Peace and Quiet in the Highlands

dum dee dum dee dum dee dum...

It's already Tuesday, and time is actually passing pretty fast. zippedeedooda.... Last weekend, Kokopops and I ran away from everybody and almost everything and escaped to the highlands of Cameron in search of the remains of Jim Thompson, but we got totally distracted by the beauty of the tea plantations, the lovely cool weather and our gorgeous hotel, that we completely forgot about JT (May he rest in peace). The drive to the highlands took about 7 hours, in the WhaleShark's first long trip. We pushed him pretty hard, driving consistently at about 120 km/hr. The route up to the highlands from Tapah was pretty strenuous for car and driver, so imagine our elation upon arrival at The Lakehouse!

Such a lovely black and white house, with a meticulously maintained garden! We were greeted with a funky welcome drink - ginger essence with tonic water and lime (or something) before we were pleasantly upgraded to the suite (the only room in the house with a real fireplace - yaoza!).

Dinner was in the restaurant, Kokopops had the lamb while i had the norwegian salmon; after which we adjourned to the living room to watch tennis with the other guests. It was a slow, relaxing and quiet evening - something i had been desperately craving. The following day, we put on our hiking shoes and spent the day out visiting the lush tea plantations (Malaysia Boleh!), tasting fresh juicy strawberries, trekking through the jungle and past vegetable farms; before a refreshing shower and hot steamboat dinner in Tanah Rata.

On Sunday, we left the highlands after a late breakfast and postcards writing, and decided to check out a nearby waterfall - Lata Kinjang, and boy were we glad we went!! The waterfall is GINORMOUSLY HUMONGOUS, we could see it even when we were driving towards it in the distance. And when we stood there, in front of the waterfall, we were awed by its size and its power, and glad to see people sitting around having picnics and enjoying the afternoon sun.

You just gotta love nature!

Can't wait for another weekend to take WhaleShark out for another long drive somewhere exciting.

I miss living in a foreign country. Although new plus slope is not really home either, but I've spent so much time here that it doesn't feel foreign. Somehow, there is a stronger sense of being when i live in a foreign city, be in Grenoble or Bangkok. Come to think of it, this is the longest I've lived in one city in the last... 6 years.

Nawoo's website launch event is in its planning stages, and the venue and date is confirmed! Definitely looking forward to that one. The guestlist is getting longer by the day, which is very very exciting.

Monk gets special treatment tomorrow, as it indulges in the undivided attention of Madame Etoile. Sparks will fly!