Having worked in Shah Alam for about two years, I didn’t realize there’s an agriculture park until one of my friends invited me for a morning walk in the park. Probably I am not aggressive or appreciative on things around myself or the Government has not done enough in promoting this park….hehehe

Anyway, this park certainly worth a visit if you want to escape from the hustling and bustling city life. The entrance fees cost only Rm 2 (USD 0.50) per entry. It is not far from Kuala Lumpur, probably an hour drive from KL without traffic congestion. It is a rainforest park which you may find some of the plantation in Malaysia. It has a paddy field plantation, a fishing village and a tar road walk through the rainforest to the resthouse where you can see all the tropical trees along the way. However, the route is rather quiet but there is always people wondering the place to ensure the safety. As Malaysia is a hot and wet country, it has a lot of mosquitoes along the way especially after the rainy seasons. You can find mosquitoes welcoming you while trekking to the peak of the rest house. It is advisable that you wear long pants and long sleeves shirt to avoid donating blood to these “Blood Suckers”. Some of these mosquitoes could be Aedes Mosquitoes which could kill you! So, please get yourself prepare with appropriate outfit and never wear black shirt or pants as it attracts these “Blood Suckers” or make sure you have enough insect repellants to spray yourself along the way. Anyway, it takes only about 1hour trek for return trip up to the resthouse.

On top of the rest house, you may find the beauty of the rainforest jungle with the housing development around Shah Alam area. Sadly speaking, has anyone realized that the sky around us is not as blue as before? I remember the sky that I used to look up during my childhood is blue and clear. The sky in Italy and Spain or some other European countries is bluish and clear. I can’t forget the blue sky in the Vatican city, the sky seems to be coloured by the skyblue pencil colour and it just make the whole environment feel nice with the sunshine. What has happened to our blue sky? Is that due to pollution in the asian countries or the weather or the location????

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Do you know how old is the limestone hills in Ipoh? I think even the Malaysian didn’t realise that Malaysia has some of the biggest and longest caves in the world. Some of these caves are archaeological sites, Some of it are beautiful with stalagmites and stalactites. If you ask me what is so special about Ipoh? Well, if you catch a Malaysian, there will give you many answers like…the food like “Dim Sum”, “Bean Sprout Chicken Noodles” and pomelos. Some may even tell you that Ipoh girls are pretty….Don’t you think so? Well, there’s something that many locals have neglected…

Ipoh is also known as the Hill City. You can see many limestone hills after two hours drive along the North South highway from KL. You will then see many limestone hills and that is the landmark of Ipoh city. Ipoh does not famous for its food or girls but its natural surrounding of the city. i.e: limestone hills. You will be able to see a number of Chinese temples when you proceed to Ipoh town from the Simpang Pulai exit.

I born and grown up in Ipoh. I have visited all these places since young but never appreciate or wonder why and how all these temple was there? I just know that it was there even before I was born….

There are three or four temples built in the limestone hills…that tell us how early the ancient Chinese culture in the city. I am not sure the actual age of these caves but  these limestone hills were formed at least hundred years ago.

Don’t you think that the people in Ipoh should be proud of the formation of these limestone hills? Hope they treasure it for these natural heritage that they have and preserve it for the future generation.

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One of my friends were shock cause this is more of a schoolchildren field trips or outings. Actually all my friends and I have been to the butterfly farm since we were school children, either by followed the school field trips or our parents. Thus, we don’t really expect much excitement from it. Anyhow, doing the same things at different time with different people, it does give you different kind of thoughts and feels….hheheehe..Don’t you think so? However, to our surprise, all of us had a nice time visiting the butterfly farm as all our memories have actually faded on how the butterfly farm look like…Infact…you will find some other creatures insides besides the butterflies, scorpians, snakes, turtles and many other insects you will find in the city life..

Do you know if you have apply any body powder or floral fragrance on your body, the butterfly will come to you, flying around you and of course there will not harm you. Isn’t it nice you can get close to the butterflies?

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Tropical Fruit Farms in Penang

Penang has always been famous for its hawkers food, its sandy beach and temples. Being a local who live one and half hour from Penang island, I used to visit there ever since I was a schoolgirl. We like to go Penang for the beach, food and shopping malls which my friends and I used to go there for the same purposes.

During my recent trip Penang again, my friend and I were wondering what else we can do besides the food and beaches here. We then decided to pick up a leaftlet which is provided free from the Hotel lobby to check out the places that they are promoting Penang.

