christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 |   |
|
arrived in CH - 2005/05/10 11:12
HI mates!
Arrived in CH yesterday. Kurnia Bistari cancelled 1 service and I had to take the 3.15 bus. There is a VIP express bus leaving at 12.30,it has airconditioning, only 25 seats and drives non-stop to Tanah Rata. The big KUrnia bus really must have seen better days and it looks like Hang Tuah and Hang Lekir have been riding this bus already   . I could imagine they have no power brakes and to be honest I didn't feel particularly safe in it. HOwever, they gave me a seat in the front and I could enjoy the whole trip with a great view although I had my plastic bag and ginger roots ready in my bag.
Arrived in Tanah Rata about 8.15 pm and oh my God....it was raining cats and dogs. Luckily I had my umbrella in my suitcase. I called Bala's Chalet to pick me up but they told me they were busy and asked me whether I mind to wait for 10 minutes.
JUst in front of the Tanah Rata bus station an Indian community, I think theywere at least 25 people, started to prepare for their religious dinner. Their english was not that good that I could understand properly what they meant. They just said they were praying or they had prayed and yet they were about to have a vegetarian dinner. They asked me if I wanted to join them, I was a little embarassed but was starving and couldn't say no. They gave me a large banana leaf, some basmati rice, a kacang curry, eggplant and potato curries. There was something which looked like vegetarian meatballs, really yummie and I joined them eating with my hands, like everybody else in the group. The dessert was a sweet rice porridge. I barely finished my meal and was about to eat my porridge as the van with the Bala man arrived. He told me it was not a problem, I could just take my time and finish my dinner.
This morning I woke up at 5.30 by the prayer of the nearby mosque and the first cry of the cock. My room is facing the sunrise but this morning it was too cloudy to see the sun properly.
After breakfast I walked down to Tanah Rata to look for a bank. There is a little strawberry farm on the left-hand side where I bought some strawberries.
To be really, really honest, I was already worried that I would be as disappointed as in the Indonesian highlands. But....although I haven't seen much yet I must admit that I was quite surprised that the hotels and buildings didn't intrude into the beauty of nature. CH is quiet at the moment, nearly no tourist and I have nearly the whole hotel just for myself. This afternoon I will do the little walk which is called Freddy's walk after a swedish tourist who discovered the beautiful trail which could be just finished in 7 min. Maybe there is still a little time for JIm Thompson's trail. We have to accept the unpredictability of the CH weather .. lah...it's getting dark again.....
|
|
|
reply | quote |
sweetlinki
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/10 13:53
Hi Christine
Which highland are you referring to in Indonesia? I enjoyed my trip very much in Bandung similiar to Cameron but somehow I still prefer Bandung!
|
|
|
reply | quote |
sandra
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 02:48
Hi Christine,I'm staying up at Cameronian Inns..appreciate if you could forward your email here so that users be able to write to you yeaa..cheers mate
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 12:00
Yesterday afternoon I started with Freddy's walk, a small but beautiful walk behind Bala's chalet. Then I made my way to explore JIm Thompson's trail which is just opposite Bala. It was as though time stood still and you could imagine yourself living in those days as Jim discovered this track. During a deep contemplation and reflecting what Edward de Souza wrote about JIm's disappearance, suddenly I was thrown back into reality. A big ssssnake, was it a baby python, lied in front of my feet. My heart missed a beat but fortunately after I could overcome my shock I noticed that the poor creature was flat and dead. Obviously one of those crazy forest vehicles ran over it. I spent some time at Parit waterfall and thought how JIm Thompson might have felt and whether he stayed here as long as I did. Along the river, I walked passed the Forrestry dept, the All Soul's church than back to Bala where I had tea and scones which just came out of the oven.
After some leisure time in the English Garden at Bala, I headed to Brinchang via Taman Sedia, a short cut of only 1,8 km from Bala. This is a quite pretty walk, passed the Golf Course and less traffic. A great deal of the stretch is paved and protected by a blue railing. Brinchang is very touristy, it is where the big hotels are and everything is more expensive there too. Honestly I do prefer Tanah Rata because it retained its original Malaysian charm and in fact I saw hardly any tourist here.
