I was supposed to take the 11:30am mini-van from George Town to Tanah Rata in Cameron Highlands, but because of traffic the van was an hour late. It was a bit over 4 hours to get there, but much of the trip was quite picturesque as we were winding up through mountain passes with nice open views.
Cameron Highlands is way up in the hills, and the extra elevation makes it much cooler. It's still very wet, and despite the cooler weather never gets cold enough for frost, so it's an ideal spot to grow some crops. When the British were in control they brought in tea and rubber tree plants from other parts of the world to grow in the area, and they are now some of the major exports. I was just looking to get away from the heat and see a different part of Malaysia's climate. The area kind of has the feel you get in some rural parts of Canada where people are trying to make an area touristy that doesn't really have any natural attractions. The villages dotting the area are lined with pick you own strawberry farms, butterfly and lizard parks, nature tours and cheap little gift shops. You can't go 100m through a town without seeing a giant artificial strawberry standing in front of a building or hanging from its roof.
My hostel is pretty bare bones, feeling a bit like a larger version of the tea houses I was staying at in Nepal while trekking. After getting my things settled I went and signed up for one of the tours for the next day, even though I know parts of it will probably be a little tacky. It does include a walk through a mossy tropical rainforest, and that should be cool, if nothing else.
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