Putrajaya Floral Fest 2022

Launched in 2007, Putrajaya Floral Fest is held annually except for the two years' Covid lockdown in 2020 and 2021. 

Anjung Floria, the venue, was awashed with colorful blooms when a friend and I visited yesterday. This year's theme is orchids, with many unique varieties which yours truly haven't seen before. Apart from orchids, there are chrysanthemums, diasies, sunflowers and roses. But the majority are orchids and chrysanthemums. Even the bees and butterflies visited.

A cultural dance took place while I was there

Each year that the event is held, there are three winners in the theme categories. This year's winning orchids are the Rothschild's Slipper Orchid, Cattleya Orchid and Rhyncholaedia Digbyana, in the following order. (I'm not an orchid expert, it was Mr Google who informed me what the species are.)

1st prize - Paphiopedilum Rothschilddianum (Rothschild's Slipper)

2nd prize - Cattleya Orchid

3rd prize - Rhyncholaelia Digbyana

Date: 29 August - 4 Septemter 2022

Hours:  From 9am to 10pm

Entrance Fees: 

RM15 (Malaysian adults)

RM5 (Malaysian child 7 to 12 years old & senior citizen above RM60 years old)

RM100 (non-Malaysian adult)

RM50 (non-Malaysian child 7 - 12 years old & senior citizen above 60 years old)

Putrajaya "Avatar" Garden

Well, for better or for worse I've revived my defunct blog under a different name, with a major cosmetic change. It is now streamlined to focus only on travels and book reviews.

It took some effort, I had so many places and books that I wanted to blog about, which one should I start with? One idea after another were tossed aside for later, until eventually I felt that it is more appropriate to share about the latest attraction at Putrajaya, the administrative capital of Malaysia.

Best of all, it is my adjacent neighbourhood, and is free from traffic jam. Most of the wide roads are relatively traffic-free, unlike downtown city.

Putrajaya is a beautiful place, each building has its own character, with one looking like an alien mothership. Even something as mundane as street lights are gorgeous. Each street has a different, intricately designed street lights. Even the traffic lights look like a tentacle of an alien. My favourite street lights are those that were designed to look like a vertical half of our traditional kites called "Wau". Until I take pictures of the street lights, below is what a Wau looks like.

Photo source: www.calendata.com

So is it any surprise that the latest garden lights look like something out of the Avatar movie like some say? 

The car park is on the right after this square

The blue lights do look a bit like out of Avatar

A great place to go on a date unless you prefer a more secluded garden, in which case either the Lake Gardens (aka Perdana Botanical Gardens ) or Titiwangsa Lake Garden would be a better fit.

This garden is at Taman Putra Perdana, Precinct 1, opposite Pulse Grande Hotel. Parking is available onsite and is free. The lights are turned on at 7.00pm.

Suria Cherating -The Good, The Bad And The Pretty

Cherating is a popular beach resort on the east coast of Malaysia. A slow, quiet beach town during off-peak season, it is the only beach resort in Malaysia that has a turtle sanctuary.

We had booked a deluxe sea view room with Suria Cherating but when we checked in, we were disappointed at the size and condition of the room. It was small, bare and run down. It felt like a prison cell, totally unlike the photos we saw in its website.

The Bad.....

I felt exactly like how one of my cats felt when she was put inside a carrier....I started yowling and scratching at the bars on the windows.....well, maybe not, but you get the idea. Without wasting a single second, we rushed back down to the reception and requested for a room with a balcony or patio. We had thought the deluxe sea view came with a balcony, based on the hotel's photos, but apparently not. 

The Good.....

The staff were very helpful and friendly, and tried their best to make our stay a happy one by listening to what we wanted from a hotel room. They offered to upgrade us to Terrace with Sea View for only RM20 per night.  

Do you see the lady sitting on one of the deck chairs? Our room is directly behind her. There, at last....a place where I could sit outside the room and read. So peaceful. 

