It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning, the 3rd
of January 2015, when dad and me visited my late mum’s grave on occasion of her
birthday. Mum would have been 65 years old if she had lived.
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| Bright skies at the Columbarium |
Both of us missed her deeply and our eyes were wet with
tears as we spent some quiet moments talking to her privately. I had brought
her some gay flowers to cheer up the occasion.
As the Memorial Park was northward bound on the way to
Tanjung Malim, dad and me planned to take a day-trip to visit our family
friends – Uncle Edwin Goh and Auntie Grace and their grown children, who ran
the Refreshing Springs Resort situated in the small town of Kalumpang,
Selangor.
We left the Memorial Park with heavy hearts but our spirits
lifted on the drive to the resort. It was a beautiful morning after all and
traffic was a breeze on the North-South Expressway.
Dad took Exit 121 (Tanjung Malim, Kuala Kubu Bharu) and
u-turned onto the old trunk road south bound towards Kuala Kubu Bharu.
Kalumpang is located between Tanjung Malim and Kuala Kubu
Bharu. Once we reached the town, it was a matter of minutes before dad took a
left-turn once the big yellow signage for Kampung Gumut Tambahan was spotted.
This would lead us onto a small country-road directly to the front gates of
Refreshing Springs Resort.
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| Front gate of the resort |
I was delighted to find that this unique resort is actually
built within a fruit orchard with a river running through it and there were
different types of local fruit trees growing all over.
Its sprawling grounds are well-kept and it boasts a prettily
landscaped Herb Garden with a Koi Pond which made for an educational and
interesting visit. There is also a Hot Springs within the resort which I
believe is where the resort derives its name from.
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| Nice pond within the resort grounds |
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| The Abseiling and Rock-climbing wall |
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| Green, green everywhere! |
There were also facilities available for Abseiling, Rock-climbing,
Firefox, Telematches, Water Rafting and Paintball, thus making it suitable for team-building,
conferences, motivational camps, company trip etc.
The resort offers various different accommodation types such
as studios, chalets, terrace twins, “kampong houses” – both twin and quad
sharing and dormitories. There were a few conference halls available for group activities
and a big dining hall where communal meals were partaken.
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| Dining Hall |
Food-wise, I must say that the home-cooked food was both delicious
and hygienically prepared. The fruits harvested for dessert were also
organically grown and I believe, straight from the fruit orchard within the
resort.
Uncle Edwin and Auntie Grace mostly supervised the cooks in
the kitchen but occasionally, they would cook the dishes themselves or make
some special dessert as a treat.
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| Our Lunch |
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| Mango pudding specially made by Auntie Grace |
It was during lunch with the family, that I was presented
with a drink – buah kedondong juice, freshly squeezed from the kedondong fruit
which was found growing in abundance around the resort. The green juice was
both sour and sweet but refreshing to my taste buds, especially during such hot
weather!
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| Buah Kedondong growing in abundance around the resort |
After filling our tummies, dad and me briefly visited the
Herb Garden to see its array of herb plants and flowers.
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| Entrance to the Herb Garden |
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| Sabah Snake Grass |
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| Red Sessile Joyweed |
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| Cat's Whiskers |
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| Butterfly Pea |
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| Aloe Vera |
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| Roselle growing |
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| Passion Fruit growing in abundance in the Herb Garden |
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| Koi swimming happily |
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| Koi Pond within the Herb Garden |
Thereafter, we
adjourned to soak our feet in the Hot Springs. As my injured foot could not
bear the walking, dad drove us there.
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| Hot Springs |
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| Hot Springs |
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| Hot Springs |
It was a great, enjoyable father and daughter time at the
Hot Springs. I don't think I've chatted this long with my dad before. Coincidentally,
a group of young Burmese students from the Myanmar Church Ministry were holding
a camp at the resort and they were practicing their songs and skit moves at the
Hot Springs area, entertaining us with their singing voices.
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| Soak my feet with dad |
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| At the Hot Springs |
The warm water felt great for my injured heel and I hope it accelerates
the healing process. The fresh air and sunshine really did me good too! It felt wonderful to be outdoors.
I left with a sense of peace and rejuvenation in body,
mind and spirit. I would certainly love to return one day. This place truly lives up to it's namesake. So refreshing indeed!
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| Having a great time with dad at the Hot Springs |
A point to note, this resort is not normally open to individual
visitors, as they accept group reservations only with a minimum of 30 persons
in a group.
Refreshing Springs Resort
PT4049, Mukim Sungai Gumut, Kampung Gumut Tambahan, 44100
Kalumpang, Selangor, Malaysia
Mobile Number : +6019 253 5988
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