I arrived in Cameron Highlands on the morning of Tuesday, December 15th. This turned out to be one of my favorite destinations, despite having quite the bed bug problem; apparently, going off the word of several other travellers, Father's Guesthouse was only one of several in town experiencing difficulties with the critters. My days in Cameron Highlands were mostly easy-going, spending most of my time reading, writing, watching movies in the lounge, and walking into town several times each day for a taste of the wonderful and inexpensive Indian cuisine that one finds all of Malaysia. I took a couple jungle hikes during my six days there, and also went on a day tour to see the Rafflesia Arnoldii flower, Orang Asli village, Boh tea plantation, and Mossy Forest. The flower is the largest on earth by weight and takes five years to open. Once open it stays so for only four or five days. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to see it, and the path that led there was quite exciting as well. It had rained for perhaps 36 hours almost without pause before our arriving and the terrain was rather affected. I was fortunate to have landed with a tour operator that had done many years of competitive off-roading, boasting to have flipped over twenty vehicles, and who had extensive knowledge of the local flora and fauna, having operated the tour for 5 years after receiving his degrees in Ecology and Herpatology and volunteering with the tiger project in Taman Negara for some time.
Photos: Mushrooms on forest floor, tea plantation, smoking tobacco grown by Orang Asli and rolled in mystery leaf, Rafflesia flower, winching Landrover through the muddy incline, shots from the guesthouse estate, and a video of Satya doing his Landrover magic.
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