Cafe by the Exit

We were done with the flowers and the children had had a field day getting us to by them toys. Next came a bit of respite before the drive home. Great timing as there was a nice little cafe right by the exit.

Ice creams and drinks this time around.

But what caught my eyes were the cute decorations and the furnitures. The theme for the decorations were butterflies, while the furnitures were made from recycled oil drums, painted and turned into chairs and tables. Very neat.

And that came during the time when the national news were dominated by oil drums. One of the Government prosecutor was abducted and his remains was found in an oil drum encased in cement! Gruesome stuff!

After the ice cream was done, it was time to head back to reality. And reality was only a 45-minutes drive away ...

The Flowers

The next part of the farm, by the exit went through some gorgeous garden. Anita spent the most amount of time here while the children was sitting down, with me being the designated photographer.
The flowers were fresh and the air was a tonic from the haze we were having in town in the past few weeks. I ended up sitting at one of the benches and if it was not for the children yearning for ice cream, I would have sat there for another hour. It was Sunday afternoon after all.

Surprisingly the place was not as crowded as I was feared and we had some time to kill. Again, the place was really clean and the staff were really friendly. Very well-maintained and would definitely be recommending it to friends.

After around half an hour of taking photos, it was time to go. It was a shame that I did not bring my macro lens. It would have been a nice opportunity to try it out with the new A7R mark II. Well, I had to cope with just the Summicron-M 50. It did the job nicely although the bokeh was rather harsh …

Lunch Stop

Taking five children around the farm really worked me up an appetite. And there was a small cafe right in the middle of the farm which serve snacks. Idlan especially remembered the nice fries it served, and duly finished a whole plate. The others had some sausages and waffle while looking around for other things to do.

There was also a few small stalls with birds and snakes should you fancy taking a picture. Nana and Suraiya did while the boys decided to get on with their lunch.

Again, the facilities there was clean, and very well maintained. I just wished that there were more to offer for lunch rather than some light snacks. Luckily, should you be really hungry, there were plenty of restaurants near by in the Gohtong Jaya town proper.

Next came the walk amongst the flowers while walking through some survenir shops.

Lavender Garden

This is something novel. The last time I visited a lavender farm was in Cheshire, back in 2003. The smell in the air was unmistakeable, let alone able to take a nap in the surrounding area in the cool early summer breeze!

Not quite a nap this time, but the aroma was definitely there. Not as strong and not as fresh, but it was not too bad. Definitely worth the admission fee alone!

This must have been a new addition to the Genting Strawberry Leisure Farm as it was not yet opened the last time we were there. The garden was situated just at the end of the rows of strawberries, and it was something not to be missed.

The place was not really big, but enough to give you an idea what it would be like in the South of France! Even asthmatic Idlan enjoyed the smell and it did not trigger his wheeze.

There were a few benches if you'd like to sit, and of course the customary gift shop. After taking a few snaps, it was already time to head to the next part of the farm. Plus it was already time for lunch ....

The Strawberry Farm

Compared to when we were there last, the number of trees had definitely at least doubled. The strawberries seemed fresher and there were plenty to choose from. It cost RM8 per 100g which I thought was pretty steep, especially when we had five pickers going rampant like maniacs along the rows of strawberry, armed with scissors and baskets.

It got a bit warm in there towards the end as the sun came out. But I was impressed at how well maintained the whole place was.

Got the strawberries in order in the baskets, got them weighted and then we were off to the next leg - the lavender garden!