May 9, 2012

Farm Stay in Malaysia - Part 1

(Daddy recounts)

We had initially made plans to drive up to Kuala Lumpur last weekend, as it was a school holiday on Monday. Alas, Ale was still nursing a fever on Friday night so the KL plan was aborted. 

And I couldn't have scripted it better, for her fever miraculously scooted off come Saturday morning! With the wifey's birthday falling on Monday, I thought it would be a nice treat if we could all get away even though it was only for one night.

After much due research (actually, I had bookmarked the page eons ago but don't tell her that), I settled on UK Agro Farm Resort.

No, it isn't in the United Kingdom. Neither do I have the budget anyway. I think UK probably stands for the owner's initials. But anyway, UK Agro Farm is situated in Johor - about one hour's drive away from Singapore. And it is Malaysia's largest goat and sheep farm, with 100 acres of grazing land for 4000 sheep.

Sounds pretty enormous to me! In addition, it has accommodation options available for those who want to be fully immersed in the Farm Stay experience. 

Frankly speaking, I had absolutely no idea what we were in for except that... well, the photos and descriptions on the website looked pretty decent. So we packed our bags on a Sunday morning and away we went!

And this was the view that greeted us as we neared the Farm.


Pretty awesome sight, isn't it?

For the most part of the road trip, the drive was pretty straight forward. However for the final 15km of the journey, we had to travel on a gravel road like the the photo below.


Bumpy, yes. Fun and exciting, most definitely! I think the monkies loved the gravel road journey, especially since they got to see many cows grazing along the way.


For a moment I thought I was holidaying in Australia or New Zealand, with scenes like these. Or maybe it was because of Ale and her incessant moo-ing emanating from the back of the car.

The moo-ing  was eventually replaced by excited chattering as the first sign of our destination appeared in front of us.


Soon enough, we finally reached the Reception area of the Farm Resort.


The entire area was huge, with the Reception area housing the Restaurant as well.


As I proceeded to check in, the monkies wasted no time in exploring the place.


And what they found out thrilled them to bits.


Yup, there were tons of farm activities for them to get all excited about - ranging from goat feeding to animal petting. But I will have more on that later, because we had to check in to our room first.

If you are feeling adventurous enough, there is the Dormitory option which comes complete with mosquito coils and nets. Or for a notch higher in the adventure stakes, there is even a camping site where you can pitch your own tent.

Err, I reckoned we are not that advanced yet. So we settled for the Deluxe Room -  built in the form of a 'Long House', a traditional house found in the Iban community in Sarawak.


Built on stilts and with long corridors, the rooms overlook the vast green meadows and the grazing pastures of the Farm.


The view from our corridor - instant stress reliever if you ask me.


And the room? It was pretty decent, clean and functional. Ours came with 1 double bed and 1 single bed, with the usual amenities like air-conditioning and water heater. I don't have many complaints with the lodging, especially since it's RM240 (or S$100) for one night, with breakfast.


Of course, the monkies didn't want to remain cooped up in the room. Not when the allure of the Farm Tour was still lingering in their minds.

There are quite a number of different Farm Tour packages to choose from and you can view them in detail HERE. Essentially, one can go for the 3-hour Guided Tour on a Mini-bus or a 2-hour Tour on a Horse Cart.

I gave the boys the freedom to choose, and no prizes for guessing which option they picked.


The main difference between the Mini-bus and Horse Cart tours is that the Mini-bus tour comes with a guide, who will explain the going-ons behind the various stop points in the Farm. Also, we will have to purchase our own feed (RM3 per packet) at the goat feeding and ostrich feeding areas for the Horse Cart Option.

However seeing how we could move around the Farm at our own time and pace, coupled with the fact that the boys were relishing at the thought of riding on a Horse Cart, it was a no-brainer for us. Well, I do pity the horse for having me as a passenger but if it was of any consolation, at the least the rest of the other passengers were much lighter!

And so, off we began.


The wifey & I would never have imagined such a place existed so close to Singapore in the first place, because we thought such a scene only existed in other countries further away. So it was actually a very nice surprise to get lost among such wonderful scenery as the horse pulled us along.

The first stop was the Herb Sanctuary, where it housed a collection of more than 100 species of herbs. Or so it claimed.


Not that I bothered to keep count in the first place... uhm, because I was busy trying to cajole the 2 brothers into posing nicely for me to snap some photographs.

And this was the best they could muster.


Vomit blood, I tell you.

Ale, on the other hand, was a much better subject.


She's really such a joy to photograph nowadays. The fact that she is so so so cute does help too of course. Yes, I'm biased but I'm entitled to. Right?

Anyway, I guess the boys were more interested in animals rather than plants. So it was just as well that our next stop was the Goat & Sheep Farm.


And I knew we reached the Goat & Sheep enclosures as soon as I caught a waft of mutton in the air. It wasn't exactly that overpowering, but still it made me think of sup kambing.


Or lamb chops with black pepper sauce.

But I digress. Truth is, I was very impressed with how well-kept the entire enclosure was. The timber flooring was clean and free of poop of any sorts. Even the goats and sheep looked as if they were enjoying life there, I kid you not.