We then discovered that there are many places around Batu Feringgi where we can explore such as the Spice Garden, National Park, the Tropical fruit farm, batik crafting center and butterfly farm. Due to time constraints, we decided to go to the Tropical fruit farm. It took us about 25minutes to reach the tropical fruit farm as it is quite a distance from Batu Feringgi. When you reach there, we still need to pay an entrance fees of RM25 (about "8" USD) per person to enter the fruit farm by a van. It seems that the fruit farm is at a higher hills where private cars are not allowed or unable to drive up??….The entrance fees includes an unlimited fresh fruit juice as much as you want. Oh gosh, we thought that it is rather expensive and we then returned with disappointment and I suggested visit the Butterfly Farm while on our way back.

Has Anyone seen Sky Fruit before?

Anyway, have you ever since the sky fruit which grow up facing the sky instead of hanging down…I guess it is being called skyfruit due to its nature.  This is the picture of a skyfruit.

It is believed to be a healthy fruit which could cure many diseases too. The fruit on the right is the “Cempedak".

Have you try sky fruit before?

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I have not been visiting any hot springs since I was in my primary school. A hot springs is a place where hot sulphuric water is found from underground. It is believe to cure many diseases. Having heard of another hot spring in Sg, Klah, Sungkai. My friends and I were excited to explore the place since it is not far from KL and Ipoh. It is about one and half hour drive from Kuala Lumpur.

We thought of reaching there by evening 5 or 6pm as Malaysia is a hot country. It will be better to enjoy the natural spa after the sunset. We then decided to explore some delicious steam noodles with frog, chicken wings in Tapah before we proceed to our final destination, Sungkai, Sg. Klah. Tapah is a small town but yet you can find specialty like this…Yummy!

We finally reached the Sg.Klah Hot Spring. It is not difficult to find the place as the signboard is quite clear. You just got to use the North South Expressway and exit from Sungkai then followed the signboard to Sg.Klah, Hot Spring. You may find a lot of palm oil plantations once you enter the Sg Klah village. We were excited when we reached as it is surrounded by mountain and palm oil trees. It is not luxurious type but certainly open and nature friendly type.

We bought a ticket which cost about RM8 (approx USD 2.50) per entry. There’s a notice that it will be increasing to RM10 (USD 3.20) from Jan’2009 onwards. There’s a resort next to the public hot springs. You may find different hot spring spots in different part of the open area which look greenish and doesn’t look clean although these spot are cemented. There is also a stepping stone in one part of and the temperature is stated on each pools. The temperature normally started from 30”c onwards. You may also find cool mountain water which is being diverted to a man made swimming pool if you want to cool down yourself after the hot water. The toilets or the changing room were dirty and not well maintained. Some of the toilets were flooded. Gosh…We pay RM 8 but yet the condition of the toilet is as such.

My friends and I dare not soak ourselves into the hot water as the water looks murky….We then started soaking our legs in a 40’c hot pool. We then slowly adjust ourselves to the temperature. However, there is only one area for you to try boiling eggs in a 100’c hot spot. Sadly, a lot of irresponsible visitors just threw the rubbish and egg shells around these areas. Hope the management of the place will do something as the entrance fees of RM 8 is not cheap for the locals too. There should be some workers inspecting the areas or fine those irresponsible visitors or litterbugs to ensure the cleanliness of the place and make it a better place to visit.

Comparing to a hot spring that I visited in Tambun, Perak about 20years ago. This place is still far behind and was not well maintained. Unfortunately, Tambun Hot Springs is undergoing renovation. I am hoping that Tambun Hot Springs will turn out to be a better tourist destination for the locals and foreigners as Hot Springs is a gift from our mother nature to the country. Hopefully, people will treasure it and not destroying it by polluting it. My friend and I were kind of disappointed with the cleanliness and the toilet conditions of the Sg.Klah Hot Springs. We will give a second thought of visiting this place as it doesn’t really worth the cost. Hope the management of the place will do something about it.

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For those who have visited Genting Highlands, it is certainly a place of fun and excitement to enjoy the coldness in a hot country like Malaysia. However, Bukit Tinggi, it is an alternative place where u can enjoy chilly weather and beauty of highlands. It does not have much excitement as in Genting Highlands but you can certainly find it a place to unwind yourself in a highland of 3000m. You may also find a lot of pine trees growing along the way up to the hill.

