Friday 4 April 2014

Cameron Highlands

As the wait for our new battery regulator was taking longer than expected, we decided on the spur of the moment to hire the car we had had previously and go up to Ipoh and the Cameron Highlands on Wednesday for a couple of days. In the event we only passed through Ipoh on our way getting lost and having to ask the way more than once!
However, just beyond Ipoh we took the left turn up into the Highlands. We seemed to climb forever up a narrowing and twisty road. We stopped at a strawberry farm and bought - strawberries!! Fresh as well as dried - delicious and sweet. They grow the strawberries under cover in small plastic pots which are suspended on metal frames. Each pot is irrigated and fertilised separately. There is very large scale under cover fruit and vegetable production as far as one can see and much of it has been poorly planned and executed causing much environmental damage with erosion evident everywhere. Many plastic houses cling precariously to slopes at crazy angles. Interesting for Jim given his earlier experience of commercial growing of tomatoes and grapes in glasshouses back in NZ in another life!
We continued up and up through very dramatic and spectacular scenery as far as between Brinchang and Tanah Rata where we were to stay at the Iris House Hotel. 139 Ringitts per night which is about NZD50. The temperature continued dropping as we climbed and became a very pleasant 20-21 degrees. The hotel was a 10 story (or so) modern building of about 3 stars and our room was very comfortable. No air conditioning as it simply wasn't necessary. Not sure of the final altitude, but from a sign we saw earlier much lower down we estimated we were at around 2000 metres. No wonder that it was cooler.
After checking in we wandered through the local town and had a bite to eat at a local Chinese eatery. Then back to the hotel for a lie down before venturing out again for an evening meal in another local restaurant before crashing for an early night. The whole area is very touristified with many restaurants and overpriced shops. But interesting with a pleasant climate and many things to see.
The next day we decided early on that we wouldn't spend any time in Ipoh on this trip and instead elected to spend a leisurely day looking at the local sights with no time pressure. Ipoh has a great collection of old buildings from the colonial era but that will have to wait for another time.
We visited a bee farm which was interesting for Jean as she had had much to do with running a bee farm back in Whangarei.
Then we decided we would have lunch at Bala's Holiday Chalets. In a previous existence this had been a girls' boarding school opened in 1934 as a subsidiary of the Tanglin School Singapore. Anne Griffith-Jones was the 1st headmistress and when the Japanese invaded she was interned in Singapore's Changi Prison. However, she survived the ordeal and then continued only until 1948 at her Cameron Highlands school when Malay insurgents threatened the school's safety. The school was then forced to close but she continued with the Singapore school which thrives to this day as one of the leading international schools there. She retired in 1958 back to her beloved Cameron Highlands where she eventually died and is now buried.
The old school building is English Tudor in design and set in a delightful garden. The buildings looked to be largely original so it was like being in a time warp back to the old colonial days in the 1930's. We had a lovely lunch outside in the garden and then back to the hotel once again.
Then out to dinner at another hotel which was disappointing and in fact gave Jean a dose of MSG poisoning. It bucketed down with rain while we were there and then Jean had a restless night ahead of our early start back to Lumut in the morning. We left at 0630 in the dark as we had a 3 hour drive and had to get the car back by mid morning. A slow windy drive in the fog and dark for a while but then it started warming up as we lost altitude. This time we managed to bypass Ipoh with no problems and were soon back at the marina. The boat was fine but the news about the regulator not so good; it has been despatched (on Wed.) but may not be here until early next week. Still, we must just be philosophical as there's nothing we can do to expedite matters any more.
We continue to enjoy the marina life and the contact with fellow residents - Aussie, French, German and British. And we are pleased that the enforced stay has given us the opportunity to re-organise our haulout arrangements in Thailand. There's always a silver lining and we now have a much better haulout plan at Krabi Boat Lagoon which we shall regale you with as it unfolds.
Cheers and love from us...........
Jean and Jim

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