Actually I have posted umpteen times in Cameron Highlands tread but anyway you can contact Ah Ling at 05-4915306 or 05-4911328. she is a market vendor and she owns 2 units at Carnation Park and her apartments are clean and nicely furnished. Call her !

Only apartments that I can think of that is nearby Pasar Malam and Pasar Pagi is Star Regency. Even better it is also very near the Brinchang market. Get better ingredients for your steam boat.

The only muslim settlement I can think of in CH is Taman Sedia. It is a small village half way between Tanah Rata and Brinchang. I see a lot of homestays there and also a lot of locally operated chalets there and I am surre they can accomodate BBQ. There is even a strawberry farm here planted by Malays.

Check it out with Mr. Haji Ramli Mohd Yunus. Address: Homestay Taman Sedia, Taman Sedia, 39000 Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. Telephone number: 605-4912005, Fax number: 605-4911843, Mobile number: 6013-9202293.

Good Luck

Bus departure to CH now are departing from Bukit Jalil car park. Anyway there are only two bus companies namely Unititi and Kurnia Bistari where Kurnia Bistari is one of the LOUSIEST bus companies in Malaysia. They also operate Regal buses in CH which is also in shambles. My advise if you want to take bus use Unititi where their services are more reliable. The fare is RM35.00 one way. There are only 2 trips a day ie. 9.30 am and also 2.30 pm and at times at peak period another one at noon.

If you want an easier and a wider road, the new road via Simpang Pulai is easier but you will not be able to stop in Lata Iskandar. The way via Tapah is actually not that bad and it is faster and the toll is also cheaper as you exit in Tapah. Lata Iskandar waterfall is still there for stopover. There is also a new road up near Bentong which winds it way to Bertam Valley in CH.

If you take Simpang Pulai way, you reach Kg.Raja and then you have to travel another 30 minutes or more to come back to Brinchang or Tanah Rata. For KL travellers Tapah is almost an hour shorter than Simpang Pulai.

Along with Equitorial and Highlands Resort, those you mentioned are also the premier hotels there. So not much worries regarding service and facilities. Strawberry Park is the only one with a heated swimming pool. Heritage is newer so their furnishings are better. As for staffs in CH, most are locals and I think local cameronians are friendly regardless of race so most services orientated buisness gives better services than other places.

You can also take bus to CH in TAPAH ! LOL. Other than that I don't think so or maybe you can join the auntie-auntie for a day trip. Come on larr, the Bukit Jalil temporary bus station is just in front of the STAR LRT. It is not hard to reach.

This post has been edited by etigge: Sep 25 2010, 11:52 AM

If I am not mistaken try calling Unititi. They also pick up passengers in KL Sentral. The passengers coming down from CH can also dissembark in KL Sentral. I am not sure but you can try calling them. The bus also stops in Tanah Rata. There are a lot of hotel, motel in Tanah Rata but SKIP Highlands Hotel. Nicer hotel like Century Suria is also within your budget.

Also check Lelong.com for vouchers for Heritage Hotel, which is also within your budget but will be hard if you don't have transport as the hotel is located on a hill top, a long walk from the main road. I know of a nice apartment (very nicely furnished) if you have more than 4 persons. The apartment belongs to the manager of Hong Leong Bank, CH. Try calling thte branch and enquire from the manager.

Have a nice trip!

Real Tudor feeling, Smoke house is good but I don't really like old furnishings, like haunted house , hahaha. Many, many years ago , me and wife checked into Smokehouse. Service was good but the rooms were very old fashion and the bed hard. The bathtub looks old with all the pipings running on the exterior. The tea session in the garden was nice though and the dinner was even better there.

There was a tiger skin on the reception desk and during the night I came down and tried to pry loose the tiger's tooth but I failed to do it. That's a real tiger, hunted during the colonial days.

Lakehouse is another choice but popularity has died down. It is too far away from the happening town since the opening of the new road from Simpang Pulai which reaches Kg.Raja first rather than Ringlet when it is from Tapah. Furthermore the view of the lake is not so nice now,Silted!

This post has been edited by etigge: Sep 29 2010, 05:41 PM

If you are travelling from the North, you miss both the waterfall ie. Lata Kinjang and Lata Iskandar. Most probably you will branch into Cameron new road in Simpang Pulai which is just after Ipoh. For both the waterfall one is through Kampar interchange and the other Tapah interchange to the old Cameron route. Both are further down from Simpang Pulai, unless you want to travel another 30 minutes to 45 minutes extra.

