The Ume Tatami Suite. A lot of Tatami and the house just look super grand.
Last weekend saw the first Travel Thru’ The Lens Trip of the year to Colmar Tropicale and stopping by Melaka along the way for some photo shoot and good food. The place we decided to stay is at Colmar Tropicale, a pseudo french theme hotel that is shaped like a french town. Around the area include the Genting Highlands Resorts, the gambling den up in the sky or as Stanly put it, Cloud Top (雲頂).
Having stayed at the Colmar town itself, I find that I should try the other accommodation that is around the area which is the Ume Tatami Suite, located just next to the Japanese Garden. To really understand the exclusivity of the place, one has to make specific inquiry to rent the place as it is not published on the Internet. Not just that, the suite a good 5 min car ride from the Colmar Town.
That got me intrigued, that got me very interested and the first time I was there with Ruth, the Suite was closed to the public but the entrance was really welcoming, like a house beckoning you to come home. And since we have a Photo group keen with travelling as well, then it is a great idea to share the place as a group. We planned and made the trip on the 14/15 Jan 2012.
The two storey stand alone suite sits just on top of the hill, with the master bedroom looking over the edge of the hill. There was this huge living/activity room with Tatami, a luxurious masterbed room with an easy chair at the corner, with 2 panels of floor to ceiling glass panels letting in light, and a very cosy and comfortable ground floor unit. The toilets are made to look like the typical Japanese types with wooden flood panels. One even have a bath tub like the onsen you would see in a hotel. There was even a small kitchenette for simple cooking. All in the place is well designed, homely and really a great place to just to stay quiet and enjoy the silence. We even have an excellent butler, Wazir, serving us. He made the stay much more bearable.
But knowing what SPIN members can be, the stay was anything but quiet. Thanks to the location, we did not disturb anyone and it was really a fun time together.
The entrance starts with an indoor pebble walkway. Grand!
The main living room
The master bedroom. Easy chair next to the jungle. Classy.
The Stairwell with Japanese Paper Lamp (modern type lah) with the resident hantu looking down for effect (LOL).
The ground floor rooms that can sleep 6 in a L shape configuration. Very cosy.
If you are hungry then the place to be eating would be the Canton Kitchen (老招牌) at the Kampung Bukit Tinggi. We actually went there for both lunch and dinner. That’s how good (and cheap) the place was. For more information you can click on to http://www.cantonkitchen.com.my/ . There is another highlight to the place especially for kids as they can see how a kampong looked like, how vegetables are grown with a nice sungei flowing around the back of the restaurant. BTW, the kampung chicken do come fresh, very fresh and so does the vegetables and that add quality to its dishes.
The chicken dens, small pond for the fresh water fish. To the back is their own vegetable plot.
Pot belly stew. Not as smooth as the China standard but it is still delicious!
Deep Fried Toufu with mince meat. Simple yet tasteful
Kampung Chicken. Meat that are a bit more textured than Farm bred.
Colmar Tropicale can be said to be a bit of an oddity. Here we are in the mountains and yet it don’t feel as cool. The french feel isn’t there too. What it do have is some pretty nice night scene for a shutter bug to practice, night show and performances to keep the guys’ eyes glued to the stage with Caucasian dancers that looks like Spanish/Irish/Russian. Anyway the night activities are not that bad and the day is a bit boring save for some nice kids activities, blowing bubbles and the like. Great photo opp actually!
Night Street Scene of Colmar
From the top of the tower
Time to win some love~
Either shoot to win…
…or hook to win. And nope, Maria and Nicole did not win anything.
Roving band entertaining the patrons.
Time for some night dance entertainment
Fire eaters roam the streets
End with a big bang
On the way back, perhaps score some road kills.
The next day was pretty uneventful comparing to the night before we have to literally went over hills just to get to a shower. It was a good night sleep but the body was aching all over, perhaps due to the excessive driving. But kudos goes to Stanly who has no help in the form of a relieve driver. We really need a break from driving so we got the hotel shuttle bus to pick us up from the suite and have a hearty buffet breakfast. But I guess at the back of our mind is the better food over at Malacca where we will be meeting the Malacca Express group comprising of Ah Po Kevin Chua, Kopi Prince Kevin Yeo, Sandwich Princess Ann Tam and Siao-Tsiao Joanna Ng (yes she went for his concert prior to the trip).
After KY picked us up at the Zoo, we went over to The Friends Cafe for some nice western lunch and power coffee. After which we tried the river cruise and then went to the floating mosque for some sun set. Lastly we ended with the best seafood makan only the local knows about, Medan Ikan Bakar@Muara SG. Duyong. Cheap and good and huge (the sting ray is exceptionally big).
Breakfast on Wheels
The fish pasta? Looks good!
Carbonara with Poached Egg. Perennial Favourite!
Latte with Double Shot. Need it for the driving later.
Beef ball Pasta. Yum~
The Cat. Note the strip of white. Beautiful.
The Boat Ride
The crew: Jo, Michelle, Stanly, Maria, Anthony, LSL, Jacklyn, Ann, Nicole, Kevin Chua. Missing: Kevin Yeo.
Colourful murals along the river banks. It was used to be as smelly as the old Singapore river. Kudos to the local government making Melaka worthy of UNESCO heritage town award.
Life along the bank
Boat Stop near Kampong Morten. Will visit this place when doing the BMT Outdoor Practical Trip.
The Floating Mosque with Jacklyn Ting
The sunset with Ann Tam
Super slow shutter speed. Waves against rocks
The Lighthouse and The Rocks
Blue hour beauty
Before the feast. The black sauce and chili. POWER!
Shrunken Scallop. But it is really nice. After this, no more food photo because we all are busy eating! (at least I am!)
We ended the trip on a high note. And the good thing is that it usher in the holiday mood that is coming in another week’s time and we will be going there again soon (compliments of the Colmar Resort).
More photos can be seen at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wilzworkz/sets/72157628894869505/ If you are thinking of joining us for the trip do join us at http://groups.to/SPIN to be in the know.
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