Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Day Trip to Bentong, Raub and Colmar Tropicale

Last weekend was another short and impromptu trip for us. Initially we wanted to go to Zoo Negara on Sunday but by the time we got ready, it was 11ish am and it was starting to get hot. Inside the car, I asked hubby, "Betul ke nak pergi Zoo? Ke nak pergi tempat lain? Colmar ke?" Because the previous day, he asked if we wanted to go to Colmar but that was already 4ish pm and I told him by the time we get ready and reach there, it'll be dark and there won't be anything much to do, unless we want to stay overnight. However we didn't make any bookings. He also said we could go to Bentong or Raub to find durians but where to stay in Bentong or Raub? So on Saturday evening, we went to Setia City Mall instead and bought this cute dress for Babycakes at H&M. Her necklace is from Cotton On Kids, which was on sale, RM5 only.
Babycakes posing in the car on the way to Zoo Negara, which later we diverted our plan to Bentong instead. That escalated quickly, right? I only packed one packet of chocolate milk for her and a spare change of clothes. I didn't bring a cardigan for her because we were supposed to go to the Zoo, remember? That's why she was all ready with her sunnies and hat. Poor child. She thought she's going to see the elephants, tigers and giraffes. Next time ok?
Before we reached Colmar, I told hubby let's have lunch first maybe in Bentong. Bentong is further up than Colmar btw. We found a nice restaurant which serves nasi campur at a decent price. The foods were quite nice too. Then we went to search for durians. Surprisingly, most stalls along the road sell nangka madu (jackfruit). We were wondering where the heck are the durians? Aren't they in season anymore? We went towards Raub and found a few stalls selling durians so we stopped by the road and had a really good D24 and Musang King. Gosh the taste was divine! We also tapau some back home. Even though the durians were put in containers, the smell was so overpowering and it lingers in the car even until today. Babycakes love durians too and as usual, she doesn't mind posing in front of the stall.
After the durian feast, we went back to Bentong and stopped by an ol skool ice cream shop. We thought this is the famous ice cream shop in Bentong because this is the only one we saw. Apparently the famous ice cream shop is Kow Po. Never mind, we shall make another trip to Bentong then. We had the ABC with pandan ice cream. It was good especially on a hot day and after eating durians. We told Babycakes "OK lepas makan ice cream, kita tengok animal."
We reached the Animal Park at about 4pm. Entrance fee is RM3 for adults and children below 2 enters for free. I am not sure about the fee for children aged 2-12 though. If I am not mistaken, it's RM2. Even though Babycakes is 2yo, they didn't ask to pay so oklah. I bought two packets of animal feed, RM3 each to feed the deers and rabbits. At first Babycakes hesitated to feed the deers and the food tend to fall on the ground because she got geli when the deer's wet nose and mouth touches her hand. I showed her how it's done (that is after a few attempts because I was geli at first too) and she got the hold of it. She kept asking for more animal food.
The place isn't that big but big enough for the deers to run around. There are also an outdoor playground and an indoor playground (not in picture). So if you bring your kids here, they will sure have a nice time. There are also deers with spots (think Bambi!) and some with antlers but  I didn't take their pic with my phone. More pics are in my husband's digicam and I am too lazy to transfer the pics. You have to go there yourself to see the animals. They're really tame especially the plain ones. The spotted ones are a bit shy/eksyen because they always run away when you come near them. Menatng2 lah cantik! Their fur is softer than the plain ones. The plain ones' furs feel like a broom, I am not kidding.


There are guinea pigs in an enclosure together with some deers, some cages for rabbits and also an enclosure for rabbits to roam free. You can enter the rabbits enclosure and play, pet, hug, feed and touch them.  It was a nice experience for us, even though this is our second time here. Babycakes had a lot of fun playing and feeding the animals, touching them and chasing them and also had a great time playing at the playground. With such minimal fee, this is definitely a worthwhile trip and experience. It may be a bit far from KL but the weather was cool and nice, the park didn't smell at all and you get a hands-on experience with the animals. After all that play, Babycakes conked out almost immediately in the car on the way back. We will definitely come back!

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