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VMY2007: Taman Pertanian Malaysia

Posted by narrowband - 06/06/07 at 01:06:55 am

I’m not even sure if I should associate my visit to the park with the VMY2007 campaign. By the way, in English, it’s known as the Malaysia Agricultural Park. It was my first time there, and I’m not surprised that it may well be my last, too. I think it’s a great hangout place if you’ve nothing better to do on a Sunday morning, really.

We got up at about 7am on a beautiful Sunday morning, and drove to Bukit Cahaya Seri Alam in high spirits (btw, I rarely wake up that early on Sundays!). It was overall a fun trip, because I had a great company of friends and we had lotsa fun by ourselves. But gee…, the place seriously needs a little bit of maintenance.

The first thing we did was getting ourselves a bike. The notice board said each bike would cost RM3 per hour. But the bikes outside (seen in picture) were pretty old. So we took a peek inside and saw several new ones, which would of course be more comfortable. And then we were told that those bikes would cost RM5 per hour. Ah great. We rarely go to that place anyway, so we agreed.

It was actually very nice – cycling with a bunch of friends in a park (a huge one, that is). I seldom did that even as a kid. The first stop was the Animal Park. It was supposed to be like a mini zoo. From afar, we were greeted by a talking parrot.

Yeah seriously, it could talk. But it didn’t listen to what we say – all it did was repeating “Hello” until we got bored. So we moved on and saw some deers.

It was even more boring. At least the parrot could talk. We spent about 3 minutes watching the deers walking around on some barren, hilly terrain… And there were so many of them! Well at least they wouldn’t feel so alone in there. Poor deers.

And then there were horses. Hmm, ok. Nothing to talk about these horses. Let’s move on…

This place is what they call the… I forgot what it’s called. But it’s somewhere near the Fishing Lake, if I’m not mistaken. Gosh I suck at blogging informational stuff right?

That boat really had water surrounding it, like a mini-lake. Of course, the boat didn’t actually float on it – it was fixed to the ground. So I think the sole purpose of that water was to breed mosquitoes. U’huh. On board, that boat had nothing impressive, although it was exciting to explore every corner of the boat and discover things (not that there was much to discover). Just look at that picture – would you want to be there?

Our bikes, parked by the roadside because we were going into the… *drumrolls please*… House of Four Seasons! *sounds of cymbals crashing*. It was supposed to be one of the highlights of the trip. Entrance fee was RM3 per adult. No problem, we were dying to find out what the house was all about.

That’s the corridor inside the house, and frankly, I expected to see four sections in the house, each with its own season. But no, it was basically a large super-cold, indoor garden. Since it was our first time there, we didn’t mind all that. In fact, we camwhored like there was no tomorrow. Indeed, we didn’t think we would visit that place again.

That’s just one of the many photos we took while inside the house. Actually, I think we broke the time limit too (there’s a maximum amount of time you can spend in there, to make way for other visitors). We played with everything from self-timed shots to macro shots.

Cybie decided to take one last shot before leaving the house. This section was a no-entry section (note the railings), so all we could do was take pictures from the corridor, behind the glass doors. The temperature rise after coming out of the house could easily fog camera lenses. We went back to our bikes and carried on our journey.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is some tall viewing tower that was probably constructed even before I hit puberty. The view from atop was quite nice, actually (for some reason I always love the scenery seen from on top of a tall building or structure). But the way up (and down) was terrifying.

I’m surprised that the staircase could still be used. When we arrived, there were already about 20-30 people on that tower. The stairs were pretty narrow and steep, so every step had to be taken with extreme care.

That’s how high it looks from the second-highest level on that tower. And I was skeptical about going to the top level, because of this:

Seriously, is this place safe for visitors or what? We were somewhere 30-40 meters above the ground, and no one manned that place. Visitors were free to climb up, and down. What if the stairs (or even, the entire structure) couldn’t support the load? Clearly, some of the joints were no longer as strong as when it was first built.

That’s the entrance to some “information center”, where (supposedly) you could buy souvenirs and learn about mushrooms (there was a mushroom farm nearby but we didn’t go). It seemed like that place had been abandoned for a long time now. The doors were locked.

We got back on our bikes and journeyed on. The roads around the park were not exclusively for bicycles only, although outside vehicles were not allowed in. However, on that happening day when we were there, a bunch of children were having some kinda educational trip, so the teachers/facilitators could drive around the park in their own vehicles. And I say that they drove pretty dangerously. I almost fell on one of the narrower roads in the park when negotiating a blind corner because I had to avoid an oncoming, speeding 4-wheel-drive. That sucked.

That’s the entrance into the Orchid Garden. No one was in there and it was really quiet. We didn’t bother to go inside. Besides, it was way past 11am and we were hungry.

