Boat ride through the jungle

I could have slept longer in that nice cold room. It actually was too cold to get up! I was almost shivering. Time to get out of this place.
I went to have breakfast at the deaf peoples’ place again (I asked for take-out and it was no problem) and before I left, the woman showed me a sign and said that it was “I love you”. That made me want to stay there and eat there again.
Then, at the mini market, I found her husband, who was waiting in line to pay and when he saw me, he let me pass in front of him to pay for my water. Just such nice people everywhere!
I started my breakfast at the bus stop but our mini bus arrived soon and I was glad to leave. You’d think that you get good and clean air in the Cameron Highlands. But there seem to be a lot more car emissions up there, or they are just stronger. It smelled like burned fuel everywhere and since all the restaurants are along the main road I started feeling sick by just sitting there. But it was only me who was so sensitive; everyone else just shrugged their shoulders.
The ride in the minivan felt a lot safer than the one in the bus. We left Tanah Rata at 8 and got to Kuala Tembling Jetty at 11.30.

There, we first had to buy a visitor pass for the park (1 RM) and a license for each camera we were bringing (5 RM, God knows why).
Then, we had to wait for 2,5 hours, for our boat to arrive. Why couldn’t we just leave later?!
I had a very basic rice and chicken lunch (it said with vegetables but I think it was just warm salad).
The boats luckily arrived a little early and so everyone was down at the pier, waiting like for a boat ride at the Europapark. Ah, yes, have I mentioned that it was extremely hot again, ever since we got out of the van? But I didn’t want to complain after that freezing weather we had in the highlands.

My minivan group and I were really happy when the guy we signed in with told us to get on the 2^nd boat that arrived, although we were the last ones who got to the pier. We sat behind each other in pairs and were off on a 2 hour ride upstream. The boat ride was really cool and only because of that already the trip to the jungle was worth it! But an hour would have been ok, afterwards it got a little hot and I almost fell asleep.

We arrived in a floating restaurant, where they informed us about all the tours we could book and they also mentioned several times that we probably chose the worst time of the year to come here, since it was Hari Raya and everything would be closed because they would be eating and feasting the whole time.

When he was finished with his little introduction, I had to carry all my stuff up a small hill to get to the area where all the hostels are. Quite straining in this heat! And then I had to knock on three reception doors (nobody was around) to finally be able to talk to someone. The first and second one were full, at the third nobody came and it looked more expensive anyways and a t the fourth a woman told me I could stay there for one night only (the dorm was just a corridor everybody had to walk through but it would only have been 10 RM. However, I thought I couldn’t bear going through the same troubles of carrying my stuff again tomorrow after the forest and so I told the woman I’d try to find a place where I could stay two nights. When I walked past the place where nobody showed up before, a woman was there now and actually told me that yes, they had a dorm (15 RM) and space in. So, I actually got a room cheaper than expected and the bathroom was in the chalet too! So far, I was the only guest in the dorm but three more people would arrive in our 6 bed dorm and there were only 2 people staying in the 2^nd dorm. I think the owners didn’t want just anybody to stay there, so when other people arrived who didn’t seem too happy with the chalets they saw, they just told them that it was full. I was extremely relieved that I had found something so quickly and I think it was actually the best guesthouse on that strip. They had a little kitchen too, which we were allowed to use and for example make tea.

After a nice cold shower, I was already hungry and I was glad that the guide told us to go eat before 7.30pm, because afterwards the places would be packed with people eating from the buffets. However, nothing was open!!! All the floating restaurants, dark and nobody in them. There was one restaurant and one mini market on top of the hill which were open. I met the nice German couple from the bus again, they were eating there. But it actually was exactly the same food I had for lunch, except triple the price. I could not see chicken and rice again. So, I finally decided to take a boat for 1 RM to the other side of the river and go eat in the Taman Negara resort. There also was a good looking buffet (50 RM without drinks but the waiter offered it to me for 40 RM since I probably looked like a bum in this place) but I didn’t feel like having to walk for my food and so I finally went for one of these club sandwiches. All the burgers and sandwiches looked really good and they tasted delicious too! Well, they should, for the Swiss prices they have there (7 RM for a sprite or ice tea and 23 RM for a sandwich).

