Today we said goodbye to #avanisepangresort and departed on a rather long journey to Cameron Highlands. The first part was thru the area around Sepang, then we hit the highways. These are mostly 3-4 lanes heading North. Traffic was heavy but free flowing in both directions. So many trucks on the road. We passed many high rises, fuel stations were far apart, Touch and Go tolls numerous! The fees varied between less the RM2.00 to over RM 15 on turning off to the Cameron Highlands. There are motor cycles on the highways but they do have a separate lane. There are stops for motor cyclists showing an umbrella - then they reach a shelter if it's raining. Very cool and safer than staying on the highway in the rain.
Once we reached the turn off to Cameron Highlands the road became snake- bend for ages. Round and round with stunning greenery alongside, little stalls, tiny houses, lots of hungry looking dogs, litter on the side of the road ( very sad to see) and a waterfall. We also saw an unfortunate tourist who had managed to get stuck in the ditch lining the roadway.. so now James know why I am always saying "mind the ditch" It's a scary though to get stuck like that.
The first Cameron Highlands village is Ringlet, then 12km on is Tanah Rata and further up Bringchang. The area was first established as a Hill Station and, I must say, it is a welcome relief to have a temp of 23 degrees with no humidity compared to 32 Degrees and high humidity in Sepang.
The Cameron Highlands were discovered by William Cameron in 1885. What a trek he must have had! Situated in the state of Penang the highlands are 5000 feet above sea level. The temperature ranges between 15 and 24 degrees and humidity is less than the rest of Malaysia. It's a long and very twisty road to get here.
There are 2 companies that grow tea here - BOH Tea and Bharat. We went to the latter today - a truly fun experience. The buggy takes you thru the plantations and down to the valley. There is a large play area for kids. Then one is free to wander around and in the tea bushes, up the hill or down to the river. Despite the Sunday crowds it was still very tranquil, green and scenic. Tea is harvested year round, approx every 3 to 4 weeks. The tea bushes go way up the slopes - must make picking rather strenuous.
We are now back in our apartment listening to the thunder! It's very different here to being on the coast in Sepang, living over the water - it was quite scary at high tide then low tide it was just sand underneath the villas!
This afternoon it was drizzling and then loud cracks of thunder and rain around 7pm. We bought rolls for our tuna and they ended up being Kaya Buns! Sweet and delicious but no good for tuna!
A visit to the Butterfly Garden was most enjoyable. Lots of beautiful plants as well as koi, snakes, Alpaca, cactus plants. The butterfly's were also all over the pathways so we saw a squashed one and one who had just lost a portion of its one wing. Another was in the pond having a seriously strange conversation with a koi. We thought the butterfly would drown but it managed to get to the edge of the pond. However, with those wet wings, we wonder if it got out later.
The Mossy Forest - mossy forests are found in the mountains ranges. The high elevation together with plenty of low cloud cover encourage growth of mosses, ferns and wild orchids. As a boardwalk was mentioned, we decided to drive ourselves. Oh my word - this road beats the Mount Washington Auto Road in USA hands down. It must be the scariest road that we have ever been on. Single track up the mountain, with very few passing places. The cars coming down were mainly tour operators in Landrovers. The BOH Tea Plantations cover the lower slopes. The Sungai Palas Tea Garden is closed on Mondays. We went up and up until we eventually reached a parking area. The boardwalk was up many steps and another couple advised us not to do it. So we saved RM60 and looked at the view over the valley before making our descent again. Having to reverse on this narrow track for oncoming vehicles was not fun! Truly a nerve-racking drive.
My suggestion would be to do this on a guided tour! Even Sani Pass in South Africa is wider, although that road is not tarred and is mainly rocks! No private vehicles allowed there.
Today we drove down towards Ringlet and decided to venture up another narrow road to the BOH Tea Plantations in Habu - Fairly Tea Garden. After the very scary, narrow single track road to Mossy Forest, this road was not too bad! Still very narrow in sections but more doable. There are signs to tell drivers to blow their horn on the bends - crazy that this was not mentioned on the road to Mossy Forest. The shop and small Cafe are housed in Nissan Huts. Built in 1949 Nissan huts were used to house supplies for the troops during the Malayan Emergency 1948 to 1956.
