Tanah Rata Malaysia

Even though it had been raining in KL every day, we were still sweating bullets in the humid hot weather. It was time to head to the mountains to cool off a little. Cameron highlands is known for its fertile soil and perfect tropical climate to grow excellent produce, especially strawberries and tea. We were thrilled to check it out.

We jumped on a bus for 35rm ($11) and 4 hours later arrived in the town of Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. It was down pouring and we had no idea where to stay. 

Each of the places recommended in our guidebook appeared to be a long, wet walk away so we decided find the nearest room available in liveable condition (after 2 months traveling, our standards have dropped a bit) Fortunately for us, there was quite a few options nearby and we found a decent budget hotel for 50rm ($16) and it had hot water, good wifi, and even a TV. Sure it only had 4 channels, 2 of which were in English, but at least one of them was a commercial-free movie channel. It’s the little things….



After settling into our room off the main road, we decided to do a "country tour" which entailed visiting a butterfly, rose, strawberry, and bee farm, a local market, a Chinese temple, and a tea plantation.
All for 20rm ($6) per person.
We hopped in our van with other couples from Germany, and New Caledonia who were also traveling the world. We first headed to the Butterfly farm.

 There we saw many species of butterflies, a three horned beetle, scorpions, and some leaf insects. It was beyond incredible how much the leaf insect looked like a leaf!



Next on the tour was the rose garden. They had a large variety and all were beautiful.


Roy was excited to go to the bee farm next, considering his love for honey. We saw the bees in their hives being busy busy bees and got a little taste of their product. The ginger honey was most delicious.

Then we were off to one of the multiple strawberry farms in Cameron Highlands. We passed on "plucking" our own strawberries from the farm and got a fresh strawberry float instead. It was delicious! I think we made the right decision.
The next destination was the local market where people were selling all types of produce, grilled corn on the cob, souvenirs, chocolate covered strawberries and even honey comb. Roy couldn't resist the honey comb and got a little sliver.



Next in line, was the Chinese temple where Siobhan had more fun playing with the Coy fish outside than going inside the temple. whoops! Some people never grow up! 

The last stop on the trip was a visit to the Cameron Valley Tea Planation where we took a quick walk through some of the tea bushes and sampled some of their best tea. We greatly enjoyed our hot and fresh tea along with a ginger cake overlooking the scenic view.

This whole trip has been very hard on feet because we are always on the go, so we thought we would treat our piggies to some foot reflexology. Foot reflexology is a Chinese practice that believes that certain areas of your feet and hands are directly related to specific muscles, bones and organs in your body. For example, if you rub and massage the very tips of your toes, your frontal sinuses will clear up. Foot reflexology is very popular in Malaysia due to the large Chinese population living here which has great influence on the country's culture. The 45 minute foot massage was insane and we walked out on clouds.The night ended with some really excellent Indian food and the best Garlic Naan we've ever had.



The next day we had planned to go to the Perhentian Islands located on the east coast of Malaysia but due to an early monsoon season, the islands were off limits. We were really bummed, but what can you do? We decided to stay another day in Cameron Highlands and visit the most popular tea plantation in the area. BOH tea plantation.
According to our Lonely Planet travel book, it was a quick local bus ride and walk down the road to get to the plantation. We grabbed some amazing chocolate and banana Indian pancakes called roti for breakfast and ate them in a nearby park to wait for the bus that only came every 2 hours and slowly chugged up and down the hills.

 After getting off the bus, we learned that this "easy" commute to the plantation was a little harder than expected. We had to walk 3.5 km down a windy road to get to the plantation, and realized we were going to have to walk all the way back in the rain after waiting 30min for a taxi that never came. All the same, the BOH plantation and tea factory was well worth it.
The information center and factory were very interesting and informative about the tea making process. We learned the 5 steps in producing tea:


1. After the tea leaves have been picked either by hand, or machine in the planation, tea leaves are wilted for 12-20 hours in a large bin.


2. The tea leaves are sent to a roller machine which twist and break the withered leaves, distorting and rupturing its internal cells, liberating and exposing its juices for fermentation

3. The leaves then ferment (oxidize) in large trays for 1.5 - 2 hours during which the characteristic flavour and aroma are developed. The leaves turn a brownish color.


4. Next the leaves are put in the dryer. The dryer machine  reaches 100 degrees Celsius using a furnace that burns rubber wood branches for about 20 minutes. The fermentation haults, and only about 3% of the moisture of the tea leaf remains. The juices are crystalized and the tea turns the familiar black color.


5. Finally the dried tea leaves are sorted with vibrating machines to become the multiple grades BOH tea offers. Each grade of tea has its own density and flavor characteristics.


Some specific production workers are responsible for testing the tea at all stages of the tea making process to ensure that each batch obtains the proper quality of BOH tea.

We enjoyed sampling the Premium Garden Tea on a balcony overlooking the beautiful plantation and began our long journey back.



Before leaving Cameron Highlands, we had to try one more thing, the famous steamboat! A steamboat is a very interactive meal where you are given a huge pot of soup on a burner in the middle of your table, plates of veggies, various types of meat/chicken/fish, and noodles that you cook in the boiling soup at your own will.


Siobhan was so excited to try the meal, as soup is one of her favorite foods.
We had a fantastic time making our own dishes with the ingredients. It was all so scrumptious. Even the jellyfish, cuddle fish and prawns. We're still not big fish ball fans yet though.


Cameron Highlands was everything we needed and more. We had a great time and felt a little more relaxed to go into a bustling city atmosphere again. Off to Penang!