February was quite a month this year. There were many holidays that coincided with weekends and Chinese New Year had just passed by not long ago. We had no mood to go back to work. Holiday mood came too easily and leaves too hard. On the morning of Monday, Fann & I drove all the way up north to Pahang. We went up to Bukit Tinggi.
The roads up there weren’t as steep as the route up to Genting Highland but it was pretty narrow and I thought everyone should really keep a sharp eye on the road. The path up there was pretty easy as there were a lot of signages to help out. We stayed at the Colmar Tropicale, or more popularly known as French Village. We reached early and there were no crowds at all. We couldn’t check in until about 2-3 hours later. So, we wandered around the French Village. The place was rather nice and I recommend it for some photography sessions.
The place looked pretty cool, but it was rather small to my taste. The structure was inspired by the original Colmar village in France. I was quite surprised to see such a building in Malaysia to be honest. The area of this place was a wee bit too small. After like 10 minutes of walking around, I think we’ve already covered the entire place. Since we’ve already booked a night there, we couldn’t go anywhere, can we?
We then took the shuttle up to the Japanese Tea Garden that was nearby. As we reached the carpark where the shuttle dropped us, we noticed that the path up needed some walking. It took about a 8 minutes to walk up to the garden. It was quite steep considering I was carrying so much camera load up the hill. The best way to ease yourself from walking up a hill, is to entertain yourself. We made funny jokes and teased each other, we even took random photos of each other so that we don’t feel bored and tired. It was a fun route up the hill with Fann.
While there, we enjoyed the beautiful greens and stairs leading to the Japanese garden.Though it didn’t really feel anywhere close to Japan, but it’s the closest Japanese we can get from an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur. There were two small Japanese houses up there, but they had too much topical plants around that seemed to have given away the Japanese identity.
We then rented the kimonos each and walked around making fools of ourselves. Everyone was staring at us, as if we were really Japanese. The kimonos were for rent for RM20 for 20 minutes and we could have 10 minutes outside the garden and another 10 in the tea house. We quickly ran out with our slippers and walked around and trying to get as many shots as possible, just like a China Man would do.
As time passes by, more and more people seem to crowd up the Japanese Garden. Then it was quite impossible to shoot any nice photos around alone anymore. So, we returned the Kimonos and headed back down slope. It was almost time for us to check into our rooms.
As we were back at Colmar Tropicale, it was simply overcrowded. I didn’t know so many people came to this place to spend the holidays. It was not what I have expected. However, as we checked into our rooms, I was amazed. The room was completely beautiful. Exactly the style I loved and had for my home. Europeon style, DUH~
Everything was in white. I loved it so much and I couldn’t understand how those imbeciles on Trip Advisor said that it sucked. No way could I find that the hotel room was horrible or unclean. The room was spectacular and simply romantic.
European styled doors lead out to the balcony with a beautiful view of the interior of Colmar Tropicale. I was dumbfounded. The washroom was huge and could be another bedroom for 1. I was quite happy for what I’ve paid for. Despite what the reviews were, I give the room a 4 out of 5 stars.
We then headed down to the restaurants for lunch. The place was packed and the service was pretty slow. We waited for a table for about 20 minutes and the food for another 15 minutes. The food looked presentable but it was very very costly. We ordered a pizza and carbonara.
There wasn’t much things to do there but to chill and take some photos. We chilled in the room after lunch and watched some movies. It was a pretty nice place to relax. We then took a stroll out of Colmar Tropicale and we found this beautiful building. It’s actually called The Chateau. It’s a high class spa villa for the rich and powerful. We weren’t allowed in, probably because we looked like kepo people with cameras.
The place was pretty nice but don’t expect much to do there. Frankly, I think it’s good for a day trip and to get away from the busy city of Kuala Lumpur. Cooling weather makes you feel like having a cup of hot tea too.
We went out for strolls once we were bored and noticed how beautiful it looked during the night. The next day, we headed for our free breakfast at the restaurant. The buffet was pretty nice and I personally liked it very much.Yay and a croissant for me! P
After breakfast and taking some crazy shots of ourselves, we packed and headed back home. On the way home, we went to the animal farm where there were so many bunnies to play with. It was awesome.
Fann & I had a great holiday at Bukit Tinggi. It wasn’t a very flamboyant vacation, but it made us really happy. Glad that we went there for a look. For first timers, please go and have a look. At least you can tell people that you’ve been there. 😀
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