Colmar Tropicale Resorts, in Bukit Tinggi, was built with French concept architecture. A Castle typed entrance is built to welcome the visitors. There is only one street of French architecture building. It is certainly a nice place to take picture for those who wish to experience a stay in the European structured buildings. However, it may not give you full taste of the European lifestyle as you can’t find any French people who can tell you about the French culture. You may be able to enjoy the Malaysian culture and life in a French street. Sometimes I wonder does it really matter to experience the French living in Malaysia or in Paris? Or the people whom you will be going together?

A Scenic Japanese Garden in Bukit Tinggi

Besides the French buildings, you can’t do much if you don’t enjoy outdoor and nature expedition. You may find some outdoor activities like visiting the Rabbit Farm, The Japanese Garden and The Organic Farm and Elephant bathing in places nearby the resorts. I personally enjoy the Japanese Garden and the organic farm as I am a nature lover. The Resorts provide free transport to these place and both are entrance free. You may find different type of plant species in the Garden. It has a pond which full of koi fish. There are also some small Japanese houses in the garden. A lot of beautiful flowers have been planted in the garden. You may also find some herbs and medication plant in the garden. It seems some of the trees grew may be 100 years and above and it is still well preserved due to the weather and the natural habitat to these trees. Your eyes will certainly not feel tired after the visit as everything is greenish and not stressing. Has anyone visited this place?

What does a celery look like in an oraganic farm?

The organic farm is small and along the hillside. According to the caretaker, all the water is from the hill and non pesticide type. They have been trying to cultivate the farm about two years ago and it is a new attraction at this place. As most cityfolks like us may not have seen how each type of vegetable is being grown. We were being introduced to different type of plant like celery, misai kucing, butterhead, broccoli, cauliflower and ashitaba flowers, and cherry tomatoes. I was surprise that the stem of celery doesn’t look big or the type of celery that I saw in the hypermarket. I was told that the stem of celery originally is thin and it is just that it was being compressed to grow to a big stem. That was my first discovery….How ignorance am I?

This is how celery look like in an organic farm.

The food that we are eating has so much preservatives and our future generation are being fed with foods that full of pesticides and preservatives. Food that has being grown beyond their original shape and source. Gosh….that’s why children nowadays are allergies to certain food and things…I guess it is good to educate our children on how our food is being processed rather than just tell them what is can be eaten and what not? May be parents too nowadays don’t really know how the food is being processed too or how to plant it…….

Isn’t this Rabbit Smart Looking?

Come on, Guys and Gals! Take a look at these rabbits? Aren’t they smart when they stand up straight or when their ears standing straight. Besides the scenic garden, the French village, you may also explore the rabbit farm where you can see different type of species of rabbit being kept in a fence up area. There are allowed to run freely within certain compounds. I never thought that a rabbit could look that smart and handsome when they stand up straight especially with their straight standing long ears. Don’t you think so??

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Temple Visit in Jenjarom, Selangor

Though Malaysia is an Islamic country, you should be able to see mosques but you may also see some churches, Buddhist and Hinduism temples around due to its multi-racial and cultural lifestyle. Dong Zen Fu Guang Shan (FGS) is located at Jenjarom, Kuala Langat. (Jenjarom, which is about 100km west of Kuala Lumpur, is situated in Kuala Langat district.) It takes about an hour to reach I paid a visit to this temple during the Chinese New year and it was amazing. The floral landscaping and the lotus pond around the temple are certainly amazing. This has certainly provided another opportunity for the travelers to understand the culture of Malaysia.

Dong Zen FGS means "a tranquil mind in the East", is also a cultural and educational centre. It houses a Buddhist college, one of 16 in the world set up by FGS. Here, students learn the fundamentals of the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings) for a year, after which they can opt to further their Dharma studies in colleges in Taiwan or Hong Kong. 

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This is a travel blog to discuss about the eco travel and tourism in the Asia countries. I shall begin the blog by writing something about the eco nature in Malaysia cause it has one of the oldest rainforest in the world. My objectives is to be able to cover more eco nature travel informations in the Asia region and eventually all places around the world. I hope that this website could serve as a platform to exchange information among travelers who appreciate the beauty of the nature and willing to spread their love through responsible travel and ecotourism. I find that the world is too big for me to explore and it is impossible for me to experience every single place of the world. Thus, I welcome visitors to this website to contribute and share their travel experience through this website. Of course, the topics concerned would preferably be eco nature, cultural and social community service based. Other topics are welcome to be discussed in the Blog or Forum.

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