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Day 10: Our day leaving Kuala Lumpur didn't really go to plan! The fact that there was a demolished central bus station in the centre of town caused us a load of bother trying to find a departure point to Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands. Despite it looking like it had been this way for a while, all travel information on the internet referred to Pudu Raya bus station which was inaccessible to us. However when we were searching we found one which was said to leave from KL Sentral (a transport hub to the southwest of the city centre) twice, at 8.30am and again at 1pm. So off we trekked but once we had arrived there we had immediate doubts. Our fears were confirmed when a bus driver told us these buses were only for transfer to KL airport. His accent was stronger than most and we thought that he told us to go to Putra Bus Station to the north of town. When I asked a train guy if we needed to go to Putra, he confirmed this and pointed us to the right train there. Something we have learned is that people will be irritatingly persistent when trying to
sell you something at bus stations or in the street, Malaysians on the whole are polite but can be quite rude and abrupt in this situation. However ask people for directions and they will quite often just repeat what you have said and point. This is not necessarily correct, so whilst well meant has lead us astray a few times! So off we went to Putra, suffice to say this wasn't the right place and really we needed to be back at Bukit Jalil the makeshift bus station we had arrived at. Don't ask me how I misheard this but the pronunciation is 'Pu-kit' so I guess that was it. It was a nightmare heaving our stuff around an interstate and a multi story car park which was the bus station Putra before getting laughed at when we mentioned Cameron Highlands. Seriously pissed off at this point we went back to KL Sentral to head on to the correct place, by the time we got there we were going to miss the afternoon bus, if there even was one. As we were quite unwilling to lug our stuff over to the station without guarantee of a bus there for us
(journey time was 4hrs plus) we decided with reluctance to go for one more night in KL. We went for a hostel not far from our original which we were unwilling to return to. 1pound each more got us A/C, a private bathroom and a tv with HBO. As a treat we went to see a preview of Robin Hood at the movies. Tickets at 2pound each were great and the film is fantastic, if not a Robin Hood story proper.
Day 11: was much better for us, we had an earlier start and got to Bukit Jalil in time to catch the 8:30 to Tanah Rata. The mountain scenery was awesome and the bus journey was manic. The roads twist and turn with dramatic drops down the side of the mountain. Luggage slid around on the floor and our stomach were subjected to some trauma! When we arrived we found ourselves in misty mountains and almost feeling rather chilly! (It must've still been 20plus) A man was waiting at the station to ferry guests with reservations off to the guesthouse we were wanting to stay at. We hopped on quickly and headed round the corner where we were
told there was just one room left, some girls off of our bus arrived a few moments later, it seemed we had pinched their lift. The room rate was great (27 ringgit - less than 6 pounds in total) and their was a showing of inglourious basterds going on. The place was described in or guide book as 'the travellers spiritual home'. Whilst this may have caused big expectations it was a nice place with a cool 'jungle bar' out the back with camp fires every night. Unfortunately we had brought the KL rain with us and there was a lightening storm in the mountains that night, but strangely no thunder? This meant out with the rain smocks and diving into the nearest chinese which actually very tasty. Toe had Black Pepper Venison and Nat Chicken with Cashew Nuts. Then we crashed out to the sound of insects and frogs making deafening noises all around the hostel.
Day 12: We had slept fully clothed in our sleeping bag liners but were very cold when we awoke! Very strange to be in Asia and not wake up sweaty! We had booked a tour through the company who owned the Hostel
and were picked up by our tour guide in his 4x4 truck. We were joined by an older English couple from around Leicester who had sold their house and were off on a year round trip. They had been to a lot of the places we had and were very friendly. Also a dutch girl and guy who were nice and a couple of french guys and brit girl who kept to themselves. They weren't so much rude but didnt make an effort to join in the rest. We squeezed in to the 4x4 and set off, the first 45 minutes were uneventful - getting to the location where we would start off roading. We chatted to the English couple about places to go in Cambodia and Vietnam. We stopped near an Aborigine Village to notify a native guide who would into the Rainforest. Then we dove up a rough earth path and everythig went mad!!! It had rained heavily last night and the path was bumpy and slidy, littered with pools of sandy water which caused mini waterfalls to cascade dow the hillside when we passed through. It was truly wild bouncing head to toe around the cabin of
the 4x4, it was better than a roller coaster. Our guide Lee (or Li?) was great and jokey and we liked him a lot.
