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The Budget Way to Cameron Highlands

4.22.2009 | | 0 comments


This was my first trip to Cameron highlands about 3 years ago.. after lots of planning, we had found 2 good hotels, one of which was Father's Guest House and another, Daniel's Lodge.. Initially we wanted to stay at Father's Guest House because of all the lovely comments we read about the place in many forums, true enough, it was famous as they were fully booked for the whole month.. so we decided to go with Daniel's Lodge which is just walking distance from the Tanah Rata bus stop..

When we arrived, we were a little sceptical about the place as it looked a little run down.. my main concern was if they had maintained the rooms and toilets.. when the receptionist pointed us to our room, i was glad as everything looked clean and nice.. for RM60, it was good enough..

We were informed by the receptionist that they have tour services from as low as RM25.. so as soon as we got settled, we booked a tour and waited for our van.. The itinerary on the tour included 4 places; a flower farm, a bee farm, a Chinese temple and the tea plantation.

First stop, Chinese temple.



Second stop, Flower Farm. We were happy that the flower farm not only had flowers, but strawberries, insects, reptiles and a butterfly farm too. The weather there permits the flowers to grow so wonderfully beautiful and healthy that some flowers are so big and tall, you feel like for a second they can take over the human race!


After our stop at the bee farm, we went to the tea plantation and got a tour on how tea was made from start to finish. There was even a special tea museum and speciality shop where you can buy all sorts of tea! and the view.. breathe taking!



As it was a short weekend trip, we decided to spend the night in so we paid a visit to Daniel's lodge jungle bar which was cool.. they had a bon fire and all.. the next afternoon we watched 2 movies in their mini cinema.. all in all it was a holiday to remember.. especially since i had to wash my face in icy cold water..

Don't forget to stop at the Tanah Rata market.. things to buy/try: natural honey, honey with it honeycomb, tomato jam, fresh strawberries and vegetables, key chains and other small gifts of that sort.

You may wanna buy plants but unless you are really good at looking after them, i suggest you don't. The weather in KL is just not sufficient for them to survive so let them live in Cameron, rather than die in KL. Let the fern i bought be the only plant that had die a dreadful death..

Daniel's Lodge. Recommended 5 stars!
http://www.daniels.cameronhighlands.com/





Malacca Straits Hotel

4.13.2009 | | 0 comments


All my years studying in Malacca, I've never set foot to this hotel. But i bless the day i did because, although small, its my #1 choice now if i were to holiday at my fav 2 hours away destination..



Upon arrival we were greeted by friendly staff who precessed our check-in very fast. Heading up to the room, i was excited, not knowing what to expect. Frankly i thought it would be just like those normal looking, typical hotel rooms which over populate our country but no! Here's what we saw...



The highlight for me at any hotel, would be the bathroom. Don't ask me why but all my family members know that its the first thing I'll check, followed by the water heater. A clean, well maintain bathroom and hot water is key. But i think i kinda forgot about the hot water when i saw that our room had a JACUZZI!




Everything about this hotel rubbed me the right way that even after the we found out the jacuzzi for the first room was not working, i was still cool and calm. Otherwise i would have thrown a fit. Also i was excited to see the other room! I thought at first that it might be just as similar to the previous one given to us but.. hehehe.. i love this hotel!




There could be other, more expensive hotels that are better decorated but for my budget, this is so far the best. It really embodies the whole earthy atmosphere and the whole essence of Malacca being a traditional and historically diverse state. Did i mention that there was a computer in the room? Yes. A computer.

It amazed me too that such a small hotel, as you can see from the pictures above, had this..


The food from the coffee house was tasty. The pool was clean and well maintained. The only thing that bothered me was the kitchen staff from Equatorial Hotel. As the pool was directly behind EQ, there were so many "watch-birds" who couldn't just mind their own business.

Besides this, i give Malacca Straits Hotel, 10 Stars!! For more information on the hotel, view the pic below! Website address & contact number is also available in the pic :D



Stay at the hotel, you will not regret it! :)

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