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Friday, September 28, 2018

Weekend in Selangor Fruit Valley (SFV)



“BEST! BEST! BEST giler.
I highly recommend this for family outings.”
This is what I shared in my Instagram post (yeah, it is with video, you should check-out the videos. Kinda funny if I may say so myself).


I realized from my Twitter and Instagram feedbacks, most of the questions asked are the entrance fee and activities available. I guess I better keep this post as simple as possible and shared those valuable details… as for my view of the place? My Instagram video post says it all…. Hahahhahahaa….

Activity
  • Tram ride (mono tram and tractors)
  • Petting zoo (deer, rabbit, hedgehog and guinea pig)
  • Herbal garden (150 species of herb)
  • Orchard
  • Harvesting vegetables activity
  • Stingless bees farm (lebah kelulut)
  • Mountain bike trail
  • Rubber tapping activity
  • Rumah Kampung with all the farm animals


Amazed?
Yeah! Me too.

Selangor Fruit Valley is develop to encourage and build Selangor’s agro-tourism,  this 1,000-acre of Selangor Fruit Valley land covers rubber plantation, infrastructure,  PKPS managed land, agripreneur program as well as main building and event spaces. There are more than 40 agricultural agripreneurs participated in SFV program by renting lots of at least 5 to 10 acres, I thought it was an interesting concept whereby those who don’t have agriculture land can seek their help and rent the lots. I was made to understand that they have to plant with tanaman kontan or cash crop, and the agripreneurs are to commercialise their crops. 

Being among the biggest fruit centres in Malaysia, Selangor Fruit Valley also serves as an educational playground for children as well as an experience centre for adults. This can been seen in their Laman Herba or Herbs Garden (I enjoyed the most), rubber tapping activity and learning about stingless bee, harvesting its honey, its anatomy and its controlled environment to achieve the best honey quality among others.


Aside from this, I’ve learnt SFV has a bio tech lab where tissues are being cultured, as well as seed bank. Not only that, they also teaches public on how to culture a tissue to multiply shoots from a single shoots. This training is liked by agripreneurs as it helps increase their crops at a lower cost.

Nangchem! Is basically a hybrid of Nangka (jackfruit) and Cempedak (a species of jackfruit/breadfruit). The taste and texture is enhanced (similar to a cempedak) and it is available the whole year round (just like a nangka).


Buah Mentega

Laman Herba or Herbs Garden. My favourite! As I learnt that there is an herbs called misai kucing and lidah kucing (I just learnt too) but there is no pokok ekor kucing (why???). There is a tree that is called Thai apple (glam kan) and it is used for ‘mandi jenazah’ (google this yourself *wink*), then there is this super rich tree – Janda Kaya and there’s also Janda Berangan, yet it is no where near Janda Baik. Patawali is a plan that if you drink it, you blood will taste bitter and mosquito simply hates it (read : you) but it doesn’t take-away you sweet smile nor charm (ayam pick-up line tuh). Gosh…. There is so many more, you just have to check-it out yourself!


The Petting Zoo is a bonus for the kids, as there are rabbits, hedgehog and guidea pig for the kids to ‘pet’ and there’s more at Rumah Kamping – kambing kacang (comei giler), turkey, babu/angsa (goose) and duck. And then there is also the Deer Park. No, you can’t go in and play with the deer.

Lunch? Food? Worry not, their cafeteria food is simply yummeh (especially the sambal belancan). Oh yah! If you are coming in a large group, do give them a call ahead of time as the entrance fee is charge separately from the activities. You can also ‘ala crate’ you package, to do so, call or email them (details below).


Hey! Teambuilding+nature concept can be arranged as well, meeting room is available at a nominal fee. You are wondering on accommodation right? I’ve asked them the same, camp site can be arranged with proper shower room. Basic accommodation room is in their phase 2 plan, once it is ready, we can all stay there. YEAY!




Selangor Fruit Valley
KM 7, Jalan Rawang – Bestari Jaya
Bestari Jaya, Selangor

Operating hours
9:00 am – 4.00 pm
Close on Friday
Tel : 03 – 3272 0019 / 20





7-Regale, Eat Travel Write Selangor 2018 Media Fam Trip is in collaboration with Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (UPEN) Selangor and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.






Monday, September 24, 2018

Eagle-feeding in Kuala Selangor





Pasir Penambang, a friend Chinese village by the river; famous for its fresh seafood, restaurant and eagle feeding.
Yup! You heard me right, alright. Eagle feeding.
And yes, it is in Kuala Selangor (sure you guys ingat Langkawi ajer ada kannnn).



Popularly known for its fresh seafood and seafood restaurant, Pasir Panambang sees Malaysian from all walks of life, visiting this quaint little fishing village often to enjoy sumptuous Chinese style seafood at an affordable price. But since a few years back, it has garners tourist to enjoy not just the seafood, but other activities as well, namely a trip to Sky Mirror, fireflies boat cruise (kelip-kelip in Malay) and now, eagle feeding.

Still an underdog amongst other activities (famous one being the Sky Mirror – you can click here to know more), I find eagle feeding is more on the relaxing side, especially for those who wants to take a breather and just spending time on the boat – watching nature takes it course. Well, in this case, a bit of incentives for the eagle – chicken skin. Few things that I gather is that, boats are coloured differently as it help the birds to tell the difference between the tourist boats and usual working boats (and all this while I thought all animals are colour blind, silly me [eyes rolling]). With this distinction and conditioning, the eagles knew when and which boat came to feed them. Another conditioning act that is being done by the locals is in ensuring the feeding time is consistent; between 3pm to 5pm daily.


Originally, there were approximately 30 nesting eagle pairs along the Selangor River, but now, it has grew to 200 to 300 eagles. The most common ones are Brahminy Kite Eagle, White-bellied Fish Eagle and Crested Serpent Eagle, to name a few. Occasionally, tourist will be greeted by seagull hoping for a piece of the meat (chicken skin I mean).

Brahminy Kite Eagle is found in the Indian subcontinent such as Southeast Asia, and Australia, and in Malaysia, they prefer mangrove forest and is therefore a lowland forest bird. As for the White-bellied Fish Eagle, they are usually sighted in coastal areas as well as inland. It is often rested in a tree, or soaring over waterways near the mainland searching for prays. Crested Serpent Eagle on the other hand is very common in all forests in Malaysia. Similar to the other two, Crested Serpent Eagle can also be easily found in lowland, mangrove and sub-montane forest.

The whole activity takes between 30mins to 40 mins (inclusive of the boat journey), and I have to say and share, the amount of eagles spotted is massive. Even more than the ones in Langkawi, I kid you not. It was such a joy watching them glide and dive for the food.


Price
Malaysia
Adult : RM25 p/pax
Kids : RM15 p/pax

Foreigner
Adult : RM40 p/pax
Kids : RM35 p/pax





7-Regale, Eat Travel Write Selangor 2018 Media Fam Trip is in collaboration with Unit Perancang Ekonomi Negeri (UPEN) Selangor and all its sponsors with #GayaTravel Magazine as media coordinator.