Cameron Highlands where the air is cool and the jacket was worn

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Although this is my 4th blog I am still writing about places that happening a few weeks ago which is annoying as I should be getting motivated to write every couple of days. Especially now as I write about Cameron Highlands in central Malaysia whilst in a hostel in Indonesia with bad wifi, so this is my 3rd attempt of typing this, trying to remember what happened and my motivation better come back and start getting this blog more updated!



Anyways as I left Langkawi after my detox and relaxing I arrived at Cameron Highlands with a bit of a chill in the air which was welcoming and didn’t want to get my coat out yet, I wanted to feel cold in the fresh air and not just with air con. The town itself was small and touristy with plenty of hostels and the one I had booked was a pleasant surprise after the pervious place and best of all was a bed that looked like it didn’t have broken springs and had clean sheets. Awesome! After the usual booking in I met a British couple who were also travelling and as always it was time to go and grab a beer as we were British. However the prices at the only bar in the area was proper expensive we decided after checking our budgets that it was best to have 2 and head to bed!





Next day after an awesome sleep, I had booked a half day tour around Cameron Highlands which I was joined by an German couple who were dressed as if they were ready for a 4 day trek into the jungle, not like me in my shorts and t-shirt carrying a jacket. The tour was led by a local who spoke perfect english and knew the history and everything that we could have wished for. We were forever asking him questions and he’s probably been asked so many times from tourists, but it was still good to hear. The tour consisted of a drive round the tea plantation area with plenty of stops to take photos and the driver explained how the tea was planted, picked and made, mainly because the tea making factory was closed on a Monday and he had to improvise on missing out on that. Next was a trek into the jungle for an hour which the Germans wanted more of but not me and definitely not the driver who was on a tight schedule. He did explain the various plants and how lots of them were used for medical purposes, like taking one leaf and crushing it up and it smelled of tiger balm and thats what it was used in. Fascinating stuff. Next on the agenda was a trip to the highest point and a watch tower which looked like it would fall down with a gust of wind. The views was covered by a blanket of cloud and once a break in the clouds came along it lasted for about 3 seconds which was not long enough for me to grab my phone from my pocket! Damn! We were then taken to a strawberry farm which there seemed to be a lot of in Cameron Highlands and it was explained that this was for the tourists only as its been a common assumption by the locals that tourists like strawberries. They had the milkshakes, ice-cream, badges, tea towels and anything else that could have a strawberry theme! That was the end of the tour and on the way back I asked to be dropped off at the local museum called “Time Tunnel’. It was a strange place as there didn’t seem much of a set pattern to the museum, lots of random photos and facts and lots of items from the 40’s/50’s, but it did explain that before 1890’s Cameron Highlands was just all jungle and then the British came along and made it into a place to chill and relax for the expats who were missing home! It then became a place for the British Military to come along and rest. On finishing the museum it was time for the trek back to the hostel and a 3/4 km walk along the winding roads. Just as luck would have it, the heavens opened and the rain came down very heavily. If I had been missing the british weather then this is when I did NOT miss it. On came the jacket which was a waste of time as it was made of cotton and became soaked within seconds. Getting back to the hostel is when I decided that I had seen everything that I had come to see, and it wasn’t because of the weather but that I needed to start moving on through Malaysia quicker. So a ticket was booked for the next place and it was decided after talking to the hostel receptionist that I should bypass everything and head straight for Kuala Lumpur. So after a meal of pork at the local restaurant which the hostel had a sign at the front desk stating no pork allowed, I felt a bit rebellious about that, I headed for an early night and ready for the next adventure.

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