| | May 11, 2006 - Cameron Highland, Malaysia - Cool, Wet and Wonderful! | (click to enlarge)
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 | Coffee in a bag! Waiting for our transfer to the Cameron Highlands
| | Father's Guesthouse - our home in the Cameron Highlands
| | Glad we weren't on that bus!
| | Hiking through the forest
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 | Hiking with Hannah and Steven through the lush forests
| | Views from our room overlooking the Cameron Highlands
| | Talk about stealing another company's identity!!
| | Dinner with new friends
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 | Lush tea plantations of the Cameron Highlands
| | Tea Plantation
| | Tea Plantation
| | Tea plantation
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 | Carnivorous Plant in the mossy forest
| | Hiking through the mossy forest
| | Drying tea at the Boh Tea Plantation
| | Our room at Father's Guesthouse
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| Cameron Highlands - Cool, Wet and Wonderful
Stepping out of our jam packed mini-van at Father's Guesthouse, the near freezing air hit us like a fresh winter breeze on a ski slope in the Rockies - cold, but pleasantly refreshing. Okay, freezing may be a bit of an exaggeration, as it was probably about 17 degrees, but compared to the stifling heat of Cambodia, this felt cold and we loved it. Back at home when we planned the trip, we had planned to travel with the heat for the whole year. Now, eight months into the trip and after some excruciating heat, cool weather was more welcomed than had ever anticipated.
The Cameron Highlands is a tourist destination for both locals and foreigners alike that are looking to escape the heat and humidity of the rest of the country and enjoy weather much like a day in the middle of May back home in Toronto. The area is lush and green everywhere you turn. Hillsides are either covered with forests and jungles or have been cleared for farmland to grow vegetables, flowers or most popular, tea. The Cameron Highlands are famous for the high quality and volume of tea they produce.
We spent two days taking leisurely walks through the forests, drinking varieties of the local teas, touring a tea plantation and took in a couple of movies at our guesthouse as the rain poured down outside feeding the lush greenery. With this weather, we were thrilled to cozy up in a pair of jeans, warm fleece, socks and shoes for the first time in so many months. We dreamed of our upcoming time in Sydney and became stupidly excited at the confirmation of our room at the Sheraton Imperial hotel in Kuala Lumpur for two nights before we leave Asia. After living on a tight budget in basic accommodations for almost two and a half months, the thought of a luxury hotel room, with all the comforts of home is so much more exiting than I would have ever anticipated. We can't wait! In the meantime, we enjoy the cooler weather, verdant forests and scenery that surrounds us.
TRAVEL TIPS FOR THE CAMERON HIGHLANDS
1. Pack a warm sweater, pants, shoes and socks as the weather is cooler hear than most of Malaysia. Temperatures typically range from 10 - 20 degrees with the morning being sunny and the afternoons clouding over often with rain. You should make sure you bring a raincoat or umbrella when visiting as well.
2. Maps are available outlining the many hikes and walks that can be done in the area. Make sure when you are hiking you let your hotel or guesthouse know where which trail you are taking just in case you went missing so authorities would know where to look for you.
3. A tour to a tea plantation is highly recommended since this is what the area is famous for. You will see how tea is processed and have incredible views of the green tea covered hillsides rivalling the images of vineyards in France.
4. When planning your walks and hikes try to start in the morning. Typically, the weather in the Cameron Highlands clouds over and often rains in the late afternoon.
5. The Cameron Highlands have many Indians who have settled in the area when they first came to work on the tea farms. Therefore, if you like Indian food there are a lot of good Indian restaurants for dining out.
www.carlhenderson.ca
www.imagestoframe.com
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