Adventures By Design

In which the travelers almost get cooked

After breakfast we checked out of the hotel, and walked across the street to the bus station where we bought tickets to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. Keeping in mind the lessons we learned traveling to Melaka, we asked to see a picture of the bus, asked if the seats were 2+1 across (as opposed to 2+2), and confirmed that this was an express route.

We waited for the bus in the terminal, watching the world go by and trying to stay cool in the fans. When 12:45pm came, we descended to Platform 23 as instructed and waited for our bus, due to depart at 1:00. We waited and one o’clock came and went with no bus. We waited, and waited some more. Finally our bus arrived and we piled on. Unfortunately, someone had overbooked the bus, so there were two more people than seats. To make matters worse, Malaysians don’t seem to follow the assigned seat numbers, so everyone was sitting in everyone else’s seats. We B-lined it for the nearest available pair of seats, and hunkered down to inconspicuously watch the show (inconspicuously least someone request we get off the bus). But there wasn’t much of a show to see. The driver simply pointed to two Malaysians and kicked them off the bus! They didn’t protest and simply walked off. We were a little shocked at what seemed like obvious discrimination, but we wonder if maybe the Malaysians pay a cheaper fare than the rest of us, with the understanding that they are disposable.

With seating complete, we started our four hour journey to the Cameron Highlands. Our bus drove for no more than three minutes when the air-conditioner noisily groaned to a halt. We had driven for ten minutes or so with the door open (at highway speeds!), which did nothing to cool those in seats seven through thirty. By this time the bus was a greenhouse, cooking us. All hope of a pleasant trip reading our books had evaporated as surely as our sweat did not. Thankfully, the driver pulled over to the side of the road and took out his tools in an attempt to fix the broken AC machine. Although we were hugely appreciative of his gallant effort, it remained only a partial success: within minutes of returning to the highway it seized up again. This time we drove to a service station where the driver again attempted to fix the AC. This time his repair worked better, and we had a hour or so of blissful coolness, before it once again stopped. But only a few minutes later the bus driver told us to take our luggage and get on the bus in front of us. That bus’s passengers were also switching buses with us, so apparently they got the broken AC bus. We felt sad for them, but it worked out in our favor as this bus was more comfortable, and the AC was cranked to beer-fridge temperatures.

We arrived in Tanah Rata just as a rain storm was moving into the area. This place certainly deserves to be called highlands: these are some serious jungley mountains. Everything is green with either trees or terraced tea plantations. We found a hotel that is youthful, rustic, and feels a little like summer camp. For example, although we have a shower, we can’t get more than a dribble out of it. Maybe tomorrow we will try to find a better room. We didn’t have much time to explore the area before it got dark, although we did find a great Indian restaurant that uses our preferred biodegradable banana leaf plates.