Hannah
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CH: It was all good except for a few minor things - 2006/12/04 16:16
Greetings!
Allow me to first give my compliments to the people (or person) who maintains this site. We found all the info we needed from this one site. So kudos to you guys (or gals).
Our trip up to CH was last Tuesday (28th Nov). We took me Tapah road up. Hubby acted like a little boy gleefully driving up such a narrow road to my horror. The locals are obviously quite used to that road hence so many wannabe F1 driving speeding. I was gritting my teeth all the way.
Upon arrival, we checked into our hotel, The Bala Chalet. It was smaller that I thought it would be but it has a nice quaint little English garden. Our room was clean except the bathroom had plastic door (LOL). I have never in my life ever stayed in a hotel room with plastic door, but then DH said I shouldn’t expect the Hilton for a mere RM140 per night.
We decided to drive to Tanah Rata after checking in. We went to T-Café which came highly recommended (obviously by you guys). DH ordered spaghetti bolognaise and I had their Veggie Burger. The pasta was alright, nothing spectacular and their Veggie burger was so soft that it fell apart on my plate. After that we ordered their famous scones, apple pie and tea. I will tell you this. The scone tasted exactly like the ones we made in Form 2 Home Science class. What amused me more was the way the lady (she wasn’t too friendly) that waited pronounced scones. I couldn’t stop laughing on my way back to the hotel. She had this affected British accent when she said “scones”. Her demeanour was so unfriendly that we were quite afraid to ask what she would recommend for food. I wasn’t looking at the menu when I placed an order for the scone. I simply asked her what else she has that everyone talked about besides scones, indicating that I knew there was something I missed. She said apple pie quite plainly without even a smile.
I will tell you this I was taken aback because I believe I read some people here mentioning just how friendly this lady (the owner obviously) is. I failed to detect that part of her. Hey don’t get me wrong, I am one of the bubbliest and cheerful people you could possibly ever meet (so my friends say LOL) but my charm obviously did not rub in well with her.
We did go back the next day... she seemed a little bit friendlier. We managed to get a smile, a small one but she didn’t scare us so much this time.
I visited the Sungei Palas Tea Plantion the next day. Please skip all the other plantation visits and go to this one first. I was completely awed by everything there. The scenery, the food, the tea, the factory visit, the little shop there, the Jit Murad (he lost his good looks ... poor Jit – don’t drink so much) video yada yada yada. We spent almost 4 hours there, just taking in everything. The people in the factory, the café and the little shop were so friendly and helpful (and patient also).
From there, we drove up to Gunung Brinchang. The drive was “frighteningly” pleasant (LOL). But the view that awaited us at the top compensated the bad drive up. I felt like I was in the middle of the Titiwangsa Range. All around me was green green rain forest and hills. Breathtaking! You had to be there to know exactly what we felt.
The Butterfly Farm and the Rose Valley were rip offs. We paid RM5 and RM4 respectively to go see butterflies (ya rite – I saw like maybe 10 or 15) and roses (I could see this in KL Petaling Street). Go there only if you want to be ripped off. That’s all I have to say.
Bharat Tea Plantation was a small OK. It cute and small. LOL!!
On our second day there, we had both our lunch and dinner at Bunga Cahaya Suria restaurant. It was pretty good. Their stuffed Naan was awesome. Trust me coz I would know being of both Indian and Pakistani parentage, their food was simply yummy. The price was ok (KL standard) and their service was NOT prompt. But when the food arrived, it was worth the wait.
We also went looking for the Robinson Falls. Took us a long time to find it. Someone has to tell whoever’s calling the shots in CH to do something about tourist information and location signages.
The food at The Bala was awful. We had dinner there on our first night (not yummy at all). We had breakfast there on the day we checked out. Highway robbery to charge RM10.50 for breakfast that comprised of coffee, lousy off the box juice of dubious flavour, 4 pieces of toasted bread with common jam and butter. The hotel lacked information about their so called historical heritage. But we did meet one friendly rooster (of the ayam katik breed). He responded to our call and went on to have a conversation with us (chicken language). We found out later that his name is Supramani (an Indian chicken obviously LOL).
We used the Simpang Pulai route on our way back to KL…. Do I need to explain…
Toodles,
Hannah
(P/S excuse the grammar errors and spelling mistaked – heck I’m only human)
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