Tourism Selangor #TakeMeAnywhere FAM Trip – Part 1

So thanks to Tourism Selangor, yours truly was on a recent FAM trip around Petaling, Kuala Langat and Sepang, giving me an opportunity to learn about more new places as well as also realizing and ticking off some bucket lists… So here are the places we visited… in two parts….

We flagged off or rather began our trip from Tourism Selangor’s office of course… in Shah Alam…

1. Sepang Corner Healthy Fruits and Floris

Our first stop… upon arriving, my friends and I were led by our noses to the farm where a couple of durians lay open…

As durian lovers.. how could we resist… making our Selangor Tourism officers chuckle and say that they found out the durian lovers in the group…

At the Sepang Corner Healthy Fruits and Florist, we experienced a little tour of the farm with brief explanations on how dragon fruit is grown, and how the dragon fruit’s flower actually just blooms for a night before it falls off, turn into the fruit and harvested… as well as those pink water jambus and other fruits…

They also have their own durian name which is the Gabai durian since back in 1993, and believe me when I say the durian produced here is pretty amazing!!!

Of course.. the red pitera they plant and sell here is also sweet, succulent and comes with a chockful of health benefits..

Address- PT3892, Kampung Batu 1, Jalan Sepang – Sungai Pelek, 43900 Sepang

2. Kuan wellness and Mini Zoo

There are three main areas here which are the Bird’s Nest Sales Centre where you can purchase a variety of premium quality bird’s nest products for sale… some of them which were pretty pricey as bird nests are usually…

Though the glass window you can see a lab with staff hard at work in light blue lab coats, hair nets and face masks, painstakingly removing whatever is deemed inedible from raw birds’ nests with pairs of tweezers.

Then right next door is a 3 storey swiftlet farm next door which doubles as a visitor centre… here we got to know the basics of bird nest through a short video presentation, and got to take pics with the 3D mural and displays aimed to educate visitors on the types of birds’ nests, swiftlet habitat, bird house management, bird’s nest harvesting and nutritional value of bird’s nests….

It is believed that Admiral Cheng Ho first discovered bird nest in 15th century, when he and his men got stuck on a sea voyage and upon consuming it realised it was ideal for regaining energy.. When Admiral Cheng Ho brought some of these bird nest back to China, the dish quickly became a palace gourmet dish..

It is said that Malaysia is ideal for the swiftlet birds because of stable climate and plenty of plantations…

These bird nest are edible and made from the saliva of the swiftlets…

It takes about 45 days to build a nest.. and about 110 days from building the nest until the moment the baby can fly away before the nest can be harvested..

There is also a mini-zoo with some birds, animals and fishes…. Visitors can feed some of the animals such as the rabbits, deers, porcupines with bags of carrots…

There is however future expansion for the area which includes a durian farm, resort with waterpark, camping, container and tube stays and I do so hope to get a chance to visit the place again some day…

Address- Lot 408, Jalan Tanjung Layang, Kg Tanjung Layang, Mukim Batu, 42800 Tanjung Sepat

3. Asam Batu Laut Restaurant

This little restaurant is located at the Batu Laut Fishermen’s Village, just a few minutes away from Tanjung Sepat and Morib. It is said that it can get pretty crowded here especially during weekends since the restaurant serves pretty sumptuous seafood dishes and at much cheaper rates than the restaurants in the Klang Valley….

We have to admit that we loved our lunch here and it was superb… and the scenery around the area was just as magnificent…

Address- Asam Batu Laut Restaurant
Sungai Mosok, Batu Laut, 42800 Kuala Langat

4. Avani Sepang Goldcoast

Located about 33 km from Kuala Lumpur International Airport and 80 km from Kuala Lumpur City Centre, the resort comes with elegant over-the water villas with private balconies…

I was definitely in love with my room that overlooked the sea and came with modern amenities and lovely wooden furnishings..

There is no denying it can get pretty humid on a hot balmy day especially if you choose to walk (but you can also opt for a buggy ride that will send you straight to the front of your room…) but the air-conditioned room with comfortable beds, a lovely seating area with a sofa and flat screen TV is really lovely to curl up with a loved one…

The attached bathroom is fitted with a shower and ample toiletries.

AVANI Sepang Goldcoast Resort also boasts 6 dining options, a spa and an infinity pool.

We had a lovely Thai and steamboat dinner at Stimbot….

Other activities, the hotel provides would include tours to surrounding plantations and mangroves…. and I went for the Mangrove Tour River Cruise which I have to say is highly recommended… It starts with a van ride to a little jetty a few minutes away where the resort’s boat is on standby with a tour guide…

The trip begins cruising along the river then we get to plant mangroves using the bulbs with sharp pointy ends… Our tour guide gave us a bottle of mineral water and a box of freshly cut fruits..

From there we head to see mud skippers and long tailed macaques wash their food before eating…

And the experience (if you dare to accept the challenge) of going into the swampy and muddy mangrove area and searching for Lokan -a kind of shellfish unique to this area..

I actually found this nice though a little bland since this was not exactly the first or second time I was on a mangrove river cruise… but then our boat headed into a smaller and narrower area and my eyes sparkled… the scenery was just so surreal then… I could have imagined cruising in the Amazon or something.. it was just magnificent and gorgeous…

The trip ended with a little trip to a beach and a little peek of the Avani Sepang Goldcoast Resort from the open seas before we headed back.. and just as we piled ourselves into the van feeling sweaty and tired… we were given fragrant cold wet towels… which was such a perfect ending to the trip….