Kuala Lumpur and Cameron Highlands 2011
There are for me, many parenting lessons to be learned from this trip, and I write about them at ‘When they are ready, let them fly‘ and ‘Do you enjoy your children?‘ but this post is just about the things which we did and saw.
Day 1
We took the first link and there was a jam over at the Singapore side of the causeway but traffic was very smooth on the Malaysia side.
We next stopped over at Ayer Keroh and had some snacks at A&W. After that it was a direct drive up to KL. We checked in at the budget hotel – Lotus Family Hotel, which we booked through Agoda. I must say that Agoda is reliable and provides good support. It has a Singapore office, and the phonelines are manned 24 hours, so it helps when we have urgent matters to check.
Day 2
After breakfast the next morning, we visited the Dataran Merdeka.
We ended the walk at the KL City Gallery, which is worth a visit.
After that, we went to the KL Central Market, where we bought a lovely piece of glass bottle sandart, uniquely created for our family!
It has an elephant on one side and a camel on the other, because the boys could not decide on which animal they wanted. It cost us RM75.
The sand artist is from Syria. He has been doing this for more than 30 years. We thought he looked and spoke like Bruce Willis.
Lunch was at a highly recommended Thai Restaurant on the second floor at the Central Market. It was really good.
After lunch we went to KLCC where the Petronas Tower was.
We wanted to visit Petrosains (Science Centre), but alas, the tickets for the day have been sold out!
We went to watch a movie instead. The tickets cost RM10 each if we pay with Citibank credit card, and Samuel (who sat on our laps) did not need a ticket. It was a great deal and we really enjoyed the show – ‘Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol’.
After dinner we went outside to gaze at the Petronas Twin Towers.
They were beautiful.
We took some pictures, but the best one was this one with the Twin Towers on their own.
It is NOT a postcard photo, but an original one taken by my very talented husband.
Day 3
The next day we went to Berjaya Times Square and the children visited the theme park.
We loved it. It was a well designed park, with rides which catered for specific age-groups.
For example, they had two bumper car rides – one for those who are above 4′ 2″, and another for those who are below 4′ 7″. The first (Honey Bump) had only 6 cars (one was out of use) in the ring, and the drivers were mainly sweet little pre-schoolers. They delighted in simply driving into each other. The second (Robo Crush) had 10 cars and the riders were adults and adrenaline-pumping teenagers, spoiling for a crash.
The theme park also has a train ride which went through two tunnels. The first had pictures of marine animals, and the second had spider webs and smiling spiders. It was thrilling yet not too scary for the little ones. The train went around the kiddy portion of the theme park, and there was a railway crossing which stopped people when the train was passing through. It was fun for the train passengers to pass by and wave at the people standing there watching.
There was a kiddy playground, and a theatre which showed movies throughout the day. You can really spend the whole day there. Foodwise, you can get a burger or a cup noddles for RM5 but you get more variety outside the themepark. Anyway you may make unlimited number of re-entries within the day, so long as you are wearing the wristband.
Day 4
We left for CH at about 10am. We went up through Tapah (via the old highway) so we could visit the Lata Iskandar Waterfall.
By the time we reached CH, it was about 5pm.
We stayed at Cluny Lodge at Brinchang. The room was spacious and they added on two extra beds for us – allowing 2A and 2C to sleep comfortably.
For dinner, we had steamboat, which costs RM15 per person. (You can get Steamboat at almost every coffee shop. We went to two different shops over the two nights, and both shops charged us RM15 per person). You must try their fruit juice – freshly squeezed and costing only RM3 per cup, WITHOUT ice.
Day 5
My family went for a Nature Adventure Tour. We went to Bt Brinchang (6666 feet, or 231 metres above sea level).
It was super duper cold because it was raining, and only Elkan climbed up to the top of the watch tower. We then trekked in the Mossy Forest. Samuel and Edmund could not follow because Samuel was too young to do it, and it was too risky for Edmund to carry him. (See his forlorn look below!)
We then visited a tea plantation (we stopped at the side of the road).
In the afternoon the boys played with their friends and watched ‘Rio’. Dinner was steamboat again; our friends bought some watercress from a farmer down at Tanah Rata and the shop cooked that for us too. After dinner we shopped at Ct Craft for some souvenirs.
Day 6
After breakfast we went to a Strawberry farm to pluck our own strawberries. (The first strawberry farm we visited was near Equatorial Hotel and there were no more strawberries left for us to pluck. However, we found some delicious organic corn costing RM10 for 7. We bought close to 30 pieces.)
There is no entrance fee and you get to read about the history of BOH Tea plantation, watch a video on tea production and visit the factory and watch the machines drying and fermenting the tea.
After the tea plantation, and a quick lunch, it was a mad drive down from CH to Singapore. The drive through KL was easy this time (after getting lost in KL in all our previous trips), thanks to the clear signage. There was a heavy rain which delayed us somewhat and we stopped over at Ayer Keroh KFC for dinner at 8pm. It was the first time we drove at night. Edmund liked it, and it was enjoyable feeling safe in the car while all around it was wet and dark. We reached Singapore past 11pm and was home before midnight.
So here’s to another successful Malaysian road trip. Till next time!
