Escape to Cameron Highlands to de-stress

By Sharen Kaur

It has been a while since I travelled to Cameron Highlands and after much persuasion from a friend, I decided to make my way up, also to de-stress myself as I have been under a lot of pressure. I needed cool days and cooler nights!

Having recently bought myself a Peugeot 308 Turbo, I decided what better time also to test its performance.

When I was ready, off packing I went for a lovely weekend getaway. Having stayed at the Strawberry Park Resort almost 10 years ago, choosing accommodation was easy for me.

Strawberry Park Resort is certainly one of the prettiest resorts in Malaysia, surrounded by virgin jungle with lovely mountain views. The breath taking natural surrounding offer comfort, peace and quiet, a distance from the hustle and bustle of daily city life.

Strawberry Park Resort (Source:Strawberry Park Resort)

The resort is one of the first few holiday homes that came up in Cameron Highlands. It was built in 1983, and did undergo several rounds of upgrading after the opening in 1985. It is ideally located amidst a 7-acre hill between the hamlets of Tanah Rata and Brinchang. The cool temperature of between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius makes it an ideal retreat for holiday makers.

With a "Resort Above All" tagline, Strawberry Park is the highest holiday home in Cameron Highlands. And in almost any direction you look, there is a picturesque mass of soothing green, sometimes punctuated by hints of mist.

The resort has eight blocks of walk-up studio rooms and apartments with 148 units, all tastefully furnished. The rooms are averagely about 65 per cent occupied through out the year and majority of the guests are from Europe and the Middle East. Peak season is usually between May and September, and year-end.

The room rates are currently doing between RM320 and RM480 per room a night. While it may seem a bit expensive if compared to the rest of the resorts in Cameron Highlands, in return you get a peaceful and tranquil locale which money can't buy and other places can't offer as much. The environment is just right to recharge your batteries and rejuvenate your soul before heading downhill again back to daily life!

The last time I stayed over at the resort I booked myself a studio room, which was more than sufficient for two. This time, after hearing so much about the newly refurbished units, I decided for a change to take the one bedroom apartment. The apartment was spacious. And, in comparison with a regular hotel room, it is more than double the size. The apartment had a small living room, good enough to comfortably enjoy movies on the big screen. The balcony outside the living room gave an amazing view of the virgin forest. And when it rains, the view does get better.

View from the balcony

View from the balcony

The apartment has no air-conditioning or fan. But worry not as the unit is cooling almost anytime of the day thanks to its proper ventilation. For those not use to cold weather, you could shiver during the night hours.

Since I wasn't up to driving anywhere except to visit the Boh Tea and Bharat Tea Plantations for a hot cuppa, I stayed most of the time in the apartment. The bed was comfortable and sleep was peaceful as there was no noise from traffic.

Strawberry Park Resort has numerous food and beverage outlets such as the Jim Thompson Terrace, Tudor Grill and Strawberry Court, which offer an all-day dining experience, serving a wide selection of delectable local, Thai and Western cuisine. If you are not up to driving out then the restaurants are good to go and the food reasonably priced.

Smoked Salmon

If you are up to a few rounds of drinks, there is the Tudor Lounge to relax and unwind. And to add to your delight, the resort even houses the Strawberry Club, where you could party till the wee hours in the morning.

History of Cameron Highlands

The history of Cameron Highlands goes back to 1885 when a British colonial government surveyor, William Cameron, discovered it during a mapping expedition of the Titiwangsa Range. At that time Cameron and his companion, Kulop Riau were travelling using elephants to carry them to explore the Titiwangsa Range. They started their journey from Tanjung Rambutan in Perak and headed towards the south-east direction. A few months into travelling they reached the summit of Mount Pondok Challi. It was from the summit that Cameron saw a plateau, of an elevation of 4,400 to 4,500 ft, at an altitude of 6000 ft (1,800 metres) above sea-level.

The location of the plateau was confirmed by a consensus of reports in the 1920s from subsequent expeditions. Forty years after Cameron had sung the beauty of Cameron Highlands to the world; it received its first step towards the resplendent glory that we see today. Cameron Highlands was proposed by Sir George Maxwell as a hill resort in 1925.

The highlands become more popular for health, pleasure, gardening and farming purposes. Over the years roads were constructed, cottages, hotels and holiday apartments built, recreational areas and parks planned, vegetable and fruit farms tilled and tea plantations were established.

At the Tea House

It is said that the highlands' first holiday-makers were wealthy Chinese businessman who sought the solitude of the hills by building a mansion for seasonal visits. With the building of rest-houses and hotels, numerous British civil servants stationed in Malaya flocked to the highlands, taking to the cool weather as if they were back home in England.

When the Second World War broke out, the highlands saw no more visitors except for holidaying Japanese officials at various rest houses and bungalows during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya. When the war was over, holiday-makers and nature enthusiasts returned to the highlands.

Tours

Strawberry Park Resort offers several tour packages, saving you the hassle of going through the brochures and wasting hours deciding what to do, and where to go.

There is the half-day country side Tour, taking visitors to the famous Boh and Bharat Tea Plantations, local fruit and vegetable markets, the butterfly garden, the Sampo Chinese Buddhist Temple, the Cactus and Flower Garden and the all time popular Strawberry Farm.

Other activities at the highlands that you could partake in include visiting the countryside, the hill forest, mossy forest and survival village walks, Orang Asli village tour, Jim Thompson walk, Kampung Attap walk, Rafflesia tour and the Gunung Brinchang tour.

Orang Asli Village (Source:Strawberry Park Resort)

I have been on some of these tours when I first visited Cameron Highlands about 10 years ago so gave it a skip to focus on my stay at the resort.

Location

There are few routes that you could take to Cameron Highlands and up to the resort. The highlands is accessible via the North South Highway. You could exit at Tapah or Simpang Pulai to get to the resort.

If you are coming from Penang, it is recommended that you use the Simpang Pulai (Ipoh) access road. This route will take you a total of approximately 3 hours. And if you are coming from Kuala Lumpur, you may use either the Tapah Road or Simpang Pulai road. Both routes will take you approximately 3 to 3.5 hours.

Just for your information, it would take you about 1.5 hours from Kuala Lumpur to reach the foothill of Tapah via the North-South Highway. And from the foothill to Cameron Highlands, it would take another 1.5 hours. If you want to come through Simpang Pulai, it would take you about 30 minutes to reach the foothill from Tapah, and an additional one hour to hit Cameron Highlands.

Alternatively, you could travel by rail from Kuala Lumpur to Tapah, which would take about 2.5 hours, or by air from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh, which would also take approximately 2.5 hours.

Strawberry Park Resort does arrange transfers to and from the railway station. And if you want, special arrangements can be made to pick you up from the airport in Ipoh.