Tea for two.

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Back to reality. We arrived in Malaysia on the 23/11, and had a bit of a shock. It was like driving back into the UK (proper roads and civilisation)! We took a bus from Thailand (after sailing from Lipe) into Penang in Malaysia. We had three Indian guys on the bus who struggled to get through the border; the Police gave them a hard time as to why they were here etc. I think they were pretty miffed when we breezed through! Being a former British colony the British influence can still be seen (Tesco, boy racers, Tea)! The following morning we did a brief tour of Penang/George Town. It’s made up of a sprawling city, fairly modern and developed nothing like what we left behind in the rest of SE Asia. In the afternoon we jumped on a bus into the Cameron Highlands, famous for its tea plantations. It was a long journey up windy mountain roads but worth it to get away from the traffic and heat of the city.

On 25/11 we decided to do a trek of the area. Starting out at 0730 we trekked for a couple of hours through the jungle to reach the highest peak in Malaysia (Gunung Brinchang, 2032m). The top offers great views of the surrounding scenery and looking down onto the tea plantations. The trek through the jungle was really steep, muddy and challenging but great fun! The route down was via roadway so we could take in the various attractions the area offers. First stop the Bow tea plantation for a well deserved cup of finest tea malaysia offers. Which we admit was pretty fine and helped to wash down a scone beautifully! The plantation was set up un the 1920's by a scottish gent and is still owned and run by the family. On the way down we also stopped off at a honey bee farm, strawberry plantation, butterfly sanctuary and a museum charting the areas history. The total trek was about 18km and took us the best part of the day with our stops, it was well worth it as we heard the organised tours didn't get to see much. Nothing like working up an appetite!

Malaysia is made up of an Indian, Chinese and Malay population and is heavily muslim. That does mean loads of curry houses which is where we ate in the evening. We have found that Malaysian food isn't as good as the other Asian countries we have visited - due to the diverse population they must be confused! The Roti's are good though which is an Indian pancake - served with anything you desire - with curry and egg for breakfast is great!

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