Tabibito Monogatari @ A Traveller's Tale...: CAMERON HIGHLAND, PAHANG OR PERAK??

Sunday, May 15, 2011

CAMERON HIGHLAND, PAHANG OR PERAK??

Salam..What’s cookin’ ya’ll? How come I didn’t smell anything smokin’ lately?? (Err, please excuse my Jenny-From-The-Block slang. Okay, I know, it’s pathetic). My weekend has been extremely boring lately. I anticipated chilling with my girlfriends; instead I end up home alone watching Big Bang Parody on YouTube (which is excellent, by the way). Either they were really busy or they were trying to avoid me. Haha! At one point, I even thought of going for blind dates, with ANYONE, I don’t really care! Not that I’m being horny or anything (yikes!), I just desperately need something to kill the time until Monday comes. I’m now 30 and single. I lived and worked in a laid back small town. The main highlights here are either super cheap family stores or the Sunday market. Most of my friends are either married, or working in KL and Selangor. I mean, let’s face it. I can easily fall into depression in no time! Thank God I still have Anuar Zain and Big Bang to keep me sane, at least for now. The thing is, I can listen to them non-stop 24-7, but sadly they can’t listen to me. One way relationship doesn’t last long, you know. Aiyyoo…my life is so in vain la..It’s about time to go for that deep soul searching again…

Our travelogue venue for this month is, Cameron Highland in Perak. Grr…Can you feel the chill?? I’ve been here a few times before, but what I want to brag here is my D.I.Y vacation back in 2009! It was actually my 10th years college reunion gathering. I was one of the volunteered committee for this project and my task was to collect money & allocate the budget. At the beginning, the committees were very ambitious. But slowly we (they!) just lost the drive and the whole thing almost got canceled. Here I come to save the day! Hehehe…(Pls vomit anywhere convenient, at your own risk..)

You see, people started to bank-in money in my account, yet the person in-charged hasn’t even decided on the venue yet alone make reservation for our 2D1N event. Can you feel the pressure on me now?? I’m always very nervous with other people’s money. I don’t know why. I can’t sleep thinking about it. So out of no where, I just stepped in, drag a friend with me, and DRIVE to Cameron Highland for the first time. With the budget that we had set earlier, we went to a few places that we (read: I!) had searched earlier in internet. Finally, we came to Marina Chalet & Home Stay, located in Kg. Sedia, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highland. It’s located on slight hillside, surrounded by bushes of flowers and big old pine trees. It was homey and welcoming, nothing like the fancy chalets or resorts. The person who greeted us was of course, the chatty Makcik Marina herself. We were captivated by the host and the place in an instant! After much discussion on how to organize the rooms between married couples with children, married couple without children and the ‘soloist’, we end up booking ALL the rooms they have! Well, minus the log cottage build just near the entrance. It was just too ‘public’ for us. Hihi..

The room rates ranged from RM130 (2 x queen bed with bathroom, front area), RM120 (1 x double bed with bathroom, private area), RM60 ~ RM80 (home stay style rooms with 2-4 single beds, sharing bathroom) and RM60 for the log cottage (mattress & pillow with small bathroom). (Note: room rates on 2009)

Other than Marina Chalet, there were a few other home stays available in Kg. Sedia settlement. One has different charms from another. We have children playground, waterfall (What? Swimming? Are you crazy? It’s freezing peeps!) and the Surau just across the street from our chalet. The best thing was, we get to enjoy the strawberry and vegetable farms, which is just a walking distance from our chalet! How convenient was that! I’ve stayed in apartment in Brinchang area, which is the peak of Cameron Highland. Man, the place was crowded. There were too many people so you can’t really enjoy the experience. We definitely enjoyed the privacy we had in Kg Sedia. The place was totally ours! Do enjoy the pictures below.