Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands

It's cool, fresh and more than welcome...that is Tanah Rata, our base for exploring the Cameron Highlands. We stayed at the Hillside Guesthouse which was just a stones throw away from the center of town but relatively quiet. Jungle trekking and tea, that is what we thought the highlands were all about but as we found out there is a lot more to see. There are many hiking trails that can lead you up steep jungle hills, we picked one that took us along a small creek to a waterfall and a little beyond...a short hike of maybe an hour and a half (nothing too strenuous). We decided the best way to see all the sights that are quite spread out around the highlands was to take a tour, a whole day...see it all!

We started our day at 8:30 with 6 of us loading into an old Land Rover (they are the main choice of tour transportation) and drove 40 minutes to a spot where we picked up our "jungle man" who would take us up into the mountains on a 2 hour trek to see the Rafflesia flower, the largest flower in the world, although larger varieties are found in Sumatra and Borneo. Actually as we learned, the Rafflesia is not technically a flower but really a fungus (as in mushroom), and it takes 9 months for a bloom to develop then only a week for it to die after the petals have opened. It goes from big and beautiful to black and slimy (looking and smelling like elephant shit) in a very short time. We were shown examples of a bud in early and late stages, a bloom, and then totally expired. The trek down the mountain took half the time as going up and after crossing a couple of small creeks and trudging through the very red mud we wondered if our shoes and clothes would ever be clean again. At the end of the trek we took a look at an traditional Malay village and had a demonstration of shooting a blow dart gun and after got a chance to try blowing it ourselves. Ken showed up the tour guide (who we nicknamed "Cellphone" because we couldn't understand his real name that was kind of pronounced like that) by hitting the bulls eye on his first and much farther back second shot...did it have anything to do with "hot air?" I asked. I on the other hand I could barely get the darn dart out of the gun, it dribbled to the ground a foot or two from where it started. It's a good thing I have Ken to provide for me!

From the village it was off to the Boh tea plantation to see how the tea was grown, picked, processed, and then how it tasted. Both the tea and the view from the architectural award winning tea house was amazing. By the time we finished our tea we were starting to get a little behind schedule, visiting with Frank and Marika from Holland, and Thomas and Natalia from Poland, during the day was fun.

The next stop was at the Butterfly Farm, I know...it sounds kind of...not exciting, but...the butterflies were very beautiful but the best part, for Ken at least, were all the other strange and wonderful creatures they had on the premises. For example, snakes, spiders, weird bugs, and reptiles inhabited cages which 'Cellphone' was allowed (or not?) to open and let us hold the critters. Ken loved it! I had a great time with the camera.

By the time we finished with the Butterfly Farm 'Cellphone' was rushing us on to the Strawberry Farm...we had all seen strawberries before so it was a quick stop there, just long enough for Marika to purchase some strawberry filled cookies for our teatime together the next day. We all decided to enjoy a 'steamboat' dinner at a local restaurant that night because we enjoyed each others company so much during the day. A steamboat is like a big fondue pot with a broth inside, you are served all kinds of veggies, noodles and meats (in this case we got a lot of mystery meats like fish balls and pork balls) that you cook in the broth then eat like soup. It's not really filling but the experience was local and fun.

The three days we spent in Tanah Rata was such a nice reprieve from the heat and humidity of the coast. At night I had to wear a fleece to bed and ended up asking for an extra blanket after after the first night and...a hot shower actually felt good, we even had a thunder shower one afternoon. Who'd a thunk? We'll have to remember those temperatures when we are back in the heat.

In Tanah Rata, we enjoyed a dining experience.  The banana leaf special!  Two kinds of rice with 5 different condiments and chicken masala, naan bread and some spicy chip things...$2.75 each.  Way too good!

Dr. Doolittle had nothing on Ken.  He loves all animals etc. , here he is letting a millipede take a walk up his arm.

The Rafflesia, up close and personal.

O.K. now you can really see how big the Rafflesia really is, this one is nearing the end of its lifespan so it is starting to droop a little.

Cellphone hold the blow dart gun (stick) while he explains how the people here in Malasyia traditionally used it. 

Ready, Aim, Fire! 

A view from the tearoom at the Boh tea plantation.  It looked as if it was manicured as nicely as a golf green.

One of the workers picks tea by hand, even though today it is mainly harvested by machine.

Can you see the Leaf Bug on this tree?

Does this help?

Can you find the Stick Bug on this bush?

Take a closer look at it here on Kens arm, now can you find it?

They won't sting if you are very still!

Can you find the frog?

Look very close!

Snakes, snakes and more snake.  Many a poisonous here but we haven't come face to face with any in the wild...yet.

They may not be exciting but they are very beautiful.

At the strawberry farms they grow the strawberries off the ground in a greenhouse.  It may be convenient to water, fertilize and pick but to tell you the truth the taste doesn't stack up to our garden back home.

Here's the gang after our big day of touring enjoying the "Steamboat" and a beer.

I just about forgot about this guy's picture, a huge rhinosorus beetle.