As I wrote before we stayed at Strawberry Park Resort in Cameron Highlands. And the best thing to me that this hotel has got to offer is a service all of you must take next time you get up the in the Highlands. For your info, Strawberry Park provides Guided Tour service to all their guests!It is soooo freaking convenient!!

If you have driven to Cameron Highlands before you would know how tiring it could be! Once you arrive at Brinchang for example, you would need to drive around to the many-many parks, garden and farms pulak! The roads are very narrow and when it rains they can be quite slippery. Worst thing would happen if you visit during the school holidays which mean thousands of people flocking together to enjoy the lovely cool highland weather. Driving can be a nightmare at these times…

When we heard about this service Azman especially was so happy coz he didnt have to drive.Ehe! They have several routes or packages but we took the Countryside Tour. It took us to the Butterfly Farm, Boh Tea Factory, Cactus Valley etc etc. If you are traveling without children, you can try their Mossy Forest Walk or Hill Forest Walk. Sounds very interesting for nature lovers like us. Actually we could bring Miki to these Walks, coz Miki is a tough boy, but at that time my morning sickness is super duper bad, takut termuntah or terpengsan tengah jalan!!

In fact I dont know how I can pull a smile in these pictures.. It was feeling so horrible! Hehehe

Below are some pictures of us at the Butterfly Farm! Me and my darling family! Check out all the butterflies on our clothes!

Our tour started at 9 am and we rode with other guests in a van. The driver was very friendly and knowledgeable about Cameron Highlands. Here is Miki on Daddy’s lap in the van.

Miki dah tak takut butterfly!

 At Butterfly Farm yang cantik…

We shared the van with a Indian family from KL and a Dutch couple from Holland. They were all very nice and Miki made friends with the other kids.

Happy Miki with new friends. This was at the Honey Bee Farm.

Miki and Mummy yang separuh pengsan kepeningan at the Boh Tea Plantation.

Very fresh tea leaves

Miki just learned about carnivorous plants and when he saw some many of them at The Big Red Strawberry, he was kinda freaked out.

All of us in the van!

That night we had dinner at Strawberry Court Thai Restaurant.  The restaurant is situated at Lower Ground Floor of Strawberry Park Resort.

The restaurant opens from 6pm and last order is taken at 10pm. We had steam boat and it was so yummy! At night in Cameron Highlands can be quite chilly so makan soup panas-panas is soooo good….

jii

Miki is surprisingly so good with chopsticks! Hhehe.. He ate a lot that night! Good boy!

Actually Strawberry Park also has a fine dining restaurant called Tudor Grill which we will check out the next time we go there. I looked at the place and it look fineeee….

Below is Mr Ming, he is the Resort Manager and a very friendly man. He entertained us and made sure that we had a pleasant stay!

Here are more pics of us around the pretty Strawberry Park.

In case you guys are visiting Cameron during this CNY season, let me share some more info, the Jim Thomson Terrace is having a buffet dinner on 25th and 26th January 2012 from 7pm – 9.30pm at RM52.00+ per adult and RM30.00+ per child. The food there is very yummy, you can check out my earlier entries.

If you are one of those party people, FYI the only Club in Cameron Highlands is situated in this resort! It is called Wildberry Club and opens every night. Another faq that I get everytime I write about holiday is room rates. Well here they are:-

Studio Suite from RM228.00++ onwards
Tioga Deluxe Suite from RM298.00++ onwards
Fresno 2 Bedroom Suite from RM378.00++ onwards
Shasta 2+2 Bedroom Apartment from RM408.00++ onwards”
-Room only & Terms & conditions apply.

For booking, you guys can call contact their KL sale office at 03 21626166 for reservations or you can book online http://www.strawberryparkresorts.com/rates/promotions.html.

Happy holidays guys! Cheers!

Miki tonggek!

Anyway, we stayed at room 627 and once I opened the door, my eyes was fixed at the pretty balcony. Immediately I said to myself that I love it here! Hahaha… FYI my work at the office is extremely hectic and it has been a long time since I got a break. Relaxing in cool, pretty gardens, looking out at beautiful scenery while putting my feet up sipping hot tea was what I really needed and thank goodness to Strawberry Park Resort, Cameron Highlands…

The relaxation and peace I finally got!

Balcony with glorious highland bougainvillaea.

