We're here in the Highlands....it's so strange to be somewhere so different to what we've been used to so far! First of all, the air is fresh and it actually feels COLD some of the time!! Although this is all very well and refreshing, I am definately looking forward to getting back into the heat........the Malaysian tourists here think the "English-like" climate is great, and the whole place has a (slightly tacky) English theme, complete with crean teas, but I didn't travel half way around the world to be chilly and damp! The place is truely beautiful though, with rolling hills dotted with tea plantations (and apparently strawberry farms, although we haven't seen any.....just a lot of strawberry-themed merchandise!) We went for a long walk this morning, and did a spot of bird-watching, and a shorter walk this afternoon....the first time we've been able to be out al day, and be active, without needing to drown ourselves in water! I had one small mishap in the rainforest (fell over tree root, smashed knee on stone), but other than that we had a great day!

We actually came to the Cameron Highlands on a whim.....we flew to Kuala Lumpur on 29th August, stayed there for one night, and intended to catch a bus to Penang on the 30th. However, we didn't realise that it's National Holiday on the 31st August (today), so the 30th is when most people are frantically fleeing KL to get home to their families! So all buses to Penang were fully booked, so we came here instead. Most of the accommodation was booked up when we got here, so we've ended up in a glorified concrete tomb with an aluminium roof, and a seperate shower/toilet block that's shared with all of the guests. As you can imagine, I was a little dubious (I am not a camper), but I've survived one night and there's just tonight to go, then we're off on a bus to Penang tomorrow at 8am!

Our one night in KL was a taste of things to come (we're spending at least 2 nights there at the end of our trip).....and I'm really looking forward to it, as it seemed like a fantastic, lively city that was nice and compact and easy to walk around (unlike the sprawling, slightly overwhelming Bangkok).

I already love Malaysia.....I think, even though I've only been here two days, that I prefer it to Thailand. As a tourist here you can just kind of slip into the lifestyle of locals, whereas in Thailand there was much more segregation.

Well, off we go for our last night out in the Highlands.....hopefully I'll get to sample some of the yummy tea that they're famous for!