The Cameron Highlands + New Year

29^th December – Teluk Bahang – Georgetown – Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

This morning I witnessed a first, the grand opening of the new Nutella jar to the hummed O Fortunait was a spectacle to behold and will stay with me as an abiding memory of what camp madness of both varieties can do to you. Along with the humming of this powerful tune were the actions of holding the jar skywards as if giving thanks for all things chocolate and hazelnut, this was topped off by facial expressions showing such emotion and thanks to the one who had invented and then shared their wondrous creation with us mere consumers.  We were up with the larks and packed up to the sounds of Michael Jackson and then headed back to Georgetown. As we were riding along at a fair pace many cars would hesitate to go round us, spatial awareness is not part of the driving test if there is a test at all. I suddenly heard the following ‘ Mr Mitchell, your package has arrived at the Blue Mansion’, now come on that is seriously cool for one the staff from Choeng Fatt Tze Mansion to have recognised my behind and made the effort to get her husband to slow down and deliver such a message. We now knew that the parcel we had hoped would be there for Christmas was only 4 days out.

This made our plans even easier as we decided to see if we could use the Mansion as our base for loading the hire car and when we come back to G’town to begin riding proper again, stay the night and set off after a very hearty breakfast…Not your average overnight accom but the most relaxed place we have stayed at.

I went off to pick up the car, unknowingly having passed the 2 people who were heading to the mansion to drop off the car, 20 minutes later however I was in our automatic Toyota Avanza complete with blinged wheels and a viewing area within the frontscreen tinting that now gave me greater insight into wearing a burkha. Obviously I was asked if I could drive, had a license and all of the standard things when hiring…umm maybe not then! Loading was easy and we then headed off via Tesco’s ( to pick up some alcohol – not easy to come by but a necessity for new years eve) to join the expressway south. The knowledge gained from cycling in Malaysia was invaluable for first time driving here, you knew that there was always unpredictability and that owl vision was still required. We took the Penang Bridge which delivers you to a toll booth and then onto the expressway south, neither of these options were open to us as cyclists as the bridge is a motor vehicle only road. We chose this route also as we did not want to repeat what we would later be doing under our own steam.

First challenge was petrol station, just from the point of view that they have marked bays for cars and people to both direct, fill, take your money, put air in your tires, clean your screen and generally have conversations. £18 to fill the tank from almost empty…I now hear it may be different in the UK and cycling may become a more popular way of commuting.

The journey south to Ipoh was incident free, we tried out the services just because we could and what a difference they were, with prayer rooms, spotlessly clean ablution blocks and more types of food and drink than I have seen in many restaurants. Once off the highway we then headed on the single carriageway road through the forests and up, and up and up in 2^nd and 1^st gear for 60km. The maddest of driving, tailgating as you would normally expect in a peleton not from cars, but overtaking on blind hairpin bends could be a regional sport! I was shattered by the time we got to the welcome to Cameron Highlands sign and entered a world of series 1,2 and 3 landrovers from short to long wheel base, 90’s, 109’s and 130’s and very occasionally a rather tired Discovery. This is where landrovers come to do there duty in the name of strawberry farms and more importantly the tea plantations which cover the terraced hillsides barely visible in the dusk and clouds. I was in landy heaven…

Now one thing we didn’t come prepared for was cold, well chill, well 20 degrees and the car’s ability to heat. There is no such luxury fitted, aircon yes and now it went to off and we hoped that somehow our combined body temperature would make it more bearable. Arriving in the dark up a steep track we came to Fathers Guest House, an old monastery on top of a hill overlooking Tanah Rata in the heart of the highlands. We were staying at there second property – Giraffes, a newly refurbished 6 bed apartment with slate floors and now shoes allowed. Mum you were a life saver…the Christmas pressie of cycling socks supplied for me and scarf for G were put to immediate use!

Dinner that night was back at the main Guesthouse served up by the grumpiest, stressy and probably rudest chef I have ever had the misfortune to get food from, but it was late, we were tired from our first day with a combustion engine and needed food and sleep. It was chilly though and despite the sheet and blanket we ended up getting dressed sometime in the middle of the night for a more comfortable sleep.