Lovely little cooler and LCD TV.

The design of the room was very much to my liking because it was both modern and rustic at the same time.  You can see matching damask heavy drapes and armchairs plus wallpaper and the wooden flooring is very comfortable because it can get very chilly especially at night in Cameron.

The beds was very soft and comfy. Miki jumped up and down like little monkey here… haishhh

The bathroom was larger than life! I wish it was not so cool in Cameron so that I can take long baths but I am not a fan of  SEJUK so mandi kerbau only lah! hahahaha

Check out those black and white tiles! That’s so old school! Where did they get these tiles? I feel like remodelling my master bathroom  now! hahaha

After lepakking for awhile in that cosy room went out to check the playground for Miki to play. I think this hotel is definitely suitable for families with young kids because of the spacious rooms and this huge wooden play area.

Miki grinning happily at the tire swing. He has never seen this kind of swing before…

The huge wooden monkey bar!

The “hanging bridge”

At the great big wooden slides.

My naughty and hyper little kid!

That night, we were treated with scrumptious BBQ dinner at Jim Thompson Terrace. The BBQ buffet spread was extensive and mouth watering. They roasted  chicken, lamb, beef and even duck out on the balcony. Tehy also have bbq seafood, sate and spicy dory which was really delicious and pedas!

While I walloped everything, enjoyed his buttered corn on cob and all the fresh sauteed vegetables. If he hadn’t indulged on the pasta, confirmed my son is a vegan! haha

 Yummy duck, chicken, lamb and beef to choose from…

The rosemary lamb skewer was so good! 

Yums.. They have the fresh pasta section, where you can choose your favorite toppings and sauce.. from bolognese, carbonara etc… and they have these fresh arrays of seafood like big prawns, clams and calamari.

That’s me taking some bread and tomato soup that Miki loves as well. My boy eats so healthily. Hahaha
Check out all the desserts..

Cake galore!

The Jim Thompson Terrace is an all-day dining outlet serving a wide variety of popular local and western cuisine. It is situated at the Lobby floor and open from 7.00am until 10.30pm (last order). From my experience, the staff are very friendly and helpful and most importantly the place is kids friendly. I was greeted and served by Encik Zamri, the F&B Manager himself.

Thank you so much Strawberry Park for the hospitility. But oops.. I have more stories to write and pretty pictures to publish! Later~~~

So much I want to write about the holiday but first! The most important part of any vacations at all.. is definitely – MAKAN-MAKAN!

Hehe, after we checked in at the Strawberry Park, instead of going to check out our room, I insist to check on their famous pies. In the afternoons, freshly baked pies are served at Jim Thompson Terrace and if the weather permits we can enjoy them  at the Garden Terrace.

They have many to choose from like Cornish Pie, Leek and Potato,  Traditional Chicken Pie, Chicken Cordon Blue etc. We ended up ordering Steak and Mushroom (RM18.00) and Strawberry Pie (RM18.00).

Here is my sweet strawberry pie! Pretty and delicious! Once you break the puff pastry, the fresh strawberry filling came oozing out.. The pie is also served with french fries and strawberry and cream. My favorite way of eating masam Cameron berries. hehe

Azman ordered Steak and Mushroom Pie, and I am telling it’s so good! They serve it with salad, french fries and gravy to go with the pie. The beef is tender and the mushroom so succulent. I love it!

Steak and Mushroom Pie

Tuang gravy kasi banjir! Yumss

 Here are some photos of us at the Garden Terrace. I simply love outdoor dining and enjoying our afternoon tea with hot freshly baked pie at the garden is such a bliss. Strawberry Park Resort has lovely garden in its compound with exotic highland flowers that I simply love. But Miki got really freaked out with this plant. It’s a common garden plant that we can see in the low land as well, but here in the cool weather, the flowers grow so big! haha

That’s me and Chimiki!

At the entrance to the cool and breezy Garden Terrace. We will be back for more Steak and Mushroom Pie! Wait for us!

We are spending the weekend at beach again and this time at the lovely
Holiday Villa Cherating.

This is our second time here, first time was in 2008, right after I was done with my ‘pantang’ following the birth of Miki.

Now my stay here is sponsored, thank you very much Holiday Villa!! And tomorrow morning we will be joining other Advertlets bloggers for 21st Annual Cherating Sandsculpting Competition.