Such steep roads…

Afterwards, I took the boat back to the other side (so much fun, I hope they never build a bridge :)) and “hiked” back to the chalet. There were fire torches along the way, so I didn’t even need my flashlight. Finally, a night with at least 9 hours of sleep 🙂

How about a cup of tea?

The people at the hostel recommended us to have breakfast at a food place just down the road of the hostel below plastic tents. Very warm hearted deaf people were working there. We had to write on a paper what we wanted to eat but they also tried to communicate with us about more than just food. It was very cute! And the pancakes (more like crêpes) with fresh strawberries were good and cheap!

Breakfast place

Typical view in Tanah Rata, not exactly the green tea carpet valley I expected

Afterwards, I walked to the tourism office, where I had booked the basic country tour (25 RM). I just wanted to see the tea plantation anything else would not have been necessary. But alone it’s hardly possible to go to the plantation and therefore I didn’t have any other option. We were on a spacious bus with about 20 people and a nice guide that spoke clearly but it sounded very well learned by heart. I felt like on a tour in Turkey, where you have to go to carpet and leather factories if you want to see a waterfall. First, we stopped at the butterfly farm, which was an additional 5 RM. It was worth it though because they also had other insects and reptiles. I loved the walking sticks and leaves because they looked like creatures out of the Neverending Story. Plus, I saw my first alive scorpions. They even took some out for the visitors to hold up but I wasn’t too set on touching the sting of one of these animals.

Do you see the walking leaf? It actually climbed from the right branch to the big one when I took the picture

 

Then, we went on to a strawberry farm. Just a quick look to take pictures and then enough time to buy something at the restaurant or in the shop. The freshly pressed strawberry juices looked too delicious and they really tasted the way they looked 🙂

Viev from the back side of the tea farm

Afterwards, we finally reached the tea plantation. Here also just a quick stop to take some pictures. Then, we could walk through the factory, which was interesting but only took a few minutes. It strongly smelled like tea though, the whole time. Of course, there was another shop and a restaurant with a beautiful terrace from where we had a view over a tea valley. Very pretty and the picture every tourist is going to take 🙂

Then, the tour wasn’t finished. We drove on to the rose garden, which also would have cost another 4 RM. I didn’t go inside, since there already were pretty flowers at all the other places we had seen today and the ones who went inside said I didn’t miss anything.

Another stop (with a shop) at a bee farm and then a short stop at a Buddhist temple before we got back to Tanah Rata. I first had lunch at Rosette (they had chicken with ginger and spring onions, which was so delicious in Cambodia). Afterwards, I thought I should show my foot to a doctor. I’ve had a blister for more than a week now and two more from the hike to the waterfall and they seem to get worse every day. And I’ll need my feet for surfing in Bali! Moreover, a very nice British couple on my tour told me that their daughter, who is a doctor, told them that the hospitals in Malaysia are very advanced and that if you got sick in SEA, you should do that in Malaysia. So, I thought better show it early enough because my foot really started to hurt. I walked to the 2^nd clinic I found because the first one was closed. There were many woman and children in it (some smiling at me) that I thought this might not be the right place for me. I asked a woman who looked like a nurse (they were also wearing head cloth but she just looked more official than the other women), whether I could show my foot to a doctor here. Her eyes became big and she said “Not here, this is only for mothers and babies, you have to go to the hospital.”

