Cameron Highlands, KL and Melaka

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September 1st 2008

Published: September 1st 2008

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Kelly and Amers

Mrs. Doyle

Kelly's content as she tucks into fresh tea, scones, jam and a cup of C Highlands tea

We were both really looking forward to the Cameron Highlands- it sounded like a pretty unique place. It's a former Colonial hill station that the British used as a retreat from the hustle and bustle of normal Malaysian life, and due to it's high altitude it's considerably cooler than the remainder of the country. The Brits also left thier mark on things like the architecture with most of the oldest buildings sporting mock Tudor facades (weird to see in Asia) and there was also an abundance of tea and scones on offer (something that Kelly made sure she got her daily fix of).

We stayed at one of 6 of the original guesthouses in CH, Daniel's Lodge, a very intimate backpacker place with a cool little campfire at the back of the jungle bar that everyone sits around every evening, getting to know one another. The town itself is pretty small and other than visiting the surrounding tea plantations, butterfly and flower farms and insect houses (all of which we ticked off the list on a a half day trip) there wasn't much else to do other than trek and relax with a nice cuppa for a few days. So

Honey I shrunk my girlfriend

Kelly amongst some sizable vegetables in the C Highlands

that's exactly what we did- recharging our batteries for a bit.

We'd read about a free guided trek to the hills that left from one of the local hotels every morning so we headed on down to meet the veteran guide- Mr. Yan. It turned out that on this particular day we were the only two attending so we had the guide all to ourselves for the whole 5 hour trek. And once he warmed to us a bit he was a very nice chap indeed and very learned. He taught us about the jungle and all our surroundings along the way, as well as pointing out various plant life and flora and fauna. He also talked to us about CH and how it had changed over the years as well the state of Malaysia as a whole from a social and economic viewpoint. It was really interesting and quite refreshing getting the lowdown on the country you were in from one of the local residents, rather than hearing all the usual rubbish from people trying to sell you anything that wasn't nailed down. The trek was nice as well- because it was cooler and less humid than any

Worth the trek

Looking down on the Highlands

other jungle we'd been to we weren't sweating buckets by the time we reached the top of the hill and the panoramas were certainly special.

After a few days relaxing in the cooler climate we bid farewell to the friends we'd made at Daniel's (with all thier tips on Indonesia and Australia noted), hopped on a bus and made our way down to the capital city, Kuala Lumpar. After dodging a booking we'd made at a bedbug ridden guesthouse called Pondok Lodge, we found a decent place a couple of doors away. Our first impressions were really good- we both really liked the city, it seemed cleaner than alot of other capitals we'd visited (well, where we were staying did anyway), the transport system was really efficient and great value, there was lots to see and do and the shopping was amazing (I had to physically restrain Kelly a few times while walking around the super plush shopping malls). The malls also boasted some amazing food halls as well, with every type of cuisine on offer- from hearty Malaysian to crappy fast food, they had it all and it was cheaper and much more hygenic than eating on the

See here

Mr. Yan pointing something out from the lookout point

streets. So we made sure we sampled as much as we could during our stay.

We made it up to the viewing platform within the KL Tower on the second night. The views of the city and surrounding areas at sunset were pretty spectacular and being the 4th tallest tower in the world, you could see a good distance. The KL Petronas Twin Towers were less spectacular as you could only visit the walkway bridge between them as opposed to going all the way up. Plus you had to queue for a good couple of hours in the morning (from 6am onwards) for some free tickets and a time allocation later that day- it was all a bit of a performance!

On the 3rd day we used the skytrain and underground sytems to venture into various parts of the city. We visited Chinatown (basically one long road packed with tons of fake goods for sale) and on the same day we dropped in on 3 different places of worship for 3 different religions, all within a street of each other (Sikh temple, Mosque and Hindu temple). That's another thing we really liked about the city (and were discovering

Cool view

The C Highlands a few kms below

about the country as a whole, the more we explored), the unity among all the different kinds of people that lived together. Although Mr. Yan from CH told us of the minor and somewhat understandable rifts at times, on the whole, all the communities lived together with tolernace and in harmony. Plus it made the towns and cities more interesting because you could go from modern shopping malls and hotels to Indian roti sellers and Chinese noodle stalls in the blink of an eye.

