Adventures By Design

In which the travelers feel very British

Our time in the Cameron Highlands is winding down now (we’ve decided to skip Malaysian Borneo and head to Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java next), and there are a few things we still want to see. After our day lounging yesterday we figured we had better get to it, so this morning we woke up early(ish) and after breakfast booked a half-day trip to see a giant flower tomorrow. For today we decided to travel more on our own steam and see some local sights (mostly) on foot.

The Cameron Highlands are famous as a place where the British colonialists would go to relax when the tropical heat and/or stress of colonizing got to be too much. And what do the British love? Tea of course! The area is home to three giant tea plantations owned by “Boh,” a Malaysian company that was founded by a British man nearly 100 years ago. The best of these plantations to visit is called the Sungai Palas Estate, which sounds quite uppity we think. SPE is a ways out of town, and like all good tea plantations, pretty high up on a mountain. So, although we wanted to walk around a lot today we just couldn’t see ourselves walking there, and back to our hotel. We planned to take the bus up the mountain, but when we walked over to the stop and saw the packed, rickety number that awaited us, we changed our minds and went for a taxi instead (5 times as much, but still a deal at around $8).

After a very windy and narrow road up, and a close call with another reckless taxi driver going way too fast, we made it to the plantation. The first thing that struck us was that the plantation was also a village with a school, a church, a temple, and a mosque: all bases covered! The next thing that struck us was that we had arrived simultaneously with a giant and noisy tour group. We hung back for a bit, and then went through the factory to witness the magic of tea processing…. umm, it wasn’t exactly Willi Wonka’s chocolate factory, but it was interesting, and we got to learn that recently harvested tea smells almost exactly the same as cut grass.

After the factory, we headed into the visitor centre where we got to read all about tea, and the founding and history of the Boh tea company. Of course there was also a gift shop where we browsed about but didn’t buy much, given the spatial constraints of our luggage situation. After the shop there was the “Tea-ria” (get it? like a ‘cafe’-teria) where we had some lovely clove and cardamom tea with shortbread cookies while overlooking the scenic hills of the plantation. Very refined and British, we thought.

Once we’d finished our refreshments it was time to head home. This is the part we did on our own steam, walking all the way back to our hotel which we estimate to be a distance of 10-12 kilometres. The walk out through the plantation was scenic and lovely. The main road afterwards was still interesting, but parts of it were lined with tourist shops and random attractions like honey bee, butterfly, cactus, and strawberry farms, along with a kitchy, nostalgic place called “The Time Tunnel.” We ignored all this and just enjoyed the walk home, occasionally jumping over drainage ditches and crossing the highway to cut the corners.

Close to town, when we were about 2 or 3 kilometers from our hotel, we came across the golf course. There were big ominous signs stating that the course was not meant for random passersby, and only intended for legitimate golfers, but obviously we ignored those. Our curiosity demanded that we investigate this manicured and alien landscape, and we learned that golf grass is really short and smooth. (We know that’s obvious to you golfers out there, but c’mon, the only golf courses we’ve been on have had a spinning windmill obstacle.) We continued our inquiry, occasionally moving flags, balls, and other detritus if it got in our way, until we saw three club-wielding men approaching, and heard a loud battle call of “FOUR”. We hastily scurried away, ducking and covering our heads lest one of us get brained by a stray golf ball!

Finally, hours after starting, and with slightly sore feet and legs, we got back to town, picked up some laundry, had Indian for dinner, and went home to prepare for our day-trip tomorrow.