panas? retreat to the highlands

Panas? Lets pack our daypack and head towards the highlands in Pahang.

Booked our 3-bed apartment in Desa Athurium Apartment located 4km from Brinchang (Not so spontaneous trip, need to book early prior to the Malaysia & Singapore school holidays).

The plan was to drive from KL towards Brinchang early Saturday morning (since check-in after 2pm) It was wira & vitara on the road this time. We entered the Elite highway through Subang tol. Had breakfast at the restaurant jejantas Sg. Buloh. Big bikes were there (I always have a thing for big bikes). It was a smooth ride up until kilometer 423.8 where there was a bumper to bumper crawl. Called PLUS at 1800-88-0000 and were told there had been an awful accident at kilometer 418.3 (it should be on the news, because news crew was there). Nothing much left as we drove pass it, since the police had secure the area.

Continue on our trip, exited the highway at Tanjung Malim (RM9.50) and use the old road instead. Straight 2-lanes road from Slim River to Tapah. Turn to right at pekan Tapah, and the crazy like ular kena palu road has just begin. I drove this road only once, back in 2007 on a camping trip to Mount Irau. It was one hell of a ride up the hill for about 1hour plus. Pass thru Ringlet, Tanah Rata and stopped by Bharat Tea for a refreshing teh terik Strawberry.Then, we reached our 3-bed apartment by 1.30pm. And yes, the air was cool & refreshing. Sgt tak kecewa with Cameron this time.

Let ourselves in the apartment (owner tak kunci pintu, and tinggalkan kunci atas meja.. boleh?). First thing all of us are looking for is kipas! Surprisingly, there was none. The floor was cold and we slide open the balcony door (more cool fresh air in the apartment). The water was ice-cold (everything reminds me of a spring in UK.. huhuhuhu). Everyone was hungry and we cooked the all time favourite Malaysian food : 2 - minute meggi curry (took us more than 2 minutes due to the ice-cold water)

First stop : Healthy Strawberry Park with the main interest is the ice cream Malaysia perencah strawberry. Drove up a hill (again) to reach the park. Im not a strawberry lover myself, but the ice cream is just yummylicious. Each tube cost RM1. Not sure if other strawberry farm have them. Stayed there for awhile. Split among us (some head to Brinchang & I head back to the crib) Perfect timing for a birthday surprise. Bought a cappuccino chiffon cake slice into half. Spread strawberry jam & some whipped cream. Some strawberry and icing sugar on top as the finishing touch. And birthday girl arrived on time for her "SURPRISE!!!"

1730hours : an early BBQ. The entire apartment complex only have 5 BBQ pit and we got the last one. Quite a walk though but luckily it was cold. There was chicken, hotdog, burgers & potato salad (lamb was all gone by the time I reached Giant on Friday evening). By maghrib we are all done. Very early BBQ indeed. As days are getting darker, the temp are falling beyond normal Malaysia heat.

Brinchang night market : Things dont get any cheaper than here. Plenty of chocolate dipped strawberry, corns, fresh vegetables & other strawberry merchandise. The night market opens from early evening till late night. Imagine six of us squeeze in Suzuki Vitara! Hahahaha, one crazy ride.

Back to the crib and its getting colder (seriusly!). Played Monopoly Deal. A deck of monopoly cards, breaking the traditional way of playing it.

Breakfast special : Own cooked pancake with plenty of sugar rush toppings (strawberry, whipped cream, honey, icing sugar & jam) Way much better than Paddington House of Pancake! The water runs even cool that morning, thanks to the water heater.

Check out time is at 12noon. We let ourselves out, leave the key on the table & locked the door behind us. Next stop is the Boh Tea Center Sg. Palas. We were stuck in a traffic jam for about 30 minutes somewhere near Equatorial Hotel area (the Brinchang market was, I think). Turn left to Boh Tea Center. Not so pleasant drive (except the great green & blue view) because of other selfish drivers. It was a very narrow road, barely fit 2 huge cars, apatah lagi MPV/4WD. 2km drive and we reached the place. Another 200m walked up the hill and next thing we knew, we were sipping tea & having sweet tooth dessert.The view from here is simply amazing.

The total for this trip was actually less than RM100 each. Thats include the nice 3-bed apartment, plenty of BBQ, some other last minute groceries, morning breakfast & return petrol + tol fare. Who says you cant have a nice break for less than RM100 in Malaysia?

To Azel, birthday girl : May God bless you & dimurahkan rezeki so that we can go to NZ, and more other parts of the world in the quest of borderless life.. wakakakaka

Tagline for this trip : Nak seribu daya, takmau seribu dalih... or "just-say-no"