Abah has this class for AgroTourism during his time in USM. As a result of this class, nearly everytime he goes me and my family HAVE TO (Abah 'forces' us to go) go to Cameron Highlands for a field trip compulsory for this class.. and I have to say, they are actually quite business-minded as the trip is usually the week before convocation so the bus would be full with flowers on the way home that the student would sell in the expo itself.
Anyway, since I started mt tertiary studies, I was no longer required to tag along until my second year (about 7-8 years ago!) when Ikram suddenly wanted to follow Abah there and since Abah didn't want to mind Ikram himself, I was forced to go along with them. Still, its quite enjoyable as the students HAVE to write a report on the potential of Agrotourism in Cameron Highland so we'd go to so many place and be allowed into restricted places that are definitely worth it.
So you can imagine how 'sick' I am of that place. I had even memorized the whole place and could go to many places with my eyes closed (okay.. thats a bit of an exagerrating there!)
However, last Saturday, I had come to school to help Dr Meor with a few tasks. On my way back from his room, I noticed the lights in the school office on so I decided to pop in, knowing they were preparing for the short course in Camerons. It was then that kak Hafsah told me that she had booked a bus for 40 people and it only ended in 14 staff going. Naturally, she asked if I wanted to go..
At first, I didn't really wanna go.. as I said, Camerons seemed like the back of my house once upon a time ago. But when I looked at the list and noticed all the names were people I liked, I decided, why not. Especially after I asked Puga and she also wanted to go as she has never been there (well, at first she said she had a lab.. but 5 minutes later she changed her mind and wanted to go too..). I quickly decided to finish all my work I had planned to do on Monday, on Sunday so I'd be able to follow them..
And Monday morning, at 5.15am, me and Puga were there in front of the school waiting for the bus heheh.. Fared had decided to tag along the night before so at least besides the staff of PPKA, there were three manusia sesat hehe..
Well, as human beings would be human beings, we arrived late. We were actually required to be present for the opening ceremony but when we arrived, the participants were already having their post-opening ceremony tea. Still, Dr Farhan was glad to see us.. because he wanted the group photo to be full of us haha.. if we weren't there, there'd only be around 10 people in the group photo. Someone came up with the idea of a photo at the staircase where I was reminded by Dr Farhan on how short I was as he bellowed for me to go in front.. ciss! And yes, when the other staff realized that my 'height' (or lack of it) was an accepted joke, of course la they started using it on me THE WHOLE DAY.. ciss, ciss dan cisss!
After staying around for the first session (me, Puga and Fared somehow are still considered students who HAVE to listen to the ramblings in the room even when structure isn't our field!), we had a good buffet lunch then went for our prayers before we did the highlight of our trip.. jejalan! Truth is, I don't recognize the place anymore and the map I've had in my head is now useless.. byk nye bende dah berubah!
We didn't really have much choice as the staff had already done a trip here a few months back but we managed to go to a few choice places. First stop was the tea plantation. Personally I favour the Boh plantation but abg Shidi said it was too far for the bus to go so we settled on a nearer (ade ke perkataan ni?) place.
Puga being the one who NEVER set foot in Camerons wanted to take picture in the plantation so we headed there while the rest went in the tea shop. So here is me, Puga and kak Zue being a bit confused if abg Shidi had already taken our picture or not hahah.. Fisya was supposed to be in the picture but as she was wearing heels, she couldn't get to us fast enough.
After a while, the other's noticed us there and they came to us too.. shouting to abg Shidi to take their picture too (Yup! Abg Shidi was the official photographer today!) But with the land being the way it was, it took a few minutes to get into position (and a few wasted shots too which I'm not puting here!)
So here we were, also confused if the picture was already taken or not as we couldn't hear abg Shidi's instructions. From left to right: The imfamous Pn Mona I told you I was afraid of, Sham, Fisya, kak Zue, me, Puga and Fared.
Then kak Zue wanted to go strawberry picking so off we went to find the nearest strawberry farm which, unlucky for kak Zue, we weren't allowed to pick any as they had just sprayed pesticides that morning. Still, we went to see their plants up there just so we'd have something to do there. Aje had also wanted Fared to buy some plants for him (ini lah dia bile student first time tak duk hostel and kene sewa, dan² semua rase nak tanam pokok bunge hahah..).
