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CH Trip- 16-19th May'08 - 2008/05/21 10:41
Synopsis of our trip:
16th May: My wife & I boarded the bus at 10 p.m As usual the bus started late. Pretty inauspicious start to the journey!! We had to alight and board the bus again at the TUAS checkpoint and similary at the Malaysia check point too. One thing which caught my eye was that during the whole process of crossing over there was no luggage check at either ends!! Can anyone explain this?
17th May: Reached CH at around 8:30 a.m. Since there was very little chance of us getting an early check in we decided to go on the 3 hour "Leisure trip" which was a part of the package. Infact most of the other folks did the same. Since we had some time to kill, we deposited our luggage at the travel agency's office and walked around Brinchang market. Grabbed a quick breakfast too.
The Leisure trip was nothing great. The only good thing that came out of it was the visit to the Strawberry farm where we got to taste really yummy fesh strawberry products from tarts to milkshakes etc. Believe me they we worth every penny. Bought some jam to bring back to Singapore.
The trip got a bit tiring towards the end since we still hadnt changed and freshened up from the overnight trip. Finally reached Strawberry Park -SP. Quite a warm and cosy hotel (I have a separate column on SP). We showered for a really long time since we didnt not have any other plan for the day. The journey had taken it toll on us since we dropped dead immediately after the shower. By the time we woke up it was nearly dark. We changed at decided to roam about the SP premises. This was finally followed by dinner at Jim Thomson Terrace (JTT), the local restaurant at SP. The spread was quite impressive and we dug into fried mee and spaghetti. Perfect end to the day.
18th May: The day started with an extremely heavy breakfast buffet at JTT again. I had booked a jungle trek and so that was going to occupy most of the day. We were picked up from the hotel by the guide (Kali) who was extremely chirpy and helpful. We were later joined by a French couple. The trek was really enjoyable and was definitely the highlight of the CH trip. Our final destination was the Gurung Brinchang Hill(6700 feet). We decided to do the more difficult trek. By the time we reached the top we were really dirty and hungry. Just a note of caution- Please wear comfortable track pants or maybe light cargos since certain parts of the trek were really steep. I made the mistake of wearing jeans. Next we headed to the Sungai Palas tea plant. Frankly speaking the tea was nothing great. Unfortunately the plant was closed so we cdnt see the actual processing. This was the end of the trek.
Next we hitchhiked on the back of a 4WD Pajero to the Equatorial Hotel. Here we spent some time at the Fruit and flower stalls in the nearby market. Ate butter maize and bought strawberries too.
Finally we took a local public bus back to Brinchang town. The rickety bus ride was quite amazing since we are so used to the airconditioned public buses with swipe machines etc. Finally reached SP where we took a nice long warm bath and then hogged some chicken curry + roti canhai since we were so hungry.A perfect end to the day.
19th May: Bus journey back to Spore. This was the most forgettable part of the whole CH experience. We spent nearly 11 hours on the road due to the heavy traffic from KL onwards and also because the idiotic driver made unnecessary stops for refreshments. Reached Spore at 9:30 p.m finally
Overall Experience: I would recommend CH to people wanting a 3 day getaway. 2 nights are enough since the town as such does not offer a lot. One just has to keep himself busy with visits to tea plantantions/farms or treks etc. The only drawback of this trip is the journey time. Maybe folks with self driven cars might be better off. 1 visit is good enough for this place.
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