Keeping good on my NYE resolution…we made a trip just outside of KL for the weekend…and it was surprising good fun! It turned out to be an amazing weekend packed full with the goodness of frolicking in a fruit orchard, swimming under the stars, close encounters with wild animals and cool afternoons in Malacca.
Fint and I got an invite to stay at a friend’s private Tropical Fruit Orchard just outside of Malacca and to sleep in a Kampung…so we jumped at the opportunity!
The day was a hot and muggy one…but it was well worth it to brave the heat and see the cool clothing boutiques, local artist shops and the Straits Mosque…and I’m sure that if we visit it at a better time of day our photos will turn out much better of it.
We got to the orchard just before dusk…they gave us plates of fresh fruit…grown right on the orchard! Some were super tasty (the passion fruit) and some were just weird (bread fruit). But all good fun to sample. After we ate they gave us a dusk tour of the orchard, it is over 100 acres of tropical fruit trees.
That evening, we had what can only be described as a Malaysian redneck experience! The super friendly orchard grounds men showed us a very interesting time. First they took us out into the woods and said… “I’ll be back, going to catch a bird” and sure enough he disappeared off into the dark and came back holding a wild bird! After that they took us a bit farther down the trail to see a Lilly which only blooms in the moonlight…it was beautiful. Next to my shock, he seen something wiggling in the water below and preceded to catch a snake! After that incident, I told him that I was going to keep a watchful eye on him…didn’t want him to scare me with anymore creatures! They then said they would have a bon fire…where I imagined an American style bon fire…a fire, with chairs arranged around a fire pit where you sit and tell stories and maybe roast a marshmallow or two…not in this Malay version…they preceded to light a huge fire and whip off their shirts, tie their hair back, and started fire spitting! Quite an experience! Maybe I can talk my brothers into this bon fire entertainment trick for our next family reunion! On the way back to the kampung house they stopped and showed us various tropical fruits growing along the way, such as, the lipstick fruit, which was very interesting…this fruit you can paint yourself with the seeds, but cannot eat it.
Night Blooming Lilly
When we arrived at our kampung, we were excited to find a private swimming pool with water fountains to keep the water moving (so no mosquitoes!). We decided to be a bit adventurous and take a swim under the stars! After such a hot day, it felt nice to cool down and relax. As the stickiness of the day melted away so did the stress of the week…and we knew this was going to be a great weekend! Then off to sleep in our mosquito netted bed, while listening to the calming sounds of the chirping insects and bellowing frogs that were wide awake in the orchard…we had an early start planned for the next day.
The next morning we got up before sunrise (gasp!) to take photos of the orchard and to see all of the fruit trees before the hot sun came out to scold us. We had so much fun frolicking through the orchards and driving our golf cart on the trails…and the temperature was perfect (no sweating)! We saw tropical fruits of all varieties…from mangos, to coconuts, to jackfruit, and breadfruit. We picked fresh limes and bananas from the trees. The smell of the limes was amazing…the bananas were still green and hard and unripe. Fint even got chased by an 8 foot ostrich, as the farm has a few of them roaming about freely. And we were advised to “play dead” if one really comes in for the kill…cannot outrun these guys; luckily though, Fint was able to get back into the “safety” of our golf cart before this big guy got too angry.
Our Kampung
After we took our photos and had our fill of fruit trees we decided to head back into Malacca for some lunch and a look around before we headed back to KL. We had delicious burgers at an extraordinary café called, The Baboon House (to see what made it extraordinary, just have a look at the photos). And chatted with the friendly owner…where he gave us a guided tour of his “work in progress” gardens and fish ponds. After promising to come back soon (and we will make good on that) we headed onto the road to check out a yacht club in Port Dickson and then home back to KL…feeling refreshed and ready to get back to the daily grind of KL.
Food at The Baboon House
More photos from around Malacca:
Bonus KL Weekenders: Rainforest Canopy Walk at F.R.I.M. (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia)
Since I am one week late for getting this blog up…you get the bonus of our trip this weekend! We got a call from our good friends Mike and Caroline who invited us along on a hike to the rope bridges of the rainforest canopy walk that they were doing early on Saturday morning. We had never been to that particular spot…so we said of course we would love to come…even though we had to get up at 8:00 am on a Saturday morning!
It was well worth the early rise…the morning weather was great (as usual) and the hike did not disappoint. (It was also a good butt workout…so no need to hit the gym that day!) The canopy walk was beautiful and the narrow swaying bridges linked up across the tree tops offer unusual and spectacular views from the roof of the rainforest over 100 feet above the forest floor below. On the hike down we were advised of a short way and a long way, the long way consisted of a waterfall! So of course, we took that option. It was very refreshing to splash our arms and faces in the cool water before finishing our hike.
While on this hike it was amazing to feel like we were trekking deep into the jungle and so far from the city, when in reality you are just on the outskirts of KL. This trail is alive with insects…including the thousands of ants busily working on the trail that we stopped to watch for a moment. The sound of the jungle is evidence of their existence and is simply beautiful to hear. The forest air was buzzing with the humming and chirping of millions of insects in their lush green jungle home, busily going about their day; a nice break from the city sounds of honking and sirens in the busy concrete jungle that is our home.
Now I must add that this hike was nearly ruined by my fear of spiders! Before ever hitting the trail my spider vision caught sight of a HUGE spider in a HUGE web just on the side of the road. This spider was bigger than my hand…with ugly spindly legs…in a spider web that was well over 6 feet across! I had a melt down…Fint had to talk me down out of it…our friends asked if I was joking…Fint reassured them I was not…but in the end he was able to get me through it and I braved myself into this spider filled jungle trail…I am a brave girl! The next spider I seen was on my way out of the trail…and this one was even bigger than the first! When I seen it, it took me by such surprise that I screamed…and made everyone around me (even the spider) jump! Not surprisingly I was glad this hike was over and I was safe from these “killer” spiders of Malaysia…for a while at least!
Before we left we had a tea at a traditional Malay tea house; where we had strange tea concoctions that promised a wide array of health benefits. Not the best tasting tea…but when you will cure all of your ailments by drinking it…who complains!?
We finished up by a delicious lunch at one of mine and Fint’s favorite cafés. In Mont Kiara, Solaris, there is, The Departure Lounge. Where they have every travel guide book…for every country…made! You can pass hours reading about destinations you never even imagined as a “tourist” spot!
I have to say… “killer” spiders aside… I really enjoyed this hike and am looking forward to the next one!
Caroline and Mike
Caroline and I in the tea house...all sweaty and exhausted!
