Cameron Highlands Tea Plantation, Malaysia
Showing posts with label cameron highlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cameron highlands. Show all posts

Friday, October 15, 2010

PhotoHunt - Miniature

On a trip to Cameron Highlands last year, I noticed a variety of beautiful potted miniature cacti and succulents at Cactus point. It has the best collection of miniature cactus as well as other exotic plant species here. I couldn't help but be captivated by their structures and beauty, there are so many to choose from. I bought a few pots of miniature cactus but to my disappointment, they didn't bloom well as they couldn't survive in such humid tropical environments.


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Friday, October 16, 2009

PhotoHunt - My choice

One of my fondest memories of Cameron Highlands was visiting a corn farm in Tringkap. It was a rewarding experience taking the kids to see the vast expanse of corns because in the city they don't ever get to experience anything like that.


If you've never had sweet corn tasted directly from the farm, you're missing out on some sweet, juicy and mouth-watering corns. It’s worth coming to Cameron Highlands for that alone.


It was incredible seeing rows and rows of corn stalks as far as the eye can see.


More interestingly, the local farmers can harvest baby corn and mature sweet corn ears from the same plant, how cool.

As can be seen in this picture, this is a baby corn. It is sweet corn which can be harvested when still tiny and immature. The cob at harvest is roughly three inches in length, and the tiny kernels are edible and popular in Asian cooking. The baby corn ears are picked by hand immediately when the silks emerge from the ear tips, leaving only one full sized ear to go to mature for sweet corn. This will ensure each corn would attain the maximum juiciness and sweetness.


Upon maturity, the sweet corns are picked early in the morning when the ears are cool, before the heat of the day is oppressive. Normally, sweet corns are ready for harvest when ears are plump, silks are dry, and kernels are juicy and milky. They are grown primarily for local markets.

I was told that the height of their natural sweetness lasts within a day and then the sugar starts converting to starch causing it to lose some of its sweet flavour. That explains why the taste of freshly picked corn is tempting to nibble but don't eat too much of it though, because raw corns will give you a nut case of toilet runs. Don't say I didn't warn you!




First Commenter
Wishing on a Falling Star

Friday, August 7, 2009

PhotoHunt - Low

This is another different sight of tea plantation that we've visited in Cameron Highlands. On the last leg of our trip, we stopped at the Cameron Valley tea plantation before heading to KL. As expected, the view overlooking the valleys are spectacular with low neatly, trimmed tea bushes covering undulating low hills like a green carpet. And with the low cool temperature all year round, Cameron Highlands is an ideal place to grow tea leaves.


Incase you are wondering, tea pickers begin their work among low hills before sunrise. Tea leaves are then transported to nearby factories for further processing.

Everything is so lush greenery
A close up, low angled view of the tea leaves.


First Commenter - Lina

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Cactus Valley

Apart from Cactus Point, Cactus Valley has the best collection of cactus as well as other exotic plant species in Cameron Highlands. Some plants in this valley were believed to be at least 60 years old. I was fascinated by the wide array of lovely flowers of different colors and shapes cultivated in the highlands and you won't see such plants elsewhere in Malaysia. I've always enjoyed viewing the majestic beauty of fresh flowers and they were well maintained and you will find abundance of these plants in this nursery.

Some plants and cactus were put up for sale and some people were wondering if I bought any cactis. Unfortunately, I didn't buy any as you have to keep the climatic conditions in mind for them to grow well. Some species need special care and it is necessary to take into account whether they can adapt to different humidity, temperature, soil, sunlight and the amount of water levels. A couple of years ago I bought some pots of cactus and sadly, they didn’t grow properly and didn’t bloom at all. :( So, the thought of getting one has not crossed my mind as it is very difficult to weed around these guys and I couldn't bear the thought of seeing them being perished again.

















I would very much loved to get these plants home and i would have been in a cheery mood everyday. :)

First Commenter - Ayie

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Cactus

Cactus Point is one of the main attractions in Cameron Highlands. It is a wholesale and retail of cactus nursery with a nice exhibit of different specimens. I did a fair amount of touring looking for unique plants and cactus. As it turned out, I did not have to go very far. The best and among the greatest part of the cactus were all right in front of our eyes. I was amazed by all of the different varieties of cactus. They were lovely and well tended. Even my kids were fascinated by the colourful cacti due to the spikes and prickles. For cacti enthusiasts, you'll find the spiky plants interesting and amazing. :)











First Commenter - Lori

Monday, June 8, 2009

Sungai Palas Tea Plantation


tea plantations are the main tourist attraction of Cameron Highlands.





During the holiday season, it was not surprising to see many bus loads of people coming from all over the country. It's quite the norm to be caught in traffic jam around town and the tourist spots during the peak season. So, instead of covering the usual tourist attractions, we decided to take a less traveled path which was leisurely hiking up to Gunung Brinchang, the highest peak in CH. Since it was only a 2D 1N short trip, we only managed to visit the Sungai Palas Tea Plantation, Cactus Point, the famous morning and night market and Cameron Valley apart from the farm visit.

It was notoriously not an easy drive to the tea plantation with the winding, narrow mountain roads filled with sharp bends at some stretches. There is ample parking space here along the road though and this is also a great spot for taking photos. You can turn off your car’s air-cond and experience the cool natural air- cond on the highlands. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity of visiting and enjoying our cuppa at the Boh Tea Center as the visiting hours ended at 4.30p.m. :( So we ended up taking plenty of photos all the way up, admiring the breathtaking views, enchanting mountains while soaking in the cool, fresh air of the highlands. FYI, the tea center is closed every Monday and visiting hours are from 9.00am to 4.30pm.

Plans were made for us to dine for a specially prepared steamboat dinner later in the evening. After dinner, we explored the Brinchang night market where it comes alive every Friday and Saturday nights. Apart from the usual fruits and vegetables, lovely souvenirs are available and not to mention the tempting aroma of freshly cooked snacks and I just couldn't resist buying some of those yummylicious satay, nasi kerabu, to name a few.

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