the cameron highlands

Located in the heart of Peninsular Malaysia, the lush green Cameron Highlands rise to almost two thousand metres, and were named after an Englishman, William Cameron, in recognition of his achievement in having mapped out the area in 1885. The bulk of the local population live in one of three moderately sized hill towns and work as tea planters, or vegetable farmers, or in the tourist industry.

A lot of local buildings are designed in mock-tudor style: leaded windows, white walls, and fake exposed black beams. This is a legacy of the British Empire: colonial types used to come up in the early 1900s to escape the heat, and tried to build their holiday homes in a style that recreated the feel of the home counties or picture-postcard England. They wanted to create the illusion they were still in Surrey rather than five hours north of Kuala Lumpur.

They failed.

But the result is still very interesting to come and see, and definitely worth raising a confused eyebrow over. Modern buildings are still being constructed in pastiche tudor style so you find recently finished five storey apartment blocks kitted out in the style of Shakespeare's birthplace. It's a very curious fusion, and not a little bit strange.

After arriving in Tanah Rata (the biggest hill town in the Highlands) on Monday, Raj and I checked in at the Hill View Inn. It's a nice little guesthouse it has to be said, although I have noted the friendly cleaning lady there engages in the rather unexpected practice of walking round with one of the strings from her track suit top stuck up her nose. I have not yet been able to discern whether the cord is cosmetic or medicinal? Perhaps both? Nor have I dared ask her about the unspoken of blockage. What I do know is that she will quite happily hold a relaxed conversation with you while it is inserted. Beyond this the Hill View is an unremarkable and relaxing place to be.

Yesterday Raj and I went on a trip to the Boh Tea Plantation, and saw the terraced tea plant fields. We also took a tour of the tea factory where there was a demonstration on how tea is made: the process, what makes a good or bad cup of tea, how much gets made, and so on. It was very interesting, and surprisingly simple it seemed to me. After our tour we retired to a beautiful hillside cafe with views over the terraces and drank some Boh and ate scones with jam.

Today we've been out hill walking along some of the local trails. We've been a good few miles, up and down, left then right, along the dirt tracks which lead out of Tanah Rata. We put one foot in front of the other for a good four hours, passing the Robinson Falls, and then on to thick mountain undergrowth, until we came out the otherside reaching a small Chinese Temple, which we couldn't go in because our feet were too muddy. All went well and it was a good day although there was one incident.

Raj was ambushed and attacked by a leech about two hours in.

The attack was swift, calculated, and brutal. Before anyone knew what was happening it had pounced and attached itself to Raj's hand. There followed a violent struggle. I then jumped into the fray. If Raj was going down, I was going down with him godammit. Fists flew. Legs kicked. And heads butted. Man versus beast, someone wasn't going to live to eat dinner that evening, and I was damned if it was going to be me who went six feet under. The battle was long and hard but the one centimetre beast was eventually vanquished (I pinged him off on to a leaf during a moment of hesitancy). We were able to carry on, bruised, panting, struggling for breath, our clothes torn and bloodied, but still alive. Still alive.

Tomorrow morning we will catch the bus to Penang. The journey will take roughly six hours, and will return us to the heat of South East Asia.