Our room with a patio

I spent many hours outside on the patio, reading my Kindle and drinking cups of tea. Although the furnishings were minimal, it was comfortable and cozy. A place I would like to return to if I visit Cherating again.

And The Pretty.....

The hotel has its own beach, this is the path to the beach

The pool

Baby crabs burrowing tunnels under the sand

Related Posts:

Mangrove River Tour

Watching Turtles Lay Eggs

Resources:

Cherating, Pahang

Mangrove River Tour @ Cherating

Besides turtle watching, another interesting activity in Cherating is the mangrove river tour. The boat leaves daily at 9am and 4pm, and the boat ride lasts 1-1/2 hours, for RM20 per person.

It is managed by the same person who runs the nightly fireflies boat tour. His name is Hafiz, and he can be reached at 017 - 978 9256. Hafiz is full of information on the mangrove trees, the animals and their habitat. [Update: A lot has changed since the pandemic, Hafiz might or might not be running the fireflies boat tour since our country was locked down from March 18, 2020 to April 1, 2022.]

His eyes are exceptionally sharp, and is able to spot the snakes and monitor lizards on the tree branches from afar. Makes me think of anacondas & and Stephen King.....

Me: Are there any crocodiles in this river?

Hafiz: There are, but only at specific season, and this is not it. The mounds beneath the tree stump are lobster mounds.

Hafiz: Lobsters are dug from those mounds, but one has to be careful as there is usually a cobra inside if you dug in too deep.

Attap seed (or palm seed) plant

Back at Hafiz's shop, he showed us the attap seed plants that he's growing. Can you see the little green sprout  inside? Attap seeds, or palm seeds in English, are those sweet, white fleshy seeds added in ice kacang, a Malaysian dessert made of shaved ice, syrup and kidney beans.

Related Posts:

Suria Cherating, The Good, The Bad and The Pretty

Watching Turtles Lay Eggs At Cherating

Resources:

Cherating, Pahang

Watching Turtles Lay Eggs at Cherating

Turtle watching is an experience not to be missed. It's not the same as watching documentaries. Being up close and personal with a turtle (or a few) is a life-changing experience. 

This was the first time we were in Cherating at the right season. You could be picked up at your hotel for RM50 per pax, or you could find your own way to Pantai Teluk Mak Nik (D'Monica Bay) at Kemaman, Terengganu and pay only RM30 per person. We opted for the latter, since Teluk Pantai Mak Nik was only a fifteen-minute-drive from our hotel in Cherating. 

For the fee, you get to watch the turtles laid their eggs and helped to release the hatchlings into the sea. There were four turtles that came to nest on the beach that night. I couldn't take any pictures or video of the "action", the beach was pitch-dark and we were told not to switch on any torchlights so as not to traumatize the turtles in labour. But I managed to take some shots using the night scene mode.

One of the turtles digging the sand to prepare to lay her eggs. I could hear the explosion of breath and quick inhalation as the turtle laboured and expelled its eggs. 

After the turtle has covered its eggs, the ranger removed them and took them to a sanctuary where they will hatch in 40 - 45 days' time. Once hatched, they would be released back to the sea. 

A turtle heading back to the sea after its eggs were laid 

78 eggs from turtle with tag no. 8991, to be handed over to the turtle sanctuary

The turtles we were asked to help release that night were only a few hours old. Some were going in the wrong direction....one even crawled towards me instead of the sea.

One of the hatchlings

Go baby, all the best, hope you make it, and grow into an adult turtle.

The odds are stacked against their survival. Out of one thousand hatchlings, only one or two survive to reach adulthood, at 25 years. They get caught in fishermen's nets, under a boat propeller, or preyed upon by fish, crabs, birds and humans  We can't control the other factors, but we can say NO to turtle eggs and soup. There are many other eggs and meat, why consume turtles and their eggs??!! 

