Ethan's First Holiday (Cameron Highlands Feb 2010)

It was Ethan's first holiday trip and we show took many pictures to commemorate the occasion!

18th February 2010 (Thursday)

AGAIN, we had to wake up a tad earlier. But since Alan was driving, I tried to let him sleep in more. We actually left the house around 930am, headed to TMC to buy batteries (for the GPS had konked out on us) and then started our journey.

The drive was smooth and the son was cooperative (touch wood) and by the time we got to Avant choco factory in Cameron Highlands, Ethan was still asleep. I wrapped him in the sling and introduced him to the chilly air.

It was very unfortunate that there were SO MANY tourists in CH. Apparently many will visit during CNY period (we had already been forewarned). This totally spoiled the quaint charm the place had..but , like Alan said, the business have to survive, right???

We headed straight for Hotel De La'Ferns, a relatively new establishment. Not too bad, considering the price was right. We retired to bed after our lunch of beef horfun and lamb rack and woke up at around 5+pm to get ready to head out for dinner. We roamed around the area and had a drink at the sweltering Starbucks Cafe (which was not there previously when I visited the area 2 years again). Then, had our zichar dinner at Mayflower Restaurant.

19th February 2010 (Friday)
We woke up ard 8+am and had a leisure breakfast before heading out. First stop was EQ farm. We paid Rm20 for an empty styrofoam container and then proceeded into the garden to pluck their minute strawberries. Sad to say, they paled in comparison with those we had plucked and fed on in 2008. Now, due to the influx of tourists, the strawberries left were small and sour. SIGH.

A KS aunty squeezed me into the corner and I was carrying my LV (diaper bag) , VideoCam bag and Baby Ethan. So my LV ended up squashing some strawberries on the plants and the juice actually stained the bag. :P Stupid KS Aunty :P

I gave up trying to carry all the barang (including kid) and pluck strawberries so I left the garden with Ethan and let Alan pluck till his heart's content. hahaha He emerged pretty victorious, considering there was nothing much left to offer him in the first place.

After the unpleasant incident, we left and ventured to the Big bee apiary. Nothing much. We decided to save our RM for Uncle's Bee Farm (ok that's not the real name hor...) Two years ago, we had visited this farm and enjoyed bottles of honey there. Alan had bought bars of soap that have magical effect on his bodily issues. hahaha.

We bought and bought like there was no tomorrow and left the farm with 6 big bottles of honey (1 small bottle free), 3 small jars of honey and 11 boxes of soap (buy 10 , 1 free). hahaha. Alan taught Ethan about the birds and the BEES at the farm too. ahhaha

We headed next to Water Cress valley and were fascinated by the beautiful plains of water cress in the valley and esp by the charcoal steamboat. Alan immediately paid a deposit to make a Reservation of that evening's dinner meal. hahaha

We left for "59" a mark we had made on the GPS to look around. It was a small lil' market-like place (one of the many in CH). But it had nothing to offer. So we went back to our hotel for a rest.

Back at the hotel room, we introduced Ethan to "strawberries". He held them in his minute palms and smelled them. hahaha. So cute.

Our dinner appt was at 7pm and the place was pretty crowded. Ethan woke up just as the food was served. Initially he was OK and sat quietly, enjoying the chilly air. THEN he started his Monstrous Ways. He wailed and wailed and e'one was staring.. Sigh. Alan and I agreed that if we ever (CHOY) had another child, there wld be NO ONE eating at the table (as we two wld be too busy carrying and cajoling the children). Heaven Forbid that from Happening!!

By the end of the dinner (9pm) we were exhausted and so was little Ethan. Back at the hotel, we found out that he had made a stinkie - the real reason for the wailing. :P

20th February 2010 (Saturday)

Having slept in and getting ready for breakfast only at 10am, we felt more well-rested than before. After the check-out, our first stop was Healthy Strawberry Farm. deciding against self-plucking, we purchased 7 small punnets of strawberries for only RM30. Also, an auntie was selling organic veges and fruits. I bought a bag of cherry tomatoes / sweet potatoes/ 7 sweet corn. YUM.

Alan stopped his car along the roadside a couple of minutes later (because our car wasn't full) and bought 6 small honey melons and a huge watermelon for personal consumption. hahaa. Then, we headed for the renowned BOH TEA plantation and cafe II. We had wanted to visit this particular one because of the beautiful scenery but had taken the wrong turn the day before and ended up at another not so spectacular one. Initially, we hadn't even realised that there were TWO!

After a long queue to buy our scones and apple strudel, we left Cameron Highands for Home sweet Home.