EuCHO0.NET - (^(0o)^) The Pigatory

8am - the bed was okay.. considering there is natural air-conditioning everywhere.. a simple blanket and a soft bed was all i needed.. we got up quick and had roti canai at a nearby Indian restaurant.. there was still time after breakfast so we took a short walk down the road.. decided to look for the elusive Father's Guesthouse that we were not able to book online.. the place looked decent enough from outside.. problem is that it is located a little far from town.. still it is a guesthouse to consider if we do visit Cameron Highlands again..

9:30am - the mini-van arrived at our guest-house to pick us up for the mini tours.. we started at the Sungai Palas Tea Plantation.. it was another cold chilly morning and i actually enjoyed the fine shower.. learnt quite alot about tea that day.. and of course the scenery was great for taking photos.. the tea plantation was so called the "Giant Green Carpet of Malaysia".. a truly apt description..

next we were guided to the top of Gunung Brinchang.. there is a watch tower there where visitors can catch a paranomic view of the surroundings.. the structure was made of iron and rusty though.. god knows how much longer it would hold up.. but i climbed up the steep steep ladder-stairs anyway to capture some photos.. it's not everyday that one gets to climb to the peak of a mountain.. 6666 ft high to be exact..

next stop was a mini-trek through a mossy forest trail in the mountains.. before we entered the forest.. our tour guide Bob gave us a tutorial on jungle survival.. so according to Bob.. the most important keys to jungle survival are (1) be ready, (2) be confident and (3) be prepared to be vegetarian.. so we are supposed to fill our stomachs with indigestable fibers before we get rescued?!? anyways.. some signs to look out for in recognizing non-edible plants are the smell of menthol (harmful chemical), hair or torns on the leaves, and plants with latex (poisonous).. hope i did not get all this information wrong.. do double check them for correctness before taking in these words.. wouldn't want anyone to get a premature death when they get lost in the forest..

so we began the trek though the mossy forest (or should i say muddy forest..).. some parts were real muddy and the roots slippery due to the previous evening downpour.. so it was kind of hard to keep our feet clean though the trail.. by the time we were halfway through (halfway point photo on right).. most of the group were deep to their ankles with mud (so were mine.. luckily was wearing sandles..).. and i guess nearly half the group decided to fall out and not follow through the remaining trail..

there were still enough gungho bunch (many ladies amazingly..) willing to advance so Bob continued leading us while the rest retreated.. JH and i of course continued on.. JH seemed to be having a fun time picking side tracks to avoid the mud.. his number one priority was definitely to avoid mud.. willing to climb roots and branches so as to keep his shoes clean.. i was at the same time rather amazed at how clean Bob's shoes were.. he was in a pair of black canvas shoes.. which was obvious nearly clean of mud.. Bob the Master of muddy trails?

the trail continued on until a final looping path.. where the group continued counter-clockwisely.. while 3 of us (Bob, JH and me) took the clockwisely path just for the fun of it.. at least this final path was relatively clean lest the steep steep climb.. again we joined up at the halfway point of the loop and then continued on in our respective directions.. finally we backtracked the rest of the way which was less eventful (except for a few shrieks from ladies slipping in mud).. it was a great climb in all and a good warm up for the jungle trekking we had planned for the next day.. i did not really catch some of the sights in the forest though.. some including pitcher plants, herbs and wild flowers.. to me it was more of the climb than the scenery.. anyways after we left the forest.. Bob's shoes were still as clean as ever (why am i not surprised..).. man i must learn to be as skillful as him..

that was nearly the end of the tour.. next was the tea factory and the tea cafe.. where we had the chance to sit down to savor a good cup of their premium tea (though i have not yet acquired the taste for tea..) and enjoy the spectacular scenery along the cafe balcony.. of course the next thing we were concerned with was to wash our muddy feet at the washroom there.. how refreshing finally we had a brief stop at a native village where a community of highly traditional people were still living aboriginal lifestyles.. this marks the end of the morning's Nature Discovery tour..

3:30pm - we immediately linked up with the afternoon's Agro Delight tour.. this tour was supposed to begin at 2:30pm.. we were behind time as the morning's tour exceeded the schedule by more an hour.. but the organizers used the convenient excuse of "being held up in traffic jam".. this tour is less eventful.. we were brought to several farms including open terrace farms, flower nursery, Kea farm, strawberry farm, and cactus valley.. with most of them being cut short due to the shortened time schedule.. of more interest is the Kea farm where where the overlooking scenery was great and we bought a stick of sweet corn which was not too bad.. surprisingly sweet and juicy without being cooked..

we also got the chance to pick strawberries at a local strawbeery farm.. which was nothing more than a new experience.. we were definitely short-changed for the strawberries as they were mostly malnourished or unripe.. so the two of us had a hard time even gathering the mininum 0.5 kg of strawberries to purchase.. most of the strawberries we picked were rather small.. and if not from the more decent top-ups from the professional strawberry pluckers.. our catch would have been pathetic indeed.. we later found out that we can actually purchase larger and more attractive strawberries at the wet markets for an even cheaper price.. oh well..

7:30pm - after all the farm tours.. finally going for perhaps (in my opinion) the best part of this afternoon tour.. the steamboat dinner.. we became the last to leave the restaurant cause i resolved to finish all the food on our table.. no waste! with our full bellies.. we went up to the night market along Brinchang.. which was not as interesting as i thought it would be.. mostly vegetable//fruit stalls.. hawker stalls.. toy/gift stalls.. nothing too eye-catching and worth buying.. ended up a more conventional shophouse to get some batteries and Cameronian tea..

9:30pm - finally went to Titiwangsa tour agency again to pick a cheap ride home back down to Tanah Rata.. had to wait for a long while.. but ended up getting a free ride from the driver, Mike.. nice guy..

back at Tanah Rata.. we went grocery shopping for something to go with our hand-picked strawberries.. a strawberry breakfast if you must call it.. JH suggested whipped cream initially but we got fresh milk instead as it was the healthier choice.. also got some california raisins to go with it.. ready to whip up the breakfast for the next day..

at the guest house.. finally could wash up and rest.. then after much deliberation.. we more or less decided the next day's trekking route.. but first to dreamland.. all else can wait until the sunrise