The Cameron Highlands...about time we hit some mountains!

Susan hiding in the tea plants
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We were both feeling a little homesick for some serious trekking on a mountain.  The mountains in SE Asia are not the Rockies, but they definitely had some neat possibilities, so we headed to the Cameron Highlands, a 3 hour busride from Kuala Lampur.

The Highlands, specifically the small town we stayed in turned out to be just the thing.  Blessedly cool temperatures, and fantastic higher-elevation scenery and a relaxed atmosphere.  Our hostel was a little on the mildewy side, and the mosquito nets came in handy to combat the Alberta-style insect life, so we found ourselves exploring quite a bit.

Michelle enjoying the freshest tea possible
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One awesome find was the BOH tea plantation.  It was highly reccommended that we take a tour up to the plantation, so we instead took a bus and hiked in.  The bus was neat, and at approximately $0.20 CDN , quite a bargain.  We were dropped at "the junction", a giant produce market at the base of the peninsula's highest peak, Galung.  We shared the narrow road with speedy local cars and stray cats.  Tons of tropical flowers, and tea plants everywhere, growing sometimes completely perpendicular to the steeply sloping terrain.  The deep emerald of the tea leaves was set off by the ever-present mist and was beautiful.  The walk also gave us a chance to talk to some tea "snippers" and take pictures on the way up to the tea factory.

Susan on the bus...we'd have more pictures, but she lost her camera transfer cable today.
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We were allowed to wander the processing plant, which mainly uses traditional processing techniques "because they are still the best", to produce tonnes of tea each day.  The museum was also neat, and at the end of the long building a massive overhanging patio cafe let us sample the tea line.  We felt quite civilized sampling tea and eating fantastic cake called a "chocolate melt" while watching the workers collect tea from the slopes.  Much more interesting than we ever expected tea to be!

Workers at the tea plantation harvesting the tea leaves
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We also went on a jungle walk, where the biggest highlights were a battered old watchtower that afforded a perfect view of the entire valley, and a lizard that we poked with a stick.  The lizard was angry and flared its neck frill at us.  It was neat...other than that it was a boggy trail with trees and lots of bugs.  The only thing to distinguish it from other, similar trails back home were the songs of very unfamiliar birds!

Tanah Rata also had a fun surprise in the form of a Swiss-German restaurant, owned and operated by a Malay guy who seemed to be obsessed with everything Swiss, German or Alpine in nature.  We walked upstairs to find the walls covered with travel posters bearing German and Swiss scenes, and a menu that was distinctly not Halal.  We ordered Mac and Cheese (the famous German food?) and to our delight, a plate of noodles, bacon and about a pound of cheese arrived.  Well worth the European prices that we were charged!

Here's Mich hanging out with a queen bee at a honey farm
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After four days enjoying the Highlands we caught a bus bound for KL, with a new plan to fly to Borneo!