The turtles' main diet are sea grass, seaweeds and jellyfish. When humans indiscriminately discard their used plastic bags at a beach or river, the garbage are carried into the sea. Mistaking the plastic bags for jellyfish, the turtles would eat them and die. So, please dispose your garbage into garbage bins only. Let each of us play a part to help protect our gentle, defenseless turtles.

Related Posts:

Suria Cherating, The Good, The Bad and The Pretty

Mangrove River Tour

Resources:

Cherating Pahang

Things to do in Cameron Highlands

Cameron Highlands is a place you either love or hate. For those who love it, like me, it is an idyllic place to relax and unwind. People who like exciting, happening venues will find Cameron Highlands boring without the hectic, hustle and bustle that a city offers. The locals are mainly farmers and the entire town is asleep by 10.00 pm or earlier. Once, we took a walk at 10pm and the main road was empty of cars and all the shops are shuttered. Compare that to Kuala Lumpur where I'm from, there are still quite a few cars out on the road at the wee hours of 3.00 am and small groups of people dining and chatting at the 24-hour mamak (Indian-Muslim) eateries.

That said, there is plenty to do in Cameron Highlands. Things that you can't do in a fast-paced city. My list is in the order of my personal preference. Yours may be different.

First on my list is be a "farmer". There are farms that let the customers pluck the vegetables and fruits themselves. Ask for a basket and scissors. You're not allowed to pluck the vegetables or fruits with your bare hand for that will damage the plant or tree. 

Since I'm not a shutter-bug by nature, I did not take pictures of all the vegetables and fruits that I had plucked. There is a hybrid fruit called Cameron Highlands Apples whose pictures I took and covered in another post here. 

Cherry tomatoes

My haul

Chili peppers

There are quite a few strawberry farms where you could pick your own strawberries. But be warned that the strawberries in Cameron Highlands are not the big, sweet, juicy ones you're used to in countries with four seasons like the UK or Seoul. They're smaller in size, and some could be rather sour. Sour as in sharp, not sweet and slightly tart. I had to smother them with whipped cream before I could enjoy them.

Second on my list is eating all the scones my stomach could handle! While scones are available in Kuala Lumpur, they are the American version, dry and dense, which some Americans, by the way, called "biscuits". They're eaten on  their own or with gravy. The scones in Britain are soft and fluffy, and eaten with jam and clotted cream. You can get these at Cameronian Inn, Tanah Rata. The ones at Copthorne Hotel are the American version. 

These are the scones I like, the British version

Trivia: How you eat your scones in the UK can tell where you are from. In Cornwall, London, Bournemouth and Isle of Wight, the jam comes first, then the cream. In Devonshire, the cream comes first, then the jam. How does the Queen eat it? Jam first, then cream. How do I eat it? Same as the Queen, of course! Not because I emulated the Queen, but because I had lived in Bournemouth and London for some years.

Third on my list is to just walk aimlessly around, admiring the flora and fauna, and tea plantations. Since Cameron Highlands is cooler, between 16 degrees Celcius on rainy days and 24 degrees on bright sunny days, cooler climate flowers like roses, lilies, sunflowers and birds of paradise thrive here. 

Birds of paradise are quite a common sight in Cameron Highlands

Thunbegia Mysorensis aka Lady's Slippers

Lilies are common in Cameron Highlands too. Tiger lilies, trumpet lilies and striped barbados lilies. Below is a Striped Barbados Lily.

There is a Rose Valley at Tringkap, near Brinchang, which houses hundreds of rose species and cacti. Do drop in if you are a plant or flower enthusiast like me. On the day I visited, there was a sudden rainstorm just after I paid the entrance fee (RM5 / USD1.12). The ticket wasn't refundable so I had no choice but to step inside and get drenched. Still, it was enjoyable, especially when I saw a black rose. No photos were taken as I didn't want to risk damaging my phone.

I've tried persuading my hubby to go again through the years but he wasn't keen. He finds plants and flowers boring.

