Relaxing in the cool weather for a weekend

I can't believe my last blog post was in December last year! It's already beginning now! Where has all the time gone? Can someone please slow down the time? It's passing by so fast that I need to sprint in order to catch up! So many things to do and so little time to do it all....

So, what happened in the first 3 months of the year? Well, the kids went to a new school in January, we went to Singapore for Chinese New Year in February and in March, the kids had their mid-term progressive test so much time was spent on revision.

And of course, there was the mid-term school break. It was just a short one week break and we usually don't go anywhere during this break. This time, however, Ethan kept bugging me to bring them for a holiday. I was reluctant to go as hotels would be more expensive during this time and the highways will be jammed. Plus, I did not really want to take any days off work unnecessarily.


Ethan was obviously not going to just let it go. Instead, he kept asking why can't we just go off somewhere for a weekend, why do Mummy and Daddy have to work every day, and he kept going on about how much he really wanted to go for a holiday. Finally, I said, "Fine, fine. Let's just go somewhere."

It was either Penang for the beach or Cameron Highlands for the cool weather. Ethan chose cool weather this time.

With such last minute hotel booking, there wasn't many choices for the budget we had and the type of rooms that could accommodate all 4 of us. After going through the list of rooms available in agoda.com and bookings.com, Daddy booked a triple bed room in Copthorne Hotel in Brinchang.

We went off on Friday after a late lunch. Ethan and I fell asleep not long after we started our journey and by the time we woke up, we were already at the foothill of Cameron Highlands. The journey was smooth on the way up, until 1.9 km away from the hotel when the traffic came to almost a complete standstill. I looked at Waze and it showed that it will take more than an hour before we reach the hotel as the traffic was moving at the pace of a tortoise. So, Ethan and I went to sleep again. Lol! We can both sleep so much...

The weather was so nice and cooling when we reached the hotel. After checking in, we went straight for an early dinner. Steamboat was a must for Daddy and it must be at Mountain House Restaurant in Brinchang. There were a few similar steamboat restaurants there but Daddy insisted that Mountain House was the best (according to internet reviews). I thought it tasted the same as all the other steamboats we had in PJ....

After dinner, we went to the famous night market. Unfortunately, no one took any photos....

The next morning, we woke up to a beautiful scenery from the bedroom window.

Breakfast was at a mamak restaurant at Tanah Rata. Isabel insisted on wearing her new bunny hat she got from the night market.

Sucking on her favourite strawberry ice lolly

Next stop was the Big Red Strawberry Farm. We went there the last time we were there and the kids wanted to pick strawberries again. Unfortunately, this time the strawberries were not ripe enough for picking so we ended up taking photos of the flowers and veges only.

There was nothing much to do so we went for an early lunch at the Old Smokehouse. I loved the place with its vintage charm and I was surprised Ethan loved it too. He said he enjoyed having lunch out at the garden under the cooling weather and that the place was peaceful and beautiful.

Couldn't resist striking an exaggerated pose for the camera

The call of the bathtub in the hotel room was too strong for the kids to resist. We went back to the hotel so the kids could soak in the tub and I could take an evening nap.

Not having any plans for dinner, we ended up in Tanah Rata, just a few shops away from where we had our breakfast. 

Everyone had to go to bed earlier that night as we signed up for a half day tour the next morning. The tour, which costs us RM220 for 4 pax, included catching the sunrise... meaning the driver will be picking us up at 6am from the hotel.,.. meaning we had to wake up at 5.30am!

So at 6am sharp the next morning, we were off to the hills of Sg Palas. It was so cold and dark when the driver parked the van by the roadside along the tea plantation and asked us to stand outside to wait for the sunrise. 

After around 30 minutes, we could see the sky getting brighter but could not see the sun as it was really very cloudy. We waited for another 20 minutes and the sun was still hidden behind the clouds. So much for waking up at 5.30am to catch the sunrise....

Next stop was the Mossy Forest (so called because, obviously of the moss growing in the forest) on top of Gunung Brinchang. It was still quite dark and very foggy with the cold wind blowing quite strongly, though the photos captured showed it was bright and clear.

There was a wooden pathway, and our driver (who also acted as our guide) brought us along the way, explaining the various types of plants found there.

The forest was very beautiful, it was full of moss and the fog made the place looked so surreal.

I love how this photo makes the forest looks surreal...

An old trail used by hikers. I don't think I would have wanted to hike up that path

It took us less than 30 minutes to complete the walk. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves to take a walk in the forest. It was beautiful.

Next, our driver drove us the the Boh Plantation, which was just 10 - 15 minutes away. It was just a quick stop where we had our breakfast and took a look at the tea factory (which was closed that day due to low harvest).

Before going back, our driver dropped us at the Kea Farm Market, just 5 minutes walk from our hotel.

The market has lots of stalls selling fresh veges and beautiful flowers. This market was also the cause of the extremely long traffic jam that made us got stuck for almost 2km. The road was so narrow and cars were parked everywhere, causing difficulties to the passing traffic.

Getting another strawberry ice lolly

After buying loads of vege for our mums, we walked back to the hotel and packed our stuff to go home. 

It was just a short but relaxing trip. The kids loved it and wanted to stay longer. Unfortunately, school was starting the next day and we had to go back to work as well. Till the next trip....