Gaharu Tea Valley, Gopeng

Gaharu Tea Valley

Jalan Sungai Itek

31600 Gopeng

Perak Darul Ridzuan

Hours

0900 - 1800 daily

So I said gaharu and gaharu is agarwood. What is HOGA then?

  Well, HOGA stands for holistic gaharu. What's so holistic about a bunch of trees? They are the special 12-in-1 super hybrid agarwood tree, claimed to be the superior among its kind.

  Visitors can enjoy the offerings at HOGA Deli or shop at the HOGA mart. I decided to delay my main reason for coming here and took the van tour first. 

Van Tour Tickets

 RM10/adult

 RM5/child

Free gaharu tea sachet!

The HOGA van tour ride will take you to three spots. First stop was the viewing stage, followed by the Hugging Park and lastly the Lovers Park. Along the way, your van driver who is also your guide will tell you about the plantation and its precious trees.

  Did you know that agarwood tree can only 'grow' if they got 'hurt'?

  If a tree didn't get damaged, it will grow to be a normal tree. To produce the black resin thingy, it will have to be wounded naturally or artificially(?) and get fungal infection. 

  That's just some of the things I learnt during the tour. Cringe.

Viewing Stage

Our first stop after the driver/guide introduced us to the plantation and agarwood trees, was this building. He said it is still in "construction" and is meant to house a restaurant. He dropped us and told us that we can take any van to get to the next stop once we're done here.

  On the ground level, there were many plastic chairs placed in front of a screen showing video presentation. The toilets are on this level in case you need to go :)

Most people headed straight to the first floor where they could take photos with some 3D drawing. You know, one of those trick eye paintings. 

I was more interested in the gorgeous view. There was a swiftlet nest building in the area and I could hear their song. View of green trees and swiftlet song soundtrack... it was just peaceful and tranquillising.

We took the same van to our next stop, the Hugging Park. 

  The name is suggestive no? Only instead of your loved ones, you hug trees. It is said that hugging these gaharu trees brings good luck. Who doesn't need some good luck, right?

  And even if you don't believe in such things as luck, you might still want to hug these trees or at least take photos with them. The trees were painted with cute animals but watch out, some of them might still be wet.

From Hugging Park, the tour continued through more agarwood trees and backtracked by a fish pond opposite the Hugging Park. The audio tour in the van we took said the fish pond helped to control bugs so they won't have to use pesticide in the plantation.

Last stop, the Lovers Park. We stopped at a hut that looks like a bus stop and took the stairs down to the park. The main attraction of this park is a huge tree but for kids, it was the fish pond. Remember to buy fish food at the ticket counter if you plan to feed the fish.

Not a very popular love lock

Fish Pond

Nope. Not haunted. I asked the tree.

Back to the main building, I headed straight to the HOGA Mart. The souvenir shop sold everything gaharu from essential oil, tea, soup to cookies and even noodles.

I bought tea sachets and their special tea for myself. For mom, I got a packet of nougat. Not too sweet, I liked the nougat. The price may be on the high side but where else can you get stuff made of gaharu, right? At my request, the cashier dabbed a little gaharu essential oil on my wrist. Not my cup of tea because the smell was too strong but if you're looking for concentrated gaharu oil, you can find it here.

  Next, I went to their deli and *finally* got myself... 

Gaharu Ice Cream

It was okay. Tasted like tea-flavour ice cream. 

I won't say you should go out of the way to visit Gaharu Tea Valley but if you're in Gopeng or on the way to Ipoh and you have time to spare, do drop by. The view was more than worth it for me.

PeppaVille Resort, Tanarimba

PeppaVille Resort

A323 Jalan Tanarimba Sum Sum

Janda Baik Bentong

28750 Bukit Tinggi

Pahang Darul Makmur

(+60)12 548 2223

This is a boutique resort nestled in the forest of Tanarimba in Janda Baik. You may have heard of Tanarimba as it is a popular venue for outdoor weddings. This resort is further in. You can easily find it using Waze but just as easily, you might miss the turning so watch out if you're driving over at night or in bad weather.

  There are two security posts to go through. The first time you drive in, you will have to leave your driving license at the guard post. I already submitted my car registration number to the resort's contact person earlier. As I went for tea in the kampung nearby, I picked up my driving license and when we returned, we were given an overnight pass. I didn't have to surrender my license again.

Booking

Easy via online, I used Booking.com

Location

Good as a comfortable nature retreat. A bit of a drive so guests will have to plan for their meals and transportation

Rate

Average. RM480 for 3 pax

Dining

Decent breakfast

Service

Excellent. Very helpful staff. 

Overall 4 <3<3<3<3 of 5

At RM160 per pax for a night, it may seem expensive to some. After all, the three of you are sharing one bathroom. Even with breakfast thrown in, some of you may still have to think about it.

