Escape to the hills to de-stress

By Sharen Kaur (Published in Travel Times, NST on April 14 2009)


IT had been a long time since my girl pals and I had fun at a hill resort. I can vaguely remember the resort now but it was in Cameron Highlands and there was never a dull moment as there was so much to do.

While shopping wasn’t on the list, there was adventure and learning… and a few other things I loved, like having cosy meals and chit-chatting way into the night.

Now, after more than 15 years, I made a trip to Berjaya Hills in Pahang with a bunch of girls. The experience was a little reminiscent of that holiday in Camerons except that this time, I travelled with former Miss Malaysia/Universe Elaine Daly, her girlfriends — talent manager Geetha Anandarajan and executive Diana Lian — and two other female journalists.

We were going to explore the beauty of the hills. There was such a blast to begin with! We dined under the moonlight, rode horses, treated ourselves to the spa and toured a garden full of flowers.

As we were all looking to de-stress, the 32-year-old Elaine from her hectic life as a model, actress and host, and we, from our hectic assignments or otherwise a routine lifestyle, the moments spent together were full of laughter and joy. And tears sometimes, too, as we laughed ourselves silly.

Elaine, host of television programme Malaysian Dreamgirl, is very fond of Berjaya Hills which is set within a 150-million-year-old tropical rainforest. As it is only 45 minutes by car from Kuala Lumpur, we didn’t spend a lot of time travelling.
While the beauty of the lush hills drew Elaine and many other visitors, the main attraction remained Colmar Tropicale, the French-themed resort in Colmar Square.

The castle-like resort is set in the fairytale environment of a French village and is an enchanting and refreshing haven for a quick getaway and a perfect place to de-stress.
Berjaya Hills also has a Japanese Village, the first of its kind outside Japan. It features a Japanese garden and attractions such as a Japanese tea house, Tatami Spa and botanical garden.
So you can find a little bit of France and Japan perched on a hill in the Malaysian rainforest.
Japanese Experience
We arrived at Colmar Square at 1.30pm. After checking in, we settled down to lunch, a tantalising spread of piping hot pastas and pizzas fresh from the oven.
Then without wasting much time, we decided to visit the Japanese Village. We started with a 45-minute walk at the botanical garden with towering trees, ferns, orchids and some rarely seen plants.

The walk took us through a rustic gateway and a winding Japanese footpath to a beautiful garden and waterfall and over a bridge spanning a koi pond.

From the chumon (entrance gate) to stone lanterns, from wood roofing shingles to tatami mats, and countless other artefacts, we took a liking to the Japanese Garden immediately and immersed ourselves in its aesthetic beauty.

Then we entered the tea house, where we sipped warm Japanese tea before going to the Tatami Spa, located deep within the rainforest.

Tired from walking for over an hour, we couldn’t wait to indulge in a range of body treatments, from scrubs to aromatherapy massages, which we could do either in the calming indoors or the invigorating outdoors. For the sake of privacy, we opted for the indoors and for the next two hours, surrendered to the sensual Sabuko Na (simplicity) and Amayakashi (pamper) spa treatment.

Mixed Flavours
By 7pm, we were done and hunger pangs hit us. So after a quick shower, we met at La Orient for some really nice Indo-Chinese and French cuisine.

La Orient is across from Le Vin Wine & Cigar Bar, where we would adjourn to later for some fine French wine and to reminisce about the beautiful things that had happened in our lives.

But we decided to end it early so that we could get enough sleep and be ready for the next day’s adventure – a half-day picnic ride on the horse trail.

Horses And Picnic
After an early breakfast, we met equestrian manager Lorraine Bottreau, a qualified rider, trainer, coach and judge from Argentina.

She gave us a few minutes of briefing on horse riding. The resort offers customised riding for one to see and experience the splendour of the resort area. The customised packages depend on whether you are a novice or an experienced rider.

Since it was a first experience for all of us, we started with 30 minutes in paddock before heading off on the road and countryside.

An hour into the journey, we stopped at a scenic picnic spot for lunch. We fed the horses with hay and apples, which was fun despite the scorching heat. The three-hour trip left us exhausted but we had an amazing time.

Bottreau said horse riding was a very specific activity that de-stressed the mind and built one’s confidence. “It is a progressive form of therapy,” she added.

We certainly came away totally rejuvenated. Stress and worries of work simply melted away and leaving was simply hard to do.

Contact
For a similar refreshing outing, call Berjaya Hotels & Resorts at 03-2149 1828 03-2149 1828 to package something for you.
  (ENDS)