Blogs from Pahang, Malaysia, Asia

Not Just An Environmental Organization, REACH Reaches Out To Orang Asli (OA) Children Cameron Highlands, Malaysia - With the elevation of just over 2400 meters, Cameron Highlands, situated in Titiwangsa Mainrange, is a getaway place for a lot of locals and tourists alike who just wants to leave the smoldering city life of Kuala Lumpur and have a breath of fresh air. The surrounding green tree –filled mountains that cover much of Cameron Highlands district is a stark contrast to what it was once before when growing tourism and development in the area almost threatened its beautiful landscape. It’s a place to hike where a variety of hiking trails can lead you to mountain forest or pass by acres and acres of tea plantations and strawberry fields. It’s still a great tourist destination in Malaysia but ... read more

Monday 27 February 2010. Having not gone to sleep until after 2.00 am because the water heating pipes pass through our room and were clanking and gurgling away for ages, we were woken at 6.00 am by the call to prayer from the local mosque which sounds like it is just beneath our window. At least it meant that we were up and about at a reasonable hour to start our day in the Cameron Highlands! Located in the state of Pahang, Cameron Highlands is Malaysia's largest hill resort. Standing at an elevation of 1524 metres above sea level. It has a consistently cool climate that never ranges beyond 20 degrees celsius. It was first discovered in 1885 by William Cameron, a British surveyor in the government service. He stumbled upon this 'fine plateau shut in ... read more

Buses in Malaysia usually operate frequently between the tourist hubs, however since the east coast was in the midst of the annual monsoon it proved tricky to get from the Cameron Highlands. Having left Tanah Rata at 9am I arrived in Cherating at 11pm that night following two bus journeys and a taxi ride. The tiny village of Cherating is about 45 minutes north of the city of Kuantan and only became popular with surfers ten years ago when an Aussy discovered the mechanical 5ft, 500 metre wave. Now all the young locals are out surfing and national competitions are frequent during the surf season brought on by the October to January monsoon. I had imagined the monsoon to be a constant belting rain but during the week I stayed it rained only three times, always ... read more

Will man den Dschungel Malaysias bereisen und beschreiben, so muss man sich beeilen. Denn zwischen den gigantischen Palmöl- und Obstplantagen, neu entstandenen und schnell expandierenden Orten, Rodung und Straßenbau, bleibt nicht mehr viel Platz für den tiefen, undurchdringlichen, tropischen Regenwald. Die Entwicklung und der Fortschritt Malaysias beruht auf den Naturschätzen und der üppigen Vegetation, die den Motor des Landes bilden und schmieren, im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes. Da bleibt nun einmal kein Platz für die Natur. Ein ganzes Land scheint hier im Umbruch zu sein, von einem dörflichen Entwicklungsland in dem die Bewohner in Holzhütten am Flussufer leben, im Einklang mit der Natur und nur so viel sich von dieser holen wie sie brauchen, scheint Malaysia weit entfernt. Es gibt einen Allgegenwärtigen Trend zur Modernisierung. Ganze Städte entstehen in den Planungsbüros wi... read more

Malaysia – The Cameron Highlands – An extreme never ending jungle trek and a new addition to the family travelling group for a couple of days. I’m sure you’ve all been eager to read the next blog after I left you in suspense from the previous blog, yeah right! Well as you can see from the photos the bus was thankfully a VIP bus and Dad is still talking to me. I’m sure if he’s being honest I think it’s fair to say he actually found it quite comfortable and seemed to be able to sleep for most of the journey, result! After reassuring my parents that there would be no need to book accommodation in advance and that it would simply be a case of just turn up and find something, I was a little ... read more