Sipping tea at the plantations (Cameron Highlands, Malaysia)

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(Day 299 on the road)From Kuala Lumpur, it was a painless four-hour bus ride northeast to the Cameron Highlands, at 1500 meters famous for its cooler temperatures than the rest of the country and the perfect climate for growing tea. They are named after a British surveyor of the name William Cameron, who supposedly "discovered" them in 1885. Today, they are a popular holiday and weekend destination for Malaysians, as we soon found out with most of the (affordable) accommodation solidly booked out. It was the week after Chinese New Year, and it seemed that half of Kuala Lumpur was here with us. The weather wasn't too kind on us either, as it was raining frequently, mainly in the afternoons.

But we were not so easily deterred. We spent a relaxing day in and around the city of Tanah Rata, where we had based ourselves. Then, it was time to ponder the surroundings a bit, and we figured that by the best way to do this doing a nice jungle trek. It was great indeed, passing some virgin forest and a waterfall. At the end of the walk and after a short visit to a bee and strawberry farm that we came across, we caught a lift with a Malaysian family, who was to take us back to Tanah Rata. However, as we found out only after they had dropped us somewhere, we were nowhere near our town. Not to worry however, as we soon found another car to take us back. This turned out be very lucky indeed: It was very nice Malaysian family of Chinese origin, with two funny kids. We stopped at one of the many tea plantations to sip some tea overlooking the plantation below, and they insisted to pay for us. After that, they dropped us right where we wanted to go. What a nice family!

The next morning, it was time to leave - for the jungle...

Next stop: Kuala Tahan (Taman Negara, Malaysia).



To view my photos, have a look at pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).

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