Fortified by some Canadian Carrot Cake and Strawberry Cheesecake and some BOH Tea ( tea leaves) we took the free "tour" of the factory. We could only see thru the glass with no photos allowed. The lady did explain the process but the factory noise was crazy. Hence the (really bad! ) photos of the process below. It is quite a process, making tea. BOH apparently use machines for picking while Cameron company still use pickers. Tea is grown on super high mountain slopes.
The valley leading to BOH ( the road ends there) had many other crops growing. The soil in the Cameron Highlands is apparently very fertile. This can be seen from both agriculture and the huge forests. The trees grow so tall one can barely see so high.
Some snippets:
Local drivers are impatient and overtake on double white lines. They also never seem to stop to let one in or if we are crossing a road.
Public female toilets are holes on the floor - I assume to lift up long skirts and just let go! I am in shorts all the time so have decided to not even try this!!
It seems that plastic bags are banned on Saturdays and Sundays - we wondered why we were charged for a paper bag at 7 Eleven last Sunday - now we know why.
Today was all about visiting the main markets in the area. Kea Farms and the Agro Market. Many, many stalls with loads of fresh veg, strawberries, sweet potatoes, etc, friendly vendors - many of these happy to have a photo taken. It was an experience and good to see where the locals shop for fresh veg. The fruit at this time is strawberry, strawberry and more strawberry! We did spot a few bananas. How the vendors all make a living selling the same sort of stuff and veg is a miracle. All vendors are so friendly. Weekends are very busy hence we did this during the week.
This afternoon we visited the Agro Technology Park in Mardi. It is the oldest research Centre in the country. There are various gardens such as the Mini Garden, with over 50 types of temperate and tropical flowers. The Rose Garden was not at its best - not the correct time of year. Pot Plants, plus Commercial plots with tomatoes, peppers, brussel sprouts etc. The flowers were truly beautiful. Many SA flowers plus the more exotic species - my favorite was the Jade Vine - a truly amazing turquoise plant. It's a 42 acre park with lots of benches to while away a few minutes in the peaceful surroundings. There were 2 school groups - the junior ones were posing in the tea plantation. The older group were having fun in the play park and were happy for a photo!
On the way back to noisy #GreenHillResort we popped into 7 Eleven and then the heavens opened! Thankfully, the cloud burst did not last too long. There has been rain most afternoons and nights - it's no wonder everything is so green and lush here in Cameron Highlands.
Panang - George Town
We left our SC apartment at #GreenHillResort today for a long drive to Panang - George Town - Batu Ferringhi
We headed out thru the Cameron Highlands in the opposite direction to the drive that we arrived on. The entire Cameron Highlands is bend after bend, after bend. This area is well farmed with many covered tunnels for agriculture. Strawberries are everywhere! Eventually, we reached the highway heading towards Ipoh. Between 2 to 3 lanes and heavy traffic in both directions. From there it was onwards to George Town. The Touch and Go tolls are not cheap but fuel is! In fact, maybe fuel is our least expense in Malaysia.
We passed a huge mountain section of quarries and the dust was crazy. People living in the area must be breathing this in all the time.
Getting to the island of George Town was a bumper to bumper experience. There is a bridge from the mainland to the island and all one sees are huge skyscrapers lining the area facing the bridge. Once on the island the traffic was just plain crazy.
Anyway, after leaving Tanah Rata at 9.30 we eventually arrived here at 14.30. 5 hours in the car.
We are staying at #hardrockhotel in Batu Ferringhi. The hotel is right on the beach. It seems that locals enjoy going away for weekends as the pool was full of kids later this afternoon. The rooms on the ground floor have direct access to the pool! We are in the cheap seats with a "mountain view" that is actually not much of a view at all.
Once we were checked in, we took a stroll along the beach and popped in at Levant Restaurant for a bite to eat.
Next up - a wonderful time exploring Penang Island and Georgetown
For Accommodation Cape Town, South Africa
