Thanks to the Malaysia Day holiday falling on a Saturday, we had the good fortune to have a two day weekend. Actually, that makes no sense. A weekend IS two days. What I'm saying is that my husband did not have to work his usual six day week. So we joined a van of co-workers headed to Cameron Highlands for some R&R. After four hours of slow driving on windy roads, we were rewarded with lush green forests, magnificent tea plantations, vibrant flowers, fresh strawberries, and....most importantly...cooler, drier air.
Our first stop was for tea at a small plantation. Having never seen tea growing before, I was surprised by the majestic beauty of the plantation. I was also surprised by the large difference in flavor of the various local black teas we sampled.
My husband and I spent the afternoon hiking through the jungle. At first I was excited about the size, density, beautiful, sounds, and lush greeness of our surroundings.
As we hiked up and down steep hills using branches, roots, and toe holds to make our way through the plants and shrubs I became disoriented from the darkness, the unrecognizable sounds of monkeys, birds, and reptiles and the feeling that every path we crossed we'd just been on before.
As we walked even deeper into the jungle I let my imagine run amok (another post forthcoming about the Malay word "amok") and spooked myself with the story of an American, Jim Robinson, who walked away from his Cameron Highlands hotel in 1967 never to be seen again. Even experienced jungle trackers couldn't find him. I was thinking about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness which creeped me out as a senior in high school, and I was wondering if there were poisonous pit vipers and cobras and wishing I had a pet mongoose from Rudyard Kipling's Riki Tiki Tavi.
Words cannot describe how happy I was, when 2 2/12 hours later we finally stumbled down the mountain and came upon the Sam Poh Temple. Not only was this landmark, Chinese temple a sign of civilization but it is home to some pretty darn big sitting Buddhas, smiling Buddhas, warrier Buddhas, and happy monks beating drums and burning incense. I felt much better.
By now the clouds had broken loose and started an afternoon monsoon-type deluge. Even that could not dampen my spirits as I was so happy to be literally "out of the darkness."
A walk back to town took us to the Smoke House Cottage, an elegant, refined Scottish remnant of the early 19th century colonization of Malaysia. (The Boh tea plantation was started and is still owned by a Scottish family.) We were a bit late and a tad under dressed for afternoon tea. Luckily our jungle-smeared hiking boots and pants only added to the lively conversation with tales of adventure and intrigue all while relishing our civilized, late afternoon drinks.
A "Steamboat" dinner and a stroll though the night market where we bought fresh strawberries and lots of fresh veggies was a delightful end to our first day.
A shower and a good night's sleep were in order. Unfortunately, our hotel room had a tiny hot water heater that needed 30 good minutes to warm up. So....a quick sponge bath to scrape off the jungle mud was all I could handle before falling into bed.
The next day consisted an "Adventure Tour." We quickly realized that, after seeing our Indian tour mates wearing linen trousers and designer sandals, our definitions of "adventure" did not match. So, we relaxed, went with the flow and learned some new things. Our first stop was the Butterfly Garden. (I guess looking at butterflies could be considered an "adventure.") Although the butterflies were big and beautiful, I think the "A" in adventure was seeing a 6-inch long rhinoceros beetle attack a stalk of bamboo just like a backhoe to a piece of tree and shrub filled land. The caged pit vipers and pop vipers were giving my imagination an "adventure" too.
Later that morning, we did go on a jungle "trek". We learned about some interesting medicinal plants used by the Orange Asli (indigenous people). One plant was for men only and the root looked like a male body part and worked like Viagra. Another looked like female private parts and had the name "something Fatima" and was used after childbirth. The best plant was" the natural laxative", a solution to one of the problems with palm oil. Our guide suggested we try the tiny, fast-acting, red berry at home
We learned about the Pitcher Plant, kind of like a Venus Fly Trap I was so fascinated with from junior high school science. Basically the pitcher plant works like this...A fly or mosquito flies into the plant. It gets stuck in the nectar at the bottom but it doesn't die. The rainwater fills the pitcher and must drown the poor little buggers. When the little pouch is full, the lid closes. Then, at night, the monkeys swing down from the trees, pull the little "pitcher" off the plant and drink the protein drink. Yum!
Another stop on our "adventure" was learning how tea is harvested, dried, and packaged at the Boh Tea Plantation. Handpicking produces the best tea, but it's too labor intensive so this giant hedge trimming machine cuts the leaves every 3 weeks and blows the leaves into a giant bag. If these plants are 84 years old and are harvested approximately 17 times per year, that means each plant has been harvested 1486 times. What a cash crop!
We stopped at a hut on the side of the road and bought this bottle of natural honey. The Orange Asli climb trees, cut down the bee hives, and let the honey drip into these bottles. The honey is delicious and like none I've ever tasted before.
