Jade
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Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/29 11:50
My family and I just returned from a fantastic vacation to Cameron highlands. We spent a night in KL on 25th Dec and headed for Tapah the next day. After the long drive to CH, we were initially very happy to reach Equatorial Hotel where we made our reservations for 2 night stay in a 2-bedroom apartment. (Neo, sorry to break you heart. But we did not enjoy our stay at the Equatorial for various fundamental reasons.) The next day we cut short our stay by one night and checked into the Merlin Inn.
We visited the following places:
The Bharat Tea House - this is located at a very scenic part of CH, between Ringlet and Tana Rata. You get a very good view of the Bharat Tea Plantation. Order a pot of tea and enjoy delicious scones served with strawberry jam, fresh cream and butter. Yummy, PERFECT FOR THE COOL WEATHER IN CH! This is highly recommended.
Boh Tea Plantation, North Div - Proceed if you wish to subject yourself to a very challenging drive....the drive is far worse the uphill climb to CH. The road into the plantation is very narrow and windy, the width of a one-car lane. Imagine what it is like when you have 2 cars going in opposite directions! The factory was interesting but lacks proper organised tours by the operators. So you would have to figure out the details yourself. There is also a litte shop selling Boh Tea products. Please check out your prices before buying. We paid RM8 for a box of gold blend tea (25 packets) which was selling for RM4 in Tana Rata and Brinchang. Better to buy from town than to buy from the plantation.
Honey Bee Farm above Brinchang - Watch out for steep uneven steps leading to the gardens where honey bees and flowers are. Strikes me that the operators are more interested in selling their honey products. So do not expect any organised educational tours.
Strawberries - We visited a strawberry farm near the Merlin Inn. Like all the other strawberry farms, no picking of strawberries allowed. This was disappointing as we expected to be able to do so like those that were operated in Australia. We bought a box of strawberries topped with fresh cream and sugar....very delicious. Better than the strawberries that we bought from the night market that were sour and completely lacking any strawberry taste. On the day we left CH, we learnt from the friendly front desk staff at Merlin Inn where to buy the most delicious, juicy, red and tastiest strawberries and homemade strawberry jam. This is not one of those that is listed on the tourists' CH map, kind of known to the locals only. It is located in a village called Taman Sedia off the road leading to the Smokehouse. Apparently the breed of strawberries is from Holland and I would say they are very juicy and tasty. The strawberry jam was fantastic too! Highly recommended.
Accommodation - We visited the Lakehouse although we did not stay there. The staff were very kind and showed us one of the family suites upon our request to view it. This hotel is very clean and very well maintained. The setting is Tudor style and very romantic. Wonderful for honeymooners. The downside is that it is located in Ringlet, which is quite far from the other amenities in Tana Rata and Brinchang. Strawberry Park was also very well maintained and very cosy. Because the resort was fully booked we did not get to view the rooms. The staff were friendly and even invited us to make use of their facilities. The Merlin Inn is a very pleasant place to stay. Although a bit old it is generally clean and well maintained. Value for money.
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Neo
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/29 21:04
Jade,
Sorry to hear that you were not impressed with the Equatorial. I will forward a copy of your feedback to the Reservations Manager, Ms. Theo for her info.
Yes, Cameron is a great place to visit.
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Horlicks
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/29 22:28
Dear Jade,
that was a really comprehensive summary you gave us! Very helpful info indeed. Have to agree that Cameron is a fantastic place to visit.
Have visited the place umpteen times when I was younger, but of late, have not been up there so often. As you would know, when you're younger, it's easy to just tag along with the family. Nowadays,
with work and everything, it gets a bit harder.
Thanks for your recommendations. The strawberry "secret" in Taman Sedia is a really good tip. Although I've been up there many times, have not really had the chance to "explore" the place thoroughly. We always stay at the same hotel and do the same things e.g. shopping for vege, flower, fruits etc...and all the other boring stuff which my mum like to do. :oP
This time round, intend to go jungle trekking. Have tried out a few,
but would like to revisit them. Would you have any idea of any good trails?
Anyway, good to hear that you enjoyed your stay!
Happy New Year to ya....
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terrano
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/29 22:48
Dear Horlicks,
Jungle treking is nice and recreational. In fact, i use to do it daily just for the excercise and fresh air. However, the real secret to enjoying the trail is to know what to "see". As the saying goes, what the mind doesn't know, the eye cannot see. I suggest you get yourself a good guide who can tell you things that only a true nature lover will know. You will be amazed by the secrets of nature and the jungle will never look the same again.
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Neo
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 00:45
Couldn't agree more with Terrano. Got to know what you see and even feel. Get a good guide and it will be worth your while!
By the way, Jade, what is the name of the Strawberry Farm that you went to?
Cheers
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Horlicks
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 01:13
Dear Terrano,
any idea where to find a good guide and how much it will cost?
cheers,
Lemmy
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terrano
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 01:45
Dear Horlicks,
At this point in time, the policy by the administrator is not to make any recommendations. Of course, this doesn't apply to those who wants to express their opinions based on their personal experiences. My only comment is that you use registered tour guides so that you can at least make a complaint should you feel that you are short changed. Unregistered guides are okay if you know them or if you want to help a friend. Being unregistered, there is nothing anyone can do, short of taking legal redress, in the event of undesirable outcomes.
