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Cameron Highland, 22nd to 23rd April 2010
We arrived in Cameron Highlands shortly after midday, after our 5 hour journey where we had tried to catch up on a bit of extra sleep but with little joy as the driver kept his foot jammed firmly on the accelerator around the windy roads all the way there. Cameron Highlands sits in the mountainous territory north of KL and is set amongst dense jungle and rich vegetation which unfortunately a lot seems to be disappearing due to illegal logging and farming of its rich soils and it was evident to see by eye. Famous for its tea and growing of strawberries Cameron Highlands was a refreshing place to be with its cooler climates and without the persistent humidity of KL. Once off the bus we were immediately hounded by the various representatives of hostels and hotels telling us what they had on offer. After a few minutes of 4 people talking to us at once I finally snapped saying “look, can you just give us 2 minutes please!” which amazingly worked a treat (there’s a lot to said of stepping off a bus tired!)
We were both feeling hungry so took
our handful of leaflets of hostel and hotel establishments and went and sat and ate some tasty Indian food at a nearby restaurant and chose our accommodation for the eve. Having made our decision to stay at the Kang Hotel (27 Ringgits) we plonked our bags down in what was a sufficient but basic room and headed out to check out the local surroundings. We had decided to use Cameron Highlands as a stop off and to help break up the journey between KL and our next destination Penang. As we walked around we got the vibe that it was quite a tourist destination with plenty of little shops selling everything to do with strawberries or tea. Still, being a small town it was much quieter than KL and things all felt a lot more laid back which was nice.
Whilst wandering round the different shops we spotted a couple of places offering reflexology and we decided that we would repay our feet back for all the recent hard work and indulge. Wow wee! This was the first time I’d had reflexology and even though people had told me how nice it was I wasn’t sure I liked the
idea I liked the idea of someone prodding at my feet. But I was much mistaken and one hour of pure bliss later, both Bowks and I walked out feeling relaxed and revitalized. We carried on having a wander about and much to Bowks’s disgust we had a downpour meaning her feet got all gritty as she was in her flip-flops. Ah well, we’ll have to go again sometime!
We ate that eve at a Chinese restaurant where we were recommended the steam boat. We weren’t quite sure what it comprised of but thought we’d give it a go anyway. We were presented with a gas stove which had a pan containing a soup like substance accompanied by a couple of plates filled with raw chicken, beef, fish, noodles and a variety of raw veg. Then in your own time you dropped the food into the soup, allowed it to boil and cook then fish it out and eat it (if you ask me it’s all based on the novelty value, aren’t you meant to pay for somebody to cook your food for you?!) Anyway, with the steam boat experience complete we went for a short stroll before retiring
back at our beautiful hostel, complete with squat toilet and headed to sleep.
Next morning, after breakfast we made plans for the day and our onward travel. We went online to check out how things were going in Bangkok as there seemed to be a number of demonstrations going on with Red Shirts trying to topple the government and things didn’t look too rosy with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office advising all but essential travel to the city (not what we wanted to hear when we were due to arrive there in 2 weeks time to try and organize our Indian visas and visit the city). Still we did manage to catch up on some blog and organize our 2.30pm bus to Penang leaving later that day.
With jungle trips as the main tourist offer we decide to give it a miss as we’d only just done one a couple of days prior. So instead we decided to visit a local strawberry farm to see what the rage of all the strawberry merchandise in the shops was about. 30 minutes later, after a pleasant cab ride out of the main town we arrived at the Big Red Strawberry
Kickapoo Joy Juice
One of Doddys findings Farm which was basically garden centre selling tropical plants and… strawberries! Still it was very pleasant but nothing to write home about (even though I am, he he!)
We later had a walk around a little local market and caught a cab back t the town centre where we collected our bags and headed to the bus station. At 2.30pm, our due time of departure, the bus driver was busy washing the bus by hand. He must be nearly finished we thought as we’re due to be setting off now but oh no, he still had the whole other side to do yet and even with a polite ask to which he replied he would only be one more minute. 20 minutes later and with help of another local we finally boarded our bus that would take us to Penang. We drove through the mountainous territory where again we saw the sad sight of large amounts of deforestation. We eventually dropped out of the mountains and back into the hot air and humidity with the bus that at each stop seemed to collect more people all of which had exceptionally loud ringtones on their phones. We eventually rolled into
the bus station just outside Penang at 8.30pm and although we were stepping back into the heat we were pleased to be off the bus and within touching distance of Penang.
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Ian Pennington
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Politics
When I first saw this post's title I thought you were making a political statement! Yanz x