30^th December – Day 1 in the Cameron Highlands

A laundry run was followed by breakfast then off to find some warmer clothes for G. A search of the 2 biggest towns revealed a massive gap in the market for the likes of Fat Face of Weird Fish and G settled for strawberry decorated toe socks and a very bright pink pashmina – not your average set of cold weather clothes but the best we could do, other than buying one of the many second hand (unwashed, with crawly contents) jackets that were piled up in some of the market stalls.

We were now ready to explore the Butterfly Farm. Many tourista’s here have to rely on landrover based tours which take in a multitude of sights in a day including this farm but to be honest we spent 2 hours here and whilst the butterflies were ok, the reptiles and insects were much more fascinating. The 2 main standouts for me were the moving leaf and dead leaf insects. Awesome to see and actually think that evolution has created these creatures which you could pass a 1000 of and never know. The tour that we saw spent 20 minutes here before being rounded up to their next site…ummm.

Mr B'fly in action

A moving leaf insect..I did not believe such a thing existed either

I am just sitting here watching you...what are you looking at?

Beautiful colour and now met many of its cousins

Then onto the Boh tea plantation, it was G’s turn to take the wheel for this single track mountain clinging, sheer drop, wet road into the heart of where Boh tea, Malaysia’s largest and best known brand comes from. Cake and tea were the order of the afternoon and stopping to pick up to Dutch hikers and give them a lift the final 3km to our shared destination.

The tour of the tea plantation factory was over for the day so we decided on a return visit, not solely dictated by the tea and cake experience, so we could understand more how the leaf comes to be in the cup. On our way back we stopped at the honey farm and malaysia’s largest indoor maze, had to be done and after 10 mins we emerged, laughing at how ridiculously easy it was only to be violently gesticulated at as we had come back through the way in. 40 minutes later we emerged victorious and meekly collected our prizes of bracelet pens from the gift desk and headed back to base.

We stopped at a couple of places to see how we could best bring in the New Year, the Old Smokehouse, modelled on the one in Mildenhall! And also the Cameron Highland Resort a five star plus luxury hotel that under any normal circumstances I would have been staying in, if budget allowed. Dinner was Southern Indian and a wander to Starbucks – open til midnight – and the mocha topped with baileys was a treat (our recipe)

31^st December 2010

What better way to start the last day of 2010 than with a trip back to Boh and to see how tea is refined in the factory on site. It is a step by step process that takes the leaf from the bush to the cup, the less refining the better the tea and to prove it, after we had seen the machines, many of them which have been in use since 1935, was to sample some more with scones. This gave us the sustenance we needed for our next exploration of the highest road in Malaysia at 2000m. It was a road that many would have and probably did consider twice in taking a car up, but after many hairpins, potholes, avoiding trees which had fallen overnight and 1^st gear manoeuvres we arrived at a little cut out in the hill and parked up. We then went up some stairs which due to mother nature were missing many treads, supports and stood in the clouds listening to the sounds of the jungle far below us. In true Dora the explorer style we then decided to head for the footpath which would take us up to the highest point in the Cameron highlands. We understood within 20 mins why you needed (a) boots (b) gaiters (c) a guide, and made the sensible decision to turn back rather than getting completely lost or having any mishap that may have jeopardised the rest of the trip. 

Boh tea plantation

just after a nice cup of tea

Why would I want to pluck a bee?

Highand Fashion - zoom in on the socks

At the top of the highest point in mainland Malaysia

Very high

Our trusty steed

Dancing Prawns...awesomemungus

The temperate climate of the highlands, no frost and an average of 18-23 degrees means that this area is an important one for the growing of all the vegetable staples that you might find in the UK. This also extends to strawberries which in SE Asia are both a rarity and novelty. Many of the strawberry farms are tourista attractions and when in as they say, do as. Tea and scones with awesome pure strawberry juice drinks was followed by a trip to one of the largest fresh veg markets in the area. The stalls are on top, behind and infront of each other, there is no pressure selling and it is the first time we have seen this much veg in one place in SE Asia. To sample the steamed corn on the cob and freshly made potato crisps on skewers seemed to be the right thing to do!