I still think that the best part of the whole trip was the cycling experience. It had been a while since I rode a bicycle and Jian even joked, “Seriously I’m a little worried, because I haven’t been cycling for a long time”. It was fun to cruise down hill at speed, although I admit that it wasn’t exactly the safest thing to do.

We left the place at about 12 noon, utterly exhausted. The Sun was shining right above our heads when we were walking back towards our cars. I think our trip to the park was more of an eye-opener than anything else. It’s very likely that we will think twice before deciding to go there again – for whatever reason.

Related Entries:

• VMY2007: Taman Negara
• Outdoor Photography
• VMY2007: The Eye on Malaysia
• Pride of KL: RM400K Public Washroom
• The Amazing Vista Walk Hunt

30 Comments »

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1. Interesting place… well okay, it would be more interesting if they had maintained it well, eh? So sayang… But I’d love to go cycling too, in a park :) Reminds me of Skansen in Stockholm. Skansen is an open-air museum. It’s one of the most interesting places I’ve been. Yet to blog about it :p But I shall… soon…

   VMY… Very Memalufying, Ya? :p

   Comment by angel — June 6, 2007 #

2. Dear Birthday Girl, yes that place is abit ‘down’, even the entrance into that place didn’t look very welcoming! Cycling is probably the best thing to do there :p

   Looking forward to your Skansen entry!!

   Comment by narrowband — June 6, 2007 #

3. oh wow, it look so much like the other park i went to the other day, also sama old and broken, hahahaha

   Comment by simmy — June 6, 2007 #

4. lol, too bad I never learn cycling in my life yet!

   Comment by ~TheAngel~ — June 6, 2007 #

5. Now that you’ve taken me a tour around Bukit Cahaya, I don’t think I want to pay the place a visit. :P

   I miss cycling though…

   What does VMY stands for?

   Comment by Che-Cheh — June 6, 2007 #

6. Simmy – I hope there weren’t any “VMY2007″ banners hung around that park!

   TA – Seriously? Try it!

   Che-cheh – VMY2007 stands for “Visit Malaysia Year 2007″ ler.. ;p

   Comment by narrowband — June 6, 2007 #

7. I’ve never been there, and I thought it was a cool place. I mean, my teachers talked about it when I was still in secondary school! But if the authorities didn’t do a good job maintaining the place, too bad la :)

   Comment by pelf — June 6, 2007 #

8. LOL at angel’s intepretation of VMY! Yup yup, agreed with angel’s version. Hopefully no tourists get suckered into going there by some glossy touched-up brochure.

   That viewing tower is an accident waiting to happen! They should either repair it or make the tower off limits to the public.

   p.s. Like ~TheAngel~ I can’t ride a bike too! *grin*

   Comment by rinnah — June 6, 2007 #

9. Sounds fun (if you do it once in a while with friends). Hahaha!

   So, you’re the one in yellow shorts? :D

   Comment by day-dreamer — June 6, 2007 #

10. Pelf – Ya lor. Worse thing is that they still open to visitors and summore go hang all that VMY2007 banners everywhere…

    Rinnah – Quite malufying also lar actually. But then while we were there, we didn’t see any foreigners… so maybe the ‘damage’ hasn’t been done yet. Still got chance to improve lar, although quite pointless also…

    Why lar didn’t go try to ride bike… In future we must promote cycling cos it helps slow down global warming *semangat from yesterday’s World Environment Day* :p

    Day-dreamer – Fun indeed. Me, yellow shorts? *Beeper goes off*… noperz, try again! Hahaha…

    Comment by narrowband — June 6, 2007 #

11. Ah, bukit cahaya! used to frequent the place when i was small, cant believe they still charge the same RM3 per hour for bike rides. You make me wanna go there again, hehe.

    I like the group shot! So cool :D

    Comment by Julee — June 6, 2007 #

12. outing tat we don’t do often and great to be part of it. :)

    Oh and bro, just curious.. i’m kinda ashame to admit this but i really wish u are with me this time.. did the part around ur ass hole hurt after the the bicycle rides? come on be frank with me.. i dun wanna be alone here having ass pains!! Unless, u have good comfort fat ass cheeks.. hmm.. pls let me know..

    Comment by Jian — June 7, 2007 #

13. LoL, serious, I never know how to ride one… very bad huh?
    I think it’s pretty bad…

    Comment by ~TheAngel~ — June 7, 2007 #

14. I remember falling off a bicycle when I was on a trip to Pangkor (during a company trip) much like this one (but this looks nicer) and boy did it hurt! Falling off when you’re an adult with old bones hurts much more than falling off when you’re a kid. Haha.

    Comment by mumsgather — June 7, 2007 #

15. Julee – I can’t believe that I hadn’t been to that place for more than 22 years, only to visit it for the first time two weeks ago!

