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Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Jungle Retreat @ Ratu Rening Residency (10 - 12 Dec 2016)

Our jungle retreat at Ratu Rening Residency over the weekend was the girls' first ever wilderness adventure stay. We were upclose and personal with  nature for 3 days 2 nights. There were bitter sweet moments but more sweet than bitter :)

Our family and friends (total 17 of us) stayed at Ratu Rening Residency, which is an Air BNB villa. We had never heard of this place before and had initially planned to rent an Air BNB bungalow in Fraser's Hill but it was fully booked. So the next Air BNB property available that met all our busy schedules was at Ratu Rening Residency.   We had no frigging idea what we would be expecting nor where this place was. What enticed us were the charming pictures of the rustic villa set in a forest reserve in Ulu Yam, Batang Kali (near Genting Highlands).   We had no idea that this stay would be like a camping trip... but in style.  We read from the Ratu Rening Residency Facebook page that there are only 2.5 bathrooms for the 17 of us and this dampened my enthusiasm right from the start, to be honest.  Despite the inconvenience and creepiness of having to walk up and down slippery steps in the rain in the forest at 1am, 3am and 7am to visit the bathroom, we enjoyed ourselves very much, especially the kids.  Cass was terrified of all the jungle insects that stayed with us in the bedroom and bathrooms throughout our stay there.  On the bright, Cass had sort of overcome her phobia of flying insects as she had no choice but to sleep on a bed with visiting insects, as well as to pee, poo and bathe in a bathroom with lizards, moths, ants, dragon flies, jungle roaches and other insects all over! hahaha!

Enjoy the pix that we took during our stay at Ratu Rening...

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The gazebo-like hut on the left is an open bedroom (much like a luxurious tent with Jap style bed).  Our couple friend took up the challenge and occupied the bedroom. I bet they had a great time enjoying some suspense in the open :D

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We had to cross this jiggly bridge to get to the kitchen and bathroom from our bedroom... even when it rained.  However, umbrellas are provided.


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Fruit platter - some of the them were provided by the host.

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Kids playing badminton outside the villa...

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On the right is an open bathroom. When it rained, we had to shower in the rain!  We had to cross the bridge from our bedroom to use this bathroom.

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The kids had a blast playing 'masak-masak' cooking eggs and instant noodles.
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K helping the kids retrieve a frisbee from the pond.


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The water looks muddy but the kids and adults couldn't resist jumping inside to swim. Thankfully, no one had itchy body after the dip.

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The hubs was the cook throughout our stay there. He brought along an MPV loadful of food and essentials to last us for 3 days.  Everyone enjoyed his superb BBQ ribeye steak, lamb chops, chicken chops, prawns, sausages, etc.

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Almost ready for dinner...


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View at around 6ish pm...

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View around 7ish pm... we occupied the bedroom on top. Below is another bathroom, which we had to climb down some steep steps to reach. It was a hassle at night and especially in the wee hours of the morning when it rained and the steps were really slippery.  On the left is another open bedroom, which another adventurous couple occupied.


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The kids enjoying their BBQ dinner and indulging in lots of forbidden food - sausages, instant noodles, fried nuggets, fries, chips M&Ms and other junk haha!

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My dinner, cooked by my man...

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My big princess helping to wash the dishes. Really a rare moment for her to wet her royal fingers in dish washing liquid ha!  But everyone had to help out during our stay there.


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The adults enjoying a sumptuous BBQ dinner while it drizzled. It was pretty chilly that night with lots of jungle insects joining in the fun with us!

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Drama Queen helping to cook...

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Supper was super spicy Korean Udong noodles where the kids and adults had a 'spicy noodles challenge'.

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The kids had a funtastic time in the wilderness, albeit the discomfort of having to queue up to use the bathrooms, walking in the forest in the wee hours of the morning in the rain to use the toilet, sleeping with annoying insects on our beds and a grueling 3-hour hike to a magnificent waterfall.



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