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Published: July 19th 2011
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So it seems I have some major catching up to do... and will probably be 2 weeks behind once I manage to get anywhere with decent internet speeds to update. I'll type in advanced and upload where possible next so apologies for the delay if anyone has been refreshing there inbox in great anticipation...doubt it! Since I last updated we were leaving KL via yet another coach and heading in-land to the Cameron Highlands which are roughly 5hrs North East. I'm currently however sat on another coach en-route to Teman Negara National Park after spending 2 nights in the Highlands and also a week in the Perhentians, but before I confuse you all I'll get you all up to speed first. I've not decided yet wheather I'll do one blog fits all or seprarate for each destination but I guess it depends if the laptop has enough charge or if I fall asleep with the bouncy motion and extra comfy reclining seats...zzzzzz!
The Cameron Highlands are beautifully scenic with rolling green humps of forest and high peaks shrouded in mist which in the distance look pale blue in colour. Tana Rata is the main backpacker town which was perfectly located
in which to see all the agro-touristic sites we had planned.
If my memory serves me right we hopped off the coach at the deserted local bus station and quickly set off in search of accommodation via the tourist info office. We managed to find somewhere easily enough at the Twin Pine Chalets but we would later come to find it was reminiscent to a number of scenes from the film Jamunji! Rooms were basic but clean costing only £7 for us both per night without a fan. The temperature was sooooooo much cooler and was most definatley a welcome reprieve to the city humidity and smog we had recently escaped. The clean, fresh air was very much appreciated and I took great pleasure from being able to wrap up all snug and warm with long sleeves and a scarf to enjoy a few cups of hot coco later in the evening! It was still early afternoon once we had checked in so we took a leisurely stroll round the local park and realised we were sat in almost silence, no beeping horns or hustle & bustle, peace and quiet at last. Scott coudldn't contain the child within when
we reached the kids play area and decided to have a swing round the assult course which once I was eventually persuaded to join in we enjoyed a moment of immaturity just for a change!
We also took the time in the afternoon to make transport arrangements to the Perhentian Islands as we would be leaving early the day after and also booked a half day tour to see the local sights & activities leaving the rest of the day in the guest house garden reading books, catching up on blogs and finally sorting our laundry. Although, the relaxtion was short lived and the peace would be our last here as a noisy bunch of teenagers swarmed in from what must have been a School Trekking Trip and arranged accomodation in the attic dorm area above the room we were in. To paint the picture Twin Pines Chalet is a large bunglalow style building with roughly 10 rooms on the ground floor set in beautiful flowered gardens and generally quite sedate. To our horror though once we climbed in to bed the next 2 evenings our poor ears had to endure what sounded like a heard of heavy footed
elephants running around above our heads until the early hours! The walls in the rooms were painfully thin and if it wasn't the racket from above providing us free headaches it was a couple of monkeys in the room opposite having a marathon hanky panky session, swinging from the curtains by the sounds of it too! I mean - come on woman, was it really that good; she sounded just like the Tortoises in the Zoo we visited a few weeks ago. I couldn't help but laugh as I tried to hold a normal conversation with Scott which was continually interupted!! I couldn't wait to throw daggers the next morning at any guilty looking couples or youngsters under the age of 18! I even went as far as to thinking about catching all 5 mosquitoes in our room before we flip flopped them and instead send them alive and thirsty under the doors of the offenders in hope they wouuld get eaten alive so at least we would be able to spot them in daylight! You may think that's mean but 2 days sleep deprivation brings out the worst in us all...right?!
Anyway, the Countryside tour we both really
enjoyed and it was actually a great and cheap way to see all that we wanted in a short space of time. The 4hr itinerary included a stop at the Rose Centre, Strawberry Farm, the BOH Tea Plantation, Butterfly & Bug Park, Bee Farm and to finish off, a quick peak in the local Buddhist Temple. I probably took far too many pictures of random flowers, rolling landscapes and pretty butterflies but all were too gorgeous not too. The Rose centre was filled with all sorts of beautifull flowers and was located on the side of a hill so we climbed to the top of what seemed like Mount Everest for stunning views of the landscape. Mum you would have loved it. I pinched one which looks just like a butterfly (pic attached) and pressed them in between my book for when I'm home just for you! I volunteered to hold a huge Scorpion too in the bug park for some strange reason :-/Maybe it was to try and persuade Scott to get in on the insect action but he was happy enough taking pictures at a distance! He did however learn something interesting in the Bee Farm and took
the only photo we did there to share the knowledge...something about an extractor but I reckon it was the spelling mistake that made it more funny rather than informative (pic also attached)! The tour finished by the early afternoon so we collected our laundry and sat and had a bite to eat. I noticed early the day before a stray huski looking dog wandering around the main road and thought there was something long and odd between HIS legs! Excuse my language here but cant really describe it any other way.... I was thinking to myself as I watched him trotting about "what is that dangling between his legs!" I then realised that he had the saggiest balls I had ever witnessed (nearly touching the floor to be precise!). I hoped that I would see him again just to show Scott for a few giggles as i found it funny in an odd way but I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor fella. Each step they swung and wrapped round each ankle as his back legs moved from left paw to right! And sure enough the next day we did see him, we aptly named him Billy and
Scott would accept I really wasn't exaggerating this time! I think he had a moment himself where he crossed his legs and said...arghh poor bugger, someone buy him some pants!
Our time in the Highlands was short but sweet and was most definatley worth the stop. The weather was perfect and the lush carpeted landscapes simialar to those of the Lake District. On the otherhand it was sad to see that tourism here is obviously the backbone to the local economy and catering for this seems to be resulting in concrete high-rise buildings being built in every local town, to either meet demands or at least in the hope to further entice holiday makers with money to spend. Around the back of most forest peaks the slopes would be shaved of it's natural habitat to give way to agricultural farmland and cultivated soil on such a huge scale that in years to come this lush green upland will surley not always be so green...
Perhentians Islands update to follow soon!
Love & Hugs
x x x
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