23 March 2010

It is Spring at National Botanical Park

It was only 32km and 30 minute drive from my house but it took me slightly more than 20 years to come back to that beautiful place since the last time I'd been there. It was during my 'teropong iman' time we visited that place doing countless field works learning on the diversity of our fauna and flora . Since then that place had change a lot not only in his name but also its surrounding landscape. When it was first opened in 1986, this place was known as Taman Pertanian Bkt Cerakah, then somebody changed it to Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam and now to make it sounds more trendy, it is officially known as Taman Botani Negara.

Something never change though. It was my feeling and liking toward that place. I am in my domain again. The air was fresher and my spirit was uplifted by the lush green scenery of splendid tropical rainforest that surround the area. From my observation the park management had effortlessly trying very hard to preserve its natural beauty. Even though there were many development took place in and around the park, once we enter the park the feeling of being isolated from the outside world started to kick in. Blissfully serene.

Unlike many other parks or other tourist attraction in the Klang Valley, the entrance fee to this park is very acceptable and affordable. It seems inflation has not yet attracted to this place and greed has not yet smeared this tourist spot. For adult (above 12) it was RM3.00 and kids (4-11yrs) RM1.00. Quite a bargain isn't it.

You can spend one whole day in this park with the whole family. There are many new attractions too. The ever popular four season house didn't let me down with its temperate setting. It is Spring now. For a nominal fee (similar to the entrance fee) you don't have to go to temperate countries to experience the four seasons but you can experience how the four seasons look like or how the temperature is inside this house. My kids really enjoyed this experience. Two of my boys never had this experience before as they were born here in our blazing Bolehland. So I promised them to come again to the place during the Winter.

Other attraction was a paddy field, cocoa trees, oil palm, rubber trees, coffee, coconut and other fruit trees. And there were many gardens in this park which were the Spice Garden, Ornamental Garden, Orchid Garden, Cactus Garden, Bamboo Garden and Mushroom Garden. There were mini zoo too with range of animals that rival our Zoo negara.

The park also provided mountain bikes (for a fee) to those who has good stamina and want to explore the park by themselves. Upon persuasion by my kids, I rented 4 bikes and tackled the hilly path with exhaustion. It took only 30 minutes for me to surrender. People like me who has already passed my prime were best to take a free shuttle bus for a 15 minutes joy ride around the park. The latest attraction to the park was Skytrex adventure, but I didn't go there as my energy had by this time drained out.

The outing was an enjoyable one for everybody. I will definitely go there again with my family and sample more exciting thing, the one that we missed during this visit.



The setting, vegetation, other props and temperature (13 degree Celsius) in this four season house looks very real and so cool.


These canoes lying idle in a small lake full of lotus I assumed can be rented, but I didn't see any counter nearby for that purpose that day.


I've just realized that day that all my kids had no live experience with paddy field before in their entire life. So they were quite fascinated with the fields and their surrounding and excited to have their first opportunity.


Close to the paddy field there was this ancient tools used in the past (and probably still used in the present day as well in some remote paddy-growing region) to process paddy put on display. Notice the floor to this exhibition hut really need some attention by this park maintenance team.


My kid trying to balance himself and walk with cautious while crossing this hanging bridge.

Thess deers are part of the many animals you can find in that park. There are porcupines, horses, many kinds of birds (one particular cockatoo here is quite noisy and very talkative), peacocks etc. Monkeys roam freely in this jungle.

The park provides shuttle service FOC for the visitors to go around the park. The shuttle will stop to drop and pick up visitors from many designated stops.

This weird looking cage is a place where you can find four peacocks inside it. The look really resembles a bacteriophage T4 .

I've seen typical photos of this spot printed somewhere but couldn't figure out where. Now I know the place (If my memory served me right, originally this spot was a pond). This is my last photo I managed to capture as my camera battery went kaput. This never happened to me before as I always checked my camera battery status or always bring extra battery or making sure the camera is fully charged.

33 comments:

ASH said...

Geee..make me want to go there too..
Thanks..
been there once when my children were very young. There were only four of them back then..

3yearshousewife said...

Dr.,
I was there when Bukit Cherakah was still in its early days. We crossed the highway which is still in the making to get there.
I went for this program for schools to experience the padi field right from planting until harvesting in one day. Cool. Got my self covered in mud but it was great experience. Even went into this tunnel made during WW2.
The second time I went, konon2nya as a tour guide for my class since I've been there before, we got lost and ended up in a kampung orang asli. Luckily, the whole class was cool about the whole thing.
Is there still a kampung orang asli in Bukit Cherakah?

Abd Razak said...

Salam Dr Sam...

