Agro Delight Tour - Part 2 [Galeria Time Tunnel & Hydroponics Farm] @Cameron Highland [Malaysia] by Titiwangsa Tours

Following up with part one of the Agro Delight Tour at Cameron Highlands, we arrived right outside Galeria Time Tunnel in the midst of misty rain that further enhanced the beauty of the highlands.

Galeria Time Tunnel

The time tunnel was actually not part of the itinerary (by right, it should be a visit to a huge strawberry farm next door where we can embark on some meaningless strawberry picking) but i have heard so much about it; i managed to convince my parents it would be way more interesting. 

Here we go after paying an entrance fee of five ringgit (RM 5) per person (adult).

Dad horsing around with a lift sized picture of an aborigine common in Cameron Highlands. I have yet to visit an aboriginal village in the area; guess that would be a must on the cards for my next visit! 

Other than the aboriginal exhibit, all the rest was a nostalgic journey down memory lane. In the case of the above photograph, i admit it can still be found in Singapore; in a karang guni shop that is!

To my parents, it was a nice collection of items they could identify with; many of which have accompanied them when they were growing up in what was then a pretty under-developed country. 

Even i was not spared in remembering my carefree childhood spent in the village (yes, i am true blue kampong boy); our kitchen back then looked somewhat liked the above! Grey cement floor, wooden furniture and the memorable rattan baby chair!!! 

With over 3,000 collectibles and memorabilia on display, the time tunnel was the brainchild of See Kok Shan, who collected so much 'junk' over the years; he finally decided to showcase them for the benefit of everyone.

Karen Au, a personal friend and fellow colleague, who is a cup / mug  collector, would definitely love to get her hands on these two cupboards! I can recognise quite a few that were frequently given away as free gifts when you buy certain products.

There were a total of eight sections in the gallery and i personally find that time was a bit too tight for people like us who signed up for a tour. I would strongly recommend self-drive motorists to spend some time there as there were ample photo opportunities!

History buffs would enjoy going through the hundreds of black / white photographs of Cameron Highlands in the past. Some places remained the same while some, like Brinchang Town, have undergone major changes since then.

For Singaporeans, there was even a picture of Lee Kwan Yew and Lee Hsien Loong that was taken almost sixty years ago, way back in 1954!

Hm.... this roly poly statue looked kind of familiar although i could not quite recollect where i have seen it before.

In the 80s, this kind of game console was the in thing and despite the terrible graphics (compared to what we have now) and simplistic gameplay, many kids like myself would spend hours after hours playing the games!

Unlike the battery powered cars we see nowadays (some even came with remote controls), kids during my time were just as delighted to foot pedal these heavier metal 'vehicles' down the gravel paths. 

A classic oven! 

Hacks was the favourite brand for sweets; bet many of us would remember the three flavours! Orange which was rich in vitamin C, purple for blackcurrant and black for spicy! Which was your favourite?! 

The darlie toothpaste we know now was originally known as darkie! The English name was changed after it was bought over by Colgate Palmolive as it was considered as racially derogatory.

Aerial view of the three main townships and smaller settlements in Cameron Highlands. For those who are unaware, the three towns are Brinchang, Tanah Ratah and Ringlet.

Malaysians are fiercely patriotic and it's sad we don't really see such patriotism in Singapore.

Thankfully, the gallery wasn't that crowded on a Friday!

Mom playing with the charcoal irons; by the time i remember things, we were already using electronic irons which are way lighter without the danger of inhaling too much smoke! 

This, i can identify! Many households then would often have one unit at home and the most favoured brand was Singer. Till now, i still could not quite understand how sewing machine works.

Old school cashier! No such thing as scanner hor! 

A typical kopitiam setup in the olden days. As you can see, Milo was extremely popular and it was kind of surprising when i heard that some people outside this region have never even heard of this chocolate malt drink. 

Street exhibit.

Mahjong room in the older days! If i ever get my own flat, i would buy a mahjong table which can be converted into a dining table when not in use! Gang of Four, when mahjong?! Hands are itchy! 

You still remember your childhood haircuts?! Mine was a friendly Indian barber who would not hesitate to give me sweets whenever i behaved well on the chair. Unlike some kids, i don't quite understand what was so horrifying about a simple haircut! 

Dad enjoying his short-lived stint as a shopkeeper of a supposedly profitable provision shop! It's such a pity that such family owned provision shops are considered as sunset business in economic driven Singapore.

