Cameron Highlands
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameron_Highlands
We had heard about the Cameron Highlands through many others
in the previous weeks as a must stop location on our trek through
Malaysia. A four and half hour bus ride
and an elevation climb from sea level up to 3,900 feet brought with it a
drastic temperature change to a more reasonable high of 75 and a nighttime low
of 55 as well as an incredible change of scenery to rolling greens hills and
high peaks. The Cameron Highlands are
known for large tea plantations, year round strawberry fields and hiking
through the dense jungle like forests.
We rolled into Daniel’s Lodge, a Lonely Planet recommended
accommodation around 12:30 and checked ourselves in for two nights. After a quick couple of showers, we headed
off to walk the streets of the little town we were in. We found a quaint storefront that served
authentic Malaysian food to fill our bellies and also had time to swing by a
well placed Starbucks to unload 21 Ringet ($7) on some delicious Frappuccino’s!
Once back out hotel, I found some time to sleep for a few
hours while Caleb caught up on current events on the hotel deck. I emerged from my well needed slumber around
8pm excited for some well needed social drinking. A couple bottles of Havana Club and Captain
Morgan in tow, Caleb and I were quick to meet friends in one of the outdoor
seating areas. We were privelaged to
have the company of a couple a German girls named Kiera and Julie whom I soon
started calling Kiera Knightly and Julie Roberts, obviously, much to their
enjoyment. We partied, played drinking
card games, and laughed until we were politely asked to move into the bar where
our volume of conversation would gladly be more appreciated. A few more hours of fun and I was able to
sleep without much of a problem.
8:30 AM came disturbingly fast with a knock on our door from
the front desk making sure we were ready to catch the ride in the Land Rover
for the 9-hour day tour including a 5 hour hike we had signed up for the night
before! I was able to get Caleb up and
ready and into the SUV within 10 minutes to join the German’s and a few others
for a lovely morning hangover remedy called trekking. An hour car ride to the base of a hill
started our tour before we jumped out to begin a 2.5 hour in, 2.5 hour out
hike. The hiking here is incredible. Never have I walked through such dense areas
on a path that had been cut by the hand of guides with machetes but it was
incredible. I got to cross rickety
bridges constructed of bamboo, see some amazing waterfalls, and feel
miniaturized by plants whose leaves were larger than my body.
 |
| View back towards the waterfall |
At the top of the hike was a heavily forested area home to
the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia Arnoldii. These flowers can grow to over 6 feet in width and take several months for the bud to develop before blooming for only a couple of days. The odor that comes off of a bloomed plant resembles that of rotting flesh. Literally.
There were a few spots on the hike where you had to balance
on a series of small rocks while crossing a stream in order to stay dry. I found great humor in crossing these areas
first, then watching as people slipped and fell into the water, soaking their feet for the remainder of the hike, thinking to myself “How can people not figure
this out!”. Well just as sure as Hotel
California is the greatest song every written, I ate my words on the way back
soaking both shoes and feet completely at the start of our decent to our starting point!
Once we reached our origin, we walked just a few
hundred yards to this small village where our tour guide gave a blowgun demonstration,
explaining how and why these were used and that the people of this small
village still actually hunted for food this way. We were all given the opportunity to give it
our try, aiming at a target placed on a tree.
I didn’t hit the bulls eye but no one was killed, a success in my book J
We walked through the small village after everyone got a
chance to use the blown gun and were greeted by tons of small children laughing
and looking at all the strange visitors that eagerly wanted to say hello. A group of them were playing a game where
they’d all gather a bunch of rocks in their shirts and run around throwing them
at ducks and chickens all fearing for their lives. These kids thought this was the funniest
thing in the world and I assure you, it was a blast to watch.
From the village, we headed to a local 2,000 acre tea plantation that has been owned by the same Scottish family for several hundred years. Our guide explained the process from planting
the tea tree to harvesting, how everything worked. He said the workers who did the harvesting
were all Indonesian and were paid by how much they could harvest. A good worker could earn on the high end
around 600 Ringet per month or $200 US dollars.
He said they easily live off half of that and send the other half home
to their families in Indonesia. It was a
humbling experience as you think that many of us can and have spent more than
that on a fancy dinner and a few drinks back home on countless occasions.
After the tea plantation, our driver took us to a restaurant
I’m assuming he was a partial owner in for a bite to eat. Something I’ve noticed in a lot of the places
we’ve eaten at is the fact that it appears utensils are optional. I constantly see people mashing up rice,
chicken, and curry with their hands and shoveling it into their mouths. This doesn’t bother me in the slightest as
many of us eat pizza and a variety of foods back home without utensils but what
does alarm me is the fact that in most places we’ve been, the bathrooms are
nothing more than a hole in the floor where all you’ve got is a large 30 gallon
barrel of water sitting next to you with a small bowl inside. The idea is you use the small bowl to grab
water from the big bowl, then use this water to “clean yourself”. With no toilet paper in sight, you can imagine
what people use to “assist” in the cleaning process. Glad I got the Hepatitis A shot!
After finishing our meals, we ventured on to a butterfly
farm, reptile and insect exhibit. They
had everything from tarantulas and scorpions to rhinoceros beetles and bugs
the size of my foot. Many of them they
brought out and allowed us to touch and hold in our hands. I myself am not what one would call a fan of
many of these creatures however I would be the first one to place a bet on
Caleb winning the Fear Factor challenge where he’s put in a glass box for an
hour with bucket loads of these things.
He seemed to welcome all that he was allowed to touch so I was more than
happy to let him do it for the both of us.
We moved on to the butterfly exhibit which at first I
thought would’ve appealed as a more romantic tour idea rather than a spot for
two guys to check out but it actually ended up being really interesting! Over two hundred different species and many
of them were the size of my face!
Side Note: If any of
you had wondered if Caleb and I had been asked if we were a traveling
homosexual couple, the answer is two fold.
1) No one has directly asked us although 2) 80% probably think it…..
From the butterfly farm we headed off to a local strawberry
field. These are a popular tourist
destination because apparently, due to the climate, the growing season is all
year round. This didn’t much interest us
as we had seen strawberries before but we did indulge in some pure strawberry
juice shakes that were incredibly delicious.
We headed back to Daniel’s Lodge for a much needed shower
and nap. We’d already booked our bus
ticket for 8am the next day (why every bus seems to leave that early is a
mystery to me) so we decided the night before was rough enough to require a
night off. I caught up on a few emails
while Caleb facetime’d with some friends back home and we were soon hitting the
sack in preparation for our travels the next day. All in all, the Cameron Highlands are a must
see location for anyone traveling Malaysia looking for a break from the heat
and a change of scenery, simply spectacular, all of it!
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