Wow Doc...beautiful Subhanallah..

Mudah-mudahan diberikan keizinan untuk bertandang ke tempat ni.

Moga Doc & keluarga sentiasa sihat :)

Mia's Mom said...

Salam DrSam :-D

Wonder when they made those changes. The last time we were there, it was still called Taman Pertanian Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam and it is not berseri at all though we were made to understand that improvement projects on the way.

Actually this park is about "a few inches" away from where I resided. A wonderful development done there!

Well, it reminds me of Biology - it does look like Bacteriophage T4 - the simplest form of virus? Was it? Something like between supra molecular complexes and simple biological entities?

Well, 30 minutes uphill by bike is quite a something for someone who has passed his prime, I supposed! :-D

catz said...

waaa..saya betul-betul rasa nak pegi sini..
:).
the way u describe buat saya rasa nak pergi sekarang doc!

Zue said...

Sam,
Thanks for remind me of this place. It is very nice place to visit

adiwarnatasya said...

DrSam...
Tersangatlah Cantik!!!
"Kagum dgn ciptaanNya:)

wyograd said...

Assalamu'alaikum Ganukite,

thank you for this; so splendid in both text and pictures.

The rice dehusking "lesong kaki" reminds of the old gone by kampongs days when the "sawah" was my playing field, carrying home sacks of freshly-threshed wet padi over my shoulder on slippery mud bunds was my exercise at weight-lifting and chowing down rice with fried pekasam sepat in the pondok in the midle of the sawah was my picnic.

All these reminds me of a quote by famed author Pearl S Buck who said "Many people lose the small joys, in hope of the big happiness"

How I miss those wonderful growing up years!!

Warm regards to all,

Abdul Halim Hassan
(Many people lose the small joys, in hope for

annfrendly said...

Dr sam,
taman bukit cahaya seri alam..
tempat kegemaran saya..
penuh dengan kehijauan..
sekarang musim bunga..
harus pergi nie..
tapi kalau nak prgi ke sana kena bertolak pagi2..
baru panjang masa nak explore keindahannya.

LiFe Is BeAuTifUl LyRiC said...

Sky Trek Adventure..got adult & kids trek. Bestt!!.. Should try!!..

I hv experience where someone go and change my bike whn I was in rumah 4 musim and tinggal the buruk one for me..tinggi summore then cannot kayuh..have to tolak balik.. spoil!!.. :(

Cycling @ Taman Botani, Putrajaya pon best!

idasm said...

ida pernah melawat ke sini dulu masa form 5. waktu tu masih guna nama bukit cerakah lagi. baguslah diorang telah menjaga kembali tempat yg begitu indah ini.

insyaallah, ada rezeki boleh pergi lagi...

KG said...

hai zoo negara tak nak dtg ka?

ekha-bella said...

sgt chantek. nak pegi jugak! :)

DrSam said...

ashley,
Bangi pun bukan jauh sangat. If you feel like to stopover at my house for a cuppa en route to that place, you are most welcome!

3yearshousewife,
Wow...A WW2 tunnel? I didn't realize its existence until you mentioned it. Will look out for that in the next visit.

I don't think there is kampung orang asli anymore in Bkt Cerakah. If I am not mistaken, the state gov. relocated them somewhere not far from Sg. Buloh Tol not so long ago.

You surely had a good adventure there.

Abd Razak,
Salam. Insyaalah ada rezeki dapatlah melawat tempat itu suatu hari nanti.

DrSam said...

Mia's mom,
From the highest peak in that park I am very sure can see your kitchen clearly...and your neighbor's cats too.

Yes...this T4 has a very close relationship with the coli...I mean E. coli.

catz,
subjek untuk tembakan juga banyak. Kalau nak betul-betul menembak, ditaman itu juga menyediakan tempat dan kemudahan untuk yang suka permainan paintball. Setting nampak gempak juga dalam hutan.

zue,
Boleh ajak group makan-makan you berkelah kat sini. Mesti meriah kalau group getah join.

DrSam said...

adiwarnatasya,
melihat kecantikan dengan mata hati, melihat kebesaranNYA dimana-mana.

wyograd,
WSM En. Halim. I am sure you had built enough bicep and six pack abs during those days. I remember when I was a small kid, my grandmother used to pound the newly-harvested paddy to make 'emping'. We eat them after mixing with sugar. nice taste, sweet smell. Blissful.

annfrendly,
Betul tu. Kena datang pagi-pagi supaya tak beratur panjang. terutama kalau nak naik shuttle bus.

life is a beautiful lyric,
Skytrex will surely be in our itinerary the next visit.

If the bicycle trek is flat, that probably should not be a problem. Otherwise...pancit!