But mostly we just looked around.. oohhh and aahh at some plants were rarely see and take pictures. As in this picture below.. sheesh! Do you notice the anak gajah in the front haha.. adeh! Terase sgt besar sampai tak nmpk Sharil kat belakang. You can see kak Nurul at the back and Fared looking the other way as sweet Fisya managed a composed smile even when she actually just 'jumped' into the frame a second ago hehe..
After that, we went to the market.. you know, the one EVERYONE goes to when they go to Camerons. However, tadek gambo as everyone was busy buying things. I managed to walk the whole way to the end of the market WITHOUT buying anything. However, the way back proved differently.
Fresh vegetables yang Giant pun tak jual, ubi kecik² panjang² kaler oren apetah that kakak said the orang Asli loved (Hey! It tasted great la so I beli je la!), fridge magnets, strawberries (Okay la, giant ade jual.. tp dah orang pesan, beli je la), 4 dozen colourful roses (Yeay! My house sgt lawo skrg haha!), yummy but rarely nak jumpe kat supermarket mushrooms (Diorg tanye, nak wat kenduri cendawan ke?), candied fruits (Peria pun bleh buat candy.. sedap plak tu!!), chumel² potatoes (I love potatoes.. in case you haven't noticed!), friend mushrooms, boiled potatoes (ade upenye jual kat depan tu yg dah masak siap²) and the list goes on.. Adeh! Tak sedo diri punye Ayu, duit baru abis tuko cermin kete, dah abiskan ke bende len plak..
Anyway, after being knocked in the senses bile menyedari jari² dah takde darah mengalir akibat beban plastik yang berlambak (tu pun still sempat singgah buy a cute strawberry umbrella for Annisa.. adeh!) we went back to the bus, only to be teased by the male staff who were waiting while smoking around the bus who had already finished their 'shopping'. Perasaan malu berlanjutan until we realized, after we boarded the bus, that diorg tu laaaaaaaaaaaagi gile borong hahah.. sgt byk gile! Bas bau macam EconSave mase tengah sale hahah.. (tau la isteri² diorg la yang pesan tu.. tp saje gelakkan diorg balik sbb dah kene gelak awal tadi!)
Serious bas bau cam EconSave!
Then masing² baru sedo.. sib baik tak ramai org naik bas ni. The seats were more full with things we bought than filled with US haha.. Pastu, went back to the hotel to pick up Dr Taksiah before heading back home.
One thing, as I came outta the toilet (ye laaaa, Ayu suke gi toilet!). I saw a 'nice view' (not telling what haha..!) and really wanted to take a picture.. *sighing dreamily*
Anyway, after that, we headed back to USM around 5pm. Ye la, not much time spent at Camerons eyh! Otw back, something happened to the brakes of the bus so we had to stop for a while.. suprisingly, I didn't wanna go to the toilet but there were a lot of people who really wanted to go then and since the brakes needed some cooling down, a lot of suggestion were put forward to which I HAD to roll my eyes. Luckily amongst us, the 'young guys' were peltiful so they were asked to go search for water to cool down the brakes..
Thats why, as you can see below, Sham here is posing in front of the wheel as he insisted abg Shidi take his picture as a kunun² hardworking technician doing jobs out of his scope of work hehe..
We arrived back at USM around 11pm after stopping at the RnR of Sg Perak (Yeah! Yeah! My kampung.. as reminded to me by abg Shidi, Sham, Zabidi and Sharil whom I think have grown sick of me being excited evertime we pass that RnR on previous trips!) for prayers and dinner. Dr Taksiah asked about my grandparents though, when she realized they weren't joking hehe.. and I was careful to answer as I had noticed abg Shidi rolling his eyes whenever I mention my kampung.. citt!
Okay la.. good trip coz this time I go with my friends.. thought my purse was considerably lighter la on the way home kan.. and nope! I haven't cooked those veges or mushrooms yet :p