The bathroom could be another issue to some. The shower(s) might wet the whole floor because of the way the room was designed. The floor was level so water can get just about everywhere. Then there's a long stone bench. My friend teased that it was like in a sauna but we can take shower together.

  And please shut the small ventilation window while you're in the shower. Those in the opposite block might get an accidental peep.

  Breakfast consisted of tea or coffee and eggs (choose your preferred style), a couple of toasts with a tub of butter, baked beans, side leafy stuff (salad), sausages and meatloaf. Ala carte. Some climbing expected to get to the dining area. So if you have an invalid or elderly person in your party, you may want to arrange something with the resort in advance.

  All that said, consider this view from our room.

Oh that one is a little shaky. I don't know why quite a few of the pics I took here are blurry. Maybe I was shaking with excitement.

  But seriously...

Consider that this is less than 2-hour drive from city centre. Serene. Peaceful. Gorgeous.

  I think it's worth it. Our goal was to relax and recuperate anyway. So one night was just nice for us. Two nights would probably be more satisfying but really there wasn't much to do for city folks other than rest or enjoy the nature.

They have an okay swimming pool. Not sure of the depth but probably safe for kids with adult supervision.

The swing is probably everyone's favourite spot. So wake up early. It is at the dining area by the way.

Good parking spots are limited so please carpool if possible.

I'd recommend a one-night stay for family with grown children or couple and small group of friends seeking to escape the crazy city.

  

Penang National Park, Teluk Bahang

Taman Negara Pulau Pinang

Jalan Hassan Abbas

Balik Pulau

Hours

0730 - 1800 daily

The Penang National Park is located in Teluk Bahang, about an hour drive from Penang International Airport. Public transport is available although if you're planning to trek, driving is the better option. Or at least a change of fresh clothes. 

  Entrance is free although visitors must register themselves at the office. Boat rides can be booked from kiosks around the park's entrance. I didn't book a boat because I had no idea if I'll even reach the beach I was heading to. So I had to wait for an available boat. Luckily, a group of 3 tourists had extra seats in the boat they booked. The ride I got from Kerachut Beach to main jetty was RM20 per person.

Camping is probably allowed if you inform the park office in advance. Visitors usually come to visit the Kerachut Beach (Pantai Kerachut) or Monkey Beach (Teluk Duyung - this should translate as Mermaid Bay). On my first visit, I went to Kerachut Beach but I plan to return and visit the other spots. So this post will be updated if I ever get to visit the rest of the park.

This is probably Pasir Pandak. No trekking required

It wasn't too muddy when I visited but my shoes did get dirty. Do wear proper shoes if you're planning to trek because the path can be quite challenging in flip flops or sandals. Bring water and snack but please take home your trash.

Kerachut Beach

  On the map, getting to Kerachut Beach should take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. For me, it took over 2 hours. I haven't been exercising and I took so many breaks along the way. In the beginning, I even considered turning back but... I felt lazy. So I went on :-p 

Bukit Belah

There are plenty of gazebos like this along the way. So come early, take your time, and explore at your own pace.

Before reaching the beach, you'll cross a bridge over the meromictic lake. A meromictic lake is the kind of lake that has layers of water that do not intermix. In this case, the salt water from the sea and the water from rivers and rain.

  This is a huge deal because apparently there are less than 20 meromictic lakes in the world. Although ours is the seasonal kind of meromictic lake, as it only happens during the change of monsoon, it is precious because a slight change could mean losing this unique natural feature.  

  One may be forgiven to think that this is a plain nothing. I mean, where is the lake? Like I said, it is seasonal. This is what I understand. Sea current and wind will push sand to the river mouth forming a dike. There are also boulders there which help to form a natural dam.

  This dike/dam will eventually break naturally when the season is over. The lake water will then flow into the open sea, leaving the slightly muddy or savannah-like "plain nothingness" we see for the rest of the year.

Interesting kan?!

The Turtle Conservation & Information Centre is located at the other end of the beach. Go past the office, public washroom and camping ground. The route was pretty sandy so I changed into flip-flops. Sand can get quite hot so going barefoot may not be a good idea.

Hours

1000 - 1630

Free entrance

If you're already familiar with turtle conservation efforts, the centre can't offer much for you. But it is a good start for young kids. During my visit, there were a couple of adult (injured) turtles and some hatchlings in the containers.

White sandy beach

I spent some time reading my book right on the beach, under the shade. It was windy and I was feeling sleepy. We ate the bread we brought, checked out the turtle centre and when it got too hot, headed to the jetty to wait for a boat. No swimming because there were jellyfish as big as a dinner plate.

Look out for updates in this post :)