Our villa overlooking the ocean…

21st already??? I didn’t know about this competition before… Kalau tak mesti nak join…

During the briefing…

Me and my team.. Yes, Miki included..

I can’t wait to see how this place will turn out to be tomorrow…

I am updating this using the Iphone.. Hope it will turn out good…

After that we went to Batu Feringgi. This is the part in Penang where all the nice hotels and beaches are. For as long as I have remembered, they have Night Markets along the streets of Batu Feringgi and this time I wanted to show Azman how the place is like.You see, he spent his first 17 years of life in Kedah and the rest in KL/Selangor, Penang is to him like a tourism spot.

Anyway the Night Market or also known as Batu Feringgi Sidewalk Bazaar starts at nightfall until wee hours in the morning. It makes Batu Feringgi very active, colorful and interesting place to visit.

The shops stretch from Rasa Sayang Resort until Casuarina Hotel so that’s a lot of walking to do, you know! Below pic is a nicely decorated fruit stall.

fruit

They sure sell all sorts of things there from clothes to paintings to lights to toys to ladies accessories and crafts. However I feel like Malaysia’s local products aren’t too many because many that are being sold here reminds me of the things we saw in Bangkok, Bali, Vietnam, China etc..

Mana labu sayong weehhh???

Starry lights for sale

They also have roadside massage parlor… See above a mat salleh manyak syokkk wooo kena urut sama itu apek..

We didnt buy anything there except some toys for Miki and that’s only because he much insisted. This place is so much like Bangkok la… I myself as a local didnt know they have these express tailor that can custom made business suits for you within hours… See below pic for the sigh boards. Next to it is me and Miki. Hate the way my bum look in the pic! So rectangular while Miki’s was well itchy! heheheh….

Dont for get to check out this place next time you visit Penang, peeps!

OK not all… just Miki related activities… Mummy-Daddy related activities tak payah la noo? haha..

Anyway, comparing to his parents’ childhood, Miki sure has one that is very interesting. He gets to go to so many places and see great many things, no wonder he is so smart unlike me when I was his age…
Miki is a cute IPhone -tapping, Youtube-subscribing, nature-loving kid that hangs out by the pool while  I was a comot hingus-dripping, teddybear-playing, dramaswasta-watching kid that hangs out by the pokok jambu playing with dirt… His Daddy on the other hand, has no memories what so ever about when he was 6 years a below. Lagi dasyat siot!

Several weeks ago, we went to Penang Botanical Garden. Although my family lives in Penang most of our lives and I could have sworn I fed the notorious Botanical Garden monkeys when I was a kid, but once I was there with my husband and son, aku pulak yang hilang ingatan tak ingat lansung apa-apa pasal garden tu…

Anyway, while we were there, they were having Penang Flora Fest 2010, and although the fest was nothing compared to Putrajaya’s Flora Fest or MAHA but it was nice nonetheless.

I saw the most glorious bonsai of plumeria (dwarf frangipani) in my entire plant-noticing life. Apparently there was  a competition on bonzai plants of all sorts…

Dwarf plumeria that’s not so dwarf I am telling ya…..

That’s one huge bonzai plant eh?

Wow.. I didnt know raspberry can go through bonsaification? heheehehehe

Above pic is also of something new to the big bad jakun me… it’s a pot of mixed carnivorous plants that you could keep to feast on insects in your home. I could have bought this if only Azman gave the slightest encouraging look at me but he didnt because HE WAS CHASING THAT LIL MONSTER MIKI ALL OVER THE ISLAND!!!

Miki was totally anak kambing terlepas kandang. And anak kambing yang lapar ice-cream pulak tu… First he chose an RM2 ice-cream only to let it drip a few drops on his hands and he started to go-  “eww ewwww menitik!! menitikkk!!” sambil tergedik-gedik kegelian..eiii aiskrim pun ko geli? Masa ko kencing pancut kat carpet Mummy haritu ko tak geli!??????

Then he threw the RM2 ice -cream on the ground.

Don’t let me start with  – “When Mummy was your age Miki……..”. Well even if I did he wouldnt bother to understand, that’s why he screamed for ANOTHER ICE-CREAM!!!!