We stopped and got out ready to set off for our Jungle Trek. Although Lee told us that really due to the location of the Trek we were in Rainforest not Jungle, all the same to us! This turned out to be an hour and a half trek through some impressive forestation and was a lot of fun. We saw various bugs and plantlife on the way up whilst hearing the nearby calls of Gibbons. We encountered some river crossings where we were forced to get rather wet too! We made it to a couple of locations of the flower, Rafflesia. Whilst advertised as the biggest in the world, there was a it of confusion when we saw it as Lee said it was second biggest but perhaps in the same family of plant or something? Anyway the plant is seasonal, so we weren't there for the only time of it opening, it opens season round but the Orang Ansli Tribe scout out new locations of the flower and once they open they last for
7-10 days. We saw bulbs as well as one at 7 days open and another at 5 days. The trek downhill felt shorter and we headed to a neary waterfall. Usually the trip includes a swim here which would have been awesome. However due to the rainfall the night before, the water was brown and sandy and not best for swimming. The french guys with girl gave it a go but we were looking forward to clearer waters and gave it a miss.
Next stop on the trip was back to the tribes village where we were given a demonstration on the blow pipes they use to hunt and kill animals in the forest with poison darts! (Apparently some elders sill kill and eat monkeys!) Toe did ok with both his tries with the Blow Pipe. Nats first didn't have enough power behind it but she was encouraged to have another go and came closest to the middle of the target, even earning the adulations of the local natives!! We had a brief look around the huts there before hopping back into the Land Rover to a nearby Indian Restaurant for an inexpensive lunch. Afterwards we were winged off
to a tea plantation owned by the BOH brand. The views were awesome and the leaves were used to make Assam and Black Teas. This was followed by a speedy tour around their factory and a taster in their gift shop. We couldn't resist trying some Ice Tea and Strawberry tart at the cafe.
Next we went to a Butterfly farm nearby. The title is deceiving as they have much more there! First we were in the Insect enclosure which housed some truly amazing creatures, some camoflaged to look like different pieces of jungle. A lot of which we were able to hold and take photos with, Nat was perhaps not as excited by this as Toe but was brave and held a stick with a Giant Rhino Beetle on. After holding a few Toe plucked up the courage to stand in front of a tank of scorpions as the handler headed for them. Having anticipated maybe holding just one, Toe was rather crapping himself as the gentleman proceded to throw them onto his t-shirt where they clung on! Around 4 on the shirt before he plucked one up of the floor and put it in his hand. Everyone
got some good pics, Toe nearly had an embilism. When they were plucked off they rather grabbed at the nipple region! It was only then that the keeper informed us that they were the none poisonous type, but dangerous nonetheless. We viewed some dangerous looking snakes before walking into the Butterfly area. There were probably several hundred giant butterflys however the experience was a little dampened by the number of dead ones in the area and on the roof above. it wasn't clear whether the enclosure was the reason for this but it was kind of sad.
Our final stop was a strawberry farm where we able to taste some of the produce. The section we saw had been picked rather clean by other visitors we got to have a good try. The day was over and was a load of fun as well as rather tiring! We met some nice people and got to chat with them as well as see pretty much everything we wanted to in the highlands. We finished off the day by getting some spicy noodles at a street stall before heading back for a quick beer and game of pool. The jungle bar
was empty which was a shame but we were soon to bed anyway.
Day 13, Today: We just caught the 8am bus to Penang. We weren't heading here in our plans but we have decided on Langkawi for our taste of topical island and we are catching a ferry from George Town tomorrow morning. We have got a cheap plane ticket to take us back to KL 8hours before our flight to Cambodia, so we will spendmost of the night in the airport. This suited us better and we had enjoyed our stay in the Highlands! We visited the Chocolate Boutique earlier and got to try lots of tasters as well as come away with Chilli Chocolate, Pineapple flavoured as well as Tiramisu Flavoured coated nuts! The FA Cup final is playing in the hostel as we type this so off to chill out after having uploaded some photos. Keep up with the comments, it's great to hear from you, Happy Birthday to Laura for Monday!!! Will update soon, lots of love, Toe and Natalie. xxxxx
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Judith Cook
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Wish i was there!
I wish I had been there to see Toe when he threw the scorpions... lol! Looks so amazing, and keeping yourselves occupied with loads of cool trips. I'm following your blog, so keep it up. Keep well both of you. Judith and Mike X