We visited the lake gardens on day 2 (quiet escape from the noise of the city) and the Planetarium that they housed. This was great fun and a good excuse to act like kids again- we also learned loads while playing with all the interactive bits and bobs. I also lost count of the number of Malaysian children (who were on a school trip) that asked to have thier picture taken with Kelly (perhaps it was our surroundings but I'm guessing we looked like something straight off a flying saucer to some of them!)

Another day was spent exploring Merdeka Square in the heart of the city (with the world's largest flagpole at 100

Camp fire life

Keeping warm around the campfire at Daniel's Lodge in C Highlinds

metres tall), central market (quaint market selling everything from clothing to ornaments and nic nacs) and a spot of shopping in preparation for our trip to Australia which is looming on the horizon.

Discovering a really cool hostel was another little highlight for us. Although we didn't stay there, we stopped by most nights whilst stumbling back to ours, to meet the two friendly owners (well travelled themselves) who were more than happy to chat to us about anything and everything over a couple of cheap beers. It turned out that it was a brand spanking new hostel with new fixtures, fittings and decor and the most amazing showers (trust me after 5 months in Asia, a modern, decent shower is easy to get excited about). We have the guys details so who knows, maybe we'll pop by and stay if we ever end up back in KL.

Five days down the line and it was time to leave (we'd already overstayed by a day because we liked it so much), so we caught the local bus for a couple of pounds and 2 hours later, we hopped off in the heart of the small Portuguese port settlement

Kissey kissey

At the Rose Gardens in C Highlands

of Melaka. After walking around in vain for a couple of hours whilst looking for some half decent accomodation, a friendly French guy named Aziz collared us and pointed us in the direction of the place he was staying at, telling us that he stumbled on it by chance one day prior and was very happy there indeed. And he wasn't kidding- Emily Travelers' Home didn't dissapoint. It's a lovely little backpacker place off the beaten track a bit but such a gem. Run by two brothers, Malik and Jay, it was a beautiful heritage building set in a wee tropical garden. It was also amazing value at around 5 pounds a night with free breakfast and as much tea and toast we could handle. It was clean, had a couple of outdoor 'jungle showers', (one of Malik's creations along with a table that tranformed into a BBQ) and loads of furniture and decor that was made of recycled goods. But the icing on the cake for me, had to be the two owners as they were two of the friendliest chaps you could ever hope to meet. Nothing was too much trouble and they insited we all treat the

Fancy a cuppa?

The rolling hills of the Boh tea plantation

place like home during our time there. Plus they had a aimiable rabbit that hopped around free in the garden named Mr. Playboy. In my mind it's the best place by far that we've stayed in over the last 5 months. One night Malik and Jay lovingly cooked the ultimate BBQ for us residents (Kelly and I, Aziz, a Japenese girl named Makiko and 2 bicycle riding Italian chaps) and it was a great way to mix, talking amongst ourselves into the early hours. It was also a chance to see the infamous BBQ table in action as it transformed infront of our very eyes from a coffee table, to a BBQ with space for coals and grill.

Emily was also an ideal base to visit the local attractions from- Melaka is a quaint little village that was once occupied by the Portuguese and they left thier mark, as did the British, with an abundance of churches, cathederals and monuments dotted around. We climbed nearby St Paul's Hill and visited the ancient church as well as a couple of the many museums that were situated around the base but mainly we chilled out at our guesthouse.

Four days

Beetlebum

Amers says howdy to a big tropical beetle

later, when it came to the end of our stay there and indeed the end of our say in Malaysia, we were sad to say goodbye. We'd had such a great time in Melaka and our time in Malaysia (after a rocky start) was one we'll certainly look back on with fondness. We said our thankyous and goodbyes to Malik and Jay and Mr. Playboy and jumped on the bus that would take us across the border to Singapore. Not before however, I left my enduring mark on Emily. The guest house has many murals painted by various travellers during thier time there and not being one to miss an opportunity like that, I chose my design and armed with paint and brush, on the last night went to work on one of the walls upstairs. It was nice to think that in years to come as they expand (as was the brothers' plan) and maybe become more well known, my painting will live on on Emily's walls.

The further down the country we got and the more we explored, the more we liked Malaysia and Melaka was the perfect way to end our time there. We couldn't help

This may sting a little...

One of the group get acquainted with a thick-skinned local at the butterfly park

but wonder however, what to expect from Singapore (of which we'd heard so much) as we motored toward the border on the last bus we'd be taking in Malaysia.

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