Tapah to Tanah Rata,Cameron Highlands

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Had a fun breakfast experience at the Chinese place across from my hotel. Just me and about a dozen old Chinese guys. Neatly pre-placed on each table were two small triangular shaped dishes wrapped in paper and banana leaf which I recognized as Nasi Lemak. It's a delicious dish of rice cooked in coconut cream and topped with a spicy red sauce(sambal) and roasted peanuts, tiny anchovies, usually a slice of cucumber and sometimes an egg! The nice lady, recognizing me as a non-Malay(damn my cover was blown) came over and offered me ham or bacon and eggs with toast etc. When I declined and said that I would have the Nasi Lemak and some tea I got nods of approval and what I presumed to be words of encouragement from my neighbours at the next table. They also watched me eat it very diligently to guage my liking of it and when I showed my approval heads nodded and all was well. One of the old fellas gave me a "very good" and he and his table mates seemed quite pleased with his command of English! Also laid out on each table was a plate of four eggs(hard-boiled I presumed) and two mystery rectangles also wrapped in paper and banana leaf. I waited a while until I was less a spectacle than just another customer and watched for someone to open their rectangle. It was noodles! Sounded like another good carbohydrate for me to ingest before the ride so I unwrapped and tucked in. I'm not sure what they're called(I will have to check) but they are a very,very fine noodle fried with a nice spicy sauce. After finishing my grub and bidding farewell to the old boys and paying the lofty sum of 3.2RMB (about $1 Cdn) I got on my way. Maybe it's better that I don't travel with topographic maps because if I'd seen how sustained the climb up to Tanah, Ratah in the Cameron Highlands was, I may have re-considered so early into a trip with "green" legs. It was definitely no cake-walk. I gained about 1400m and did 60km of which conservatively 50km was climbing :P. Though not as steep as some climbs I've done(although it did have it's steep bits), I don't think I've climbed for as many km sustained. It was a beautiful ride though! There's a nice waterfall stop on the roadside part of the way up with vendors of food and tacky souvenirs. A girl was selling little sweet balls covered with sesame seeds in a big container and when I asked if I could buy a smaller amount in a bag she said that she didn't usually sell them that way. I must have had a crazed, desparate hunger in my eyes as she made an exception and bagged me up quite a portion! She refused to take any $$ for it--thanks a lot Yana! I carried on after a couple of "terima kasih's"(thank you). It was 35 degrees celsius and I was losing tons of water, barely able to keep up with re-hydrating. I found myself wishing that I'd had some more helpings of brekkie as my energy was being quickly sapped. Had to make do with the sesame snacks from Yana and some kacang(peanuts) that I bought by the roadside. Never in my life have sweet sesame balls and peanuts tasted so exquisite!! I wasn't moving very quickly, anywhere from 7-13km/hr.(my average for the day was 11.6km/hr). I moved more slowly as the day went on and had been doing a pretty steady 7-8km/hr. Were the hills getting steeper or me slower?! I figured at this rate that I'd have trouble making Tanah Rata and have to be content with making it to Ringlet which was 13km shy of my goal. I was getting so tired that I began stopping every km or so to rest for anywhere from one to five minutes. I limped my way in to Ringlet and went straight to the nearest Indian restaurant. I had a good feed and was feeling better but it was now 4p.m and I figured that if I carried on and maintained the same pace that with breaks I might arrive after dark. The last thing I wanted was to be on these winding switchbacks after dark. So, telling myself that I'd made a valiant attempt I asked my waiter where the hotels/guesthouses were. His answer: there were none! I knew that there were some exclusive resorts nearby but figured there'd be a guesthouse or two. Well, decision made....I push on to Tanah Rata and make it by hook or by crook. It turned out to be a good decision(like I really had an alternative-lol) because despite someone telling me it was all uphill, the first 5km were downhill and another 2km or so of flat followed! I was stoked and knew that I was definitely out of the woods time-wise. If there is one thing I'm noticing consistently with bicycle touring, it's that late starts are not usually your friend. If I had started early I wouldn't have had to worry about the time crunch at all. If things ever don't go as planned route-wise or you have a mechanical issue, it can really get you out of a jam to have extra daylight hours. The last 8km was tough climbing but I came around a corner and had the most breathtaking view I've seen of a tea plantation. Actually, I believe the exact words that I blurted aloud were " Holy shit, that is so cool!". I stopped for quite a while and took it in and snapped a few photos. This vista, combined with the knowledge that I was in single-digit km range gave me a real boost and I eventually rolled into town a happy camper! I made a bee-line for Papillion guesthouse. I had memorized it's location from my guidebook map before arriving in town. This is a handy little trick if you want to arrive in a town and not be hassled by touts(often aggressive, "room-finders" on commission)in touristy areas. Stopping and having your guidebook open makes you an easy mark-lol! The room was cheap and adequate and the proprietors were awesome. After settling in and showering I had a chat with the owner and then walked into town to explore the strip. Tanah Rata has essentially one strip with shops, hotels and tons of restaurants. The choices between Malay, Chinese, and Indian are endless. I settled on an Indian place(I'm a sucker for roti and curry!). At dinner I met a cool American guy named Rob who has been travelling for 5yrs after retiring early at the ripe old age of 42! Rob, if you're reading this and I sound envious it's because I am! No small hill station in Malaysia would be complete without a Starbuck's and it's unfortunately the best way to cheaply use wi-fi as it's free if you buy something. So, succumbing to my need for a net-fix I bought the cheapest thing on the menu(a small--tall?) brewed coffee. You could eat a filling meal for the same 6.5RMB($2.50-ish Cdn) but the net cafes are 3 or 4RMB per hour anyway so if you're gonna stay a while(which I made sure to-lol), then you may as well get a coffee out of the deal. Did my thing, had a leisurely stroll home, and started making plans for the following day before passing out fully dressed with the light on... 😊

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Photos

Waterfall
Nice rest stop

Tree
Huge tree on the climb

Tea
Tea plantations

Funny sign
Funny sign in Tanah Rata