Grace Said.: Cameron '09 (Day 1)

Alright this might sound really silly, but I've always thought that Cameron Highlands and Genting Highlands was the same place. After all, both are equally cold in temperature, high in altitude, and pretty far away from Singapore.

It was only until my recent trip to Cameron Highlands last weekend, that I realized that I have never been to Cameron HIghlands! (At least not in my recollection) Unlike the previous trips where only our (Dear and I) biker friends would go, one of our friends brought his wife and 2 kids this time round, and headed up to Cameron Highlands along with us.

Since Cameron Highlands is about 600km away from Singapore and we wanted to reach Cameron by the late morning or early afternoon, we decided to embark on our journey on 29th August at 1:00 am. So in order to have sufficient rest before leaving Singapore at 1:00 am, the plan was to resynchronize our body clocks and catch some sleep at about 6pm the day before. Unfortunately no matter how much I tried, I could only sleep for 2 hours after which I was wide awake.

1:00 am - We met up at GP Esso and had a short briefing before moving off. Everyone bought cans of Red Bull to keep themselves awake.

1:20 am - Left GP Esso. Everyone including myself, was excited.

3:20 am - Reached the first rest stop at Pagoh R&R. Everyone bought more Red Bull, as if it was a close replacement of water itself.

6:50 am - We reached our second rest stop at Rawang. By now it was approaching dawn and the sky lit up with different shades of blue, black, and a tinge of orange.

7:20 am - We continued our journey to Cameron Highlands. At this point of time, the sun was peeking out from the horizon and illuminating the sky with its first rays.

8:20 am - As we travelled, I couldn't help but notice the beautiful morning, the wonderful weather, and I thanked God for his wonderful creation.

8:55 am - After traveling about an hour or so, we rested at one of the Rest Stops where we had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts. You bet I was excited because you can't get Dunkin Donuts in Singapore!

I was quite sure that everyone was in high spirits even though we have traveled through the wee hours of the morning. After all, our blood was pumped with excitement and anticipation to reach Cameron Highlands.

For me, I didn't have donuts for breakfast which was quite surprising considering how I used to like donuts. I had their egg sandwich meal which comes with coffee, and gosh it was good! Price was about RM 6.90 for a set, which I felt was a little pricey. Nonetheless, I was satiated and truly satisfied.

9:50 am - We left for Cameron Highlands. Final leg of the journey!

10:15 am - Driving and Riding up to Cameron was challenging but I guess the bikers loved it because of the bends and corners.

Along the journery, we passed by a waterfall and everyone decided to take some photos here.

Dear and I were no exception, and we took a lot of photos!

Dear being the more adventurous one, climbed across the rocks and took a grand picture beside the waterfall.

I wasn't as courageous and bold, partly because I traumatized when I fell into a pond when I little. So I took a picture where I stood and even so, my legs were a little wobbly.

Further up the road leading up to Cameron Highlands, we also passed by a few scenic spots and everyone took a group picture.

12:12 pm - We arrived at Cameron Highlands! Gosh the view was spectacular! More importantly, the weather was splendid! It was as if we had air-con everything we went.

12:40 am - Hooray! We finally reached Heritage Hotel at Cameron Highlands!

Stepping foot in the Lobby, I found the whole place pretty surreal, quiet, and simple.

2:10 pm - After settling down and checking in, we headed for lunch at Fong Lun Restaurant

Because we were quite a large group, we split into two groups where we each ordered different food respectively. For our table, we ordered Steamboat which is my favorite!

4:06 pm - After a heavy lunch, we toured around Cameron Highlands and visited their Big Red Strawberry Farm.

There, we ordered their famous Strawberry Sundae and Milkshake. Yum yum!

The kids were more hands on, and decided to put their hyper activeness into good use by picking strawberries.

7:20 pm - Because of a rain and heavy fog, we stayed at the Strawberry Farm for quite a long time and some of the guys took their power naps. When we finally returned to the hotel to rest, I managed to take a picture of the scene from my balcony.

8:50pm - We headed out the local village for some late dinner at 7:45pm. By the time we walked to the dinner venue, it was about 8:30pm. Thankfully, I wasn't very hungry but since majority agreed on having Steamboat (which I can hardly resist), I ate to my hearts content! :D