The second way is to join either WWF, MNS or REACH. All the above are NGOs and they organize regular activities for members. Membership is a mere RM10 per month. Of course, you have to follow their time table and can hardly expect to dictate terms here. Check out their web site www.reach.com.
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Jade
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 02:33
Neo,
Did not notice the name of the strawberry farm as we followed the directions of the nice lady at the Merlin Inn. Noticed that there is a name printed on the strawberry jam jars. It is KHM Strawberry & Jams. The address is No. 9, Taman Sedia, 39000 Tanah Rata.
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Jade
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 02:42
Hi Horlicks,
Sorry I couldn't tell you very much about jungle trekking as I am not very a trekking person. Believe there are trekking guides and if I am not wrong, noticed that Strawberry Park has such activities.
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Francis Tan
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 08:58
Oh...sad to hear that the Equatorial is so BAD !
We are suppose to be staying there in a few weeks time. Damn...maybe we should cancel our reservations and move to Merlin Inn instead.
Jade,you are the second person that said Equatorial is bad and some staff are rude too (especially to locals).
confused;
Francis
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Neo
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 21:38
Dear Jade,
Thanks for the info. Will check it out the next time I am there.
Jade Travel seems to have good guide call Ravi who is very well versed with the highlands.
Titiwangsa Travel is another operator.
I always stick to Ravi for his great guiding skills.
Cheers
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Neo
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 21:41
Dear Francis,
Really sad and confusing.....
If you contact Ms. Theo, the reservations manager friend of mine, I will call her to ensure that she makes you stay memorable and that you would not have any complaints.
This is the least that I can do since I have been trumpeting so much for them.
Cheers
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Casper Smartweb
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/30 23:02
Hi Neo, Terrano & Horlicks
I have been quietly reading your feedback on the forum since and also the impressive version from Jade. I guess you guys MUST be the very seasoned "dewellers" in CH and would appreciate if you could also feedback to the CH hoteliers on the comments from the recent travellers' views.
I first visited CH Equatorial Hotel on Xmas Day (25/12/2003) after a lapse of about 25 years since I stepped onto CH. My comment was that I am only impressed by the architectural design at the peak for EH and was quiet "put off" by the state of maintenance in EH that I have to shorten stay immediate the next day; I was frantically looking for a better hotel all around in CH and thus have a chance to view the various standard in the few hotels that I had visited. Managers in some of these hotels also let us have a view of the hotel rooms after we have mentioned about our stay in EH.
These are my comments:
Hotels My Rating Rooms Remarks
------ --------- ------- --------
EH 3-star Not Clean Looks Impressive outside
Merlin 4 star Good & proper Breakfast not fantastic
LakeHouse 4 1/2 star Good Victorian Friendly Service Staff
Strawberry P. 4 star Hasn't Viewed Impressive & Clean
SmokeHouse 4 star Hasn't Viewed Impressive & Clean
By the way, I managed to stayed in Merlin Hotel after being very disappointed with the attempt to acquire a room-stay at Strawberry P.
Strawberry Park was very very country-style and reminds me of the English country-town house... unfortunately it was fully-booked on Boxing Day. Merlin gaves me a feeling of a American-country style holiday resort but unfortunately the breakfast was too simple to be compatible with the image of the hotel.... I missed my 5-star Hotel Breakfast that morning.
Well, this is my two-cents worth and hope to refer my "Kaki-s" for the CH to this forum also.
Cheers & Happy New Happy to YOU and ALL.
Hope 2004 can see a better stay for all travellers to CH.
Rgds
Casper Smartweb
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Horlicks
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/31 01:16
Dear Casper/Neo/Terrano,
greetings! Good info from Casper, thanks. I will be going up to CH tomorrow. Have rented a car and driving up from KL. This time round will be bringing some S'porean frens. Hope that they will also fall in love with CH.
For myself, I stayed mostly in Brinchang town area, in the past.Some of the hotels that I've stayed at are more for the budget conscious, like Kowloon Hotel, Parkland Hotel and Rainbow hotel. They all seem to be clean and adequate and at the same time, kind to the pocket. The more expensive one that I've stayed at in brinchang is the Rosa Pasadena. Quite a nice place, plus my parents go there very often during off peak and the hotel was very accomodative with the pricing.
In any case, this time round, when we go up tomorrow, we will be staying in Strawberry Park. Managed to get early bird special. Book b4 31Nov for Jan and beyond. The pricing is very enticing, RM93 per room per night for Studio Unit. It's usually double that price, I think.
Anyway, the catch is, gotta pay the money up front.
Just a disclaimer, I don't work for any hotels in CH (although that wouldn't be too bad of an idea!) in case anyone is wondering.
Hope Strawberry Pk will turn out to be a pleasant stay.
cheers,
Horlicks, the best drink in the world!
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Neo
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Re: Wonderful Cameron Highlands - 2003/12/31 23:12
Dear Horlicks,
Great input and I am sure you will enjoy your stay at the Strawberry Park and CAmeron Highlands.
Cheers
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