Cameron Highlands (attempt 2)

Re-try blogging about Cameron Highlands trip over the weekend.

(Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrowls at Blogger.)

Very beautiful stock picture of Cameron. Unfortunately the reality is that the sun is hiding for 22 out of 24 hours a day? haha.. No chance for such nice sunset..

Went up to Cameron for Kenny and Jacy's wedding over the weekend.

The extremely sporting bridegroom.

10 hour gruelling bus ride up, not including the 6 hours delay when bus gear broke (or sthg like that!) and we were stuck by the Malaysian roadside in an area without telephone signal.

No TV, no books, no internet.. what else to do but sleep lor..

Things learnt on the 6 hour interval:
1. Never play cards with Maths and Stats graduates, They sure win one.
2. Leeches don't just live in water. They also live in the Malaysian forest. And they can really climb up your legs without you knowing it.
3. Anything tastes good when you're hungry enough.
4. Backside can mold to seat in a surprisingly short period of time.

We finally arrived at Brinchang, where we stayed in a place called Star Regency Apartments. At 10 stories, it is the highest building in the town. And this is the 2nd biggest town of a major international tourist attraction?! It is still a super laid back place with no traffic lights, farms just off the main road etc.

Full view of Brinchang from the apartment window.

Fortunately we only stayed for 2 days otherwise would have been bored stiff. There is literally nothing to do except eat and sleep!

Singaporean love of food + Cheap Malaysian food = GORGEing..

There are lots of food and a pasar malam, as well as many farms along the roadside - rose farm, cactus farm, bee farm, tea plantation etc. Kind of boring actually..

You can tell the flowers interested me the most

The most breathtaking scenery was at the Boh Tea Plantation. The roads in are so narrow and steep that only one vehicle can go at a time. So when you encounter oncoming vehicle, both sides have to stop and slowly edge past each other. Unfortunately, by the time we got up at 4.30pm, the cafe was closed and so you cannot sit there and enjoy the scenery. Sigh. Silly or not, built a cafe to close at 4.30pm??

G and me at Boh Tea Plantation. Verdant rolling hills in background. The straight lines of tea bushes make it look so pretty

The wedding itself was held at The Lakehouse, near Ringlet. It overlooks a spectacularly muddy lake, it is a singularly chio place with singularly astronomical prices to match.

Stock picture of the Lakehouse. Chio boh?? All yours, starting from (gulp) RM550 a night..

The steep uphill approach to the Lakehouse. Mud Lake, officially Sultan Abu Bakar lake, is behind me. One wonders if the Sultan is upset at giving his name to such a muddy puddle.. The skies are the rare blue that you get for 2 hours each day only.

G and me on the verandah. The fats are an optical illusion.. you can't see them.. woo..

The place was lavishly decorated with flowers, not just at the wedding area on the verandah but also in each of the rooms that were used for the lunch reception. The flowers, like the fruits and veggies in Cameron, are really beautiful and fresh. It is the best possible decoration for the place and really gives a great atmosphere. Everything was done to the highest standard and it was so unique.

Beautiful flowers

G the emcee.

Wedding started off with the march in of Jacy, the bride. Her dress is really fairy-like and suits her petite frame very well.


Then it was time for the Word. I found it really appropriate that both the pastor and his wife shared. Even though there was some hiccups in the sequence and it wasn't exactly smooth, they really shone as an inspiration to the couples around of how to live married life.

Pastor Stephen and Pastor Helen

That was followed by a "special item" by Kenny - he played the guitar and sang a song for his bride. It was really very touching! And on top of the bridal bouquet, he presented her with 99 red roses some more.. Wah..


Me with the 99 red roses bouquet. Cannot resist lah. Neither can any other of the ladies in our group.. we took turns taking photos with various bunches of flowers!

They then had communion and lighting of unity candle. This is so funny.. many flies kept on suiciding in the communion wine and hence the emcee and helpers has to keep on changing the wine until just before the communion. And the wind is so strong that all the helpers have to crowd around the couple to block out the draft so the candle can be lit.

There was also a wedding-cum-birthday cake as the day, 17 Nov, was also Jacy's birthday! First time seeing a real 3-tier cake in my life. Suaku Singaporean me has only seen fake wedding cakes before..

Christine, the bridesmaid, guarding the cake from flies(?) before it was wheeled out

Presenting.. Mr and Mrs Kenny Lim!

The wedding was rounded up with a lunch reception. Most of the common rooms in the Lakehouse were put into use as there wasn't enough room in their restaurant to hold all the guests. The rambling country style mansion means that there are reading rooms, games room etc and all these were converted for luncheon. Sigh.. such a gorgeous place..

Of course, with a group of friends together, there is the inevitable horsing around.. Presenting to you the antics of the Singaporean guests:

Fen pretending to talk on phone

Diana terrorizing G

Chai Wen and Jo-Anne acting as 草莓小妹