Cameron Highlands Trip 2013 Day 1&2

On 5th June 2013, my family (mom, aunt, and cousins) and I set off to Cameron Highlands for a short getaway. It's been several years since I last went overseas with my family and hence when my cousin suggested to me about this trip, I agreed to join without much hesitation. The trip was mainly a farm trip, meaning that we would be visiting the various farms in Cameron Highlands. I am not a fan of farms, but since it's something different, I was nonetheless looking forward to it.

Mom and I woke at 5:30 am, spent some time preparing and then cabbed to Woodlands Checkpoint where we gathered with the rest of the holiday-goers. After an enduring 10 hours of bus ride, we reached our destination. Upon alighting, all of us were greeted by the cooling breeze of wind that blew continuously against our face. The tour guide told us that the weather in Cameron Highlands is very cooling throughout the day. In fact, it can be rather cold at night. (∪ ◡ ∪)

It was already evening time when we arrived and hence could only settle for dinner. Mom and I stayed in one of the deluxe rooms in Equatorial Cameron Highlands for the next 2 nights. Check in was smooth and done without much delay. Hotel rooms are of a good size and well equipped with free wifi too.

Equatorial Cameron Highlands

Our hotel room - For your information, none of the hotels in Cameron Highlands are equipped with air conditioner. You get to enjoy fresh cooling air by opening the room windows

A photo of myself before we head out for dinner

The next day, we woke up at 6:30 am, had breakfast at the hotel cafe before heading out to the various farms. It's been really long since I last woke up so early. The breakfast managed to make up for it. Spread was good, with a wide variety of food such as roti prata, nasi lemak, porridge, fried noodles, pastries and cereal. (｡◕‿◕｡) 

The morning sky  ㋡

Prata are prepared and served on the spot when you order them. It taste about the same as those in Singapore, just that it's a little bit more crispy

Skilfully flipping the thin layer of dough 

Cousin Lilian, cousin Lyn and me (From right to left) (ｱ ﾟ∀ﾟ)ｱ

After breakfast, everyone gathered and headed out for our first destination, the Rose Valley. Rose Valley is home to a huge variety of roses. Visitors are able to walk leisurely among the brilliantly-colored blooms and enjoy the delightful bed of roses. Mom insisted that I should take more photos of the flowers there as she said they are really very beautiful. My cousin, a Biology student, educated me about the name of the various flowers. Frankly speaking, I was a bit bored then. Hehehe.

I can't remember what's the name of this flower     

Another flower that we saw

Delightful shades of pink 

After that, we headed to the Cactus Farm, which I believe is roughly the same area as the Rose Valley. I was quite tired then and hence retreated back to the bus to rest while waiting for the rest of the tour members to finish their cactus-viewing and cactus-shopping. I decided to give the next destination, the tea plantation, a miss because I was suffering from a little bit of motion sickness and wanted to continue resting on the bus. The last farm of the day was strawberry farm. (farm again). •(⌚_⌚)•  

The strawberry farm was the highlight of the trip and my cousins and I were actually looking forward to plucking the strawberries. There are many strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands and we visited the one that is right outside our hotel. For more information on the strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands, click here. 

Each small pot of cactus is priced at 2 RM, which is about 0.80 SGD

More rows of cactus

Me plucking the strawberry (*^ -^*)

Strawberry farms are famous icons and attractions of Cameron Highlands

Cousin Lyn posing with the tray of strawberries

We paid 38 RM for the above tray of strawberries. You can actually purchase strawberries from any of the strawberry stalls at a much lower price, but because we wanted to pluck them ourselves, we had to pay a higher price

Fresh red strawberries ^.^

The day ended off with us eating the strawberries for supper before resting for the night. We would be heading to Kuala Lumpur the next day. Cameron Highlands is a good, short and budget getaway destination, especially for those who yearn to slow down their pace and temporarily isolate themselves from the hustle and bustle of city life. For holiday-goers coming from Singapore and traveling to Cameron Highlands via bus, I would not recommend a mere 2D1N stay there as most of the time would be spent on traveling and there would not be much time left to explore the attractions.