How difficult can life be when you are hand-fed hay by kids everyday?


Well, that is unless you meet someone like Ale. Who decreed that each goat can only chomp on 1 strand of hay at any given time.


The monkies also got a chance to traumatize cuddle a baby goat in their arms.


I think Ale enjoyed herself the most, since it was her first time coming into contact with a goat.


After bidding farewell to our four-legged friends, the two-legged feathered creatures beckoned.


The Ostrich Park housed many ostriches, all of which seemed to be rather hungry... or greedy.


And since Ayd couldn't get to carry an ostrich (for obvious reasons), he hugged an ostrich egg instead. Heh.


I could see that the kiddos were enjoying themselves on the Farm Tour thus far, and we were not even halfway through our tour yet! Read about the second part of our Farm Stay here: http://www.cheekiemonkie.net/2012/05/farm-stay-in-malaysia-part-2.html

View more photos of our 1-night Farm Stay at UK Agro Farm Resort, Malaysia 


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25 comments :

--andy-- said...

Love this resort, I never knew you could stay overnight, and at $100, what a steal !

Cheekiemonkies said...

Yup, it's really quite a nice place for the kids. Especially since it's relatively near to S'pore!

Mummy N said...

Hello :)
Would like more information about the Resort. How is the parking for cars like there? Is the car park brightly lit? Is it in an enclosed area with some kind of security?

Sorry for asking so many questions.

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Mummy N,

The resort rooms are located within the farm, so there is a security barrier before entering. Once inside the compound, parking is done directly in front of our rooms.

Hope it helps! And thanks for dropping by our blog! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, did you take the package or just the rooms? It's about RM240 per pax for the period we are going. so thinking if it's more worth it to just book room and pay for admission separately. What about the food there? anything other than UK agro that we can venture?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

We just booked the room on its own, and paid for the admission charges separately.

As for food, you can drive down to the Zenxin Organic Farm as another meal option. They serve pretty good food and steamboat as well.

You can read more at our post here: http://www.cheekiemonkie.net/2012/05/farm-stay-detour-zenxin-organic-park.html

Hope it helps! :)

Anonymous said...

Hi, had booked a 2 night stay at the farm after reading your comments. However, was wondering should we book the package that includes all meals? Do you know how is the buffet provided there? Or should we just book the rooms and buy the meals from the cafe? Are the food there pricey? Thank in advance.

Cheerz
Dy

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Dy,

We didn't have the buffet so I can't really comment on the quality of the spread.

The meals are not exactly that pricey, but as I have mentioned in my previous comment, you can try the food at Zenxin Organic Farm too which is a short drive out.

You can book a BBQ at the Farm too if I am not wrong.

hope it helps!

Yenne said...

Hi DY,
May I check how did you make payment for the initial deposit? As they require us to pay 50% upfront into their Malaysia account, we have to TT over which means extra charges...

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Yenne,

Sorry for the late reply!

For the both times we stayed there, we weren't required to make a deposit. It could be because for both times, I made the booking at the last minute - about 2-3 days before our stay so they didn't mention about the deposit.

Shermyn said...

Hi, how do oyu go about booking the rooms? so on top of that there's additional admission charges?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Shermyn,

Thanks for dropping by our blog! :)

I called the farm to book the rooms. There are packages where the admission fees are included together with the rooms. But we just booked the room on its own, and paid for the admission charges separately.

Hope it helps!

Anonymous said...

Hi, if a farm stay should not be missed or a few hours visit to the farm delivered the same experience? Still considering if worth a farm stay or just drop by and pay only the addmissions fees for the activities..

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Anon,

Actually, the farm tour itself should be adequate. But for us, I thought the kids will find the experience of staying on the farm refreshing.

Hope it helps!

Anonymous said...

Hi,

do they sell goat cheese there?

those semi-hard cheese?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

I don't remember them selling any cheese.

Anonymous said...

Hi

Do you think UK farm is suitable for lady who is 5 months pregnant? Will the final 15km road be too bumpy?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

The road is not an actual road, but a gravel road instead. It's not too bumpy so I don't think people in the car will be bouncing too much. Hope it helps!

ebbie said...

hi
keen to know if there are alot of flies, mosquitoes, bugs, insects at the farm stay? by day or by night any mozzies problems? my kid is sensitive to mozzies bites....
thanks in advance

AnastasiaSantoso said...

Hi Kelvin,
Thank you for sharing about this place. How long is the drive from Singapore to UK farm? (by car / taxi). Is the place as hot as Singapore, or somehow has a milder weather?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi ebbie,

Sorry for missing out on your query. We didn't experience any severe mosquito problems. There were one or two bites on each of us but that was about it.

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi Anastasia,

Thanks for dropping by!

The car ride is about 1.5 hours from Singapore.

Weather, unfortunately is the same as in Singapore.

AnastasiaSantoso said...

thank you Kelvin for your reply.

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Can I know if the resort is accessible by taxi from JB custom?
And can we walk around the area without car?

Cheekiemonkies said...

Hi,

I think if you can find a taxi which is willing to take you there, getting there by taxi is no problem. You can walk within the farm itself. But it is pretty large so you can go on the mini shuttle.

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