On my way back from Brinchang I haphazardly bumped into a small strawberry farm. I had a great homemade strawberry ice cream with a nice topping and a few fresh strawberries for only 2 RM. A punnet of 250 g cost RM 5. They don't have whipped cream but they sell jam, tea etc. People are very nice here and less commercial than those big tourist destinations. They showed me a shortcut which directly went to Bala. It was steep and slippery, not necessarily a formed track. I landed on my tummy and the fresh strawberries quickly turned into homemade strawberry jam with a touch of mud. Then I slided back to the farm and bought a new punnet which I wisely put into my backpack.
Tonight I'm going to have steamboat with a friend. Locals recommended the Mayflower where a steamboat with seafood cost Rm 14 only, the HOng Kong was nice too, at least that's what I have been told. Sandra, my no is 017 5440565 as long as I'm in Malaysia
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 12:35
Sweetlinke
I referred to Puncak Pass. As I was a child I went there and looking at photos, Puncak was different. Now it is full of restaurants and hotels and you could barely see the landscape. Bandung is nice, Lembang and the whole surrounding. My uncle lived on a Dutch tea plantation near Lembang and I had some childhood stories about Lembang too
|
|
|
reply | quote |
Krristy
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 12:43
Hi Christine,
Would like to find out from you, how do you find the accomodation at Bala? I'm planning a little getaway by myself which allows me to spend a lot of time in nature and contemplating my thoughts. Is it possible to walk to the town (Tanah Rata) from Bala? Thanks loads. Your input will help a lot because I'm considering btw Heritage Hotel (near Tanah Rata), Merlin Inn (recommended by a friend) and Bala which I personally like because I want something cosy and friendly. Not having a car, I'm just afraid Bala may be a bit out of the way. Also, do you know if there are buses from KL city to Cameron Highlands? Thanks.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
Sweetlinki
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 15:26
Yes, there is a bus service from (Puduraya) KL to Cameron. Personally, I would not go for Bala even though it's walking distance from the bus station. I love Merlin Inn. Actually you can walk everywhere in Cameron becuase places of interests are all within reach. After all you will enjoy more on foot than in a car. Good excercise.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
Sweetlinki
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/11 15:31
Hello Christine
Puncak was nice in the 80ties. Plenty of greenery and fresh refreshing air too. Oh..the transformation must have changed tremendously. What year did you visit Puncak? Since you enjoy so much traveling in Highlands, I think you should visit Nepal someday in the future.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
JimThompson - 2005/05/12 18:46
Yesterday I did 2 treks just by myself.I found it somewhat scary because I was really the only one on the trail. One was track no. 6, I already forgot the contents,have to look up in the map,and the other one a 1 hour round track but you may need longer because you will enjoy the Parit waterfalls and the Watchtower. The way to the watchtower is quite stepp and rough but this is the only slightly challenging part of the trail. It started straight after the department of forrestry. This is part of the Jalan Kamunting track where the mysterious JIm Thompson spend much time. I did it the other way around. Oh yeah...in the middle of the track I found a nice German guy who joined most of the walk with me.
Sweetlinki, I have been to Nepal twice. Beware that this is not CH and the air is quite thin. A few people in my group got altitude sickness and even at the worst stage the symptoms aren't great
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Bala and Father's Guesthouse - 2005/05/12 19:02
I am really happy at Bala and I got everything I wanted. No, next to me there was a big Malaysian family and they were happy and not treated any differently than Mat Sallehs. Another Chinese Malaysian family gave me a lift and they were treated well either. Just the standard rooms were cramped like kampung houses and no cupboard, I asked for a suite for RM 150,-. The bathroom is also a kampung bathroom with no shower cabin and long bath. So the bathroom will be wet and unpleasant for me when I want to go to the toilet. I wouldnt recommend anything below Raffles Suite at Bala's unless you're a single person with minimum luggage like many Mat Sallehs.
The Bala family took over the whole chalet and bought out Mr.Blumbach. I have the impression that they are rather stressed than racist. Of course they are proud of having studied in England and urge their children to speak English. Many people here in CH don't speak English very well but it is good for my Malay practise. They are totally understaffed, most of them are foreign workers who don't speak English very well. In a small hotel everybody is responsible for everything. The maintenance man has to do reception and sometimes as a waiter, the housekeeping manager has to do reception and very often clean the room by
herself.