So, I walked the 1,3 km to the hospital (I felt like in Africa, where the people have to walk really far to get to the well or a doctor). Wasn’t a very pleasant walk on a hurting foot, although I passed a really nice park and walked by the road that would lead to the Robinson Waterfall. At the hospital, I wasn’t really sure where to go but there was something that looked like a counter. I had to tell them what was wrong (I’m glad they spoke English and took me seriously) give them my passport, pay 15 RM and take a waiting number. Then, I sat on a chair next to some other patients and waited for my number to show up. At least I could watch some Asian soap opera on a tv. Then, I could go to a room where they measured my pulse and blood pressure. Afterwards, I had to wait for my number again until finally, a room with a doctor was free (I think a couple in the tv show got divorced 3 times during the time I was waiting). But actually, I didn’t have to wait that long. I showed my foot to a doctor and he decided that it was infected. A nurse cleaned it properly and he gave me a prescription for some antibiotics and other medicine. I had to walk to the interne pharmacy, where I had to take a number again. 5 min later, I received 3 kinds of tablets, all for FREE!!! Included in the visit. How advanced! In Switzerland one tablet package would have been more than 15 RM!

I still had to go to a pharmacy in town to buy gaze pads. Good that I went to a doctor that day because the pharmacy would close for the next three days because of the festival.

Then, I went to relax in the room for a while. Sandra was there too and so I later accompanied her to meet some other Germans she had met on her tour. They wanted to meet in front of Starbucks (I had to laugh when I saw a Starbucks next to all the local shops) and since they weren’t there yet, we profited from the 2 for 1 Ramadan coffee promo 🙂

When they arrived, we looked for a restaurant where we could eat Steam Boat (fondue Chinoise). We found a good place on the back side of the buildings behind the central area. The dinner was delicious and the German couple extremely nice! Therefore, we decided to go for a drink after dinner (although I wanted to go to bed early, since my bus to Taman Negara was leaving at 8am the next day). Now, it was probably about 18 degrees but we were all freezing. It’s no fun to be on vacation and feeling like you are at home.

I finally got into my bunk bed and actually partly used the thick blanket over my sleeping bag that night 🙂

On the road to the Cameron Highlands

Before the bus left to the Highlands, I just had a slow morning and then walked through Chinatown by day, where I had lunch in a restaurant. I packed my backpack (I really need to pack with a system now or not everything will fit) and walked to Puduraya. At the ticket counter, they exchanged my ticket and told me which bus nr. I had to go to. I had to walk downstairs and there are doors and stairs to every bus number. However, the door to Nr. 14 was closed and there were many people sitting on the chairs around it. Luckily, I asked them whether I had to wait also and then a man showed me that I had to push a bottom and the door would open. I could go straight down into the cooled bus which was waiting already. I had to put my backpack into the luggage compartment and had the front seat again. A little later, I wished I hadn’t…The drivers way of driving wasn’t exactly calming to watch. He never checked the left side when he switched lanes. So, every time he moved from one lane to the other, I heard honking or screeching tires. Then, he often turned his eyes away from the street. Unfortunately, I asked at the first toilet stop whether there were any food stands. Since then, he pointed out any supermarket we drove by and ask whether he should stop. He also offered me one of his cigarettes. And every time he talked to me, he turned his head to look at me. I felt like in a movie, when the characters who are driving in a car and talk to each other never watch the road. And then, the curves started. It was a very winding road to get to the Cameron Highlands and often it looked like we’d hit the rock or drive off the road. So, I was really glad once we made it to Tanah Rata. The scenery on the ride was beautiful though! So much green forest and already some tee plant carpets. There also were quite a few bamboo huts with Orang Asli people living in them.

It was already dark when I arrived at about 8.30pm but a tourism office was still open and they pointed out the way to my guesthouse. I received a thick blanket and linen and was guided to my room. German Sandra (a different one from the one I already knew) arrived at the same time as me and so we just put the stuff in the room and walked back to the main road to get some dinner. The temperature was quite agreeable, almost a bit chilly.

We had dinner at the first place we found but it turned out to be very delicious and the prices are ok (Rosette). I could just as well have been on Mallorca though; German everywhere you listened. I’ve mostly spoken German during the last few days.

After dinner, we walked back to the hostel and I was glad that I wasn’t alone because there was a short section without street lights. Quite spooky. I wanted to go to bed early but the wifi was so good and so I tried to figure out how the rest of my trip should look like and it got pretty late until I finally turned the light off. What a good night’s sleep at temperatures below 20 degrees. We didn’t even need to turn on the fan 🙂