Cameron Highlands

I took a weekend trip (a few weeks ago) to the Cameron Highlands in the middle of Malaysia. The mountains are gorgeous, there are tons of strawberry farms and tea plantations, a few small towns, and chilly weather which I have not felt in a long time!

I got there Friday night, had some delicious Indian food for dinner, drank some strawberry tea, read, wrote in my journal, met a bunch of locals, and enjoyed the weather - I got to wear jeans and a sweatshirt which was very exciting for me!

Saturday I did an all day "adventure tour." First we went to the highest point there (6,666 ft), which of course had a gorgeous view. I got really luck with the weather all weekend. After, we went on a hike through the mossy forest and saw pitcher plants that eat bugs. Then we visited a tea plantation and saw them make tea and then drank some. Then to a strawberry farm and ate some strawberries which was exciting because I haven't had any in a long time. Then we went to a butterfly farm that had tons of weird insects and massive butterflies that you could hold. I saw the biggest stick and leaf insects I have ever seen, as well as tons of scorpions which I decided against touching although it was an option.

After lunch, we hiked through a small village in the mountains and made friends with the kids and got to shoot darts out of a pipe (usually they are poisonous but they only let me shoot regular ones, bummer). We hiked through some crazy jungle with a guide with a machete for over 2hrs and saw a rafflesia (world's biggest flower) that had just bloomed that day and was really pretty. Then we went swimming in a waterfall, and ate some unidentified fruit that some local gave me and drank from a bamboo.

I got back to town exhausted, had dinner, and went to sleep. Then on Sunday I hiked by myself to a waterfall. I ended up getting slightly lost and stumbled upon a Buddhist temple near some vegetable farms. Nearby was an orchid farm owned by a Chinese family who invited me in, showed me all the flowers, asked me stay for lunch, gave me a bag of homegrown tomatoes and drove me back to my hotel. The whole weekend was a nice break from Penang and goodbyes and provided me with some needed alone time to think.