On the fourth day of my trip, I joined a tour going up to the highlands. It was actually a last-minute decision to book this tour through Klook. It was a four-hour bus ride each way. I had woken up at 5 am because my stomach didn’t feel good (probably from swallowing river water or something I ate the previous day), and went to the pick-up point at Berjaya Times Square around 6 am. It was almost 11 am when we finally stepped down from the bus and out onto the streets. We were greeted by small gusts of cold air. The sun was hot, though, so it felt like being in an air-conditioned container with no roof.
🍓 AM – Strawberry Farm
Our first stop was a little pick-your-own strawberry farm. They handed out baskets with some small scissors. It was RM 60 per kg of berries. I didn’t know what 1kg of strawberries felt like, but I thought I was cutting it close and didn’t want to blow the day’s budget on strawberries alone, so I stopped at this. Surprisingly, this all only came up to RM 19. I wish I had picked more. The same amount would probably cost me double that in Brunei.
Our guide bought a packet of white strawberries and let us try them. It was sweeter than the red strawberries. He also gifted us all a small box of strawberries each. I started the trip with 0 strawberries and left with approximately 30 strawberries on my person.
🍱 PM – Lunch Break
After the strawberry farm, it was already noon so we had lunch at a golf club. I’m not a golf person, so I didn’t really take photos here.
💐 PM – Agro Market
We continued on to our next stop. Here, we could get things to eat, buy souvenirs, see some animals, and enjoy the beautifully curated gardens.
Cute mural. The mural artist really likes holland lops.
At the bird sanctuary, the caretaker gave out handfuls of corn to feed the birds with. Look at those teeny tiny little feet! Despite not being a bird, I managed to accidentally get some corn in my hair and on my dress. Don’t ask.
A polite green fellow.
Peacock!
I could’ve sworn I saw a brown alpaca, but when I got closer to the hill it was nowhere to be seen. There was a friendly sheep, though. Someone from my tour group was feeding it some grass. I asked where he got the grass. He explained that most of the grass on the side that the sheep was on had been grazed already, but on the other side of the steps, the grass was still fresh and untouched since the sheep had no access there. He pulled up a handful of the fresh grass from the ground and passed it to me.
Sure enough, every time the sheep heard the sound of fresh grass being pulled up from the other side, it would come over to the fence and wait expectantly. The grass in my hand disappeared quickly, methodically, the way paper disappears when you feed it to a shredder. The sheep was very gentle, there was no sensation of animal teeth on my skin (I can’t say the same for when I give my rabbits treats). I have a newfound appreciation for sheep. They’re so docile and sweet. I never really had an opinion of them before then, because I’ve never had any prior interactions with them.
Head scritches for a fluffy friend. The wool was so soft!
Next: the cactus exhibit.
Thanks, now I don’t have to go to Santorini anymore. Kidding. It’s very charming.
I feel like I’ve dreamed of places similar to this before. There’s something about the aura, the way the light shines through the foliage that makes me feel like I’m lucid dreaming.
🌿 Tea Plantation
We set off for the plantation around 2 pm, I think. I didn’t know anyone from the group, but a Kiwi fellow solo traveller broke the ice and we walked down the tea plantation together. I appreciated having someone to talk to and share the experience with as we explored the fields.
The landscape looks like something out of a postcard. It reminds me of those terraced rice fields in Vietnam (not that I have been there yet). It also sort of looks like that old Windows XP default desktop wallpaper, doesn’t it?
There was the option to either walk the entire way, or hire a buggy.
“Are we taking the buggy?”
I said I didn’t come all the way here just to ride a vehicle down the trail road. I would later eat my words, because the sun was blisteringly hot and I got burnt to a crisp despite spending five full minutes on sunscreen application. I guess that’s what I get for cheaping out on sunscreen. The heat also made me feel fatigued, and it didn’t help that there were a bunch of workers fumigating some of the tea bushes nearby. Once in a while, a cool breeze would float by, only to vanish as quickly as it had come. After turning back from the giant sign to retrace our steps back to the teahouse, I was starting to wish I had taken the buggy instead when I had the chance.
I love this picture. It’s so ominous. No context, just the word TEA looming threateningly and the sun beating down on it, like some kind of fever dream about being raptured. In defense of my terrible photo-taking skills, it was impossible for me to take a picture of the full sign in its entirety at such close range. If I stepped back any further I would fall backwards over the safety railing and possibly roll down the hill. I could’ve taken a panorama, but I was out of breath from the stairs, and my legs were tired, so I didn’t want to walk the entire length of the sign just to get the whole thing.
After walking back to the cafe from the fields, I had a refreshing iced strawberry tea. Then we had a short stroll through the souvenir shops where I picked a few things, then it was time to go back to the bus.
🏞️ Waterfall
I forgot the name, but our final stop was at a famous local waterfall.
It was past 9pm by the time I was dropped back off at Berjaya Times Square, possibly due to less-than-ideal traffic conditions. By then, I was already pretty hangry. As it was almost ten, the mall itself was closing down as I stood around the entrance waiting for a Grab to take me back to my hotel. Later on, back in my room, I washed my face and looked up in the mirror. I was shocked by how burnt red my face and arms were. Well, that’s how the day went.