*stress sampai beruban*

To distract him, we showed Miki these:-

monkeys at Penang Botanical Garden, But he was more interested in this:-

NO! Not the macha in blue! THE TRAM! Miki has this weakness towards vehicles of all sorts, he is kinda obsessed with them and given a chance would’n mind riding on the RM2 per pax tram 30 times in 30 days in a row.

See? Tergedik-gedik kegembiraan…

The tram took us around the aged and magnificently beautiful park! But to tell you the truth, if you appreciate nature like we do, the tram wouldn’t do the garden any justice. You have to walk and let your feet touch the grass in hilly side, touch the cool refreshing waterfall and smell the monkey poop.. NO I MEAN THE FLOWERS!

I don’t know whats the name of this tree.. but it’s weird and cool!

Happy Miki and Daddy

After the tram ride, like I said just now, Miki wanted to ride on it again and again… When we said no, he remembered his earlier meroyan about the spoiled ice-cream and wanted a replacement.

See below picture how he was was terkinja-kinja tanpa kesabaran menunggu ais-krimnye yang kedua…

Yay! This time only RM1 teeth-rottening treat in a cup!

Love you spoiled lil Miki… I’ll continue with Penang trip part two.

Here is Miki and me and some of my friends walking from the waterfront resort that we were staying to the jetty. Behind Miki is not a Hantu KumKum but Kak S the Puteri Lilin. hehehhehe… she doesnt read this blog. I can say whatever I want… wehehehe… These ladies, Kak S, Kak R and Adik N took care of Miki when we went snorkeling later in Pulau Kapas. Thank you ladies. I am sure you are an expert at cuci berak budak already. wahahah!

Marang. Tganu

This second photo is presented to you to challenge your brain. This photo has some optical illusion elements in it. If you were born genius, you will see all poles and tiang pagar dan kaki aku straight like a stick. Sesiapa yang nampak kaki aku bengkok tu tandanya dua Jumaat lagi nak goal. Haa… sapa nampak angkat tangan?!

Hehe. This is the jetty I was talking about. It’s very small. And behind Miki, Hantu Kumkum terus menghantuiiiii…..

Gambar ilusi optik

Ini budak yang tak sabar-sabar nak baik boat…

Cute guys in my life

Ganu punya pasal, semua pakai jean labuh, kejap lagi londeh dengan Miki-Miki sekali…

Above photo is posted with the sole purpose of making Azam looks ehem! macho. ehehehe.. Sopan bak gadis sunti gitu… turun boat pijak kerusi… wahahahaha…

I will post more pics later. :p

Weeehooooooo! Come on people give her a big round applause!

When I was about 5-6, I had gone on a train ride from Kuala Kangsar to Butterworth. Along the way, the train had choo chooed its way across Lake Merah; now popular for Bukit Merah Lake Town Resort.

Maybe because I was just a child and short, when I looked out the window at that time I couldn’t see any land just endless and endless of blue.  The water was dark, deep, mysteriously calm and cold in my gaze and at that moment I had this strange feeling slowly developing inside me and making me feel like running!

I wanted to run run run untill I reach a safe place that is warm and sturdy WITHOUT A MONSTER. Because I swear in any water that deep and calm THERE HAS GOT TO BE MONSTERS waiting to emerge slowly, look into my eyes and and say boo!  Then I would die after I crap in my pants.

I was about 6 at that time and I still have the same sentiment 16 years later. I have always been afraid of water in large quantity, although the fear is not too great that I avoid the pools and rivers altogether but enough to be the reason that I cannot swim. And it was also the reason Azman had not gone snorkeling or diving or even swimming on our holidays even when we were in one of the world’s best island- Bali.

In April, Azman and I went to MATTA Fair to get some ideas and great packages for our Sabah vacation. I wanted to see the proboscis monkeys and I could see that he was influenced by the travel agents to go diving. Two or three days later he told me that we should try island hopping in Sabah and he wanted to go snorkeling. Kerana chentaku padamu tak dapat ku terkata… eh tu macam lagu Faminin.. aku pun tak tau kenapa aku pergi kata ok! Amazing tul!

So on the day itself, Azman’s best friend sejak zaman kanak-kanak ribena Abul and his lovely Atiqa has played world greatest travel agent and brought us to Manutik Island off coast Kota Kinabalu.

Here is a very nice photo of them. We really appreciate this couple’s help and great hospitality. They packed delicious lunch for all of us to the island and showed us around, brought to nice dinner etc. Must be very tiring for Atiqah she was heavily pregnant. Thanks a lot to them..

