Bukit Tinggi

I just came back from Bukit Tinggi!!

Not the Bukit Tinggi garden near my house ok, it’s the Bukit Tinggi in Pahang where the famous “French Village” is located. My lab’s biggest supplier had organized a user day where all their product users were invited to this “Lawatan sambil Belajar” trip. I had the chance to go with my manager since the big boss 747 her at the last minute – as usual.

A total of 3 buses headed there on Wednesday morning with the organizing staffs and users from different sectors from all over the country. It only took us an hour an a half to reach Bukit Tinggi from KL. The road was even narrower and winder than the route to Cameron Highland. I nearly threw up on the way down.

Bukit Tinggi lies around 2,500 feet above sea level. Everyone thought it might be cold there but NO coz I could even break a sweat there. The place that we were going is actually named Colmar Tropicale. It is so-called the “French Village” because it is a replica of a collection of buildings from a village in France dating back to the 16th Century. It's surrounded by lush tropical forest land and there were pine trees everywhere!

Their hospitality was superb. As we walked along the drawbridge into the village, we were greeted by the “villagers” fully dressed up in cute or colourful costumes. They played the guitars, sang and danced to the tune “where’s the sunshine” nonstop till the last guest stepped in. I was thinking they must be very “sien” singing the phrase over and over again just to greet the visitors. Guess what. Coincidentally I heard the same song from the radio today and the background singers were really singing “where’s the sunshine” phrase ONLY throughout the entire song.

Looming ahead of us were blocks and blocks of architectural wonder, each with its unique style, from its colourful roof tiles to cobblestone ground. One thing I regret is wearing my high heel boots there, it’s so difficult to walk on the stony ground and there’s one time when my manager almost fell face down coz her heels got caught between the stones. Pls, next time anybody who wants to go there, remember NO high heels!

The hotel has several outlets, where you can dine in the French way. Central to the village is Colmar Square where there are colourful blooms, fountains and park benches. There is a wishing well and also a clock tower so we can walk up (and down) curvy concrete staircases to view the entire development. Heck there was even a lake with two graceful couples gliding smoothly along the water. The white and the black swans!







I was a substitute for my boss and I was granted with a big big apartment room. My manager’s room was even smaller than mine. *devilish* However it was too big for me to sleep alone so I asked my manager to moved in.

The first day was leisure day. 5 hours for us to kick back and relax or to go explore the charming village. We took the itinerary and we were delighted that most of the activities were FULLY SPONSORED by the organizer. We could choose to go discover Japanese authenticity at the Japanese Village, enjoy the Japanese tea ceremony, cuddle the rabbits at the rabbit farm, play archery or bowling, swim or snookering and last but not least jungle trekking for 2 hours. I even noticed a sandy court beside the pool for us to play beach volleyball! Too bad we weren’t informed about these activities earlier and most of us didn’t bring our sports shoes! Haih! My next choice was archery but after we heard there’s a limitation for tea drinkers. We rushed there instead by taking the cute open-aired minicab. Up the hill we go again!

Too bad it rained so after the tea ceremony we had to call it a day and go back to Colmar Tropicale. Cheh! I tot of going for the archery and shoot till my arm goes limp. Bad bad weather.
The dinner was terrific. They even served lobster and sushi. How could I resist? After dinner, we walked around again enjoying the night scenery. I went up the clock tower to view the magnificent sight of the village.

The “villagers” put up a great show later in the night by dancing, singing and acting. The highlight of the show must be the fire eating part. It was quite cool to watch in close proximity how he used his tongue to smoother the fire.

1st day cool, 2nd day school. A series of talks were conducted throughout the day but I’m not going to bore you guys with the information from the talks. Though I really did learnt a lot. Then there were scrumptious buffet breakfast and lunch again with live bands around to entertain us.

It was a nice trip overall. A nice getaway from the crowded city, from my busy job and from the polluted air. I got to know a lot of people and learnt a lot from the seminars. The “villagers” were nice and kind; the foods were delicious; the facilities were well-equipped; the talks were interesting; the activities were entertaining and the scenery was breathtaking but the best thing of the whole trip was…

IT’S FREEEEEEEEEEE…