Started from Singapore at 7am and we crossed the 2nd Link at 8am, thanks to the jam. Sped along NSH at obedient 110km/h, and finally reach Ipoh for lunch at 2pm. Didn’t know the way so we stopped by and ask the uncle where is the famous Ipoh Tauge Chicken. He asked “Nga Choi Gai”?? Drew us a map and gave us the direction and off we went. Through 3 roundabouts and by some sheer dumb luck, viola, we parked the car a short distance away from Lou Wong Tauge Chicken. Walked there and viola, we were there! Ordered the famous Ipoh horfun with tauge chicken. For drinks, they have the lime-sour plum (known as 932 in Penang), that drink really quenched all the thirst in a warm, lazy humid Ipoh afternoon.
They have a Ipoh Heong Piah (Fragrant charcoal baked biscuits) shop next to Lou Wong so we hopped over and bought more than RM100 biscuits.
Stomach Full, hands full with Heong Piah, we are ready to conquer the last mile. We took the Simpang Pulai road. Thanks to the friendly Ipoh people, and some luck, we finally on the way up to Cameron Highlands through Simpang Pulai. Cement and Sand factories created so much pollution at the road entrance!
It was quite a long and windy drive. By the time we reach Tanah Rata, it is 520pm. Went over to TJ Nur counter to book a halfday tour for tomorrow. Drove back to the hotel. The familiar ACJC jacket reminded us that Singaporeans have conquered the hotel! Got our keys and really unfortunate, we could not enter our room. Fed up, asked for change of room. No aircond in the room, natural ventilation is cold enough.
Credit: EK's photo 
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photoOnce we settled down, EK and I went for a walk. The hotel has Wi-fi apparently. A gym too, but nobody uses it. We walked through a playground, next to a soccer field.
Credit: EK's photoOnwards to the shops on a further side, and found some cheaper steamboat place.
730pm and we were all ready for our steamboat dinner. Kampong Koh chili sauce is the secret to the delicious steamboat meal.
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photo Return to the hotel for shower and zzzz, too tired after the car ride. TV3 is playing Mission Impossible 3 and I was so captivated…but…
Only to be woken up at 530am by u-know-what. It was really really disturbing. Must they????
Woke up at 8am just in time for breakie. Travelmate was as usual late for the half day tour and get the jeep driver very annoyed. The jeep driver drove us past the Smoke House, Cameron Highlands Resort before making its way to Brinchang Hill. We stopped by to admire the tea plantation and listened to Satya, our very knowledgeable and friendly guide, explain the difference between black tea, ulong tea and green tea – all a difference of oxidation during roasting. Came from the same tea tree though.
Panaroma stitched together using the two pics above.
Brinchang hill is pretty misty, clouds and mists literally rolled you by. There is a watch tower near the TM Broadcast station.
After that we drove to the starting point of Mossy Forest. Satya, who really impressed us with his plant knowledge, told us one story after another, let us smell one rolled/crushed leaves after another. He even told us about Rengas, a wild mango species that give out acidic vapour and promise to eat away the flesh should one touch it. All Orang Asli in the national park avoid Rengas like plague. Once, his friend, refused to believe, using the finger to touch the tree bark and rub it on the palm. The part in contact with the tree, including the fingers, started to have burning feeling, the acid started to eat away the flesh. They rushed him to hospital from the national park in 3 hours and the doctor has to use laser treatment to stop the flesh being eaten. Close shave.
Mossy Forest is a very old forest and has always been the most crucial water catchment area. No moss, no water. You can literally jump on top of the soil and feel the springy soil below your feet. So many pitcher plants, the whiter the pitcher plants get the higher you go. Very much a LOTR-avatar feel in this mossy forest. Finally we reached the highest point, before we went down to the rope section.
Until 1980s, this part of the forest is out-of-bound to all due to Malayan Communist activities. We found a roof frame, believed to be left behind of a Malay regiment shelter. Also passed by a Mou-Fa-Go tree, as pointed out by Satya. Cinnamon, pepper, etc etc. So many plant species in just one small area.
We continued on to Boh tea Plantation. Very narrow and winding road. Congested on a Saturday morning. We had teh-tarik and scones while taking in the nice tea plantation view. Cold air and sunshine made a very relaxing atmosphere.
Paranoma stitched together using Adobe Photoshop.
After the tea and scones, we went down to the Butterfly Farm and looked at some butterflies. Ek took some pretty nice butterfly pictures.
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photo
Lastly Satya dropped us off to the Strawberry Park. He told us he is very tired of strawberry and in his dream, the strawberry will come and haunt him. There was once the 7 European tourists he brought stopped him while he was driving, raced across the road and each came back with a different strawberry outfit, nearly scared him to death.
Travelmate bought whopping RM44 of self-cut strawberries.
Credit: EK's photo
Credit: EK's photoWalked down to Brinchang, had corns and stopped by a cactus garden. The taxi from Brinchang to Tanah Rata cost RM10. After we rested, we went to TJ Nur to ask for Night Walk and specially requested Satya to be our guide. We had a simple dinner at 4pm – Maggie mee goring and roti canai. Then at 7pm, we turned up at the office and Satya drove us to the start of trail 5. Difficulty level 2 he told us, out of 5. We walked in with headlamps and torches and found some interesting discovery.
Make a guess what is this?
Just when we were into the forest, Satya asked us to switch off our headlights and turned behind. We saw fireflies!!!!! Not the yellow one, the electric blue type. Now it really felt like avatar. Subsequently we bumped into more fireflies, very beautiful!
Satya told us he conducted trips to a part of Taman Negara that still under research, not the part that was opened for tourism in Pahang. The Holland researchers wrote him a mail told him that two weeks ago, this researcher was leading the group into the forest in the dark, and customary practice is that they will spray on the tree trunks as they venture in, in case they got lost. As they were retracing steps at one point, the Holland researcher was arguing with a local guide, cos he clearly remembered he sprayed a tree here but now less one. He couldn’t account for the missing marking. The local guide was saying he could have miscounted or never made any spray at all. Just when they were arguing, they found the missing tree trunk with marking – moving.
A moving trunk! What is it?
Satya also told us normally in the forest there will be a symphony made by all kinds of insects and monkeys, but the moment the tiger roars, it will be followed by dead silence.
Saw some huntsmen spiders. Ee Kai set out to find a frog and he managed to find it on a leave.
Snap snap moment. Satya found a gekgo with webbed feet that he had never seen before. Snap snap moment as well. Pictures didn’t turn out too well in the dark due to my lousy camera.
We crossed the stream into Trail no 3 and came out of MARDI. By the time we finished the trail, it is already 11pm, goodness. Thanked Satya, made our way to the same mamak shop we had our dinner (the only shop still opened) to have some supper. Turned out that the shop is so full of customers, we gotto wait long long to be served. We just ordered drinks, finished and left. Zzz away.
Despite Satya’s recommendation, we drove back to Singapore using Simpang Pulai way. Had lunch at Nilai Loong Shing restaurant, surprisingly still around after so many years (last tried in 2000ish) and the bbq pork still as good. Reached Singapore 6pm.
