Cameron Highlands, Malaysia November, 28-30, 2013

Cameron Highlands

I looked forward to a change in temperature, and was excited about returning to the Cameron Highlands.  Natalie and I had been there together in 1994.  Our bus brought us into town on Nov. 28, American Thanksgiving.  A pleasant driver led us to a little guesthouse and we settled in, and headed out in search of food.  We bumped into these two Americans, skyping home and missing Turkey dinner…well kind of…I guess vegans don't enjoy Turkey dinners.  We started to chat…went to grab some lunch…and our trip was never the same…in the best of ways.

Alison and Omar, from San Francisco Bay Area, (come to think of it a huge chunk of the Americans we have met are from there….what could that mean?) left their jobs in June 2013, hopped on a sailboat in Darwin, Australia and sailed on the Tropicbird through the islands of Indonesia and were now sailing through Malaysia.  They asked us to go on a hike with them.

This must have been one of the tests in their "new recruits" manual!  We started out in the heat of a sunny afternoon.  Using Omar's trusty "map app"…who goes on an afternoon hike with an electronic map anyway?  (Maps with Me…we have grown to love it and would recommend it to anyone.)  Anyway, after a wrong turn into someone's backyard, we were on our way.  Walking…talking…and ascending up, up, up….that viewpoint was going to be awesome.  Before long the sun went behind the very dark and grey clouds, and the rain came pouring down.  Our steep path became a river of oozing, slipping and sliding mud.  Like good girl scouts we were as prepared as we could be.   We didn't freeze, or float away, we snapped our shots and continued to laugh along the way.

The next day, we planned to rent bikes and motor around the highlands visiting the tea plantations, vistas and all the area had to offer.  What happens to the best laid plans?  We aren't too sure.  To make a long story short…the rain chased away the bike dream.  In order to support our bike rental dude we hired him for the day to taxi us around.  He was happy, we were happy (he did have an incredible smile, which was not caught on film) and off we went to the famous BOH Tea Plantation.  Where the adventure began….but did not finish!

8 000 acres of tea make up the famous BOH Tea plantation which was founded in 1929.    A combination of high rainfall, cool climate, acidic and mineral-rich soil make the growing conditions perfect.

The tea is plucked two years after planting, and continues to be harvested every 3 weeks after.  On site it goes through a five step drying process before packaging.  

Each batch of tea harvested, doesn't possess the exact same flavour.  Therefore, in order for all "Earl Grey" tea to taste the same, tea tasters use their expertise to blend the appropriate flavours to ensure taste consistency.  Apparently this not unlike the process used in wine making.  How beautiful is this?  When we were done our visit, we waited for our taxi…and we waited…and we had tea and scones…and we waited…and we called… and our taxi man and…his friend was on his way to get us just stay there…my son is at the hospital, just stay there…my friend is in the parking lot…my friend will be there soon…get the drift!?!?! When the sun was soon to set, and the crowds dwindling at the plantation we decided we needed to move to Plan B.

Meet Plan B.  We stopped this lovely young couple from KL, who were sharing a weekend getaway.  We inquired about getting a ride…they looked as us…the four of us…they looked at each other…then he jumped out, put their bags into the trunk and invited the four of us to jump into the back seat. 

We all laughed at the situation, and we did hope our man's son was really not in the hospital.  Our new friends dropped us off in the next town at the night market.  

We never have trouble entertaining ourselves at a market.  Our first stop was corn on the cob.

Yummy crispy pancake-type treats filled with fresh coconut.  Still in touch with our "invisible taxi driver" he claimed his friend was waiting for us at the KFC. We never saw either of them again.  We headed back to our town, and entertained ourselves at the car show that had set up in a small parking lot.  

Our taxi woes were thrown from our minds as the music blared and we were mesmerized by the lights of these pimped-out cars.

How does the story end?  In his defence, our man did agree to meet us the next morning.  However, we were heading out of town on an early bus.  We will never know what would have transpired:)  And our plans to go to Borneo…we tossed them out the window and headed with Alison and Omar to meet the Tropicbird in Georgetown, on the island of Penang.