Cameron Highlands...the first time I read an article about this place, I just fell in love.
The promise of a coooool weather, highland nature experience and a tea plantation tour is a big wow.
I consider our Cameron Highland stop as the 2nd highlight of our Malaysia vacation (next to KL of course :)).
Cameron Highlands is one of Malaysia's most extensive hill stations. Situated at the northwestern tip
of Pahang,the “Camerons” is approximately 90 kilometres from Ipoh and roughly 200 kilometres from Kuala Lumpur. There are many ways to go to Cameron Highlands. From Kuala Lumpur, there are buses that leave every 30 minutes from Terminal Bersipadu Selatan for RM35. Travel time is around 4 hours, please see my blog last April for the complete itinerary. You can also catch a bus from Amanjaya terminal in Ipoh and from Georgetown, Penang. Cameron Highlands is a popular destination, I knew there are more ways to go there than what was mentioned.
When we went to Cameron Highlands, we took a 2:30pm bus at Terminal Bersipadu Selatan in KL. Shortly before 6:00pm we were already at Tanah Rata in Cameron Highlands. Most of the tourist stays either in Tanah Rata or Brinchang. We chose Tanah Rata because we want to be closer to the bus terminal, public transport in Cameron Highlands is difficult. Anyway, we were booked at Century Pines Resort which is very close to the bus terminal. From the bus terminal, we just cross the street onto a small park and right across the park is the hotel.
After we checked-in and leave our bags, we went out to look for the office of Eco Cameron Travel and Tours for the half day Mossy Forest Tour we want to avail in the next day. The office is not difficult to find and it is open 'til 8:30 in the evening. You can just ask around and the people are more than glad to guide you. We paid RM53 each for the tour that includes BOH Tea Plantation Tour, BOH Tea Factory Tour, the climb to Brinchang Peak and the Mossy Forest tour.
Then we just walk and explore the main road of Tanah Rata while looking for some nice restaurant for our dinner. We found this Kougen Japanese restaurant which is verrrryyy nice, highly recommended. By the time we're finished, it is already dark and very cold, we decided to stop on a convenience store on our way back to the hotel to buy some beer. Heineken it is...cheers :). We have an early evening rest at the hotel, watching movies and enjoying our cold beer on a cold cold night inside our cozy hotel room. Unforgettable experience, the feeling that you are somewhere far far away from home and you are still feeling more at home than ever :).
The next day, after a delightful breakfast in the hotel, we were picked up by the 4x4 truck of Eco Cameron Travel and Tours. The driver which is also the guide is a nice Indian guy that speaks very good english. We were joined by 4 more people, a couple from Germany and from France. We went thru winding uphill road which is sometimes one way only and I admit some part of the road is scary, but I trust our guide who is doing this everyday for many many years. I'm sure he already memorized every turns and curves. Cameron highlands by the way is famous also for strawberries and flower gardens and there are many stores along the roads that sell strawberry stuffs from pillows to bags to everything strawberry-yyy.
The first stop we had is the BOH Tea Plantation. Spell real world T-E-A plantation, it was so amazing. I was so happy to have the experience, and once in my life got to see what tea tree looks like, how it is planted and grown and yes how it is processed from raw tea leaves to what it looks like when sold in the markets. Our amazing guide made sure of it :) The view is heart stopping, a paradise for me, how I wish I could stay there forever.
Our second stop is the Mt. Brinchang Peak. Mt. Brinchang is the second highest peak of Cameron Highlands but it is more famous because it is more accessible to the tourists. The 4x4 can take the tourists up to the peak but aside from tourists like us who prefer the packaged tour on a 4x4, I see many more tourists who opted to hike the way up, good for them. If I have the time, I would love to try it. On the peak is a watch tower where tourists can go up to get a good view of the highlands.
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| Our ride. |
Our third stop is the Mossy Forest Trail. Okay, I was surprise in this one because in the pictures I saw a real trail under mossy trees. I was preparing myself for a real mountain hike, haha. I was so surprised to see that the trail is in fact wooden bridges with cottages to rest by along the way. At the end, we can suppose to got off the wooden trail and explore the forest but it was not advised so we would not get lost and with the short time our guide gave us, we opted not to do it. Maybe it was the highlight after all, I don't know. But I was not really expecting the wooden trails. It kind of steal the forest adventure I was expecting ;). Anyway, below are our pictures on the wooden trails.
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| The trail map. |
Lastly, we went to the BOH Tea Plantation Centre. It is where the tea processing plant is located as well as a store for their tea products and a cafe that serves the plantation's delight. The cafe was very crowded so we had not tried it, but we went to their shop and was able to buy many many tea :)
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| The cafe overlooking the plantation. |
That concludes our half day tour. In the afternoon we took the bus from Tanah Rata to Ipoh.
