Strawberry Farm at Genting Highlands Part 4 - Wordless Wednesday

I am delighted to dedicate this post to Ami, from Florida, USA of Southeast Florida Garden Evolvement blog, the first commenter of my previous "The Garden at Hotel Theme Park - Genting Highlands Part 2 " post. She's having "a new look for her garden corner". Go on and head over to her blog to view the lovely flowers.

Update on June 2nd, 2011
If you wish to buy lots of strawberries home and worry about what to do with the excess, fear not! You can freeze them and store them in the fridge. Read this post, "How To Freeze Strawberries" by Bumble Lush.

The Garden at Hotel Theme Park, Genting Highlands Part 3

This scenic view of the sky, blue mountains and the beautiful landscaped garden is what I enjoyed most when I looked out of the balcony on the lobby floor of Theme Park Hotel, Genting Highlands. I never regretted taking an early morning walk all the way here from First World Hotel where I stayed.

This 3 star hotel which is nicknamed, "Castle in the clouds" is just a few steps away from the entrance to the Outdoor Theme Park of Genting Highlands Resort where all the exciting games and adrenaline pumping rides are available for the young and old to enjoy. The front of this hotel has a structure that resembles a castle and there is a manicured garden at the back.

At the edge of the garden, there is a splendid view of our Malaysian rainforest. Southeast Asia's rainforests are among the oldest on Earth. Some scientists believe that our present day Malaysian rainforests may have existed over 100 million years ago. Our rainforests are home to a great number of plant species, many of which are endangered or endemic. It is also home to our endangered orangutans, elephants and the Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris malayensis, Malay: Harimau Belang).

This postcard perfect garden is landscaped with the Tibouchina urvilleana (glory bush) in the center surrounded by celosia in bright shades of red, orange and yellow while rain lilies line the outer circumference. There is a stone reflexology path for visitors to walk on. Manicured cuphea bushes act as ground covers that define the boundaries around the garden. The cool temperatures here is very conducive for many flowering plants.

This looks like a chinese rose in bloom.

An orange daylily just about to open.

A closeup of the pretty, sweet cuphea flowers in a combo of purple and white.

A partially opened rain lily in shades of pink and white.

Another rain lily bud is going to open soon.

I was enjoying myself, breathing in the fresh morning air and clicking away with my camera while hubby was glued to his seat at the pavillion nearby, reading his newspapers. When I was finished with my photography session, I felt invigorated, satisfied and ready to kickstart my day.

I am extremely delighted to dedicate this post to Ms Silke Power from Savannah, USA, of Methmorphosis blog. She was my first commenter for my previous Wordless Wednesday post titled, "Genting Highlands Flowers." She is a self taught artist and her blog is filled with beautiful and interesting posts.

This is my entry for Blooming Friday, 3rd week of March 2010. The theme this week is "Summer". She also asks, "If you were to pick one single photo to illustrate Summer, which one would you pick?" I would pick my 4th picture showing flowers in full bright blooms. My grateful thanks to Katarina at Roses and Stuff for hosting Blooming Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, click here.

This is also my entry for Fertilizer Friday. My grateful thanks to Tootsie at Tootsie Time for hosting Fertilizer Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, visit here.

Genting Highlands Flowers (Part 2) - Wordless Wednesday

1. Impatiens 'New Guinea' (Impatiens hawkeri)

2. Marigold - African Lemon Supreme (Tagetes erecta)

3. Bromeliad - ??? species

4. Hydrangea

5. Phoenix Tail (Celosia argentea)

I would like to dedicate this post to Rainfield61, from the beautiful state of Penang, Malaysia of My Journey blog, the first commenter of my previous "Chin Swee Temple, Genting Highlands - Part 1 " post. He is a nature lover and his blog chronicles his exciting adventures off the beaten track at Cerok Tekun, Penang.

Post publication update: the names are typed in red.

Chin Swee Temple - Genting Highlands Part 1

“Chin Swee Temple - Genting Highlands Part 1”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on March 12, 2010.

An aerial view from Chin Swee Temple grounds.

Genting Highlands is located at the peak of a tropical rainforest within the Titiwangsa Range, it highest point is at an elevation of 1,760 metres (5,800 ft) above sea level. It houses the Genting Highlands Resort that sits on the border between Selangor and Pahang states of Malaysia. It is about 51 km from our federal capital of Kuala Lumpur, or 45 min. drive by car.

The pathway of the Journey to Reincarnation is depicted on the far left.

Genting is also known as the 'Las Vegas' of Malaysia and the 'City of Entertainment'. It is here that you will find the only legal casinos (2 of them now) in the whole of Malaysia. But there is also a spiritual side to this resort.

Recently, during the month of January 2010, we drove up to Genting Highlands Resort to celebrate our 22nd wedding anniversary. We travelled off-peak so as to escape the crowd and enjoy the peace and tranquility of this beautiful highland 'above the clouds' as it is known in Chinese (雲頂高原) . Half way up, at about 4,600 ft above sea level, we decided to stopover at the Chin Swee Temple, which according to the resort's publicity news, is situated 'at a rocky forested land on the most scenic spot of Genting Highlands'.

There is a large square spreading over 35,000 sq ft, aptly named Sky Terrace (Place for Heavenly Offering) for visitors and devotees to take a leisurely stroll among the ‘clouds in heaven’. Shrouded in mist, this place looks like paradise on Earth.

“Chin Swee Temple - Genting Highlands Part 1”, a copyrighted post, was written for My Nice Garden blog by Autumn Belle @ http://www.mynicegarden.com/ on March 12, 2010.

I was extremely delighted to find many many orange daylilies blooming here. That was the first time I ever see a real daylily plant. There's a pagoda here, partially hidden from view by the tall trees. A mythical crane, the fengshui symbol of longevity is perched at the railing and seems to be admiring the scenic views of its surroundings.

Daylilies seem to do well in this place where the daily temperatures average between 14C - 25C.

At first glance, I thought these were the Melastoma malabathricum (Straits Rhododendron) or senduduk as we fondly call it by the local name.

However, based on the flower colour, I think they are the Tibouchina urvilleana or Princess Flower (Glory Bush).

This is a monument with the statue of the late Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong, the founder of Genting Highlands Resort. He discovered this serene site when he started building works on the first hotel at the peak of Genting Highlands. While constructing the road leading to Genting Highlands, he spotted this cool rocky slope, covered with green tropical vegetation dotted with flowing streams, which was very similar to the Chin Swee Crag back in his native Penglai Village in Fujian, China. Here, he was inspired to build a temple similar to the original one in China. Hence, that was how Chin Swee Temple of Malaysia took shape.

I like the lush variegated foliage of the croton plants in the planter below the statue. Do you think you can see some shadows of me reflected in the pink slab of granite there?

I am extremely delighted to dedicate this post to Ms Tatyana from Washington, USA, of MySecretGarden blog. She was my first commenter for my previous Wordless Wednesday post titled, "Blue Vine Sariteae magnifica." Her blog and pictures are as beautiful as the places that I am visiting now. I am so glad that despite her very busy schedule, she still drops by to view and comment on my posts.

This is my entry for Blooming Friday, 2nd week of March 2010. My grateful thanks to Katarina at Roses and Stuff for hosting Blooming Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, click here.


This is also my entry for Fertilizer Friday. My grateful thanks to Tootsie at Tootsie Time for hosting Fertilizer Friday. To see what others have posted or to participate, visit here.