One of the tea plantations

If you like looking at things in the past, there is a Time Tunnel that you might want to visit. It's a museum in Brinchang. There are lots of memorabilia and junk to ogle over. There was one particular pinned laminated note that caught my attention'. 

It seems there was an unusual weather occurrence on a certain day in the early 1960s. A gentleman claimed that snow fell in a small area at Parit Waterfalls for forty-five minutes. It does NOT snow in Malaysia. If it did, it was an anomaly. That was why the photo and note below fascinated me enough to take a picture of it.

Related Topics:

Where To Stay in Cameron Highlands

Cameron Highlands Apples

Resources:

Cameron Highlands Travel Guide

Where to Stay in Cameron Highlands

[Updated - a newer hotel, Avillion, was added in]

One of my favourite local holiday destination is Cameron Highlands. I've been to Cameron Highlands so many times that I could be a tour guide for Cameron Highlands if I had wanted to. And with each trip, comes a post or two in this blog.

Looking back on all the different posts on Cameron Highlands, with many of them covering more or less the same hotels and the same activities - I'm a creature of habit and tend to stay at hotels which I'm familiar with - I've decided to amalgamate all the posts into two posts, where to stay and what to do.

Most people choose to stay at either Tanah Rata, the lower ground near the town centre, or Brinchang on the higher ground. Some may choose to stay at Ringlet if a golf course is what they're after. This post will cover four hotels, two at Brinchang and  two at Tanah Rata. 

Brinchang is sometimes 2°C cooler than Tanah Rata. It's also closer to the farms where you could pick (read: harvest) your own strawberries and vegetables. There are quite a few restaurants and cafes at Brinchang but you'll have to drive. Or, you can choose to eat at the hotels.

Tanah Rata is more convenient in that the cafes and restaurants are within walking distance of the hotels. It's also closer to Robinson Falls, where a number of jungle trails begin.

That said, Brinchang has its merits. There are strawberry farms, cherry tomato farms and other fruit and vegetable farms where you pick the crop yourself and you'll charged by the weight of what you had harvested.

There are two hotels that are my personal favourite in Brinchang. Copthorne, for its proximity to the street market where a large selection of fresh vegetables and fruits are sold. 

And Casa dela Rosa for its reminiscence to The Outlook Hotel in Stephen King's Shining. 

The corridor - do you hear "Wendy, I'm home!" or, "Knock, Knock, who's there? Here's Johnny!". Too bad hubby opened the door that led to the gardens just as I snapped the picture. The overall impression was lost a bit.

The room is rather sparsely decorated, not like what you would expect from a hotel, but it has a nice garden for guests to lounge around in.

The garden

The room

At Tanah Rata, my preferred accommodation is Century Pines Resort and Avillion. Century Pines is decades older than Avillion, but it has a charming garden which Avillion does not have.

This entrance is at the old wing. The new wing is not visible from the entrance.

View from the entrance

The rooms at the new wing

It is situated off the main road, so there is peace and quiet. Rows of shops and cafes are just  five to ten minutes' walk from Century Pines Resort. There're western food, fast food, South Indian food, Chinese food and fusion food.

Avillion, on the other hand, is located above a shopping complex. While it lacked a charming garden, it made up for with spacious rooms and an absolutely delectable complimentary breakfast buffet spread. My only gripe about Avillion is that I had to walk through the shopping complex from the car park to the hotel.

The room

The restaurant where the complimentary breakfast buffet spread was 

A hotel staff making an omelette for me - it's made fresh to order

Cafes and restaurants are all within walking distance. I would recommend staying at Tanah Rata if food convenience is a priority and you don't drive or didn't rent a car. The interstate bus terminal is located at Tanah Rata, across The Lord's Cafe, though I'm not sure if it's still opened now. The last time we were there, it was closed. Perhaps there was a church event that day.

Related posts:

Cameron Highlands Apples

Things To Do In Cameron Highlands

Resources:

Cameron Highlands Travel Guide