I would say this would be one of sleepy little village of Serendah’s best kept secrets…and forgive me for gushing as frankly, I am quite overwhelmed by my stay and never would I thought I would really enjoy a homestay this much… hahaha.. there I admitted it!!

But then again this homestay is a notch above the rest… with traditional Malay stilt wooden architecture with modern facilities, the Carpe Diem Orchard Home Serendah allows guests to seize the day for a weekend escape, rest and respite from the hustle and bustle of the concrete jungle of KL.

My husband drove us here in just less than an hour from where we lived in Seri Gombak… and after living in the concrete jungle with traffic jams, pollution and all, the lush nature and surrounding orchard is just practically paradise…

Address: 803, Main Road Serendah, Sungai Choh, Hulu Selangor, Selangor

Tel:013-228 8223

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We were lucky to have the Bunga Raya Executive Suite all to ourselves… and it was just right at the common area, the swimming pool and kitchen… and since there weren’t many people around when we were here, we practically imagined we had the whole Bunga Raya building to ourselves… (so greedy huh)

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The Bunga Raya Executive Suite was very spacious with a huge balcony, and a dressing room/cabinet/toilet/ shower….and it was all very clean…well taken care by the caretaker there, Win.. who brought us to our room, checked us in and left us with the key…

Win is from Myanmar but he is very friendly and can converse reasonably well in English and Malay, so he is quite Malaysianized… heheh

After familiarizing ourselves with our suite, and there were about 4 additional mattresses there, besides the king sized bed to sleep bigger families (there are some extra charges though ), we then made our way outside to check out the common areas…

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The sitting room is big…with two book shelves filled with books for kids and adults and there was a toys/ games cabinet with magic tricks, chess, chequers etc..and just outside, there is a hammock where you can while the time away…..

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The kitchen was also huge, no cooking allowed there, but you can make your coffee, tea, use the refrigerator, make some half boil/hard boil eggs with the freshly laid eggs there…. Win will bring whatever he can find from the little farm or from the orchard in….

On the huge dining table that can seat 10 people, there were baskets of rambutan, pulasan and mangosteen. My family was very lucky too as Win brought in two durians from the orchard that fell earlier in the morning…

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He opened the durian effortlessly with the durian opener contraption (pretty neat and looks so easy…make me feel dumb struggling with the knife and towels while opening a stubborn durian…) and oh gosh….. I have had durians… various durians and I swear… this was practically one of the very best durians I have had…When I asked Win, he just innocently said it was a durian kampung… but the flesh was yellow, you could sink your finger into the flesh as it was just so thick, creamy, sweet and everything a perfect durian should be in my opinion… it was as good as a musang king or whatever top durian people pay a bomb for…!!!

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After indulging, we took a stroll to the little farm there… there were geese, various breeds of chickens and a couple or was it some goats…in the enclosure there…

There is also a bee house there for those who are interested in checking out the bees…

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There are also various fish ponds…. where you can play fish tag… it is just like how those National Geographic people do it… you just go fishing as you normally will…( to get the rods and all, you have to ask Win..) then when you catch a fish, you have to tag it on the fin with a plastic tag with some numbers on it… or if it already has number, you can copy the numbers, measure your fish, take some photos or selfie with your fish, note the details on a chart on the kitchen table or in the internet and throw that fish back into the pond….

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There is some herbs and vegetable beds as well , the vegetable bed is near the farm area, whilst the herb bed is conveniently at the BBQ pit area, and yes, you can use the herbs as you please, however, respect your environment and all…

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As for BBQs, you can choose to have it the normal boring BBQ style way we normally have or the more interesting campfire BBQ way… sitting in a circle and BBQ your stuff….I would have loved to do it the campfire BBQ way…hahaha….However, my hubby and I did not quite plan for a BBQ so we went out to Serendah town for dinner at what was supposed to be the best TomYam in Serendah… (will share about that in another blogpost)

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Early next morning, I woke up to do some brisk walking… and no worries, you can cycle, walk or jog along the path, it is practically safe. There are a few dogs around to guard/ watch the orchard, but treat them with respect and they will keep a safe distance away from you too…however I have heard there are some monitor lizards and wild boar sightings, so be respectful and also be wary, otherwise I had a good time walking around the property gawking at the lush fruit trees… there are also some nangka or cempedak (forgive me… I can not tell the difference), duku langsat trees, banana trees etc…besides the durian, pulasan and rambutan trees…And in case you were wondering, one round of walking is just about 1km…not that far…

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The other chalets are named after the trees that is right in front of them… the Rambutan, Pulasan and Durian 1 and Durian 2 chalets…

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Of course, do not forget to take a dip into the swimming pool or even indulge and enjoy the jacuzzi at the upper level…

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Or play some foosball, table tennis or go bicycling around the estate….(found just below the main bunga raya chalet area)

What is provided in the chalets…..
– Heated showers
– Air conditioning and standing fans
– Kettle/cups/mugs in chalets/rooms
– Hair dryer
– Wardrobe & hangers

NOTE: Personal items such as towels and toiletries are not provided, so remember to bring all your stuff.  It would be smart to bring some mosquito repellant as well if you are going gallavanting/ walking/running or wanting to BBQ and enjoy the night outside your room as there are pesky mosquitoes around (unless you want to do the macarena dance in a comical way… LOL…….)

Room service and housekeeping is not provided, so be respectful and keep the common areas clean for everyone.

They do not allow any outsiders other then just registered guests into the place so it is very private and quiet, unless you are there with a whole bunch of people or family members…

There is also no TV channels or WiFi provided as the management hope this would be a time for family and friends to reconnect and rebond… but if you really need it, be sure to bring your laptop with iFlix or your own WiFi modem or a pocket WiFi 

There is no breakfast or any meals served here.. except for local fruits from the when in season…so if you are the hungry type, bring some bread or instant noodles or just go out to town to eat.. town is less then 5 minutes away… Rawang town is less then 10 minutes away.. it is so close it is a no brainer for me…

I swear this is definitely a slice of paradise… with pretty luxurious and spacious rooms and an abundance of fruit trees spread across over 18 acres of lush greenery, and of course… that three tiered swimming pool with a slide which will thrill any kid….

It is indeed a place you should visit once in your life at least or if you can afford it/ or stay around KL, more often…. it is a perfect staycation/ slice of paradise anyone can desire and best of all it is very reasonably priced from just about RM280 and above per stay…

And before you ask me, yes, yes, yes, I will so be going back there again….

Attractions within the vicinity :
Ulu Yam Hot Springs (15 min drive)
Waterfalls (20 min drive)
Orang Asli/Native Village (20 min drive)
Public Golf & Country Club (20 min drive)
Jungle Trekking (Kuala Kubu Bahru and Selangor Dam – 30 min drive)
Genting Highlands (50 min drive to Skyway Station)
Frasers Hill (90 min drive)

For more details, please check out:-

 https://www.facebook.com/carpediem.my/?fref=ts

http://www.carpediem.my/