Breakfast today didn't inspire. Nasi goreng wasn't on offer yesterday either, I can't face warm milk and cereal again and the toast is in short supply. But I'm not one for complaining and we've a bus to catch.
The deal is pretty straight forward: go stand at the Shell station and wait for bus #8123. There's a big queue of white people sat outside the Shell station, I guess it's a touristy place to go. We wait a while and a bus, not ours, comes in and blocks the garage. Then another comes in and blocks the in-way. Then ours turns up and turns into the in-way, can't go anywhere and blocks the entire road. For some reason we're all sent packing while the bus reverses up then draws in alongside the kerb and suddenly there's a mad rush and the luggage compartments are full of back packs. Ours will have to be squeezed in inside the 1960s (surely?) Mercedes bus. At least it has air conditioning and we're in front seats so can stretch a little.
Once through the sprawl of KL with some pretty enormous housing estates, the countryside becomes quite pleasant though I did start reading my book so didn't take a huge amount of notice. We stopped, somewhere, for a 10 minute break at a 24 hour food court where the adjacent shop was selling fish including two tanks of filthy liquid where all the 4 inch fish were predisposed to hang lifelessly at 30 degrees to the vertical. After more toll roading we headed off up into the Cameron Highlands, a tortuously twisted road from the start, the longest straight being a 100 yard bridge. By now the driver was using exaggerated body lunges when turning the huge wheel -- on occaission I thought he might call out for help -- but also some deft touches on the wheel and brake to avoid the on rushing cars, and they do rush, alarmingly so. The driver called out Hrrnth!
as we passed through Ringlet, the first possible stop in the Highlands. Nobody took the obvious opportunity to get off. We passed some fantastic scenery of tea plantations spread across a valley and up the 60 degree sides giving the impression of a green patchwork across the hills.
Tanah Rata is a busy if not especially pretty town. Stepping off the bus after 4.5 hours, a number of touts pounced but one was kind enough to phone to our chosen accomodation when he persisted and we said where we thought we were going. Bala's Cottages 
are an ex-school just outside Tanah Rata which have been converted into accomodation for the richer traveller. For our RM120 we get a double with en-suite. No need for air con it's generally much cooler up here, some 1500m above sea level. We sample the tea and scones in the garden just as the heavens opened at 4. We tried a couple of the walking trails but getting immediately lost (the freebie maps are notoriously inaccurate) was a good idea as waves of mist were falling turning all views to white. We lolled around a bit before tea, a curry from the British Indian restaurant. Accompanied by a few lagers, of course.
Bala's Cottages, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands N4.47786 E101.37877 Elev. 1518m
Here we are in a really peaceful Highlands hideaway and yet there is an amazing amount of traffic to the cottages (none of which, in true Malaysian fashion, cares much for pedestrians). Each arrival and departure accompanied by a tootle-pip from the car alarms.
Copyright 2003 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.