4th May 2009

The bus station at Kuala Lumpur can only be described as dark, dingy, chaotic and very noisey! We sat patiently at the platform number, it was obvious this bus was not going to arrive on time! 45 minutes late it eventually pulled in, we stowed our backpacks and settled in for our apparent 4 hour journey to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands.

It did not get off to a good start as we were informed that the air conditioning was not working! So we spent the first 2 hours travelling in what canonly be described as a greenhouse on wheels! Although the sears were very comfy, the heat made us both feel pretty uncomfortable and ill.

We pulled into our rest point and after watching people tinker around with the engine we were pleased to hear that the air con was back on and we continued with the journey. The last stretch took a further 3 hours, but as we got closer the views began to amaze us even if the bus drivers speed around the bends were pretty eratic!!

We were climbing higher into the hills passing the many tea plantations that we had been excited to see.

We had booked our 3 nights stay in Tanah Rata at Fathers Guest house and they kindly met us off the bus. A short minivan journey took us even higher into the hills and we checked into our room. It was pretty basic fir the price but afforded the best views we had seen. It was also obvious that due to the location the temperature had dropped some what, but for the start it was nice not to sweat with every tiny move!

That afternoon we explored the small own and found a restaurant for our evening meal. This proved interesting! We went along with a recommendation from our guest house and opted for a selection of curries served on a banana leaf! It included a lentil curry, popudoms, chutney, a chicken Korma, spicy vegetables and something that resembled aspinge cake in a spicy sauce!! It all tasted pretty nasty and was not helped that it was all served up on a big banana leaf! Not a plate in sight!!!

After the meal we headed back to the guest house, it was at this point that we really felt the cold for the first time in 5 months. We did not handle this too well and slept in our flight socks and layered up with t-shirts!! It felt freezing, little did we know but the temperature had only dropped to 24•c!!!

After a good breakfast, although still chilly we went for a walk. After taking a few photos we came across a rather bizarre sculpture of giant vegetables! Thinking this was pretty strange and knowing Clare's absolute hatred for sweetcorn we could not miss this opportunity. So over the fence Clare jumped and clambered over the giant corn on the cob for the necessary kodak moment! Continuing our walk we spotted a sign for a waterfall so off we trotted alongside a river into the jungle. We were not exactly dressed for this, but after climbing the temple ruins at Angkor in our flip flops, a walk in the jungle was easy! Eventually the jungle opened and we cane across a beautiful waterfall, bit the biggest we had seen but a pretty spot none the less.

Later that day we booked a half day trip for the following morning. That evening we could not face another curry served up on a leaf so we ate at the guest house and relaxed with a few beers!

We were being collected at 8.30am for our trip so we got up early to fill our bellies! As we nervously waitied, we noticed a 4 wheel drive land rover approaching, complete with horns on the bonnet, this was our ride for the trip!!

We were the only 2 on this trip, we do enjoy a bit of VIP service! We were soon on our way,the first stop was one of the highest viewpoints in the Cameron Highlands, up we went, higher and higher until we were up in the clouds. We climbed the viewpoint tower, which to Clares relief was not the pylon she had first spotted, but decided the 2nd level was enough as our heads were already up in the clouds and we did bit think we would benefit by climbing any higher! Although, due to the clouds, the view was a little disappointing we still enjoyed the moment and were able to capture some good views when the clouds moved along a little.

Our next stop was a teen through the Mossy Forest, we think our tour guide was being gentle with us as we went on an easier trek than some other options. This again afforded us some fantastic views and got us close to nature. Our guide also told us the story of school children getting lost in this forest so the army and police began a search. The children managed to find their way out alone but the police got lost and it took them 12 days to find their way back to civilisation! Adam looked very at home in the jungle as he clambered around looking the part in his Bear Grylls shorts!! Good luck starting a fire out here, it was so wet I think even Bear Grylls would struggle!!

After our trek we made our way to the high light of the trip, the Boh tea plantation. We were given a tour around the factory which showed the full process from picking the tea leaves to it being packed for distribution. We were then shown through to the gift shop, where of course we parted with some well earned Ringits and then moved on to the cafe. This was a gorgeous glass building with an open air wooden decking area, which overlooked spectacular views of the rolling tea plantations. Here we enjoyed a splendid, fresh pot of tea and we both had a slice of cake! After our refreshing cup of tea, we had a little walk into the tea plantation where Clare cheekily picked some tea off the plants!

Getting back into the car, Bala, our driver, began to explain to us how the tea is not such a good quality anymore. The tea used to be picked by hand and only the best leaves were selected, but now due to the use of machinery they are not able to be so precise. Not only are the older leaves selected, but also any wildlife that may have taken up residence will be processed to make that ultimate cuppa that us Brits so enjoy!

Our next stop was the butterfly farm, they also had a number of other insects and gave us the opportunity to hold various creepy crawlies, such as, a rhino beetle, a lizard, a toad, a giant grasshopper (well, Adam held that!) and finally we both held a scorpion. There were also many snakes, gekkos and obviously butterflies, they were huge and one even landed on Adams hand. We then made our way to the flower garden, which wasn't really Adams cup of tea, but beautiful and enabled Clare to get snap happy taking photos for her Mum. The plants in here were so tropical, we even spotted a marijuana plant growing in the corner!

Last of all was the Strawberry Farm, this was very much like a pick your own at home, but they were all grown hydroponically. Luckily for us we had our guide with us, so he picked a few sneaky ones for us and in his words, "they always taste nicer when they are free"! Again we found ourselves in a gift shop, where we were able to buy ourselves another fridge magnet. We then enjoyed a delicious strawberry milkshake!

Before we were dropped off, Bala took us to a local shop for Clare to buy his preferred cigarettes. They were black and flavoured with cherry, much to Clares excitement, she was also able to buy some pink ones, this time strawberry flavour! Surely as they are fruit flavoured they musnt be as bad for you!!

We had our bus booked for 10.30am the following day, so again we ate in our guest house and packed our backpacks ready to head back to Kuala Lumpur. We had a very good time in the Cameron Highlands but we will be glad to return to the 34 degrees that we are now very used to!