Island Hopping
Cameron Highlands
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Episode: Perhentian Islands
Feb 27 2009
The van full of tourists make good time as it manoeuvred each sharp
curve of the “new” road to the Cameron Highlands. It may have been a
relatively new road but it still followed the contours of the mountains.
It was a good thing Ray, who is a bit prone to motion sickness, was
comfortably installed in the front seat beside the driver.
The
scenery was beautiful. Morris Davison, hearing we were headed for
Malaysia, requested that we buy him some tea that is only available in
the Cameron Highlands. Of course we had to go. We made arrangements in
Georgetown for a minivan ride to the highlands and off we went, leaving
Georgetown Penang in the dark and light rain at 6 AM. We watched the sun
rise in pink perfection as we raced along the super highway towards the
turn off for the Cameron Highlands. Now the skies had cleared and we
were approaching a valley covered in green houses. This was the market
garden area for the rest of Malaysia. We had left the hot humid low
lands and were in a climate perfect for growing flowers and every
vegetable imaginable. Signs identified Rose Garden Farms, “self plucking
farms”, Tea Plantations and road side stalls were full of fresh produce.
Tourist accommodation abounds in Brinching and Tanah Rata. We were
headed to Tanah Rata where most of the budget accommodation is found. It
took less than four hours for us to reach our choice, Hill View Inn. We
had a comfortable room with a balcony overlooking some of the
surrounding mountains.
The British first came to the Cameron
Highlands to escape the summer heat of the cities. Tourists now come to
the Cameron Highlands for two main reasons; to hike one of the many
trails in the area and to visit the Tea and other plantations that
welcome visitors. We will have to return another year to go walking. The
temperature in the Highlands ranges from 10 C to 21 C and gets quite a
lot of rain in every season. We were lucky. The skies started out clear
and blue in the morning and the temperature was warm enough for shirt
sleeves. Each afternoon the clouds descended and it rained but by that
time we were warm inside our hotel.
This year we took a pleasant
minivan tour of the area. Our first stop, a Rose Garden and nursery, was
built up the side of one of the valleys. Concrete steps between endless
flower beds yield higher and higher vistas of the surrounding
countryside. Besides roses, there were all the flowers we can only plant
in our gardens in the summer. I have never seen so many varieties of
cactus but my favourite plant was a Jade Vine with long tendrils of
butterfly shaped dark turquoise blue flowers that formed a dense canopy
over one of the lower levels of the garden.
We had a stop at a
hydroponic Strawberry Farm, long enough to snack on strawberry ice cream
and shakes. We had short visits to a Honey Bee Farm, a vegetable and
fruit market and a Butterfly and Insect Farm and the richest Buddhist
Temple in the area.
The BOH Palas Tea Plantation offers free
tours of its factory and a chance to sample and buy their products. This
was the company whose tea Morris Davison requested that we bring back
with us. The BOH Company was established by J.H. Russell, in 1929 and is
still run by his descendants. It now encompasses four plantations
totalling 1200 hectares, three in the Highlands and one closer to Kuala
Lumpur. They do export to a few countries including Japan but their
production is not large enough to support both the demand for their tea
in Malaysia and North America. That is why Morris asked us to buy his
favourite variety. Not available in Canada! Pity!
It was a very
interesting and informative visit. We bought several teas for ourselves
and then enjoyed a cuppa sitting on a terrace overlooking the tea
plantation spread like a plush velvet carpet over the steep hillside.
The rest of our visit here has been spent relaxing and sampling
several of the inexpensive restaurants in the area. Every hotel in town,
including ours offers tea and homemade scones. They are good. We have
had good Indian lunches, Chinese dishes, some Western food and a local
specialty, a Steampot. That is a Asian version of a fondue. A large pot
of broth was placed over a gas burner on our table, surrounded by dishes
of noodles, fish, seafood, chicken and vegetables. When steam started
escaping through a central funnel at the top of the pot, it was time to
add all the goodies to the brew, wait a few minutes and enjoy. Very
tasty.
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