Week 16: Cameron Highlands

Since I had another day off (thank you for having a million holidays Malaysia!) and Emily was still in Malaysia, we decided to take a trip to the Cameron Highlands for the weekend. This is a smaller town up in the mountains that used to be a stronghold for one of the colonizing countries in Malaysia, but has since become a bustling tourist trap for people who want to get away from the heat of the city, breathe some fresh air, and drink a nice cup of tea. The temperature at the top of the winding roads was blissfully cooler than what we had been experiencing in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, an added bonus for our trip.

Upon arriving, we promptly went to lunch to enjoy the local delicacy, a Steamboat. This is essentially a hotpot with a special lid which has a funnel at the top, thus emitting steam like a smokestack as your food cooks. While it wasn’t especially spectacular, it’s always a treat to sample local cuisine. Following this, I decided to walk to one of the local strawberry farms. Unfortunately it was not the right season for picking my own berries, but I was treated to some of the freshest, juiciest berries I’ve had in a long time and I returned to our hostel with delightfully pink lips. Unlike in the US where you need to bend down in fields to pick strawberries, the farmers in the Cameron Highlands have made these beds more convenient for tourists by stacking plants along tiered shelves within their greenhouses. Clearly not as authentic, but there’s something to be said for not having a sore back at the end of the day!

The next day we ventured to Boh tea plantation, one of the most famous in Malaysia. The way they grow tea plants on the rolling hills is breathtaking, as you can see in some of these photos. We were educated on the tea making process and even enjoyed some fresh beverages while overlooking the view. My highlight was strawberry cheesecake that actually contained some of the plantation’s tea within it-it was quite delicious. After our educational and filling excursion, we ventured on one of the many walking paths that the Cameron Highlands are famous for, and managed to spot a waterfall and some other tourists who were also enjoying a beautiful day in the sunshine.