A quick look at the Chinese Sam Poh Temple and back to base to freshen up, dress up and get ready for a the eve of 2011.I have to say neither of us brought fancy clothes to dress up for an evening, but G looked absolutely amazing. We drove to the Cameron Highlands Resort, were met from the car by the fantastic Selena who manages the front of house and taken into a world of luxury. Shown to our table, which we rearranged to have a better view of the stringed quartet and then settled into 5 courses of food that chef had prepared to make this evening memorable. Dancing prawns, lobster, and beef so tender it melted on your tongue were washed down with fruit juices and coffee before we headed back to base to open our bottle of bubbly and toast each other on a pretty amazing year and awesome start for 2011.

January 1^st 2011 – rest day

This was a day we planned in to cope with the aftermath of the previous night but to be honest it was a great day just to get ourselves sorted, more blog, email and admin along with a good 3 hours of route planning before we needed to think about packing up and moving on. We spent some time talking with another dutch couple and their 3 year old whom G had given some gloves to when she bought her socks. He had not taken them off since and would not leave the apartment without them. They are travelling for a year and we wish them well for their journey. We also meant  a newly arrived English couple on an extended trip back from living in Sydney for the last 3 years, they were very interested in what we were doing and had done and it was good to have some conversation about other people’s lives.

It is so different being with someone 24/7 especially when you think about ‘normal’ life and relationships where the most you would spend with a loved one, other than sleeping, is breakfast and an evening other than maybe a holiday for 2 weeks. I guess it takes a pretty special relationship to be able do what we are doing, only to have mild mardy pant moments and laugh more than we strop. It is a test of physical, emotional and psychological strength of mind which I had read about, listened to stories of but never experienced and I now realise why it is so important to be open, honest with feelings, thoughts and actions. On a trip like this there is no reason or place to hide because you learn to read each other completely. I feel different to who I was when I left Heathrow on the 30^th October, physically I am stronger than I have ever been, emotionally I feel satisfied with how I am and psychologically I am understanding much more about how people work in challenging situations. G is a very special person to me and I am so unbelievably proud of what she has achieved to date and know that she will go on to achieve much more personally and for others.

2^nd January – Tanah Rata to Georgetown

For some reason when the alarm sounded at 6.30 this morning, tiredness was in full throw, we packed and got on the road towards Ringlet, a different way back to G’town so that we were able to experience the whole length of the highlands. The road was to put none to finer point on it…horrendous, Fallen rock and tree debris, pot holes and pitted road surfaces and switchbacks for the best part of 60km, all going down through clouds. Add to this the craziness of other drivers overtaking at 50mph round hairpins into oncoming traffic meant that we needed to share the journey down as it was utterly exhausting levels of concentration. We now understood more fully the use of landrovers to get the tea from the plantations to the laybys lower down the mountains where they would unload into the lorries that would not be able to make it up here. We also had a far greater appreciation of why there are so many road fatalities up here and the main culprits being coach drivers, taking the roads to fast or falling asleep due to the excessive levels of concentration required. It has taken a major coach crash in the last 3 weeks for the government to insist that coaches to the highlands now have 2 drivers…

Clear skies and warmth awaited us as we joined the expressway again to head north to Georgetown and begin our cycling again. Traffic was much lighter than on the way up here and the greetings we got on arrival back at the blue mansion would have been on par for the return of long lost loved ones. We decamped into ‘Fragrant Poem’ room, dropped the car back and watched whilst the son of the owner looked all around the car then got in and tested the electric windows…all seemed fine and deposit was returned. We had covered 650km since we left G’town. Lunch was back at the base of the Komtar and then we spent the rest of the afternoon planning where we would be to celebrate by birthday, an important task that enlisted the help of most of the staff at the mansion with thoughts and advice on routes to take and best places to be. Dinner at the Passage thro’ India did not disappoint. Tomorrow we ride south.