Since I'm currently sequestered in a random coffee shop due to a random torrential downpour, I figured I may as well use my time to do something productive and update my blog. Unfortunately, this one will not have pictures because being the genius that I am, I forgot the memory card for my camera in my hotel room when I went on my trip around the Cameron Highlands. Luckily a few of the people I met on the trip took my email address and told me they would send me some, so I'll have them eventually, but for now you'll just have to allow my words and descriptions to paint a mental picture for you.
Just hold on a moment for me to get out my thesaurus.
Just kidding (like a need a thesaurus).
Anyway, I have to say, the Cameron Highlands is an absolutely beautiful, fascinating place. Much like Dalat in Vietnam, its cool temperature and high altitude sets it apart from most of the rest of the country. It's surrounded by rolling hills and thick jungle, with the town where I stayed nestled in between the many attractions that bring visitors from across the world. I stayed at this guesthouse where my room was literally a mattress on the floor with about two feet of space at the bottom and on the right, and a ceiling so low that even I couldn't stand up in there. But despite its insanely cramped nature, it was quite comfortable. I did have to put up my mosquito net though since I was being eaten alive, and what a challenge that was in such a small room. I ended up tangled up in it and smashing my head off the ceiling at least thirty times, but I eventually managed to get it to stay up and protect me from a very itchy fate.
Since I only had one full day in the highlands, I booked a tour of the area almost immediately upon arrival. I really wanted to do a jungle hike, but unfortunately it had been raining a lot recently and I didn't have suitable boots or outerwear to do it without ruining whatever clothes I wore. So, I settled on a countryside tour similar to what I did in Dalat but in a minibus instead of a motobike. When the bus picked me up in the morning, I quickly learned that the tour consisted of only myself and two girls from Holland. They were really nice and we got along well from the start so it ended up being a good thing that tour was so tiny. The tour took us to a myriad of fascinating places, the first of which was a massive tea plantation. It was super interesting to learn about how the tea is made, and then of course to be able to sit down and drink some. The tea was amazing, so I bought a little package of it to bring home for people to try. I tried this concoction called a teacinno (combination of a cappuccino and tea) simply because I was way too curious not to, and it actually ended up being pretty nice. I didn't buy any though, because they only sold it in massive packages and I already have enough crap to lug around (I swear I'm going to have back problems after this trip).
After the tea plantation we went to a butterfly farm, which I have to say was pretty cool. Basically, you walked into this greenhouse filled with various species of butterflies (including some resembling small birds in size) and just watched them interact. This giant green and black butterfly even landed on one of the Dutch girls legs (and then was quite reluctant to get off). Outside of the main section of the butterfly farm there were displays of various disgusting insects (including spiders, scorpians, etc) which I did not particularly enjoy. I got the hell out of dodge when one of the employees started picking them up, and I was quite glad that my tour mates shared my sentiment.
The final interesting stop on our tour was the strawberry farm. The Cameron Highlands are known for two things. The first is obviously tea, but the second is strawberries. There are loads of organic strawberry farms all over the place, many of which let you pick your own strawberries. Myself and the two other girls basically gorged ourselves on strawberries and strawberry juice (which is quite possibly the best thing I've ever drank in my entire life). So all in all, despite the fact that I didn't get to venture into the jungle, I had a pretty good time just touring around the countryside.
I arrived in Penang early this afternoon and I plan on spending the next few days exploring Georgetown and the surrounding areas. Then it's off to Thailand for my final trek to Bangkok to make my flight home on December 14th. It's hard to believe I only have 13 days left (12 really, considering I leave on the morning of the 14th). I think I'm going to stay in Malaysia a little longer than I intended since I'm enjoying it so much, but I'm still pretty excited to get to Thailand either Monday or Tuesday or next week.
Well that sums up where I'm at for now.
Until next time, remember, when you're visiting beautiful places, make sure to remember your memory card.
Saraj
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