continuation from Part I
From Penang we caught a bus southwards and up into the hills of the Cameron Highlands. This area is famous for growing tea, as well as different types of fruit that can't grow in the hotter climes by the
coast - and it provided a welcome respite from the 35C humidity of Penang. The main town of Tanah Rata is a former hill station, nestled amongst the misty hills of central Malaysia and is a great area to get out and about to walk some trails through the forests. Whilst out walking, you come across beautiful waterfalls and plantations of crops in the middle of nowhere and it felt good to make the most of the cooler weather - and when it rained (and it really knows how to rain here!) it provided a great excuse to sit in cafes and gorge ourselves on cream teas!
From Penang we caught a bus southwards and up into the hills of the Cameron Highlands. This area is famous for growing tea, as well as different types of fruit that can't grow in the hotter climes by the
coast - and it provided a welcome respite from the 35C humidity of Penang. The main town of Tanah Rata is a former hill station, nestled amongst the misty hills of central Malaysia and is a great area to get out and about to walk some trails through the forests. Whilst out walking, you come across beautiful waterfalls and plantations of crops in the middle of nowhere and it felt good to make the most of the cooler weather - and when it rained (and it really knows how to rain here!) it provided a great excuse to sit in cafes and gorge ourselves on cream teas!The town of Tanah Rata is a quaint, small town
very easy to wander around and chill out and we spent many an hour just relaxing and chatting - making friends with the owner of a curry house eager to invite us to try his food every night. The local speciality was a real hit - a large plate full of meats, seafood and veggies arrives at your table which you then add into an increasingly steaming hotpot.
very easy to wander around and chill out and we spent many an hour just relaxing and chatting - making friends with the owner of a curry house eager to invite us to try his food every night. The local speciality was a real hit - a large plate full of meats, seafood and veggies arrives at your table which you then add into an increasingly steaming hotpot.It's quite a busy area with tourists so it's very easy to organise a trip out of the town to see some of the sights. One day we headed out to visit the Boh tea plantation - one of the largest in the area with big plans to export tea all over the world. As we wandered around the plantation, women in colourful dresses dotted amongst the different shades of short, green bushes picked the leaves and placed them in large baskets strapped to their backs. Most of them live on the site as it is a major employer for the area and we passed a school and church next to the entrance. After making the most of the free samples and buying some flavoured ice tea to take home (gotta make the most of these travelling memories somehow!) we moved onto an insect house, containing various native beasties found in the area. It was a very hands-on place - the guides are keen for visitors to touch the residents, from gigantic rhino beetles (we were con
vinced this was plastic until it moved) to having scorpions run over your arm. Danielle took a very deep breathe and held a huge stick insect and a lizard. I had my hands full taking the pictures, of course ;-) . It's also home to a butterfly farm, where you can walk amongst hundreds of butterflies fluttering around your face, whilst trying not to squash any of the ones that have decided to take a breather on the path in front of you. We then moved onto a strawberry farm where we did our best to demolish several plates worth of said red and juicy fruit in various tarts, jams and cakes.
vinced this was plastic until it moved) to having scorpions run over your arm. Danielle took a very deep breathe and held a huge stick insect and a lizard. I had my hands full taking the pictures, of course ;-) . It's also home to a butterfly farm, where you can walk amongst hundreds of butterflies fluttering around your face, whilst trying not to squash any of the ones that have decided to take a breather on the path in front of you. We then moved onto a strawberry farm where we did our best to demolish several plates worth of said red and juicy fruit in various tarts, jams and cakes.Having made the most of the fresh hilltop air in the Cameron Highlands, we realised we were a bit over being cold and damp, having to wear socks at night and hankered after some more tropical heat! It was time to move on and head south again, moving ever closer to our goal of Australia. Bus travel in Malaysia is so easy and we bought a couple of tickets to Kuala Lumpur, the cosmpolitan capital. With it's name usually shortened to simply KL, it felt a world away from sleepy Tanah Rata and Georgetown. Big name shops dominate the CBD, whilst expensive cars whisk past the sky train metro, transporting passengers high above the roads. KL is a swish, modern city and with it's flagship Petronas Twin Towers dominating the skyline it has a very comfortable (if expensive) air to it.
to be continued in Part III
Texts and photos in this posting are copyright of Andy Horsman - Andrew Horsman. Click this link for more adventures of Andy Horsman.
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