Sekeping Serendah, Malaysia

I remember vaguely about my maternal grandma's old house in Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. It was a dwelling built with woods and metals and some concrete sat in a forest. Well, there was a huge estate of rubber trees behind the house, managed by my grandparents, according to my mum. And many fruit trees, a small vegetation and a little farm with some chickens and ducks for 12 children, together with my grandparents. I think my mum mentioned pigs were there once, when she was young. There was a swing too. I loved that swing! The house was a distant away from a main road. There was no near neighbours to be seen or to be heard. Every household was sprawling away from each other. When it was dusk, it would be totally dark and quiet out there, it was better stay in that house and don't step out, little me concluded.  

Those were the days of Malaysian's kampung (rural) living, very scatter from one house to another, admist in the wild and man-made vegetation. I was only baby, then a toddler, tasted and learnt about rural living.

This mid year school holiday, we brought my mum and the girls back to experience an idyllic living. We rented a Glass Shed in Sekeping Serendah.

Sekeping Serendah is a forest retreat located in Serendah, about an hour drive from Kuala Lumpur city center. I have been wanting to visit this place, since almost ten years ago I learnt about it. Why? The concept surrounding it sounds very basic and tranquil.

Sekeping Serendah is a private retreat attempting to tread lightly on the land. The very transparent and open sheds celebrate the beauty of the natural environment surrounding them. The sheds are intentionally kept basic and free from lavishness. They are seem more as "glorified tents" to provide basic shelter for its inhabitants as they commune with the land. - sekeping.com

Interestingly, this is adverse of today's high-consumption living, urban planning and land intensification.

So, here we were at the shed that we had just confirmed the day before. The stand-alone, quaintly living shed amidst the forest irked my elder daughter; cicadas and other insects chorus frighten her too.

She was slightly delighted when she moved up the floor to check out the shed further.The mosquito nesting was mesmerised her into a princess, who was going to sleep in a princess bed (you know, nesting/curtain over hanging on top of the bed).  

They had a very good night sleep, by the way. 

In addition, there are extra mattresses and pillows provide, in case the two double beds are not enough for the guest. 

Note: 1) If you intend to bring young children to this place, pay extra attention when they wander around the house. At least two facades of the shed we stayed are built with full hight glass windows and doors, both upper and lower floor. 2) There was no key to the main door of the shed, only latches for each and every pair of windows and doors from inside. For security reason, do pack luggage as light as you are going for real camping.

The living hall is basic, no television, or telephone, no wifi too; kitchen is small but fully equipped with a fridge, a oven toaster, a kettle, cutleries and utensils. The bathroom is very rustic, I reckon this was the part of the shed reminds me of my mum/grandma's old house. There is no dining space, I suspect the outdoor sitting area with barbecue pit in front of the shed is meant to substitute indoor dining.  

Unfortunately we packed very light, we skipped the trouble to bring raw food and cook our food here. We went out to Rawang town to pack KFC for dinner instead. I understand that, we actually can ask help from the caretaker for food catering.

Note: 1) Water heater provided for the shower facility. 2) mosquito repellent incense is provided (with no fire matchsticks nor lighter) in the living hall. (I lighted it by using the gas stove)

We had a little adventure after breakfast the next morning ; my mum, the girls and me, jungle trek around the retreat. We started off from a pavement near the swimming pool, which happens to be a loop for guest like us to explore the retreat. Precaution is required as some part of the pavement is swirled, some are elevated and steep. The girls were a little hesitate to walk due to the tranquil forest, but we managed to coax them and we completed the loop. And I found out that the retreat is sprawling and truly adhere to the spirit of "touching the land lightly"! 

Exclusively, there are two swimming pools within the retreat compound. The girls were thrilled. One of the pools was close to our shed and next to the pavement led us for jungle trekking, they swam on the day we arrived, swam again before we checked out. I was absolutely pleased, they totally forgotten about television programs and electrical gadgets.

This is a great place to escape from hustle and bustle, to escape from urban heat and lifestyle too. 

Note: There is a waterfall nearby in Serendah. But we did not go to explore. We took our time to chill out in the retreat.

Signature wire mesh chairs are everywhere to be found in the retreat. Rain or shine, they are absolutely weatherproof. Comfortable too.

After so many years being away from rural living and camping in our very rich rainforest, Sekeping Serendah is probably the best thing for us in attempt to let the girls experience the true nature. Sat on the wire mesh chair in the living room with dim light, my mum took the opportunity to tell stories of her and my grandma in the old days to my daughters, which was very different from their urban living. I don't know how much they learnt, but I think SC and I would like to bring them for a real camping in one of the national park in Malaysia, when little Bomber is more ready. 

Somehow, I believe nature has many great qualities influence in a child's growth and development. I was so much relaxing when I entered into the retreat, reminds me of my care-free youth days. Cicadas chorus in the tranquil forest was the long-lost jazz music to my ears once again, but it was not to the girls. It was their first experiencing it after all.

One thing for sure, with no distraction through phone at all, they were happy to have our undivided attention and love throughout our stay in the retreat. 

It is just an hour drive up north from Kuala Lumpur. However it took us 1.5 hours from my parents' place in Puchong. A very detail map put up by the host in their website. I thought, adding two more important information here (above) will help you tremendously to reach the destination safe and sound. The fact is, we made mistake here, we missed the junction to turn into the retreat. The power pole no. 90 is very critical to spot at. 

Note: there is one vertical signage "Sekeping Serendah" after the critical junction showed above right.

Sekeping Serendah, originally started as a single glass house for a private family getaway has now extended to a sprawling estate of two glass houses, two timber Malay houses, two mud houses, two glass boxes and two warehouses. While the retreat is still a work in progress, even after 12 years, a string of Sekeping properties slowly growing across Malaysia, from Kuala Lumpur to Penang: http://sekeping.com/. A full story of the man behind the retreat as well as all Sekeping properties here.