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Published: March 13th 2008
Arrived in the Highlands late Tuesday night after a 4 hour bus ride from KL. The trip was really nice because I got to see a lot of the country. The landscape reminds me a lot of Costa Rica; I guess because the climates are similar. When I arrived at my hostel, I met an English girl. We went on a tour around the highlands together. We were lucky on our tour because we were the only two, so we got extra service from our guide who was really knowledgeable and friendly. Our first stop was the Rose Garden. A really huge garden with all kinds of tropical plants, flowers, cacti and of course, roses. We also went to a tea plantation and factory, a butterfly farm that included all kinds of gross scary insects as well. We visited a Buddist temple, a honey bee farm (where I saw no bees!) and a strawberry farm. Everything around here has strawberries in it, or is strawberry based because they have so many farms. Strawberry themed merchandise is EVERYWHERE! The tea is also pretty popular and there are three separate tea plantations. There are tons of little markets and shops set up and
I think we must have seen almost all of them.
Link to more info on all the local sights.
http://www.cameronhighlands.com/blogsection/Attractions/
Today we went on a trek thru the jungle. We were pretty nervous when we approached the beginning of the trail because it was seriously overgrown and looked like there would be a lot of opportunities for bugs to wind up in our hair. I know- girlie, but I dont care, Im from the city man!! So we started to head back toward the road, but this guy stopped us and took us up quite a bit of the trail. Apparently it was like his back yard. Needless to say he moved much quicker than either of us even though he was only in flip flops and we were wearing more rugged shoes. After he said bye (which included a huge kiss on my cheek and a warning that if he saw me out in the town at dinner tonight he was "going to get me") we went the rest of the trail on our own. It was pretty rough. Very steep but a nice view of the jungle and the trees. We were hidden from the
Rose Garden
View from the topsun for the most part. We must have hiked straight up for about 45 minutes before we got to more level ground. We ended up on top of the mountain and took some really great pictures. Then we went back down and went to an English restaurant for lunch. It was expensive as hell, but it was pretty good. Then went back up the hill by bus, shopped and did more walking and sight seeing. Finally we hitched a ride back to the area where our hostel is. A lot of people in Malaysia hitchhike. Its really safe and people generally get picked up pretty quickly. I wouldnt have done that if I were on my own, but with Helen along it was ok. Plus people seemed to respond to us in a positive way, so I wasnt worried. Everyone wants to know where you are from and what your travel plans are. Strangely enough, Ive only come across 1 other American here and that seems to be the standard. Lots of Malays are familiar with European travelers, or the English, but not so much from the states. I expect there will be more Americans in Thailand though.
Tomorrow
I'll be off to Taman Nagara, a large rainforest park where there are lots of outdoor activities, and hopefully some animals to see. Might not have internet there, but I'll post pics soon.
Take Care!
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Tony
non-member comment
GREAT BLOG!!!
Leslie! Thanks so much for your vivid rundown of what you're doing and the places you're seeing! GREAT PHOTOS! Love the Praying Mantis photo! We have some in our yard here in Los Angeles! They're great to have as they eat alot of the plant destroying aphids! Glad you're having a good time and can't wait to hear more! xo, your Comcast Pal, Tony S.