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Published: February 11th 2013
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The journey into the Cameron Highlands was far from relaxing and included numerous risky overtaking manoeuvres and an example of what can happen if it goes wrong (we passed the aftermath of a head-on collision between a van and a lorry), but we made it unscathed to the region's main centre, Tanah Rata. Despite being 5 degrees north of the equator and a third of the way round the globe, I felt very much at home in the Cameron Highlands. The weather is permanently like the British summer (20°C with lots of rain), the main crops are strawberries and tea, and there are lots of Indian restaurants.
I spent the first day exploring the town and had dinner at one of the Indians - a delicious mutton curry with two rotis (like a savoury Danish pastry), which cost about £2. The cooler temperature also meant I was able to properly enjoy a hot cup of tea for the first time on my trip. In the evening I investigated the local Traveller's Bar, but found it to be expensive and virtually empty, so I opted for an early night instead.
The next day I bought a map showing the main
trekking routes and set off on Path 10 which leads to the 1696 m peak Gunung Jasar (at 1400 m, Tanah Rata gives you a good head start). Most of the trek was through dense jungle, which makes it hard to work out where you are and there's always a worry you're heading into the wilderness (a genuine worry - people have gone missing in the Camerons)! After reaching the summit, I planned to descend into a town called Brinchang, but the path forked with no signposts and I emerged at a quarry which wasn't labelled on the map. I attempted to check with a worker, but he was more interested trading life stories than giving directions. It turned out I was on the right path but the quarry was more recent than the map.
I stopped in Brinchang for a refreshing glass of strawberry juice, then headed for Path 2, which starts at the Sam Poh Buddhist Temple. This path was particularly difficult to find - I guessed at a flight of stairs which led to a steep path. After an arduous climb, I was relieved to see a sign confirming I was indeed on Path 2. This
joined onto Path 3, which gave me the option to climb another mountain or return to the road. With only a couple of hours of daylight left, I took the latter option and walked back towards Tanah Rata. The route took me through a park, where I again bumped into Oliver and Stefan, who had arrived that day from Penang. We went out for dinner (another tasty curry) then, with the Traveller's Bar just as empty and expensive as the previous night, bought a couple of cheap cans and drank at their hostel.
Having walked around 10 miles over tough terrain, I planned to take it easy the next day and chose a short walk along Path 9 to the Robinson Waterfall. After following a paved trail for about a mile, I noticed a sign pointing into the jungle. This path was much longer and steeper than I expected, which was worrying as I had no water or food. Eventually I gave up and turned back. This turned out to be a good decision, as when I reached the sign again, it clearly said "Path 8", which leads to Gunung Beremban, an 1840 m peak that certainly should not
be climbed without food or water! To recover from this ordeal, I went to a cafe that served tea and scones with strawberry jam. I also booked a place on a tour for the next morning, which covered most of the attractions in the area. Later, I met up with Oli, Stefan and an English guy they had met for more cheap tinnies.
The first stop on the tour was the Boh Tea Plantation, which was set up by British businessman J A Russell in 1929. Despite being my drink of choice back home, tea is something I knew very little about. I learnt that white, green and black tea can come from the same plant, the only difference being the fermentation time (black tea is fermented the longest for a fuller flavour). Also, tea is graded by size, ranging from whole leaf to dust. Tea dust, which is the cheapest grade and the most bitter tasting, is used in tea bags. I think I may start drinking whole leaf tea in future! Next, we drove up to the summit of Gunung Brinchang at 2000 m, which unfortunately was inside a cloud. This did, however, make for an atmospheric
trek through the ancient "Mossy Forest". The only other people on the tour were two girls from north east Thailand, whose footwear was totally inappropriate for the boggy terrain, but impressively, they gave it a go. Next, we called at a butterfly farm, which contained many other animals besides (such as snakes, spiders and beetles) before rounding off the trip at a strawberry plantation.
Later, I went for dinner with Oliver and Stefan and we called at the other bar in Tanah Rata, the Jungle Bar. This was nicely decorated with shelves full of bottles and cheaper than the Traveller's Bar, but also quiet - it seems not many people go out to drink in the Cameron Highlands. We stopped for one then headed back. At the hostel I ended up talking to two Malaysians on holiday from Kuala Lumpur (my next destination). One of them was incredibly drunk and kept ordering beers faster than we could drink them until the hostel manager refused and made him go to bed. The next morning I had another dodgy cooked breakfast then headed to the bus station. In contrast to the journey into the Cameron Highlands, the coach trip away was
very comfortable, with big reclining seats that were impossible not to fall asleep in. I woke up periodically to see the landscape gradually change from mountains to plains, and eventually the Kuala Lumpur skyline, including the KL Tower and the iconic Petronas Twin Towers (the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004), came into view.
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Kate Birch
non-member comment
My kinda place!
Hi Graeme This looks really good and just the sort of place I would be interetsed in. I was very interested in your description of the tea plantation etc. Don't get the feeling its quite on the tourist trail like Thailand appears to be. Just to let you know I have just been speaking to Alice and she is still hoping to meet you around 28th April in Buenos Aires. She is currently suffering from a bad cold (unusual for her) and is hoping to be able to complete her various injections before she goes away. Its getting very near now! Her law firm has been taken over but she has been assured she will have a training contract but may have to come back a bit sooner. Love Kate & Keithxx