Just One More Day

When I arrived in Tanah Rata I only intended to stay for a day. It was a relief to escape the heat and bustle of KL, but the higher the bus weaved into the mountains, the darker the clouds loomed. I barely had time to run for shelter before the skies opened up and the rain began to pour. Cold, wet and tired, there was little to convince me to stay beyond the obligatory mountain hike and tea plantation photo shoot.

The next day I braved the mud and the rain to tackle the mossy forrest obstacle course - crawling through tangled branches and wading through liquid mud. My only consolation was that the others seemed to be enjoying the climb just as much as I was, and by the end we had mud caked shoes and tree scratches to compare. From there we got to view the endless tea trees along the hills of the tea plantation as our guide talked us through the picking and processing of tea leaves. As the rain began to pour for a second night I managed to keep dry. Cold yet invigorated, the mountain air and guest house crew were beginning to grow on me. Maybe I could stay for just one more day...

The sun shone on Sunday and there was a unanamous decision amongst our dorm to leave the trails unexplored and vote for volleyball and vodka. A friendly match saw Holland competing against the rest of the world for the 'Father's guest house volleyball championship title' and a hazy memory seems to recall that they won. Then it was on to the picnic cocktails and, later, a round of 'kings' just to make sure everyone forgot their volleyball bruises. A little too much for some, but ended in a good night nevertheless. There was no way I could leave the next day with a hangover. I guess I'd just have to stay one more...

Monday was a day of rest. From what exactly I'm not quite sure. Possibly still recovering from that mud hike, more likely from drinks the night before. We watched movies, played board games, drank tea. And when plans were discussed to head to Pulau Pangkor, all of us who had time to stay another day were in.

Thus concludes my Tanah-Rata trip. Easy to go, hard to leave. Good memories.

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