Sekeping Serendah is one of only a couple of nature retreats that I regularly escape to on the weekends for the following reasons :

• Only an hour away from Kuala Lumpur
• Unique glamping experience in the rainforest
• Privacy because each of the sheds are cleverly spread out and hidden by foliage. This is very rare because most retreats try to maixmize space by cramping as many rooms/chalets nearby each other
• They allow music to be played all night long (many other retreats don't allow this, so this is a HUGE plus)
• Unique architecture of each shed/house

When we were there last week, we put our mattresses out on the balcony and lay down watching the stars with music playing in the background. An experience that will stay in my mind for a long time to come.

Just note that you have to bring your own food and drink although they do provide kitchen appliances and utensils. You also need to book quite awhile in advance cos the weekends are pretty much fully booked a couple of months out.

If you want luxuries, a roof over your toilet and aircond, this is NOT the place for you. But if you want to immerse yourself in nature without losing the creature comforts of a cabin, you will absolutely LOVE Sekeping Serendah.

We were excited to have our Chinese New Year reunion in what we thought would be a quiet jungle resort. We stayed at the Warehouse which didn't have walls or doors apart from the toilets. That was fine as we expected it to be rustic. The nightmare started around 10pm when we heard loud band music booming out from a powerful sound system somewhere near us. We didn't pay any notice and assumed it would end by midnight as most parties do. Throughout that night the music continued! Be warned that there's no phone reception there. One of us finally managed to get an Internet connection at 3am and whatsapped the Sealngor police chief to lodge a complaint. He promised to send his men in. By 6.30am, the music was still booming! It was coming from a nearby Orang Asli village. After the police made them stop, they came to the resort looking for us and threatening to close the access road coming down from our resort so that we can't leave. By the second evening, when they continued to harass us, we packed up and left, fearing for our safety. After all, the Warehouse didn't have walls! To make matters worse, the resort management blamed us for making a police report and 'souring' their relations with the Orang Asli. The caretaker in the resort told us this problem recurs when there are public holidays and festivals. So, be warned!

It was a nice place to relax and enjoy nature, but it is not worth going back. A total of 7 other female friends and I drove to the place in 2 cars. We stayed in Warehouse 1 which cost RM1160. It is ridiculous to stay a 14-person room with just the 8 of us. However, we did so because it would be dangerous for any 2 of the girls to walk back to Glass Box 1 or 2 (2-person room) from Timber Shed 1 or 2 (6-person) after having fun till midnight, especially through the narrow path of Dragon Walk. The kind of check-in this place have is the caretakers give you a list of names, then you just point your name they will let you into the property. We drove into the property and was uncertain of the way although its literally a one-way path. We actually stopped at a smaller parking lot to discuss whether to continue move in or not because we had no one else to ask. Fortunately we found our place. There was already a caretaker there waiting for us. He allowed us to unpack our stuffs first and all we had to do was to pay the remaining amount of room rate (RM580) as the first half was paid as deposit earlier. Then informed the housekeeper the time to come to start the fire for BBQ. After that it was free and easy, we walked to the pool and enjoyed the cool air. Before that, remember to also put down the mosquito net before evening so that there will be less insects on your bed. The caretaker came right on time to start the fire for BBQ. On and off there were dogs lingering near the BBQ pit as they smelled food. Most of the girls were afraid of them and it was not really pleasant because we do not know whether they are fierce or not. Until the end of BBQ, we realised there would not be enough butter and food for the breakfast next morning, so 3 of the girls actually drove out to the nearest place to buy, it took 15 minutes to reach the supermart. After dinner, we went up to our beds to play boardgames and stuffs. Halfway through the game we saw 2 dogs came into the kitchen area, messing up the bag of rubbish to find foods like chicken bones to eat. We had to shoo them away and sweep the rubbish. We went to bed around 2am, the mosquito net did help in stopping bigger insects going to our beds but it was useless for the smaller ones. Mosquito coils are provided but it literally helped nothing. So for some of my friends who are scared of insects, there couldn't sleep well at night. Sometime later in the night, the dogs were back again. Didn't care to look at first but then they found their way to the big black rubbish bin and pushed it down. Some of my friends saw them jumped onto the table. We didn't dare to shoo them because there were like 3 of them. So whatever rubbish we threw into the rubbish bin, it was all over the floor the next day we went down. The next morning, we had bread for breakfast. We bought 2 loafs but 1 loaf was missing. Finally we found the bread plastic bag on the floor near the BBQ pit, it was the dogs who ate it yesterday night! We were really unhappy about it! Due to the dogs and insects, it was a big turn-off for the trip.