotel with good review. Most of the reviews for these accomodations would say that the place are tad old and need refurbishment. I stayed in Puncak Inn back in the 90s, even then I felt the place was a bit creepy and old. I can't imagine how does it look now. Due to this unwelcoming comments, I have to skip Frasers Hills. Oh I know that if we could rent a villa/bungalow, then it would be very nice place to visit.

Cameron Highlands is our second option. It is very near to my hometown - Ipoh. I know there are plenty of parks and gardens we can stroll around. Plus, we can enjoy cups of tea with scones or homemade strawberry ice cream there. But, the location is a bit far from KL and we only have weekends to spend. Going on long distance will cost us petrol and toll as well.

So left with Genting Highlands or Bukit Tinggi if I could add more options. The resorts at Bukit Tinggi has loads of bad and negative comments recently, so I have to skip that. While Genting has more hotels options. But I understand that if you don't really want to go for the theme park, there's nothing much in Genting itself. Plus, the outdoor theme park is currently under refurbishment until somewhere 2016. Ibu suggested Awana Genting, which is not on top of Genting and the hotel has a garden and park to stroll around. The hotel is old, I stayed there more than 20 years ago. But, luckily, the comments on the hotel is quite balanced.

There you go... the decision is made, the hotel is booked... let's go to Genting!!! And lets see what will we discover...