We managed to survive day 1 in the rainforest! All of us slept like a log throughout the night. I supposed because we were all too exhausted. Plus the naturally cool air from the forest (NO air-con), it made our sleep even better.
Look at smarties…they were still lazing on the mattresses. That’s the 2nd floor of our treehouse. Romantic? Noticed there’s no windows at all? 
That’s how we climbed up and down between the floors in our treehouse. Smarties were up and ready in a jiffy. While waiting for the adults to be ready…
they were out on the balcony relaxing in the hammock…
Before we headed out for breakfast, we had a nice climb to one of the viewing platform. It was pretty high up and we felt like a never ending climb before we reached the top. Warning: This is NOT for the weak-hearted.
Can’t even see the bottom of the tree when I was at the top.
After we had a quick breakfast, owner of the treehouse brought us all for jungle trekking. He even taught us how to climb. Check out the 3 “monkies” here!
Further up the jungle, there was a huge tree where the owner taught us how to connect with nature. His connection was much much better than us as he wasn’t wearing shoes at all! Yes, barefooted in the jungle. We haven’t reached that stage yet. Maybe next time.
Connecting…
…and listening to the heartbeat of the tree.
We found a huge trunk lying down and so all the kids…oops and a daddy too….went to have a group picture taken.
Midway through our trekking, there was a sudden downpour. It was raining cats and dogs and it freaked the smarties out as there wasn’t any shelter around. Worse of all, it was a long way back to our treehouse. The other group of children was exceptionally agile and they moved rather quickly while we were still struggling with our steps down the slopes.
By the time we reached our shelter, we were all soaked and mei mei actually cried all the way back. Totally an experience to remember. *Pardon the blur picture as I was soaked too.*
We went back to our treehouse, we rested, we calmed down, we changed. I’m amazed at how fast smarties recovered from the shock they just had. NO whining, NO continuous crying, NO throwing off the tantrum. Whew! Before you knew it, we were out and about again.
Sun was out by the time we were ready to head out. We went straight to Pekan Nanas (aka Pineapple Town, in Pontian District, Johor) and visited a pineapple plantation called NICTAR. We were given a tour by the guide and he gave a detailed explanation about their pineapple plantation from the size of the land to how they came to be what they are now.
A very educational tour for both kids and adults. We were taught how to differentiate pineapples (just like durians), their life cycle, the different parts of the pineapple and how each part of it is useful for what purpose.
On top of pineapples, they rear chickens as well. They explained how the chickens and pineapples provide mutual benefits to each other. Very interesting and educational indeed!
Mei mei,the animal lover, saw the chickens and couldn’t resist going after them. She wanted to hug them. Noticed her happy face when she saw the chickens?
We were all waiting to see if she managed to get hold of them and take a nice picture with it.
At the end of the pineapple tour, we were served pineapple juice and its fruits. It was refreshing, juicy and sweet!
Once we were done with the pineapples, we were introduced to their bee farm. They raised their own bees to produce honey.
They have 2 types of bees: with stings and without stings (aka stingless bees). This is how the stingless beehive looks like.
After pineapples and bees, it was time for dinner. We went to Coxn’s Cafe for the dinner. It was a nice and cosy dining area.
Right beside the cafe, they have a very nice scenic view where on good days, you can catch the sunset. Smarties and friend were happily enjoying their view before our food came.
Here’s what we ordered for that day’s dinner. Do they look good? Psst…prices are cheaper than the hawker here. Rating of the food? Thumbs up!
Before heading back, we went to a little house for a nice cup of coffee, tea and chocolate for the kids. It’s a nice little cafe by the name of Platform Coffee & Homestay owned by a couple.
Love their little cosy corner where we sat there relaxing the night away; enjoying the hectic free and stress free moment.
Smarties had their fun at the swing right next to our cosy corner.
Following our drinks and a nice chit-chat session, it was time to head back to the treehouse for the night. We had great fun with a great company today. Not to forget, great memories!
Sweet dreams and do stay tuned for more updates while we take a break… 🙂
Wow! What amazing experiences! Very cool. So glad you’re taking pictures and blogging about it.
Thanks, Camie! The pictures and blogging really useful for keeping these memories and sharing it 🙂
Oh! This is fantastic… I love how fun this is for the kids… Too bad my kids are too young to experience this… I love the cafe! I think its the best part of the experience… I love anything about food, haha…
http://www.littlemisshoney.com
Can keep this in view. When your kids are older can go for it 😉
Yes, I can excited to bring my kids there when they turn 3 years old ?
Looks like an adventure!! I don’t mind no aircon. Got mosquito or not ahh??
Have mossies. We used loads of mosquito coils and repellent during the trip. Guess hard to avoid mossies at such places… 😛
That tree house is so high up! I think I will get weak legs climbing up. Perhaps when the kids are older.
Are there a lot of insects bites there?
We didn’t get any insect bites except mossies…
Yes, I was abit freaking out when I was half way up but manage to make myself go to the top. Break my own gut record haha.
Looks like a good experience for our urban kids! That treehouse climb does look scary though.. The kids were okay to go??
My kids ran up without me! I was freaking out more than them….LOL!
The treehouse looks like something my bubba would love! Now I have to cast my fear for heights aside ;(
Yeah, really have to cast your fear of heights aside when you are there. At the end of the day, you feel satisfied with yourself being able to break your own record of letting go and moving on!
Whoa! This looks so cool. Such a nice experience it must be to be near to nature.
Yep!
Wah so much activities!
The tower must be at least 6 storeys high! And the see-though steps look scary 🙂
cheers, Andy
(SengkangBabies.com)
I was thinking may be higher than that! When I was at the top, I can basically look very far but I couldn’t take any pic as I was having a bit of jelly legs….hahaa….scared my camera will drop because of my jelly hands ;p
Day 2 seems more appetizing as compared to Day 1 to be honest. Hehe! I would love to visit a Pineapple farm too, so interesting leh!
haha… because day 1, by the time we reached , was already half day gone. Left with half day, not much to explore.
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