Blogs from Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia, Asia - page 15

As Mojca had departed for Bangkok, I was left in Penang wondering where to head to next. And the decision (and not a difficult one really) was to escape the humidity of the lowlands and head for the hills of central Malaysia, for 'The Cameron Highlands' to be precise! At over 1400 meters above sea level, the highlands were a welcome change from the humid and stuffy weather that I had experienced almost everyday since I left home. It was a pleasure to actually sleep in a bed where I was tucked under a duvet instead of legs thrown out over the side of a sheet because even that was even proving too warm! I had just got word from Borneo that I had been allocated a space at the overnight camp on the Mount Kinabalu ... read more

The Cameron Highlands is essentially a hill resort on the Malaysian peninsular which is famed for its tea estates and abundance of vegetation, butterflies, strawberry farms and the most extraordinary array of unusual looking flowers. Temperatures at dusk drop to 'bloody cold' which in England may be nothing much but here in Asia where the normal attire is 'what you can get away with' the chilly air is awful. Set amidst mountain peaks and forests there is an abundance of walking trails and waterfalls which is the main draw. Sadly, this is the place where the famous Jim Thompson, who pioneered the silk trade in Thailand, disappeared. The story goes that on the fateful day, he set off for a evening stroll before dinner and never returned. A regular to the Highlands his disappearance remains a ... read more

The next day we got a mini bus to the Cameron Highlands booking it in the tourist office we spent the evening laughing and chatting with some of the locals as they shared there special Ramadam food with us. When we arrived in the Cameron Highlands we checked into Daniels Lodge and then went out for an Indian, where they served us our dinner on Banana Leaves, on the way home we booked a day tour of the highlands including a trek to the largest flower in the world the Raffesia. The next morning after getting up early we had breakfast at kangs, and got into a large 4x4 range rover (we should have realised the day would be crazy with the guide having the biggest cowboy hat ever andbig silver knucke rings, oh and the ... read more

We did manage to arrive in Penang, Malaysia in one day from Koh Samui - but the journey had us in absolute stitches 20 hours after venturing out. We left our hotel at 6:10 in the morning and managed to flag down a minivan to the bus station on Koh Samui. We were able to quickly buy a bus ticket on a government bus to Hat Yai (in the very south of Thailand) which included our ferry ticket to Donsak. As we boarded the bus, we were feeling quite smug that we had avoided the trap of the tourist bus once again and managed to organize it all on our own. This was a short lived sentiment. We had been assured in Samui that we would arrive in Hat Yai in plenty of time to get ... read more

Yesterday I took a morning bus from KL to Cameron Highlands. Somehow I managed to be caught unawares that the last 65km of our journey would be up a very winding road. Now had I thought about this it probably wouldn't have come as a giant surprise but since my brain is on vacation... It isnt called the Highlands for nothing. The weather can best be characterized as 'English' or what you would imagine that to mean, except even more rain. It pretty much rains (based on the two days I have been here) in the early afternoon for at least a couple of hours. Today it has been raining from 2pm to now (8:30pm). And it is quite cool - in fact my sweater is not really enough but since I doubt I will need ... read more