You can travel to Lata Iskandar from Cameron Highlands when you have the time. It is only half an hour from Ringlet. If you are lazy they do half day tours from Tanah Rata. BUT is is not Lata Kinjang which if I am not mistaken the route in is through Chenderiang.

This post has been edited by etigge: Oct 2 2010, 12:42 PM

Faster to take old Tapah road up. Save a few ringgit on toll too. Try to go early morning or late afternoon as lorries finish their loading around 10 to 11 am to send veges down. Try to avoid driving on the road from 10.30 am to 1.00 pm and the best is Saturday as it is an off day in CH.

Whichever road you choose, it is more important that you are a responsible (meaning to the passengers and other road users). As long as you have that mentality, you will be fine, no matter how difficult the road is. BTW the old route via Tapah is not as bad as that. It is quite easy to drive up. One of the easier way is just wait until you meet a more experience driver ( especially tour vans, any 4 wheel drivers or even normal car drivers )and follow behind at a distance.

It takes me only 40 minutes for me to reach Ringlet from Tapah interchange, so it is not that bad. Anyway, always bear in mind, it is not the 10,000 times that matter but the one time that you must be wary off!

LOL, it is just a shop who specialises in packing the strawberry products into nicer and attractive package so you won't complain when you buy it a little more expensive. The products looks like a nice place to buy 'buah tangan' though. Along that row, there's one ' Lo Chee Hou ' which sells roasted duck and char siew. Quite nice, the best in CH actually. Now they have good steamboat as well, I heard from friends there.

For those who don't know, it is just beside Star Regency apartments, in front of Cactus Village.

Lou Chee Hou is in Brinchang. They specialised in "siew lap fan" or roasted meat. They have steamboat now also. Very easy to spot. Just behind Star Regency apartments. In front of Petronas in Brinchang, turn in the road and on the left is LCH and on the right is Cactus Farm.

Public transport, I suggest Unititi Express. Departure from Bukit Jalil temporary bus station. Tickets is RM35.00 one way VIP seats. 2 daily trips, one at 8.30 am or 9.00 am and another at 2.30pm. Another kerepot service is Kurnia Bistari. They also have VIP but lousy and their normal 44 passengers seating is even worse but ticket is RM26.00 or RM28.00 or somewhere around there. Also leaves from Bukit Jalil. I suggest you take Unititi, save you the agony of taking Kurnia Bistari which breaks down quite often.

Another way is KTM to Tapah and then take Regal buses from Tapah to CH. BTW Regal Bus is also Kurnia Bistari, so sometimes Kurnia Bistari buses stopover in Tapah to pick up passengers if bus is not full. Or take transport all the way to Ipoh and at the Gopeng Bus Station take bus services to CH. This service uses the new Simpang Pulai road to CH.

Take your choice. Happy holidays.

The only reasonable breakfast I can think off in CH is roti chanai. In Tanah Rata any Indian shops along the main road OK larr. In Brinchang, the one beside the wet market is good but the owner is like a dumb guy, don't smile, don't talk. Noodle shops are all lousy, that I can tell, . If it is just to fill in your stomach, in Brinchang look for Hong Kong Hotel and Restaurant, same row as KFC. At the side there's an alley and many stalls here. Food lousy but at least you don't get slaughtered like a tourist.

Western, take your breakfast in your hotel. You can try T-house, just above Merrybrown in Tanah Rata. They serve good scones for tea but I dunno if they do breakfast.

The wet market is near the Rosa Pasedena Hotel. Pass KFC and Shell station, take a left turn. The charcoal fired steam boat is also there. It is behind the main road of Brinchang.

Royal Lily - can contact Chai Hok Kwi/Wong Keat Yeen
019-5487896, 019-4522253, 013-5255222

Carnation Apartments (also in Tanah Rata) - contact Ah Ling
05-4915306, 05-4911328

No kidding huh! Expensive, especially the tea. Actually the one beside it You Hoo or ' Yaw Woh' is the local favourite haunt. It is supposed to be the best restaurant in CH and the next one in line is OK Tuck which is opposite along the Da Ma Cai outlet. They actually can spot out tourist and non-tourist. The way I look at it, itf it was locals the bill might just come up to RM70 to RM80. The You Hoo has mixed rice in the afternoon. So, for family lunch it is OK to go there.

Kinta Bus from Jalan Gopeng Bus Station near Gunung Rapat . It is near the Sam Poh Tong Cave Temple and where they buy pomelo on the way to Simpang Pulai.

This post has been edited by etigge: Dec 15 2010, 10:37 PM