Advertisement
Published: November 14th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Father's Guest House
Apartments, very nice!
at
£15 for double room, a bargain! Hi Guys,
Penang to Cameron Highlands,
Rickety old bus 2pm - 7pm
1500m above sea level, digs booked Father's Guest house!
The last hour on the bus constantly climbing so high we were in the clouds. ( I think it's the closest Paddy's going to get to heaven ) The view was spectacular whilst watching the sunset through the window. When it got dark I was starting to get the nerves, it looked so remote and our lack of homework for this destination had that feeling of driving into the unknown!!
Eventually we arrived at Tanah Rata, The driver from the guest house was waiting to pick us up from the bus station. Upon arrival to the guest house the driver said " your room is open get settled in first before checking in."
The room was "proper minging" for want of a better description. Certainly not what we had booked over the internet. They said I hadn't emailed back quick enough so they gave the room away. After a bit of grumbling from us, they offered an alternative which was even better 5min walk away brand new apartment block, lovely room, great facilities and
cheaper. Result!
The weather is a shock after all the heat and humidity, with being up in the clouds it's a lot cooler, good for Paddy bad for me.
Tanah Rata is a small town. There's a few restaurants a mix of Indian, Chinese and Malay. There is one pub and some souvenir shops. The place is geared up for tea plantation visits and trekking. The views remind us of The Scottish highlands.
We booked ourselves in for the half day Mossy Jungle Trek.
Our day started at 6am to watch Newcastle get beaten by Blackburn. Not the greatest start to the day but thankfully the trip was good to cheer Paddy's face up!
Bo'h Tea Plantation
Picked up in a Land Rover we head up the mountains into the heart of The Tea Plantation. The guide explains this plantation has been running for over 80 years and this particular one is owned by a very rich Scottish Lady. In the early days it was the Malaysian women that worked out in the fields cutting the leaves by hand and carrying them in baskets on their heads in case they were to fall
their hands were free to break the fall. If you see by the pictures how steep the plantation is it's hard to imagine. Once the leaves were cut they had to be rolled in the palm of the hand for 45mins to oxidise. Thankfully now they have machine's for the cutting, roliing, drying and filtering although their machines still look a bit antiquated! The final product is a fine cup of tea!!
The Mossy Trail
The trail was short and sweet but again very informative about different plants and trees. What you can drink, what you can eat and what can ease bite's and stings. Now Paddy thinks he is one step closer to being like Bear Grylls, God help me. Another thing that added to the entertainment a dozey young couple in flip flops, when we are all ankle deep in mud. Haha
The Butterfly Farm
This was great not just for butterflies but also snakes, scorpion, tortoise, tarantula,Rhinoceros beetle, also a weird thing that looked like a leaf and loads more. The butterflies were huge and brightly coloured really pretty. Paddy wanted to hold everything and was disappointed when the guy said he couldn't
hold a scorpion. Me, I was happy taking photo's!!
A really good day out!
The following day, we had no plans. Quiet day, no such luck! A small stroll of 20 mins to Robinson Falls turned out to be an epic adventure.
No prepartion, no map ( nowt new there guy's ), no compass, no food, no waterproofs. We did have a bottle of water each.
From Robinson Falls there was a sign for route 9. It was a case of we will walk 10 mins just to have a look, then 10 more mins and so on until we were in the heart of the jungle, MAD! There had been a lot of rain the night before so when we were in the thick of it the paths were slippery, narrow with about a 40ft drop. You know when you have reached so far there is no way your going back. One part in particular I was on my honkers not wanting to budge an inch, it was slippery at an angle, big drop into the jungle and nowhere to get a good foot hold. After lots of deliberating. One step forward, one hand in
Paddy's and a big pull up from Paddy to safety. I can't believe I'm saying it again Paddy was the hero of the hour again. Thank You!!!! After about 3 and a half hours we made it to the other side of the jungle with big hugs and high five's, what an adrenalin rush and a heart pounding experience. What a great day out!! On our walk we saw a strange looking spider, a small snake, and a humongous millipede which as usual, Paddy liked to pet.
As a treat Paddy had a surprise evening meal planned for us in the next village. The pub was called Ye Ol Smoke House, it was a traditional English pub, Georgian theme. We felt like we were back in the Lake District. It was ultra posh inside which I didn't get the heads up for and turned up in my combats and scruffy fleece ( typical backpacker ) Paddy's choice was roast beef and Yorkshire puds and mine was chicken, chips, veg and Yorkshire puds and gravy! ( classy eh? ) This was a good night and I didn't wince once that the bill was bursting our backpacker budget!! Haha
The
Ye Old Smoke House
Very English, country pub. great food. following day we walked to The Cameron Tea Valley. It's a huge plantation with a nice coffee shop with superb panoramic views. More teas, more scones and more photo's. Upon leaving, there was a big motorbike meet. The guys were so friendly, we had our photo's taken with a few of them and then on their group photo they shouted over for Paddy and I to join in. We were both feeling a lump in our throat I guess firstly because these guys were so lovely, secondly we wished we had a bike to join in and thirdly WE MISS OUR BIKES!!!
We have thoroughly enjoyed The Cameron Highlands, the people, the scenery, the diversity of food, the temperature for Paddy. Not for me!
Today we are heading back to Kuala Lumper for our last 3 nights in South East Asia. Mixed emotions excited for Australia and sad to leave S.E.A.
Thanks for reading!
Karen and Paddy
Advertisement
Tot: 0.101s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 11; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0569s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Ruthie
non-member comment
Love the pics of the butterflies! Last three days, bet it feels like the end of an era? Still onwards and upwards, Australia is gonna be just as amazing! xxx