Cameron Highlands – Fresh getaway

After spending five days in hot and humid Kuala Lumpur, it is actually quite refreshing to head up to the Cameron Highlands for a bit of fresh and pure air and lush nature.

Arriving at the Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands is situated on the extreme northwest of the state of Pahang, the largest state in Malaysia, covering almost two-thirds of the country. This vast state is home to highlands, forests, lakes, national parks and beautiful beaches on the east coast. It’s three main towns, namely, Ringlet, Tanah Rata and Brinchang are home to tea plantations, terraced flower gardens and vegetable farms. At an altitude of 1.524 meters, the temperature here drops radically.

The British influence is very obvious from the moment you arrive, with its colonial buildings, some old and some newer but still imitating the style. It is immediately obvious why the British chose this location to make it into their getaway from the hectic, hot and humid cities.

The Highlander Hotel

We arrived at the Cameron Highlands at the end of the day, after a four-hour bus drive (with a stop included) from Kuala Lumpur.

We checked into the Highlander Hotel, where we had to move from our assigned room due to the smell of cigarette smoke. A very welcoming Indian family runs the small but quaint hotel. Our room was simple but spacious enough and very clean. The bathroom was also very clean, although a little bit small. I am still getting used to their bathrooms, where the shower area has no protection thus when you take a shower the whole bathroom becomes wet. All in all, we had a nice stay at the Highlanders hotel and I would definitely recommend it if you don’t want to spend a lot of money. We paid around 25€ per night for a double room.

Exploring the Tanah Rata town

After settling in, we went off to explore the town and decide what to do the following day. The centre of town is very small, but the surroundings are abundant in fruit and vegetable farms. This is also where the famous Cameron Highlands tea is produced.

As we walked around the block, toward the market, James spotted a 4×4 Defender, very similar to ours, and was immediately drawn to it. It belonged to TJ, a very friendly and talkative young man who runs a tour company with his wife. After a long chat, mostly about off-roading and the wonderful qualities of Defenders, we finally booked one of the tours for the next day. By that time, our tummies were rumbling for food, so we asked T.J. to recommend a restaurant and promised to be there the next morning at 8:15 am sharp.

We walked through the market (which had absolutely no offer for a vegan!) on our way to the Indian restaurant that T.J. recommended. As we arrived at Singh Chapati Urban Restaurant, the first thing we saw was a handwritten paper saying something like “we are short of staff, so please be patient to receive your order”. Although we found it quite honest and amusing, we were absolutely starving and wondered how long it would take for our food to be ready.

The restaurant is owned by a couple, which at that time only had one extra girl to help. Although things looked hectic, the chef took the time to go around every table to ask if everything was ok and the food was to the client’s taste. The wait was worth every second. Luckily, they were aware of the limitations of a vegan diet and prepared a delicious vegetable dish, which I ate with garlic naan, with no butter. James had a chicken massala made with their homemade masala mix.

DAY 2 – Tour around the Highlands

On the following morning, we woke up bright and early, excited about our day tour. The scent of incense put me immediately in a pleasant state of mind. When we are home, I like to start the day burning some Indian incense that my mother brings from her frequent trips to India.

The owner of the Highlanders Hotel also owns the restaurant next door, which was very convenient. I had a banana Roti with coffee for breakfast and James had an omelette with tea. We ate quickly not to be late and just as promised we were in front of the Defender at 8:15. We picked up a couple of other passengers on the way and off we went.

Tea Plantations and Mossy Forest

The first stop and highlight of the trip were the tea plantations. What spectacular scenery! From the top of the hills, all you can see are vast extensions of green carpets of tea. Corridors separate the tea bushes, forming rectangular tea patches. The plantation is landscaped in this way to make it accessible to workers to reach the plants.

Here and there, in the distance, we spotted little dots moving. They were the field workers either picking or cleaning the leaves.

We were left to wander around the plantation for fifteen minutes to enjoy the view and take pictures.

On our way out, our guide suggested a walk in the forest to which we all agreed. It was quite an elucidating walk, where we learned about the difference between forest and jungle and observed very exotic flora.

After visiting the highest peak of the Cameron Highlands, we drove to the Mossy Forest. We had about half an hour to walk in the forest, appreciate the surrounding nature and take some photos. We could feel the high humidity in each breath as we walked further into the misty and mystic forest.

Following the Mossy Forest, we headed to the famous BOH tea plantation and factory. Unfortunately, we did not see the factory working because it was not harvesting time, nonetheless, we were able to understand the process with the help of our guide.

Before proceeding, we stopped at the famous tea-house, where amongst the vast variety of succulent looking cakes there was not one vegan option. Deeply disappointed, I walked around and waited while the rest of the group indulged in overpriced tall creamy cakes and tea.

Strawberry Farm

Our next stop was a strawberry farm. The farm workers welcomed us and from the minute we arrived, they organized themselves so that each couple was accompanied by one of them. It was actually quite annoying because they insisted on taking pictures for us, in a very pushy way. We just couldn’t get rid of them! We soon understood why. All of that enthusiasm had a very well defined intention: a fat tip at the end of the visit. This visit was a bit disappointing, especially because there were barely any strawberries out. On the positive side, I learned how strawberries grow. The actual fruit develops from the middle of the flower. I am not a country-girl so many things that are obvious to other people (like how strawberries grow) for me are a discovery.

Final Stop – Butterfly Farm (skipped!)

The final stop was at a butterfly farm. We did not go in because we don´t enjoy seeing butterflies and other bugs pinned to a board, however, the other visitors seemed to have enjoyed it and mentioned that there also some live butterflies and bugs.

By the time the tour ended we were starving and decided to have dinner at our local restaurant, the Highlander. Just as the hotel, the food was simple but good, but certainly not as rich in flavours as the night before.

Next destination: Penang

We woke up at 7:00 a.m. on the next morning to be at the bus station at 8:00 a.m. to catch a bus to our next stop: Penang. There are many operators at the station and they all offer similar solutions, but we chose Samila’s company because she was very friendly and opened with us from the day we arrived. She was actually the first person to greet us when we arrived two days before.

This sums up our getaway of one day and two nights to the Cameron Highlands. It was a very pleasant break from the heat and buzz from Kuala Lumpur and definitely set the tone for our following destination.

If you choose to visit the Cameron Highlands, we highly recommend renting a car because you have the freedom to visit what you want at your own pace. We wouldn’t normally go for an organized tour because we like to explore, but this time we thought it would be better due to the time restriction.

We leave you with some suggestions based on our experience during our stay.