Siu~V: Trip to Kellie's Castle and Cameron Highlands

This is about my recent trip to Cameron Highlands, which was 9 years since I last went with sis and family. Read about that last trip here.

A shot of my itinerary where much of it revolves around food, of course. It is always important to also note when a particular eating outlet closes as well to avoid any disappointment amidst a rumbling tummy. Alternative eating places are in hand too for cases where a traveling buddy gets too emo due to unexpectedly long queues.

Something sweet for breakfast to start the energy-packed day.

So, what's the deal with Kellie's Castle in Batu Gajah, Perak?

I've read about this haunted Scottish mansion and finally got to see it myself. Nope, no haunted sightings for me (even the ghosts would be insane to come out under the hot blazing sun), though I don't mind a little history lesson on Kellie's Castle. The story goes that some Scottish planter named William Kellie Smith and wife had started building this castle back in 1915 but unfortunately it was left unfinished due to his death from pneumonia. So what's left today is an abandoned castle filled with mysterious hidden rooms and a secret tunnel.

Check out the 'teh tarik'-like river that flows beneath.

Super blazing hot weather makes for good photography even for my ancient iPhone.

Here are some photos taken as we brisk through the castle's interior and exterior...

What lies beneath the basement was a pretty cooling wine cellar with an eerie feeling.

All other parts of the castle (all empty of course!) has a little short description

Want to know what everyone's staring at?

That's the main hall which one could only peer in through the gates.

As the castle was left unfinished back then, there weren't many places to wander around outside. Except for those bougainvillea bushes, the rest of the ruins were the original structures.

The supposedly haunted spot in the castle. A quick search on the Internet showed that back in 2014 there were midnight tours organised by some agencies for people to experience paranormal activity surrounding the castle. Brrrr, i'll pass.

Interesting spiral staircase which has its own take about where it leads to. Read on.

No one really took the time to read every description found around the castle, as it got quite crowded in some corners and everyone was masked up in the rather stuffy interior of the castle. So my approach was 'take photo first, read later' as everyone was shuffling their feet from room to room.

Going back out to the grounds of the castle.

On the roof top where it was much more airy, nevermind that the sun was still scorching hot.

Moving back down into the castle

Kellas House aka Kellie's Castle

Found their outdoor kitchen

What looked like an unfinished stove

Nice spot for photo taking

Majestically basking in the sun

Artist impression of Kellie's Castle.

After a short less than an hour tour, we headed to Ipoh for lunch and this is what we stumbled upon.

We ordered their most famous meat variety and signature acar.

Coffee is a must when food-hunting in Ipoh.

We continued our drive up to Cameron after lunch and it was the longest winding drive ever. It felt like an eternity just to complete 1km of curvy bends. We learnt a painful lesson, ie to avoid Cameron like the plague during school holidays, not unless you have the patience of a Buddhist monk!

Due to my last-minute accommodation booking, there weren't many choices for me and so I settled for Zenith Hotel located in Tanah Rata. The location was fine as food was easy to find and we didn't need to drive all the way up to Brinchang (where all the happening places in Cameron are!)

Our room was super spacious

The hotel is quite a new one hence everything here looks spick and span.

With the hotel in the background, there is a night market just a stone's throw away, ie a 5-minute walk downhill from the hotel. Walking back to the hotel is a free cardio work-out for everyone.

One of the many steamboat restaurants found in Cameron. Why the name 'apple' beats me.

I wanted to try out this halal place as it has both steamboat and grill, ala buffet style.

Huge place and almost packed to the brim, we were very quickly ushered to our table. Apart from bringing us our steamboat pot and grill pan, everything else is self-service, including the cutlery and utensils.

Vegetable bar has lots of selection.

Check out their meat and seafood soaking in marinade of sorts. Take as much as one can consume as waste not want not.

My favorites that night were their large fresh prawns and bamboo clams (check out their size!). Overall it is quite the value for money (unless one decides to eat only chicken!)

Zenith's buffet breakfast occupies a huge space.

What seems like a huge spread of breakfast goodies!

Guaranteed ample sitting spaces.

The spread.

Very promising. At first.

Sad-looking bowl of yogurt.

Wishing the hotel staff would be more diligent in cleaning up the mess

The many trays of food seen earlier turned out to be rather disappointing as they were either empty (food not replenished fast enough!) or its contents were not what I would expect from a 5-star hotel. Or did i get the number of stars wrong?

Potato, Sweet Potato and Tomato occupying one tray each...Bananas being served?

Could have been more creative in presentation of their mushroom pie

Seriously, Japanese toufu in oyster sauce?

What they claimed as 'Oden' was perhaps the most unappetizing-looking dish

Indeed this was definitely 'For Display Only' as it was left empty for the longest time

..before this lil fella was brought out.

No one bothered clearing our empty plates and bowls.

I do hope the hotel would buck up on their breakfast spread and services. I do think it is very crucial to impress the guests with a good wholesome breakfast experience before they start off their hectic schedule for the day.

Nevertheless, back to the highlight of my Cameron holiday - Flora Park located pretty high up in Brinchang. Nope you can't drive yourself to this floral heaven however your admission fee covers a short, bumpy and steep ride up...and down.

Frankly, if one has not been here before, it's best to not read on further (seriously, it's like spoilers sucking the fun out of this place!). It's advisable to be totally clueless and get bestoked with all the 'oohs and aahs' as you explore this floral paradise.

Here's what to expect from this upscale stunning flower park, which has an indoor and outdoor area.

Indoor section is closest to its entrance

Flowers were literally in full bloom EVERYWHERE you turn.

...from the floor to the ceilings

One simply cannot resist not taking any photos.

So much so, i truly appreciated all the hard work done to build all these magnificent flower fields.

Beautifully landscaped curvy pathways with walls of lavender made for stunning photo shoots.

Even with lots of visitors, the place is large enough for one to still occupy a nice spot for photo taking.

The kiasu-ness in me made me wear my floral dress just like most other (female) visitors. 😁

Interestingly, there are also few wooden patios built for small families or couples to enjoy their outdoor picnic.

Smart business concept.

I only wished the picnic area weren't so open to have passers-by gawking at picnickers eating their pastries and sipping tea.

Going through the myriad of flower fields again.

Finally out in the open-air section,

We were met with a flight of long curvy brick-lined stairway leading up to more surprises. There's definitely a European countryside feel to it but the steps (sometimes uneven and steep) could be quite daunting for the faint of heart so it's advisable to take it slow and easy.

I was amazed at the architectural design of the flower walls that accompanied us all along our climb.

A swing made for photo taking mid way up. Expect a queue for this.

Once you've reached the top, seeing this little achievement board will definitely put a smile on your face.

A mini cactus garden.

A couple of cafes at the peak boast some light meals and snacks for visitors looking for a place to chillax while enjoying the cool breeze.

This is as high as it gets.

Found some empty stools ourselves...

...to enjoy Cameron's famous Puku Ice cream.

Nice creamy strawberry ice cream stick.

Coming back down to the indoor area, enjoying hot steaming fat corn kernels. Really good, i must say.

Just some of the colorful array of flowers found at the park.

From the map, it seems that there's more to come!

At the time of our visit, entrance fees was RM 50 for adults (ie 12 yo and above). Can't recall paying for the kids though. 😏 For my first time visit, it was totally worth it. One would probably spend about 2 hours here (lesser for someone who is the 'see one flower, see all flowers' type). I'm guessing the admission fees are not cheap due to the high maintenance of this place plus returning customers' business is not something they could rely on. Unlike the zoo, a flower park is pretty much stagnant without moving active creatures.