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We spent 3 days at the Cameron Highlands after arriving there in the evening on Thursday 3rd December. A 12 hours bus journey took us from Singapore, bus change in Kuala Lumpa, all the way to the chilly Cameron Highlands. Famous for tea plantations and strawberry farms the journey by bus up the winding mountain roads was beautiful.
on arrival we checked into the 'Twin Pnes' youth hostel were we got a room for the four of us for just 10RM (2 pounds) per night each. The no frills room had two bunk beds and just enough space for our huge rucksacks. The bathroom facilities were shared and I had forgotten that throughout asia the shower and toilet are combined, so you can literally do a poo whilst having a shower! - time saver if not anything else.... We had dinner at a local street cafe which cost just 4 pounds for all of us and then had a few beers and played cards at the only bar in town.
Still suffering from jet lag we slept in til late Friday afternoon, delaying our trekking plans. Once we set out, got lost then started over again we made our way to one of the small waterfalls in the hills. Luckily on route we bumped into an ex trekking guide who could obviously see we didnt stand a chance of finding our way, so offered for the four of us to follow him. It turned out that he had recently retired from guiding in the Cameron Highlands and had gained over 58 years experience. The trek that he took us on was brilliant and he educated us all the way on the plants and animals found in the jungle. He made us head dresses from plants leaves, bracelets from plants stems, showed us huge jungle ant nests, ginger and banana plants, showed us how to use the jungle plants as rope swings and most importantly took us thick into the jungle on the less trodden trails....
That evening we came back stinking and dirty but somehow managed to make friends with 2 girls from the hostel who we had dinner with and later sat drinking beers with round the bonfire. A few drinks gave us the confidence to plan yet another trek and this time include Roger and Britney from our hostel. Our tipsy plans meant that we were to be up and ready to go by 8.30am.
After another awful nights sleep we were all awake by 5am so got ready and had coconut pancakes and tea at another st stall. We caught the 8.30am bus to the bottom of the trekking path and began our hike up the mountain. Tan got ill so her and Kate decided to go back to the hostel so myself, Lorna, Britney and Roger continued our 3 1/2 hr hike through mud and tree roots! The views at the top are meant to be amaing but unfortunately it was covered in cloud and had rained non stop! - still it was fun and worth it even without the views at the top! We visited Boh tea plantations after the hike and indulged in some cakes and an amazing pot of fresh tea. The plantation is a must see - the views are amazing!
Late that afternoon Tan and Kate booked themselves onto a 4hr trip to the tea plantations, butterfly and honey sanctuary and the strawberry farm - apparently it was awful and one of the most boring experiences!!!
The 6 of us had dinner at an amazing Indian restaurant, said our goodbyes and got an early ish night ready for the morning bus trip to Penang......
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