Atiqah doesnt look pregnant at all  I am jealous..

Please bear in mind that I was an aquaphobia trying to be a supportive wife to a life long adventurous husband. I was a very jakun island girl from the west coast of peninsular Malaysia. I am only used to muddy sea water, okay?!

As we got the boat at Sabah, I was already marveled at the water, so clear and teeming with fish! Miki was also super excited. He kept repeating “Miki nak mandi!” and holding his floaties like a prized possession but once he got into the cool water he changed his mind. He didnt expect there would be so many fish swimming around him, he was only used to swimming pool water. haha!

But seriously, Manutik Island if you ask me is all about FISH! FISH! FISH! There were so many fish!

All sorta fish…

Colorful fish…

The tadpole-lookalike fish…
These school was swarming the sea bed and here almost making a heart shape…

The camouflaging among coral fish…

The famous film star fish… haha!

These clown fishes reminds me so much of the movie Finding Nemo, not only because well they were the leading stars (duh!) but the fact that they occupy the anemone in what looks like a family. A biggest one- most probably the Dad, slighly smaller one must be the Mom and a tiny baby. Really cute and Mr Dad is aggressively  guarding his crib and family by charging at other fishes swimming near by. Tak padan dengan kecik! Gedebe!

The fugly fish…
kesian mamat ni tak berapa nak handsome…

The angry fish…
This one is pretty fleshy (sedap masak kari) and colorful. But if it’s a woman I’d say it having a period. It liked to come charging to our faces and then swim away. Ko pehal ikan??? Ko tahu tak aku tengah memberanikan diri snorkeling ni, yg ko nak feeling-feeling piranna ni apsal? Belasah kang!

That’s me in such a awkward position, my left hand was held above the water because it was holding to a sandwich and my right hand feeding these fishy their cousin Tuna. Bloody cannibals!

Azman dan isterinya yang penakut tetapi supportive (konon)

I am glad I went to this island for my first time snorkeling because we just had to waddle our way from the shore to how-ever deep sea that we wanna go. If I were to snorkel straight from the boat, my chicken shit self wouldn’t be able to determine my whereabouts and freaked the hell out. Azman ended up snorkeling for quite a long time. At one point I felt pretty confident and that’s when my curiosity aka jakunisity aroused. I wanted to touch everything. Which was wrong. You shouldn’t be touching the corals but nope that’s what I wanna. And all of a sudden I felt sharp pain on my toes.

I was like dammit AZMANNNNN A SHARKKK GOT MY TOEEEE!!!! SAKITTTT!!!!!!!!!!

So we went back to the shore and I saw sharp black needles planted in my big and second toe. OMG! I cannot believe I would be needing a foot removal!! Matilah aku jadi ibu tanpa kaki… kesiannya kat Miki mak dia kaki kena potong… huaaa…

Then Azman called the lifeguard. I was imagining David Hasselhoff comes running in spender merah but yang datang adalah seorang Iban ke Dayak wallahualam tapi beliau baik! Terima kasih encik kerana meneyelamatkan kaki saya. Dengan menuang cuka. Ya cuka sahaja. Part potong-potong kaki tu imaginasi saya.

He said I must have stepped on a sea urchin. Actually I kind knew I stepped on a sea urchin but Azman would walk faster if I said shark ok? He also said next time if we don’t have vinegar around, alternatively we can pee on it. It’s ok. Thank you very much. I rather wait a hundred years for the wine to become vinegar rather than be peed on. Hmmp!

Anyway, the pain went away after 5 minutes only. And then I went back to the sea. Begitulah kematunya kaki aku pegi sepak landak sakit 5 minit saja. Ada sapa-sapa nak rasa sepakan aku?

Jesselton Point

Miki mengamuk nak floaties

Miki

The jetty

In the boat

Miki and Daddy; Mummy’s handsome boys. Angin kuat sangat, Miki takleh nak bukak mata

boya

Beautiful white sandy beach

miki and mummy

Our family at Manutik  Island jetty

Picnic time! Miki tak sabar nak mandi tu…

OMGGG! There are so many photos and so long a story to write. Meanwhile let me upload these photos first. For part 2 I’ll write on how to get there and my experience first time menyepak landak laut snorkelling. It was amazing.

Come back later ok? See ya!