Cameron Highlands
The Cameron Highlands were a welcome change after the heat and crowds of KL.
I'd booked on line and after a long bus ride up winding roads I got picked up from the bus station. I stayed at Father's Guest House on a hill above the small town of Tanah Rata. My room was basic but the grounds of the hotel and the views were nice.
The town was quite small but had a few good restaurants. I found a nice indian restaurant which made fresh naan bread and chicken tikka - it was really cheap.
The following day I decided to tackle some jungle trekking. I'd met a couple on the bus from KL (Hello Wendy and Dave - Dave was originally from Whitley Bay but unfortunately supports the wrong team!)and we decided to tackle the trek together. The Trails are numbered and we did a round trip using Trails 5,3 and 8. We set off from town and picked up the start of the first trail. The trail climbed steadily through the trees to a summit where we stopped for lunch.
The trail back down was far more challenging. At one point (and it would happen to be the point that I was leading!) we took a wrong turn and ended climbing down to a dead end. We decided to push on though the trees as the climb back would have been really difficult - we were all pleased when we managed to pick up the trail again. At one point I slipped and grabbed a branch popping my arm again (remember the whip injury from the Kroombit Cattle station in Australia?). I soldiered on and a steep trail led us down to a stream which we crossed and had an even steeper climb up the otherside, this time with ropes to help. The last trail ended at a waterfall where there was a path leading into town.
On my last day in the highlands I did a half day tour with Titiwangsa Tours! First stop was at a spot overlooking the tea plantations known as the “Giant Green Carpet of Malaysia”. Next we headed down to the BOH Tea Factory and had a look around at how the tea was processed. Although I don't normally drink tea I gave it a try - the tea shop was in a great spot overlooking more of the plantations.
From the Tea Factory we headed up to Gunung Brinchang - the highest peak that is accessible by road in Malaysia (2032 meters). The guide took us for a short walk into the Mossy forest and pointed out different plants and herbs including Pitcher Palms. The view from the top of the peak was in cloud so no one bothered climbing the observation tower. It was a good group though and we all got chatting when we had a break. There was a communications tower at the top with a lot of workers pulling ropes fastened to the tower - someone asked the guide if it was their job to hold the tower up!
We made two more stops - the first at Orang Asli Village - a village of indiginous population who have been re-settled by the government close to Tanah Rata. The second stop was at a forest camp by a stream. It was supposed to be good luck to wash your face in the stream. A lot of trees in the area had been planted by the British to change the landscape drying it up the mossy forest to make the area more suitable for growing Tea.
The Cameron Highlands had been a surprise for me just when I was beginning to think Malaysia didn't have much to offer and I was really glad I visited. Next I decided to head to Georgetown on the island of Penang.
I'd booked on line and after a long bus ride up winding roads I got picked up from the bus station. I stayed at Father's Guest House on a hill above the small town of Tanah Rata. My room was basic but the grounds of the hotel and the views were nice.
The town was quite small but had a few good restaurants. I found a nice indian restaurant which made fresh naan bread and chicken tikka - it was really cheap.
The following day I decided to tackle some jungle trekking. I'd met a couple on the bus from KL (Hello Wendy and Dave - Dave was originally from Whitley Bay but unfortunately supports the wrong team!)and we decided to tackle the trek together. The Trails are numbered and we did a round trip using Trails 5,3 and 8. We set off from town and picked up the start of the first trail. The trail climbed steadily through the trees to a summit where we stopped for lunch.
The trail back down was far more challenging. At one point (and it would happen to be the point that I was leading!) we took a wrong turn and ended climbing down to a dead end. We decided to push on though the trees as the climb back would have been really difficult - we were all pleased when we managed to pick up the trail again. At one point I slipped and grabbed a branch popping my arm again (remember the whip injury from the Kroombit Cattle station in Australia?). I soldiered on and a steep trail led us down to a stream which we crossed and had an even steeper climb up the otherside, this time with ropes to help. The last trail ended at a waterfall where there was a path leading into town.
On my last day in the highlands I did a half day tour with Titiwangsa Tours! First stop was at a spot overlooking the tea plantations known as the “Giant Green Carpet of Malaysia”. Next we headed down to the BOH Tea Factory and had a look around at how the tea was processed. Although I don't normally drink tea I gave it a try - the tea shop was in a great spot overlooking more of the plantations.
From the Tea Factory we headed up to Gunung Brinchang - the highest peak that is accessible by road in Malaysia (2032 meters). The guide took us for a short walk into the Mossy forest and pointed out different plants and herbs including Pitcher Palms. The view from the top of the peak was in cloud so no one bothered climbing the observation tower. It was a good group though and we all got chatting when we had a break. There was a communications tower at the top with a lot of workers pulling ropes fastened to the tower - someone asked the guide if it was their job to hold the tower up!
We made two more stops - the first at Orang Asli Village - a village of indiginous population who have been re-settled by the government close to Tanah Rata. The second stop was at a forest camp by a stream. It was supposed to be good luck to wash your face in the stream. A lot of trees in the area had been planted by the British to change the landscape drying it up the mossy forest to make the area more suitable for growing Tea.
The Cameron Highlands had been a surprise for me just when I was beginning to think Malaysia didn't have much to offer and I was really glad I visited. Next I decided to head to Georgetown on the island of Penang.
posted by Phil at 4:53 AM
1 Comments:
Ahhh - so even the 'mighty Phil' gets lost sometimes - its not just me ;-)
Cool pic of you!
Love
Jen
x
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