Our last and final stop was at the insistence of our driver. He wanted to make sure all the women in the van had a wild orchid to plant in our gardens. So, while holiday traffic was racing home, he parked our van almost off the highway and ran back and forth delivering our "hand-picked" wild orchids. Of course, our "Adventure" tour guide from earlier in the day would have been appalled by his actions but our "adventure" driver had no qualms about his gift to us. I'll do my best to keep it alive.
Our first stop was for tea at a small plantation. Having never seen tea growing before, I was surprised by the majestic beauty of the plantation. I was also surprised by the large difference in flavor of the various local black teas we sampled.
My husband and I spent the afternoon hiking through the jungle. At first I was excited about the size, density, beautiful, sounds, and lush greeness of our surroundings.
As we hiked up and down steep hills using branches, roots, and toe holds to make our way through the plants and shrubs I became disoriented from the darkness, the unrecognizable sounds of monkeys, birds, and reptiles and the feeling that every path we crossed we'd just been on before.As we walked even deeper into the jungle I let my imagine run amok (another post forthcoming about the Malay word "amok") and spooked myself with the story of an American, Jim Robinson, who walked away from his Cameron Highlands hotel in 1967 never to be seen again. Even experienced jungle trackers couldn't find him. I was thinking about Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness which creeped me out as a senior in high school, and I was wondering if there were poisonous pit vipers and cobras and wishing I had a pet mongoose from Rudyard Kipling's Riki Tiki Tavi.
Words cannot describe how happy I was, when 2 2/12 hours later we finally stumbled down the mountain and came upon the Sam Poh Temple. Not only was this landmark, Chinese temple a sign of civilization but it is home to some pretty darn big sitting Buddhas, smiling Buddhas, warrier Buddhas, and happy monks beating drums and burning incense. I felt much better.
By now the clouds had broken loose and started an afternoon monsoon-type deluge. Even that could not dampen my spirits as I was so happy to be literally "out of the darkness."A walk back to town took us to the Smoke House Cottage, an elegant, refined Scottish remnant of the early 19th century colonization of Malaysia. (The Boh tea plantation was started and is still owned by a Scottish family.) We were a bit late and a tad under dressed for afternoon tea. Luckily our jungle-smeared hiking boots and pants only added to the lively conversation with tales of adventure and intrigue all while relishing our civilized, late afternoon drinks.
A "Steamboat" dinner and a stroll though the night market where we bought fresh strawberries and lots of fresh veggies was a delightful end to our first day.
A shower and a good night's sleep were in order. Unfortunately, our hotel room had a tiny hot water heater that needed 30 good minutes to warm up. So....a quick sponge bath to scrape off the jungle mud was all I could handle before falling into bed.
The next day consisted an "Adventure Tour." We quickly realized that, after seeing our Indian tour mates wearing linen trousers and designer sandals, our definitions of "adventure" did not match. So, we relaxed, went with the flow and learned some new things. Our first stop was the Butterfly Garden. (I guess looking at butterflies could be considered an "adventure.") Although the butterflies were big and beautiful, I think the "A" in adventure was seeing a 6-inch long rhinoceros beetle attack a stalk of bamboo just like a backhoe to a piece of tree and shrub filled land. The caged pit vipers and pop vipers were giving my imagination an "adventure" too.
Later that morning, we did go on a jungle "trek". We learned about some interesting medicinal plants used by the Orange Asli (indigenous people). One plant was for men only and the root looked like a male body part and worked like Viagra. Another looked like female private parts and had the name "something Fatima" and was used after childbirth. The best plant was" the natural laxative", a solution to one of the problems with palm oil. Our guide suggested we try the tiny, fast-acting, red berry at home
We learned about the Pitcher Plant, kind of like a Venus Fly Trap I was so fascinated with from junior high school science. Basically the pitcher plant works like this...A fly or mosquito flies into the plant. It gets stuck in the nectar at the bottom but it doesn't die. The rainwater fills the pitcher and must drown the poor little buggers. When the little pouch is full, the lid closes. Then, at night, the monkeys swing down from the trees, pull the little "pitcher" off the plant and drink the protein drink. Yum!
Another stop on our "adventure" was learning how tea is harvested, dried, and packaged at the Boh Tea Plantation. Handpicking produces the best tea, but it's too labor intensive so this giant hedge trimming machine cuts the leaves every 3 weeks and blows the leaves into a giant bag. If these plants are 84 years old and are harvested approximately 17 times per year, that means each plant has been harvested 1486 times. What a cash crop!
We stopped at a hut on the side of the road and bought this bottle of natural honey. The Orange Asli climb trees, cut down the bee hives, and let the honey drip into these bottles. The honey is delicious and like none I've ever tasted before.
Our last and final stop was at the insistence of our driver. He wanted to make sure all the women in the van had a wild orchid to plant in our gardens. So, while holiday traffic was racing home, he parked our van almost off the highway and ran back and forth delivering our "hand-picked" wild orchids. Of course, our "Adventure" tour guide from earlier in the day would have been appalled by his actions but our "adventure" driver had no qualms about his gift to us. I'll do my best to keep it alive.
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