The Cameron Highlands
Trip Start
Jun 07, 2004
1
47
50
Trip End
Nov 27, 2004
Cameron Highlands,
Pahang,
Malaysia
Saturday, November 20, 2004
20th November
The international ferry makes the crossing back over the Malacca Strait and I spend one night in Penang.
Then leave on a dreadful 7 hour bus journey south through Ipoh and towards a place called Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. I am shattered to the point where I am beginning to shake. I am sweating and aching which makes the bus ride fairly agonising. I check in to a guesthouse in Tanah Rata and drop onto a mattress in a triangular shaped attic room.
Enjoying the (dis)comfort of both hot and cold sweats, I spend the entire day in bed and eat nothing. It turns out I am likely suffering from dehydration and heat exhaustion. But this will not do. I am here, in Tanah Rata, and I must therefore muster the energy from somewhere to get out and do some walking. After all, the Cameron highlands right here in central peninsula Malaysia, are said to be a trekkers wonderland. At 1,500m, the region is the highest in the country where trails lead around the many historic tea plantations. One may still stop and partake of the delightful brew, perhaps with a cake or some freshly grown strawberries. The cool climate here makes ideal for cultivating vegetables and fruits.
Drinking as much water as possible now, I select a trail from some hand-out I've been given and begin my walk gently, feeling weak as a kitten. I have an aching head and wobble a bit as I walk. There is nothing massively spectacular or amusing to report, except perhaps the sight of me discharging my watery bowels into a little brook buried in the forest. I return to base to pack my stuff. I'll move on directly to Kuala Lumpur. At the point of leaving, I make a sudden change of plan and join a one-day trekking group who are about to embark.
We climb a long and steep wooded path which takes us to a vantage point. After tearing our way through undergrowth, we continue along a construction road of freshly churned clay. It zig-zags its way over a hilltop where engineers are busy erecting electricity pylons. Back inside thick forest, our guide gives little sermons on the variety of flora and fauna. There are herbs used for cooking and medicinal purposes. Most memorable are the huge carnivorous pitcher plants. Rising up from the forest floor like the heads of cobras.
The trail climbs again to a cool grassy area where I expire and rest. I am cream crackered. The descent takes us through a village of tin roofed shacks. And finally along a long pathway that steers us through woodland and rivers, bridges and churches, even past a village pub with a red phone box outside. But I don't fancy a pint today. And so back to Tanah Rata where we began about five hours ago. At the excellent T Café, I reward myself with a good helping of spaghetti bolognaise, apple pie and ice cream. Good stomach-binding fodder. Allowing my ailing guts a short respite from Asian food. At 13.20 the next day, I am aboard the daily bus to Kuala Lumpur.
Next ; KL
