Tanah Rata
Trip Start
Oct 01, 2011
1
35
217
Trip End
May 05, 2012
Where I stayed
Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia
Saturday, November 5, 2011
I had feared that due to the all too regular occurence of taxi drivers not knowing where our accommodation is that we may be forgotten about. I needn't have worried, it showed up on time (11:30). We were the first ones on. We had a couple of stops where we picked up enough people and bags to over fill the mini van. The drive was standard, we watched Idiot Abroad and other stuff on the laptop until we reached a service station. We were given 20min so we used the toilets and bought sandwiches. A cheese and salad sandwich = cheese slice on one sandwich and salad on the other. No idea how to make a sandwich. Bought some crap apple from the multiple fruit stands then went and stood in the heat whilst an Indian woman stared at us. Got back in the van but had to wait an extra 15min or so for an Indian couple to come back. Honestly the people here have virtually no regard for others at all. They are ignorant, arrogant, pushy and all round rude. I may not be the nicest man in the world but (unless drunk) extend common courtesy to strangers all of the time. It's standard, I thought it was the case everywhere, evidently not in Malaysia. For example the other day a kid dropped some blanket in the street, Charlotte ran to the woman to give it her back, the woman just snatched it and scowled at the kid. I should have taken it off her and thrown it under a bus. The kid that is. Anyway we got back on the bus and after another 2 hours or so we hit the highlands, it would have been pretty awe inspiring had it not been pissing down. Nonetheless I looked out at the green of the tea plantations and tiered farmland as we dropped people off at their posh hotels.
It's sort of like the lakes, it's no longer warm, in fact it's pretty cold. The architecture is more in keeping with a European Ski resort than what we have been used to so far. A nice change. We got to our hostel and they had no record of our booking, the Malay woman was a total retard but luckily the American host was a bit more with it. We ended up with an ensuite room for the same price, result. The rooms are a bit crappy but this is to be expected. Read up where to eat. Went to an Indian that was the top pick in the LP. Didn't like the look of it so went to the other option, went in, read the menu, left. Went back to the Indian. The trouble with these places is as usual the menu does not describe everything so it's completely blind food picking. Played it safe and got curries. Chicken was on the bone, go fuck yourself Lonely Planet, last time we use you to pick our food. Had discussions about what to do tomorrow given the rain situation. Eventually opted to do a full day tour which involved a trek and then smaller trips to a Strawberry Farm, Tea Plantation etc. The receptionist was a dick with me about booking it, not sure if theirs something lost in translation, if she's mildly retarded or just a dick. Probably all 3.
The hostel has it's own bar so we went across and sat round the outdoor bonfire. After a bit we got chatting to an English and Canadian guy for a good hour our two whilst we got slowly drunk on Chang. The bar closed at 12 so we headed back to the room. Early start. Balls.
