J+L in Transit

Bus to Tanah Rata

The Cameron Highlands is a mountain “hill station” developed by Scottish colonialists in the 1920’s. It owes its popularity as a tourist destination to the cool climate, beautiful scenery, agriculture, and diverse natural plants and wildlife. The only way to get to the Cameron Highlands is by road. We took an early morning bus from Penang and arrived around 3pm in the mountains. There are several towns in the Cameron Highlands, with Tanah Rata as the main one.

This Bus was Pretty Nice...

View from the Bus Window

Homestay with Jaycee & Jessica at Do Chic In

Instead of staying at a hotel in Tanah Rata, we opted to do a homestay with Jaycee & Jessica at the Do Chic In. Staying in a house was a welcome change after months on the road in hostels and hotels. Their cooking was great, and the place was cozy. We also got to talk at length about the internal turmoils within Malaysian politics.

Outside of Do Chic In, Our Homestay

Our Room at Do Chic In

Jaycee & Jessica's Living Room

Dining Room

Incredible View of the Jungle

Breakfast of Champions

Family Style Chinese Dinner

Another Solid Breakfast

Scones at the Ye Olde Smokehouse Inn

Ye Olde Smokehouse Inn is a historic Scottish resort famous for its amazing scones. The Scots not only brought delicious scones to Malaysia, but also golf. Local stories tell of how the Scottish-built golf course in town would often have wild tiger footprints in the sand traps.

Ye Olde Smokehouse Inn

Garden at the Smokehouse

Best Scones in the World? Probably.

Lunch at the Smokehouse

Tuna

Christmas Decorations!!

BOH Tea Plantation

BOH Tea is the largest black tea producer in Malaysia, and we visited their tea garden in the Cameron Highlands. The hilly tea fields are a beautiful vibrant green. Plantation workers still pluck the finest tea leaves completely by hand. They employ mechanized hand tools for the mass-market harvesting. The steep terrain makes all the tea harvesting a labor intensive process.

BOH Tea Plantation in the Cameron Highlands

Us in the Tea

Tea Monster

Panorama of Tea

Linley Demonstrates Proper Tea Harvesting Technique

Bees

Beekeeping is another important industry in the Cameron Highlands. The honeybees back home in North America all belong to the species Apis Mellifera, the European Honeybee. Native to Malaysia are two other species of honeybee: Apis Cerana (the Asiatic Honeybee) and Apis Dorsata (the Giant Honeybee). We got to see hive boxes of Apis Cerana, but the Apis Dorsata bees only live in the wild. Also, we were able to try honey from both species of bees — yum!

Beehive, Apis Mellifera

Apis Cerana Beehive

Jar of Honey from Wild Apis Dorsata Bees

Mossy Forest

The Mossy Forest hike is a walking trail on top of a mountain in the Cameron Highlands. The forest itself is largely untouched jungle habitat home to wild orchids, carnivorous pitcher plants, snakes, and even tigers. The road up to the Mossy Forest was very steep and windy, passing through the tea plantation. This made the ride a bit sketchy in our driver’s 1980’s-vintage Datsun. On a sunny day, you can see for miles from the lookout point — this visit was not sunny at all. Fierce winds, misty rainclouds, and cold temperatures are common up in the Malaysian mountain forests.

The Road Up to the Mossy Forest

Pausing for a Selfie in Tea Country

Misty Mountaintop

The Wind Up in the Tower was Out of Control

The Wind and Clouds, Viewed from the Watchtower

Mossy Forest Walking Path

Wild Pitcher Plant Growing Up in the Trees

Another Peak

James in the Mossy Forest

Moss: Namesake of the Mossy Forest

A Rare Cobra Orchid Growing in the Jungle