Woke up sore and stiff this morning so decided a tour of the highlights was in order, I'd also rubbed the back of my heel from the trek so I felt pretty reluctant to but my trainers on again. A very British breakfast of baked beans on toast and I was prepared for the day. I asked at the local bus station if any buses were going to the tea plantation to which the very kind lady said the local transport had stopped due to insufficient amount of tourists (ay?) bummer. However there was a tour arranged for 1pm meaning I had to kill 2 hours with tea and cake (boo hoo)
i was one of 3 in the group with a pair of Vietnamese girls, we were taken to the rose centre which had a great view over the local area. I mooched around taking photos (and had photos taken of me by a Malaysian family) when there was a slight downpour. Next was the tea plantation, what a place! It was beautiful to look at (about 500 acres worth) with the waist height plants which are pruned every three years to keep at a decent level and the crop is harvested every three weeks. I was driven to the main area which had the factory and a tearoom overlooking the grounds which was just stunning. Apparently this company alone provides 60% of Malaysia with its tea.
Onwards to the strawberry farm. The plant are no longer placed in the ground which makes it easier to harvest (not surprising with 80,000 plants to pick) and so are drip fed. After a little demonstration of where the plants are kept I bought a strawberry juice which was pretty damn good. It was here that I noticed most tourists were actually native and not foreign. I asked my guide why and she said it's because summer is over so prices are cheaper now.
Next was the bee and butterfly farm. Both rather uninteresting but I did get a few nice pics. Most of the butterflies were the same species, there were also some reptiles thrown in for good measure. Then was a quick stop at a local market where I bough some dried fruit for my breakfast on the bus. Finally we finished the tour at the Buddhist temple which was rather atmospheric with the mist creeping down the mountainside and engulfed the town below. Needless to say it poured it down.
I returned to the town hungry and a little cold so I went to the local Indian eatery for my final meal. Met up with the Indonesian guy I met in Ipoh accompanied by two Americans. We ate and had a game of cards waiting for the rain to stop.