The house and rooms are superclean, they do nothing than just cleaning the house and grooming the garden.The nicest person in the hotel is the gardener when I may admit. It is also in walking distance but the traffic is heavy and the roads narrow and winding and can be dangerous at night. Bala offers shuttle service at certain times but when I call them they will come at any time
I found FAther's Guesthouse truly racists. The majority of the guests are Anglo-Saxon i.e Australia, Ireland and UK. The whole program is geared towards Anglos and even germans and other Mat Sallehs are made to feel unwelcome. I met nice French people with whom I went on several tours,among other Palas Tea plantation and Gunung brinchang. They stay at FAther's and not treated very well, there is a clear difference and I would not mention how Asians would be treated.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Steamboat at HOng Kong restuarant - 2005/05/12 19:14
Steamboat at HOng KOng restaurant TAnah Rata is great,for Rm 15 you can have a seafood steamboat although I must admit that it is not charfired.
It was a rather funny story and I was there with my Arabic friend. Obviously he passed for Malysian very often because of his looks.
They served us a wonderful steamboatbut I didn't know how to handle it. In KL I was in the company of locals and they cooked everything and took it out with chopsticks. My chopstick skills are not great and most of the food landed either on the table or on my clothes. Just after 10 min the table looked like Sodom and Gomorrah of the old days with the large steamboat pot and the rest of the remaining food scattered everywhere. 2 Malay girls looked at us as though they couldn't understand why we didn'tknow what a steamboat was. For them,you are SUPPOSED to know how to eat it.
A group of Indian people next to us first taught us how to cook the meat and vegies, the egg was raw and I didn't know it.First lesson in steamboat theory and they took a photo of my first attempt to fish the food out of the soup....hehehe.....
The owner of the restaurant was lovely. She saw immediately that we had problems along with another Mat Salleh family and she helped both of us. She cooked and served us so nicely until we became embarassed and I offered that I may let it have a go. My dress and the tablecloth was eating with us of course, especially as I struggled with my chopsticks 
Tanah Rata is a small place and these Indian guys were good friends of Mr. Bala. So, the next day the whole Bala hotel already knew about my adventurous Tsunami steamboat project.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
Lee
Visitor
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/13 16:56
Hi Sandra
Did you book your room at cameron Inn in advance and how long in advance?
Frankly, I am disappointed that I could not book Cameron Inn. Lucky you.
I will be up in CH on 23 and 24 May 2005
Enjoy
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Re:arrived in CH - 2005/05/14 14:35
Lee
Try to call them directly because it is low season now. The 21 and 22nd May will be public holidays and thereafter the school holidays start. My German friend whom I met on the hike is staying there and really happy. Night cost RM 44 for a double room. I would also recommend Camlodge which is a budget hotel, basic, simple but very, very clean for RM 45/double room. There is a small TV in the room and teamaking facilities in the common lounge.A shower and toilet in each room.It is located in the large Tudor building next to the german/Swiss restaurant.
Merlin Inn is lovely too, has about the same price level as Bala but located 3.5 km from Tanah Rata. They offer free shuttle when I'm not mistaken. As I said before, the number of Asian people at Bala nearly outweigh the Europeans, among others Malaysians
When you are brave you may try to book an apartment without making any reservations. However, the 22 May onwards may be a bit more risky
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Bharat tea plantation - 2005/05/14 14:39
Yesterday we visited the Sungei Ruil orang asli village. As we are not very familiar with the area, we chose to walk the road. It is a narrow road but the traffic is not as bad as the main road. Walk Taman Sedia past the golf course until you come close to Brinchang and there is a sign to Sungei Ruil. I'm disappointed a bit because I heard they were shy but my impression was not that they were shy. Rather they just waited and asked for AUD because ringgit seems to be inferior to them.
|
|
|
reply | quote |
christine
User
Frequent
| Posts: 140 | |
|
Re:Bharat tea plantation - 2005/05/14 14:47
The system is unstable so I have to write many little posts.
The Bharat tea plantation is lovely because the teashop is overlooking the hills which really remind you of an ocean of tealeaves. The factory is not open to public but you can take a walk through the plantation where you can see the very friendly people laughing, waving, the housing where they live in until you finally come to a small creek to wind down. Bharat only produces local grown tea as opposed to Boh who include some imported tea. I think I'm not informed enough but from what I have heard, Boh receives subsidies from the government hence they offer housing areas, schools with a friendly front garden and a mosque whereas Bharat offers housing only.
You can catch the bus to Ringlet but don't forget to press the button or scream that you would like to go to Bharat. Buses are never on time or sometimes they don't come, so be ready at the Bharat teashop to wave when the bus comes.
Personally I like Bharat very much because of the location of the teashop and enjoy having tea and scones at the beautiful terrace and the people are very charming and attentive
|
|
|
reply | quote |
|
Forums