    Ah, now I know what type of photos people like to see – group pics!

    Jian – Stop feeding my site with all that p0rn0-terminol0rgies because perverts are starting to reach my site via those p0rn0 keywords you typed!

    Yeah that stupid bicycle seat damn hard, like rock. Go over bumps and you’d feel the ‘sensation’. It was bad, ok.

    Btw Jian, you have every reason to behave like a good boy here because you’re the only male responding in this post… (hmm, not that it’s a bad thing, but I’m wondering if my blog is losing male audience… ;p)

    TA – I think cycling can be really fun, especially when you do it with someone or a group of people whom you’re close with. It’s a refreshing thing you know, we don’t ride bicycles often.

    MG – Ouch, I can almost imagine the pain… I think the brakes are important – that day I almost fell because the brakes were not really effective, resulting in the panic-manoeuvre. So always check the brakes before deciding on a bicycle, especially a rented one.. :D

    Comment by narrowband — June 7, 2007 #

16. Wow.. that staircase is really high!!! Goodness! So scary! The house of four seasons looks weird. I have heard lots about this place. As in only the name of this place. Wouldn’t mind going there someday though.. But I can’t ride a bike! =(

    Comment by -Princess Shin- — June 8, 2007 #

17. Sorry bro for expressing in human body parts. I’ll control this.. u know i don’t mean to get u flooded with p0rn0 surfers. But u know, those word like – sensation tat u used, might get some kinda p0rn0 attention too! haha..

    wow, honoured ui~! the only guy? Hmm.. or is ur post catered more towards gal? which makes frequent visitors like me, gurly?! Let me guess.. ur charm is fooling with u.. :)

    i dun mind being a gal-reader though :p but i dun think ur post are focused on gals thingy, maybe it’s the writer that they like..

    Comment by Jian — June 8, 2007 #

18. Unfortunately I don’t think I ever ride one myself…

    Comment by ~TheAngel~ — June 8, 2007 #

19. R.AGE shirt?

    Comment by day-dreamer — June 8, 2007 #

20. Princess – But the best part of the whole trip was cycling!! If you’re expecting some other ‘excitement’, hm… maybe you gotta bring your own props… ;p

    Jian – I’m not attracting enough male readers. On a brighter note, that’s a good thing…, remember Weirdster? Hehe…

    TA – That place is a bit of a let-down … :( Sad to say – As much as I love to praise that place, I am disappointed myself… Taman Negara is much better!!

    Day-dreamer – Wah you really take another guess! This time it’s a good guess… How’d you do that? Actually I have quite a number of (shameless) camwhore-pics in my archives… Haha… I’m not that ‘anonymous’ anymore, at least to those who started reading me a lil earlier. Yes, I got my R.AGE shirt from here…!:D

    Comment by narrowband — June 8, 2007 #

21. its good what you’re doing for VMY2007! keep it up!

    Comment by wuching — June 9, 2007 #

22. Wuching, I smell sarcasm :p Anyway, despite the negative (but honest) comments I’ve written about the park, I must credit the local government (and relevant authorities) for keeping the park open til this day.

    It’s unfair to highlight only the down side of that park, because if it weren’t for the maintenance (no matter how little) efforts being carried out, I’m sure the park would have been closed years ago.

    Comment by narrowband — June 9, 2007 #

23. You’re tagged.

    I forgot if you do tags or not. But then someone said it’s their favourite tag of all!

    So try it, yeah?

    Comment by Deng — June 9, 2007 #

24. ah?? semangatnya~~ ahhaha at least there’s some place for you to visit hahaha

    Comment by BLuEaPpLE — June 9, 2007 #

25. Interesting! It’s so fun to be young, going together with your pals on a trip or excursion. Aunty here say want to go outing only, all the young ones cabut! Maybe I should stop being so long-winded. hmmm…. hehehe…..

    Comment by eastcoastlife — June 9, 2007 #

26. Deng – Consider it done! ;)

    Alicia – I know you won’t wake up that early on a Sunday morning one….

    ECL – As long as the heart stays young, life can be just as fun :p

    Comment by narrowband — June 10, 2007 #

27. what’s address Taman Pertanian Malaysia…in K.L ke?

    Comment by i want go to TPM — August 17, 2007 #

28. Looks like a nice place to get away from the busy KL life.

    Comment by Neo — September 2, 2007 #

29. Wow!! you had lots of fun there! Haha.. and as for me, we didn’t explore till the ship there.. and it was very tiring man… we bailed when it’s around 12 something.

    yeah, it’s really suck because there is outside vehicle and motorcycles cruising along the pathway too.

    Comment by Eugene — March 14, 2008 #

30. May i know the total expenses? like the bike rental, entrance fees? and got any good food near that area?

    Comment by KENJIWOO — July 7, 2008 #

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