“What will we do this weekend?! Let’s pack your bag!” My Dad with his randomness suddenly urged Mom & me to go to Genting, Malaysia. He was not interested to gamble, he only wanted to enjoy cold weather and polluted-free air - which we did not have in Jakarta. I had been to Genting several times, and beside of visiting First World and Maxim Hotel, there was nothing much to do there.  OH, WAIT! I found something pretty on Instagram! I saw Colmar Tropicale, French Village Theme that's an exact copy of Strasbourg in France! I googled it but rarely found any info. Thus, I decided to explore this hidden gem!

Where is it & How to go?

Colmar Tropicale is located in Berjaya Hill Resort, Bentong, Pahang province. It’s only one hour drive away from Kuala Lumpur (you can take toll road) or 45 minutes away from Genting. From Genting, I used Grab Car Taxi Promo which costs me around 60 MYR (1MYR = ±3300 IDR = 0.22 USD) each way.  I asked the taxi driver (the ‘Uncle’) to pick me up again in the afternoon because I read others’ blog that it's hard to find transportation there. Taxi Uncle agreed to pick us later for 70 MYR. If you depart from Kuala Lumpur, you might take the shuttle bus from Berjaya Times Square which costs only 60 MYR for return trip. Advanced booking is recommended through their website because the shuttle bus has limited seats with only 4 times schedules per day.

French Village Theme – Colmare Tropicale

The entrance ticket costs 13 MYR which also included entrance fee to Japanese & Botanical Garden. On the entrance gate, I was welcomed with beautiful water fountain with flamingo as their main symbol with a rocky Alsace castle. It was so adorable with rustic feeling!

When I walked down the bridge to enter the main gate, I realized Colmar Tropicale was very well-designed. It created an atmosphere that made you feel you were no longer in Malaysia. Under the bridge, there was a lake with stunning black swan. The main gate stood still, looked powerful with all flags and coloured horse statues in front of it - just like the one in Perth.

Inside Colmar Tropicale, you could ate in various restaurants, you could play arcade games or bring your children to play video games; you could even climb up the main observatory tower (where I got the beautiful shot of Colmar!). After walking around, Mum decided to order chicken rosti (roast chicken) which was so delicious! The food costed us around 30-40 MYR each. Btw, you could also stay at Colmar priced start from 300 MYR per night.

Japanese Garden & Botanical Garden

Finished with going around chateau, we went to the gardens. You might take a free shuttle that departs every 30 minutes. Japanese Garden & Botanical Garden is located side by side one to another. Japanese Garden was so cute, it has a small tea house where you can rent kimono & do traditional tea ceremony with your loved one. I decided not to do it because my time was very limited. It also has a spa house, but sadly, it was a bit off price with 700 MYR for 90 minutes massage :( 

Meanwhile, the botanical garden offers a green house with variety of tropical flowers. It also has a hanging restaurant!

Rabbit Garden & Deer Farm at Mini Zoo

This is one of the best highlight of my day! Free shuttle bus brought us there. We needed to pay extra ticket for 5 MYR to enter. I was surprised because I expected the rabbits to be in the cage but they were not! They roamed freely & hopped everywhere while kids were trying to catch them! The rabbits were so cute and available in many colours, they were fat too!

In addition, there were many deers where I could play & touch. They were very friendly and tame to human, so no reason to be afraid. You could also ride donkey and played with some other animals.

Finally...

It was a very fun weekend getaway in Colmar Tropicale. You could enjoy a perfect winter holiday getaway in Asia. The weather was chill which made outdoor activities enjoyable ❤️ So, where will you go this weekend? See you on the next trip!

-------- Budget ---------

Return taxi 130 MYR for 3people @43MYR

Colmar Tropicale Ticket @13 MYR

Mini Zoo Ticket @5MYR

Lunch @35MYR

Total: 96 MYR (300k IDR / 22 USD)