Cameron Highlands, Malaysia – 3 to 6 April, 2007
We were up early to catch a taxi to the bus terminal for our trip to the Cameron Highlands. We booked a VIP bus which was smaller than a normal bus and the seats were more spread out which we thought would be good for a trip of five to six hours. When we arrived at the terminal we exchanged our voucher for a ticket and were directed to the bus. The bus was older, but as promised there was plenty of room to spread out and recline, and we left almost on schedule.
We made a couple of stops to pick up more passengers along the route. When we started the bus was half empty (or full), but after the second stop in Ipoh which is about halfway, it was completely full. Until the stop in Ipoh the route was pretty flat with no special scenery. After Ipoh however, we started into the hills where the scenery turned much more interesting and beautiful. As we rose in altitude, there were many dramatic views across the mountain tops and valleys.
As we rounded a corner we caught a glimpse of a large hotel perched atop a hill with great views of the many terraced hills. D noticed the name of the hotel was the Equatorial which was our hotel, but it was too late to flag the driver to let us off. We figured it was no problem and the hotel would be close to the town where the bus stopped, but the town we thought we were close to was another 10 kilometers further on. At the bus station we caught a taxi back to the Equatorial and were somewhat glad we didn’t get the bus to stop at the hotel road entrance. The hotel was set back from the road quite away and it would have been a hike from the road to the reception with all our bags. The hotel lobby was cavernous and after registering we were taken to our room. Our room was on an upper floor so we had an excellent view of the surrounding vegetable terraces.
The Cameron Highlands made a name for itself as a British outpost during the colonization period of the late 1800s through somewhere around 1950. It is at an elevation of approximately 5000 feet, and provided the Brits relief from the heat of the lowlands. It also provides an appropriate amount of British sunshine (rain) to make for excellent growing conditions for all types of vegetables. Of course the Brits also had to have their tea, so the hills are full of tea plantations. The British heritage is most apparent in the hundreds of old Land Rovers still plying the roads there as farm vehicles. They all have a large CH painted on each of the doors to signify they are from the Cameron Highlands. They are taxed at a special low rate, and are not allowed to be driven elsewhere or they will be fined.
After getting settled, it was walk about time. We left the hotel just as it started to rain. Fortunately we saw the storm clouds before we left the hotel so we had an umbrella in hand. We started out the hotel drive to the main road and noticed that for the first time since we were in Dalat, Vietnam the weather was very cool and we could have used jackets on our walk so we picked up the pace. The grounds of the hotel were beautiful with rose gardens, and many flowering plants. D was surprised to see hollyhocks and impatiens growing right beside tropical plants of hibiscus and bird of paradise.
When we got to the main road, we noticed all the surrounding area was farms of various kinds. There was a strawberry farm with the berries grown in trays on platforms above the ground next to the hotel, a bee farm and a butterfly exhibit were just up the road, and a few shops and vegetable stands along the road in the opposite direction. As we walked towards the bee farm we saw a sign for the Boh Tea Plantation 2 km up a side road which was one of the locations we wanted to visit sometime in the next couple of days.
The next day, coats in hand, we caught a local rattletrap bus that passed by the hotel into Tanah Rata which is the main town where we had found ourselves the day before. About half way there just before we got to the town of Brinchang, the bus pulled off the side of the road on a hill overlooking Brinchang and the driver and most of the passengers got off. At first we thought it was a smoke break, but there were a few other trucks pulled off along that stretch of road, and it didn’t take us long to figure out what was going on. The local constables had set up a road check around the bend at the bottom of the hill, and the driver understandably didn’t want to go through it. We asked what they were checking, and were told it was “very bad”. They checked driver’s licenses, registrations, taxes, and safety. From our vantage point we could watch the checkpoint, and the plan was for the bus to wait until it was pulled down. After about 15 minutes the police pulled up the cones and proceeded uphill without blinking an eye at all the vehicles parked along the road waiting for them to leave.
Once we arrived in town after our brief delay, we found a nice little café where we could have a drink with the added bonus of free internet access to catch up on emails. D had one of the specialties of the area, strawberries scones and cream, but unfortunately it didn’t come up to the Devonshire standard. We then had a look around town for some postcards, and then found a sidewalk Indian café for a lunch of Tandori Chicken and Nan bread. We decided to catch the hourly bus headed back to the hotel, and when we boarded we thought we had got on a school bus by mistake. The bus was packed with elementary school children, but we made our way through to the back and a group of them offered their seat to the oldies in their midst. We seemed to be the highlight of their day and they all wanted to practice their English skills on us. Most of them got off after a short distance, so we weathered the storm. We got off at the market stands just before the hotel and picked up some of the local produce for a healthy dinner in the room.
The next day we considered taking one of the day tours offered of the area, but we looked at the itinerary and realized almost all the destinations were within walking distance of our hotel. We then planned to do our own walking tour so we headed out with coats and umbrella. We past the strawberry farm and decided to pass on the butterfly farm. We instead headed up the road towards the Boh Tea Plantation which was “only” 2 km up the road. The walk took us up the hill through some jungle which then opened onto terraces of tea plants. After about 2 km we came to a sign pointing the way to the processing plant and visitor’s area. It seems the sign at the main road only indicated the edge of the plantation was 2 km, but the actual plant was another 2 km after entering the plantation.
We finally made it to the visitor’s center and had a brief rest before the tour of the processing area began. We saw the five steps of preparing tea leaves, and then visited the souvenir shop to pick up a couple of boxes of tea. It was then time to begin our trek back to the hotel. We hoped that some kind soul would pick up along the way, but that didn’t happen. J did get a few fresh tea leaves to make a cuppa for D now that he knew how to process them. After arriving back at the hotel we decided to end our last day there with dinner in a little restaurant by the produce stands overlooking the terraces. After that it was time to pack up for our bus ride to Kuala Lumpur the next morning.
Next stop Kuala Lumpur.
