In mid-June of 2020 the
Malaysia Control Order (M.C.O) was lifted and we began a bit of
intra-Malaysian travel. This was after three months of lockdown
where only one person in a household could travel (less than 10
kilometers or 6.2 miles), and only for medical supplies and
food. This was strictly enforced by the police and military, and
offenders were punished. As a result of these measures, by the
middle of June the M.C.O. was "eased," as the number of new
cases was in single digits, the recovery rate was 98%, and there
were no patients on a ventilator. Buoyed by this good news, our
thoughts turned again to travel. Our first trip was to Colmar
Tropicale, a fascimile of a French Village, located in the
mountains of central Malaysia. About a month later, we drove
accross those same mountains to Malaysia's famed east coast, to
visit Tanjong Jara Resort, located about four hours west of
Kuala Lumpur in the state of Terengganu.
Our first trip was to Colmar Tropicale,
billed as a recreation of a French Village. There were four main
attractions in the area: a faux-castle cum hotel called "the
Chateau" (which we did not visit), the Colmar village, the
Japanese tea house, and the botanical gardens. The photo to the
left shows us arriving at Colmar Tropicale, masks at the ready,
at the entrance to the Colmar French Village.
The
village itself was quite an experience, a mock-up much
like you might find if you were on the set of a 1950's
production of "The Three Musketeers" or in your high
school gymnasium if your prom theme was "J'aime Paris."
Still, it was fun being there, and even more exciting to
be outside of Kuala Lumpur roaming at will! Below
is
a brief video from Asiatravel.com.
The Japanese Village is a
series of Japan-themed attractions, spread across a garden
landscape on a hilltop at Berjaya Hills, Bukit Tinggi. Located
five minutes away by car or shuttle ride away from Colmar
Tropicale Resort, the village also contains the Japanese Tea
House, Botanical Garden, Tatami Spa, Ume Tatami Suite and Ryo
Zan Tei Restaurant. Here, visitors can explore rock pools, koi
ponds, flower gardens and a Japanese tea house, which conducts a
traditional tea ceremony several times daily. Surrounded by lush
rainforest, the village is also a popular spot for bird
watching, with views of the valley from strategic points along
the gravel trails. Below is a video of
the village by TheAie9.
The Botanical Garden straddles four acres of
highland rainforest - only the jungle floor was cleared of its
original vegetation to make way for show plants. Ryo Zan Tei
Japanese Restaurant is located right after the entrance. From
there, the 1km cemented trail meanders through the garden in a
loop, beginning with a sharp descent from the Ryo Zan Tei
Japanese Restaurant at the entrance, then passing through neat
clumps of flowers, herbs and ferns spread between the footpaths
and trees. Some of the other features within the park include a
jungle view deck, wooden bridge and orchid nursery. Below is a
video overview from the Malaysia Travel Guide
Our first overnight outing was to Tanjong
Jara Resort. Taking advantage of a 2 for
1 offer, we parlayed a two-night visit into a four-night and
five-day stay in mid-July 2020. The resort itself
is the sister hotel to Pangkor Laut on the west coast, which we
had visited several times previously. While
some of the resort's features were not available and the food
menu was limited, we nevertheless enjoyed a week holiday on the
east coast of Malaysia, a four-hour drive over the same
mountains we traveled to when visiting Colmar Tropicale. Between
meals we managed to squeeze in visits to the fitness center,
some tennis (for Tracy), as well as pool time and some rounds of
Trivial Pursuit. A perfectly relaxing way to celebrate the
easing of the M.C.O. Below is a virtual tour of the resort.
There is also a version of
this tour designed specifically for VR headsets such
as Google Cardboard, and it works with both iPhone
and Android devices. It may be access by scanning on
the QR code to the left. If you are viewing this on
a mobile phone, you may access the VR tour by
following this
link.
For iOS devices: scan QR code with your device's camera app, tap on the prompt to open Safari. Select "Allow Device Motion" and the next prompt, "Allow Access to Motion Orientation." Turn the device to landscape mode and a split screen will appear. When the screen turns white, swipe up for fullscreen mode, and place in headset. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]
For Android devices: Open the camera app and use the built-in scanner to scan the QR code above. Confirm that you want to open the website, and wait for it to load--it should load in stereo view. Select the fullscreen ("X" option) from the menu at the bottom. Turn the device to landscape mode and you are ready to go. Here is a video of how to do this--it is simpler than it sounds! [The video opens in a new window--close when done to return to this page]