Dumex milk powder!!!! Since i could remember things, i have a strong aversion towards the smell of milk powder. My standard content in a milk bottle was cereals! 

Want to relax? Had a cuppa kopi from the coffee shop next door. 

As my group mates were still picking strawberries, i had to order something to chill out! Nothing's better than a hot drink and two slices of garlic bread! 

The incredibly big strawberry farm! According to our guide, Jason, Kok Lim Strawberry Farm was one of the largest in the highlands and served the sweetest strawberries.

Hydroponics Farm

Next up, a visit to a farm which i visited EVERY SINGLE TIME i am in Cameron Highlands! Reason being it was within walking distance from Brinchang town! 

That hotel is Rosa Passadena, which was our recent choice of accommodation in Cameron Highlands! A walk from the hotel to this hydroponics farm (it's actual name was Big Red Strawberry Farm) was roughly ten minutes or less. 

You can find a similar picture somewhere in my blog. The differences are that it was taken a few years ago and there was no one bringing us around!

The colour vibrancy, often a determinant of the freshness, was amazing right?!?! It uses natural spring water in its cultivation! No wonder Cameron Highlands vegetables had such a fresh crispness texture!

Yield is much higher for water cultivation (known as hydroponics) as it takes a maximum of only 45 days whereas soil based cultivation takes up to 90 days before the vegetables can be harvested. 

A few more photographs before i end this post! 

=====

How to Book? 

Price of Tour?

Check out my first post HERE!

My last post for the Agro Delight Tour is out!
Click HERE!

Juice Cubes - Another Addiction Similar to Candy Crush!

Sorry for the lack of updates! I have been pretty occupied with quite a number of things in the past few days and this has significantly worsened the backlog! :(

One of the items that i have been busy with was this candy crush lookalike game known as Juice Cubes! Coincidentally, this also happened to be developed by Rovio; the very same company that gave us Angry Birds, which i highly suspected to be the 'main culprit' for my De Quervain's Tendinitis! 

As i mentioned above, the gameplay was suspiciously similar to Candy Crush; there are maps for you to advance, you have hearts for which you can use to play each level and there are functions to request for pieces of map or additional hearts from friends.

Objective must be completed before you can win the level. It takes a two-prong approach; one of which is the minimal score of one star (this is tied to score) and the other can be in ways like collecting a certain number of juice cubes etc within a maximum allowable moves. Once again, just like Candy Crush! 

It takes luck, one of my ex AIC colleagues used to say about Candy Crush! In the case of Juice Cubes, i believe strategy works although i especially hate the sand castles that were built to take over the cubes quickly as you deliberate on your next move!

At the moment, it doesn't take me long to clear each level and although i played it during my commute to and from work, i didn't face that competitive obsession i had with Angry Birds! At least i didn't attempt to achieve three stars for all the levels! 

There were times i almost wanted to click on the button to get a few gold bars to clear the occasional extremely difficult levels but think about it, 15 gold bars cost S$2.58, which doesn't give you much competitive edge beyond one level and would be better spent in purchasing quite a decent game via App Store. 

Strategy, as i said, works better. 

Just remember the above four ways you can clear the juice cubes, as it could result in very different results when you combine two specials together (applicable when you cut at least four of the same juice cubes in one go).

=====

So what are you waiting for? Go and download so you can send me the hearts and pieces of maps! 

"Instant" Feast - Where Instant Meals are the Stars!

I have a bunch of really crazy colleagues; please don't get me wrong, it is craziness in a positive way that is somewhat similar to my cheerful, silly yet wacky persona.

So, the nutty group decided to hold an 'instant' feast where everyone is supposed to indulge in anything that can be immediately consumed with minimal preparation and cooking. The first thing that came to mind was of course instant noodles! 

It would be boring to have ONLY instant noodles; there was silky cold tofu topped with fragrant shallots and savoury kicap sauce, there were Seng Choon instant braised eggs, made on-the-spot vegetable salad, canned sausages and even a can of peach for dessert! 

Another colleague kindly supplied a huge tub of home cooked noodles just in case instant noodles were insufficient! Okay, that defeated the purpose of 'instant' feast but it was a gesture we greatly appreciated especially when they turned out really good! 

Diet aside and let the feast begin! 

Conclusion - great company but i was so so so full..... 

Nonetheless an indulgent start to 2014.

Next up on the cards, potluck!