Bukit Tinggi

Bukit tinggi (Berjaya Hills, what it's now called) is a themed hill resort just less than an hour drive out of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. It's an easy and cheerful getaway for the city dwellers because it's cool (more than 2500 feet above the sea level) and surrounded by lush tropical rain forest.

One very recent Saturday, I decided to give it a try taking a day trip to Bukit Tinggi. After entering the resort area, I first drove straight to the Japanese village and then to Colmar Tropicale. Oh! I forgot to mention that there's a 16 ringgit entrance fee to the resort area (for admissions to Japanese Village, Colmar Tropicale and Rabbit Farm).
In my opinion, that's a bit of a rip-off. You will get the entrance fee back if you stay in the hotel though.

The idyllic Japanese Village consists of beautiful gardens, waterfalls, koi ponds a spa and a Japanese Tea House. It was planned and designed by a Japanese architect in order to achieve the details and authenticity of Japanese craftsmanship in the midst of Malaysia. Although it may not at all be as impressive as those Japanese gardens I have seen in Japan, it is definitely worth a visit especially if you like photography and garden strolling; and of course if you live within an hour drive.

The main hotel site, Colmar Tropicale, is an inspiration of the picturesque Alsatian town with narrow streets, medieval square and timber-framed townhouses. At Colmar tropicale, there are a french restaurant, French bakery, Italian restaurant, Chinese take-away and more along the "main street". I have been to the real Colmar in France. Compared to the real one, to say the least, this imitated Colmar (Tropicale) is indeed lack of the charm and medieval atmosphere of Colmar. Considering that you are in Malaysia, this is as good as it gets. We later had dinner in the Italian restaurant before we left for home.

Apart from those, there is also an 18-hole golf course for golf lovers. According to the future plan of the resort, there will be more replicas of European towns and castles such as Haut-Koenigsbourg Castle (opening soon), Granada, the Acropolis and Neuschwanstein Castle. Until the future upgrades, Bukit tinggi is still not quite a tourist attraction in Malaysia.