DrSam said...

idasm,
Bila dah kembali menjengok tempat tu, rasa seronok pula. Memang rancang ingin kembali lagi.

kitchen guardian,
Hi Yani. Zoo Negara dah pergi baru-baru ni. Next visit tunggu dapat cucu pula :)

ekha@bella,
memang saya sokong hajat dihati!

Small Hiker said...

This place looks beautiful and serene. It's so near to my place yet so far. Thank you for sharing....

DrSam said...

Small Hiker,
I saw many people jogged that day in the park. the air was so refreshing.

Adliff said...

Salam,

Dr.Sam,

Taman Pertanian Bukit Cerakah, melihat gambarnya dalam album kakak kedua menyebabkan saya merayu-rayu dengan ayah dan emak agar dibenarkan mengikut rombongan sekolah rendah (tidak ingat darjah berapa) ke sana. Mahu tengok salji!

Yes, we tend to forget and lose the small happiness we had in order to get bigger thing. Sadly, years after the small thing completely gone, we yearn for it! Ah...live and living!

yohteh said...

...kalu kerajaang tganung buat se tempat ggining rembak² kg pok pe, kang molek..!

Naddiea said...

Doc,i've been visiting bukit cerakah when i was in primary school.and now i'm 30 years old.almost 20 yrs ago!!!during that time my relatives n I were walking along the short cut from my untie's house @ Sect 8 to bukit cerakah.we have to go thru big longkang and walk to the place.masa tu tanah merah lagi kat dlm tempat tu.masa tu buleh sewa basikal n jalan2 dlm hutan.serius hutan tebal masa tu.siap jatuh basikal okeh.huhuuhu..

what a sweet memories...nanti nk kene bwk kids jalan2 ke sana.x payah penat2 traveling jauh2 kan.nasib baik doc dh kembalikan memori saya yg satu ni ttg bukit cerakah.tq doc!

Fly said...

wahh Doc entry membuatkan saya dan catlina rasa cam nak gi sana lah.. :)

DrSam said...

aliff muhammad,
rasanya bukan saya seorang lah ni yang dah lama tak menjejakkan kaki ke situ ye :)

yohteh,
kg pok pe atau beloh padang llerang tepi bkt besor banyok baghoh hok comel lote pemandangan memang sesuai buat tempat rekreasi.

Naddiea,
Your experience is priceless. I wish time stands still and we can go back to savor those sweet yesteryear.

Jom kita buat piknik kat sana!

Fly,
memang kalau ada peluang kena melawat tempat tu. Peluang untuk menembak banyak sekali...lagi cun bagi orang yang kreatif macam cikguFly.

denaihati said...

Dah lama sungguh tak sampai sini. Teringin pulak nak pegi.

Fadhil said...

Salam Doc,

I've never been to this place. I thought Bukit Cerakah became an abandoned project some time back.

Thanks for the update. Now that I'm in the Klang Valley, will try to explore this place soon.

Faisal Admar said...

jeez! doc! i won't be canoeing at that kind of lake! scary tho!

DrSam said...

denaihati,
sama lah kita. kali terkahir pergi zaman teropong iman dulu-dulu.

Oldstock,
Salam. Bkt Cerakah was once became a hot topic in our local news for its over-developed surrounding. The place is really good for a family weekend outing.

Faisal Admar,
I know what you meant Faisal. Can't imagine what kind of monster lurking deep under that dark water,waiting to ambush their victim.

patungcendana said...

wow. aku tak tahu pun ada botancal park disini....hahaha....anak2 aku pun tak pernah tengok padi fieldd....nasib bak pokok getah pernah tengok...

glad to see you're up and about again...fully recovered i hope. :-)

Anonymous said...

Salam doc, how are you? The last time I went to this place was more than 10 years ago... it was a date with my hubby (then bf). We rented the bikes and explored the place. I remember very well that I was so exhausted and hungry after the bike ride that I finished a whole super burger at lunchtime. If you know me, you'll find that I'm not a big eater so that was quite an accomplishment! Didn't know the name has been changed twice and thanks to you, it looks like a place worth taking my kids to. I'm running out of ideas on how to tear them away from tv and gameboys...

adiwarnatasya said...

Salam...
Sangat cantik Dr Sam...
Indah ciptaanNta:)

Chuck said...

Aslkm,helo.Pon,pon.Letak teks cun n cute kat gambar kite.Nak tahu ? sila klik sini skrg http://merdayka.blogspot.com ,bubye dulu,see ya.

Ida BorneoLove said...

wow, cantek ya!?

I must try to make time to visit these beautiful places, and to enjoy with my kids & hubby of course. Bila ye??

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