Saturday, January 9, 2010

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia


The Cameron Highlands is a mainly tea-producing area in the hills of central peninsular Malaysia. This area is substantially cooler than the rest of west Malaysia due to its altitude.

I felt like I was in Europe the moment I arrived in the town of Tanah Rata. The area is a hill town retreat, with flowers (especially roses), strawberries, honey, butterflies and plenty of fruits. This was not the hot and crowded Malaysia I had envisioned! My highlight was walking along trails that overlooked tea plantations, with its neat paths carved between manicured tea leaves. It was like a scene from paradise!

It was also in the Cameron Highlands where I first tried to hitchhike, along with Jessie and Johnny, two British travelers I met there. We actually hitched twice--first with a Malaysian with a truck and the second time with two Iranian students. It is actually difficult to hitchhike in Malaysia, the people are friendly, but distrustful at the same time.

No comments:

Post a Comment