Camerons Getaway Day 3

Had a quick breakfast in the apartment and then did some cleaning up. PreTeen and CoolTeen helped with the vacuuming...if only they did that at home! Washed the bedsheets, pillow cases and floor mats, then popped them into the dryer and went sight-seeing.

Camerons isn't as cold as I remember it to be. In fact I had to slather on lots of sunblock to keep from getting sunburnt!


There's also lots of traffic and it wasn't much fun getting caught in a jam (dad-in-law made a joke about jams - the traffic kind and the strawberry kind!)

By the time we came back to the apartment, the sheets were all nicely dried. We tidied up while hubby struggled to stuff everything into our tiny car boot. Had a light lunch and left for home using the old winding route. Saw wild durian trees with lots of durians hanging from the branches :D

Stopped by hubby's aunt's place to return her apartment keys. She lives near Zoo Negara and told us hilarious tales of how the flamingoes drop by the fishpond in her garden for free lunch, and how snakes and frogs love to snuggle up in her children's shoes!

Camerons Getaway Day 2

CoolTeen wanted to wake up at 6 am to go jogging...ended up with me waking him at 9 am to go for breakfast at Tanah Rata town.

Went to the morning market a little further after Brinchang town. Mum-in-law bought some vegetables. Our boot-space isn't too big so hubby wasn't keen on buying too much. We almost couldn't fit all our luggage in. PreTeen and I bought 2 matching T-shirts.

Visited some farms after that...the usual thing to do when in Camerons...







Had lunch at T-Cafe in Tanah Rata town, a cosy little cafe above the Marrybrown outlet. They serve western food at very reasonable prices, their specialty being scones and chicken pie.





Strawberry scone served with cream and strawberry jam.



I like the dainty little pot of milk that comes with the tea.

Bought some delicious cheese and blueberry tarts on the way back to the apartment...only RM 1.30...so cheap compared to KL prices!



Went to this place 'Strawberry Moment' where they have strawberry strudel, quite costly at RM 7.50 per slice...maybe I'll try to make my own when I get home. Bought some very tasty mushroom chips there.

Had dinner at this Chinese restaurant in Tanah Rata, same block as the Maybank. The price was rather reasonable, considering that we had a large steamed fish, mutton rendang, chicken, a tofu dish and green vegetables...only RM 70 plus for the 6 of us. Maybe the owner gave us discount because he's Hainanese and so is my dad-in-law XD

Camerons Getaway Day 1

Went on a short 3-day holiday to Cameron Highlands last Monday to escape the hot weather in KL. Brought along my parents-in-law. Took the new, more scenic (although longer) route up to the mountains.

Stopped for lunch at Bidor.


I had curry chicken mee. My dad-in-law had pork rib noodles which he said was quite good. Too bad I didn't snap a photo of it. The rest had wantan mee, which my mum-in-law said isn't as good as it used to be.


Took a slow drive and reached Camerons around 3.30 pm. Hubby's aunt has a fully furnished holiday apartment in Tanah Rata which she so graciously let us use, provided we clean up before we left.






Had steamboat dinner at the Water Cress Valley restaurant where they use charcoal instead of a gas stove for the steamboat pot. I suppose that was the only unique attraction besides their watercress juice. The herbal soup was rather bland and dinner for the 6 of us came up to RM144...ouch!






Went to the Brinchang pasar malam after dinner. CoolTeen and PreTeen bought some T-shirts while my in-laws bought lots of snacks for supper until hubby reminded them that we might not be able to finish all that food...

Garbage Enzyme Cleans Really Well

My first batch of garbage enzyme is finally ready after 3 months of fermentation. I was all eager to use it and see whether it is really as effective as what people tell me.

The first thing on my to-do list was to mop the floor. The result was really beyond what I had expected...my floor became sqeaky clean...really, no kidding! I was also amazed at how fast it dried compared to commercially produced floor cleaners.

Next, I cleaned the bathrooms. Soap residue on the tiles and shower screen came off easily. I poured some into the toilet bowl and it was as if I used bleach...the dirt just melted away without much brushing with the toilet brush. My mirrors became sparkling clean.

Man, this was too good to be true...so I went on a cleaning spree. The next thing on my list was to see whether it would clean the grease from the little plastic container that collects oil from the cooker hood. This would be the ultimate test, and I was really pleased with the results. It's just as effective as the Eco-Pro Oil Removal product that I used a few weeks ago, only much much cheaper!



the grease in the plastic container


a few drops of enzyme liquid and a quick wipe with some tissues


tada! clean like new!

I must say that I'm really pleased with the cleaning power of the garbage enzyme. It only cost me less than RM1 to make a liter of it...just the price of the brown sugar. The other ingredients didn't cost anything - the fruit peel and water.

But I found out the hard way that I really must dilute it before use... because without proper dilution the skin on my hand started to dry out and peel!

Dilution: 1 teaspoon of garbage enzyme to 500 ml of water for general cleaning purposes.

Can't wait to mix another batch!(smiles)

Here's Chindogu For You

Took CoolTeen for his appointment with the ENT specialist yesterday because he has sinusitis and his nose was continuosly runny for the past 2 weeks. Today hubby saw a photo in The Star newspaper of a gadget that might be quite useful for his condition...

....the hayfever hat invented by Kenji Kawakami, author of the book '101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art Of Chindoku'... great for those who sneeze the whole day long!

When I looked up the internet about this hat, I came across some interesting facts. There is actually a society called The International Chindogu Society (Chindogu is a Japanese word which means 'weird tool'). Chindogu has a distinctive feature: anyone actually attempting to use one of these inventions would find that it causes so many new problems! ~ quote from Wikipedia.

The 10 tenets of Chindogu are:

1. A Chindogu cannot be for real use
2. A Chindogu must exist
3. Inherent in every Chindogu is the spirit of anarchy
4. Chindogu are tools for everyday life
5. Chindogu are not for sale
6. Humour must not be the sole reason for creating a Chindogu
7. Chindogu is not propaganda
8. Chindogu are never taboo
9. Chindogu can never be patented

10. Chindogu are without prejudice

More chindogu inventions:

Useful for the tired mom - baby wearing this special suit can help mop the floor while he crawls around

this give the words a stick of butter a whole new meaning

.....now how 'cool' is that? (pun intended)

to keep you from eating your hair while you enjoy your noodles