cameron highlands

Since I had to wait 4 days for the "express" visa at the vietnam embassy I decided to get out of KL and head north to a place that was highly recommended, Cameron Highlands. From only being 4 hours away from KL it was like entering into another world. First off the temperature dropped from 30+degrees(90 degrees F) to 20degrees (70 degrees Fahrenheit). I was so not prepared for the cold nights too (around 60 or so degrees) but it was a refreshing contrast to the heat I have been enduring for the past 2 months. The drive up to the highlands took us on a windy 2 lane mountain road with (what I would later find out) more than 600 curves. The views were breathtaking and the quaint little mountain town was a relief from KL.

On my first full day a few guys and i decide to hire a guide to take us through the jungle. we climbed up two mountains which was a feat for all my smoker companions. but the views were worth it! and it helped that the temperature was a lot cooler in the highlands.

view of a tea plantation atop the first mountain we climbed

view from the top of the second mountain we climbed during our jungle trek

farm fields in the only Malaysian village in the cameron highlands

a Malay village, they are not bound to regular Malaysian laws

waterfall at the end of our jungle hike...you cant see it here but it is very polluted. the locals try to clean it up but right after the clean up its polluted with trash in less than a month.

this was my guide through the jungle, Bob, the jungle junkie. (the name not only comes from his obsession for the jungle but i guess a while back he used to be an actual junkie, which can be seen during his jungle tours as he pointed out pretty much every plant that get you high and believe me, there are a lot of them in the Malaysian jungle!)

on my second day in the Cameron Highlands, Sebastian, a swiss, (who was staying at the same guesthouse as me) and i decided to go and check out the tea plantations. the local bus dropped us 2 km from the tea plantation (restaurant/factory) but the walk was well worth it. the views of the tea plants on the rolling hills was spectacular and warranted a new photo opportunity at every bend in the road. The BOH tea plantation was interesting and we got to tour the factory on the premises and see how the tea making process works.

another view of the plantation

yet another great view of the plantation

this is the view from the restaurant at BOH tea plantation. I sampled some mango tea and had a strawberry tart (strawberries grow really well in the Cameron highlands and are abundant)

closer view of the tea plantations, i just love how the rows of tea plants look on the hillside

a tea tester at the BOH factoy