Cuti Cuti Malaysia 113 - Sekeping Serendah Retreat • Sassy Urbanite's Diary

Best Jungle Retreat in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor – Sekeping Serendah

Sekeping Serendah Retreat is located in Serendah town, a sleepy quiet little town 1-hour drive north of Kuala Lumpur and it has been around for a while now but I never got the chance to experience until recently. I’m a big fan of Sekeping collection of retreats and home stays. We had been to Sekeping Kong Heng at Ipoh Old Town previously. So over last long Christmas weekend, we decided to stay a night at the Glass Box 2, one of the 10 sheds within 5 acres of tropical rainforest. Since it was a weekend (Saturday the Boxing Day), we paid RM400 for 1-night glamping in the jungle and brought along all the leftover Christmas cooking to the place and asked the caretaker to set up the bbq pit for dinner.

The room was small but functional, with a small fridge, toaster, kettle, some utensils and 3-in-1 sachets, attached with open shower and toilet. I wished there was a stove but probably no place for it in this small place. Since it’s named “Glass Box”, it’s quite literally glass all over the wall, with only curtains for privacy reason. No air-conditioned of course, since this is “glamping” in the jungle, a glamorous version of camping. The concept is nice as this is a good way to be so close to the nature, although I thought the price per night was quite expensive, given that not even any towels or toiletries were provided. We used the swimming pool for an afternoon dip after checking into our room at 2pm (strict check in time they don’t allow early check-in), as there were nothing else to do, i.e. no TV, no WIFI, no mobile 3G/LTE connection. Hence, we just walked around the jungle, checked out the place, took some fresh air, before the start of our bbq dinner. We brought some nice steaks and chicken wings from BIG Independent Grocer, cooked them in perfection with the charcoal fire. After we were done with dinner and lying on the bed covered with mosquito net, there was a firefly that came visit us and kept glowing in the dark. It was chilly at night and we didn’t felt the need for air-conditioning even though the afternoon was a little stuffy.

Overall, Sekeping Serendah Retreat was a fun experience being in the jungle inside a glass box (literally). The closeness to nature made this stay worth it (sort of) and it was a good break from the city without TV or mobile connection. Sometimes, we just need to be in the jungle even just for 1 day to appreciate the modern life…