T&J Travels #9: Kuala Lumpur & Melaka 2017 (Part 7)

Entrance to the French Village

+ Rasa Utara +

We went to Berjaya Times Square as early as we could. We tried the "secret entrance but found the office is still closed. We decided to eat breakfast instead at Rasa Utara.

Roti Canai (ala carte)

Mee Goreng w Tea

It was delicious! It's been days now but I could still recall that moment I took my first bite on my first meal of the day. A good start for my birthday!

+ Colmar Tropicale +

The Chateau office at Berjaya Times Square

When we're done with breakfast we went back to the office. It is now open but they already have some people in. I overheard them speaking about the reservation for tomorrow so I held on hope that we could still get on that shuttle. But when it was our turn, we were told that none are left except for the 2 seats tomorrow, but at 7pm return. Our flight back is 8PM and no sane person would take that. Another couple went in with the same intent but was declined as well. We proposed if they wanted to take a cab together but learned it wasn't just them who is travelling-- they have an entire family waiting outside.

Based on our conversation with the current staff there, there is no other way for us to go there other than their limited number of shuttles and the more expensive taxi. I was already telling Reagan not to pursue it anymore but being the best boyfriend that he is (kilig!) he made sure that we go there through any means. What we did was take the train up to the last station we could take which is the Gombak Station and take a taxi from there (taxi bay is right outside the station).

Genting Highlands is actually much more popular so it took a long time for us to communicate and haggle with the taxi drivers on what we want. We were able to settle with a 200MYR fee, to and fro the station. Our driver didn't ask us for toll fee too which was great.

If we could only talk to the driver I could have requested that we open the windows so we could take in the cold. Bukit Tinggi looks like it is from the outside reminiscent of Tagaytay. It is far too! No wonder it's almost impossible to do Genting Highlands and Colmar Tropicale on the same day because not only is the travel as far as it is, the roads fork away from each them too that it would result to a truly expensive fare.

He left us at the round about and we agreed to see each other there because we have no phone to contact him with (a PRO if you got yourself a SIM card instead of the pocket wifi). Back when we were still going up I took photos of the interior and his name and other details (he gave us one too, via the meter) in case he never came back for us.

The replica village is at best only good at photos. You probably won't (if we share the same expectations) have the French "vibe" in terms of the activities, the music and food options. I was expecting a whiff of fresh baked bread and staff dressed in those costumes like the ones in the Beauty and the Beast but there wasn't any. They do have a bakery but none of the fancy pastries or elegant breads. Even the free scheduled performance though OK but would have been way better if we don't get to have YMCA blaring on their speakers. There's even a 4D experience and arcade there! They also have outdoor activities like wall climbing, paintball shooting and the likes I am not sure now what they're trying to achieve. I hope their management improve on this.

We had lunch at the restaurant near the entrance (this is after we've already roamed around and watched the performance; I could not remember the name), we both got pasta. Mine was the one with shrimps only and I didn't like it. Reagan's was delicious even though it was a bit spicy, should have gotten that. I have also discovered F&N Ginger Ade and fell in love with it. Hope I can buy it locally. We were serenaded by some singers who so happen to be Filipinos. Even the two of the waiters we had are kababayans too! We reckon most of the performers are as well. I feel sad that they have to work this far and at a holiday at that.

It's disappointing that when we went to the shuttle parking there is no proper line. The bus was late (we were almost out of time, our driver would be waiting) and we almost left. When one came the driver went out and made himself lost. There were no people to fix the line (most of us have at the shade are of varying languages) nor coordinate if we had to alight the shuttle already. We had to rely on cues on whether we're going or not. There was no need for anyone of us to fight though because when we all went aboard, we barely filled the free shuttle. I could only imagine the chaos on a different day if there are more families trying to get themselves in.

When you read blogs about the Japanese Garden and they write how long it would take to do the hike, it is easy to be misled how easy it is. It's not. KL as I realize is filled with so many hills it resembles Baguio or Antipolo in terms of how not flat it is. This is exactly why most places starts with the term Bukit - which means hill. That said if a place is of the hill type, expect that the hike is not that easy. You have to pace yourself especially going down. You don't want to roll like cheese there. Not only is it embarrassing, it looks dangerous.

The Japanese Garden is really pretty. On a good day where it's only a handful of people that is. It's really hard to take a photo without any random stranger on it and those who have chosen to wear kimonos are in for a disappointment. You want a photo of you crossing that rock bridge there? F* you you'd get 10 random strangers at your tail. Try to go on a non weekend maybe and earlier too. At that time I bet the waterfalls are captivating to watch without your fellow guests telling you to move to the side.

On the way back Reagan was considering maybe trips like this would be cheaper on a private vehicle especially if you are on a large group. In the case of Colmar, once you're up there you are at the mercy of their shuttles so you could experience the gardens after you're done with the French themed square they have. Having your own car would definitely improve your visiting hours because in our case we didn't get to visit the Botanical Gardens at all. I think it's safe to say that none of the people we were with got the chance to do too. The walk from the drop off up to the Japanese Garden is quite a steep hike to and fro I bet we would have missed the bus if we went further the Botanical Garden.

Our driver arrived almost in time. Our initial trip of 1 hr was more than double due to an unexpected traffic situation. We gave our driver an additional on top of what we owe him since we felt bad he had to endure that kind of traffic. By the time we reached our hotel it's almost evening. We left some of our stuff and went out once more. The night is not yet over. We are now going to visit our famous neighbor: KL Tower.