Right so it’s only me clinging on to the armrest for dear life as the bus driver steers the coach as if he is driving a rally car; leaning into the bends and swinging wide into the path of oncoming traffic, nearly knocking unsuspecting motorcyclists off their bikes and then swerving to avoid the landslides brought down by last night’s heavy rain. Everyone else is asleep. Asleep!! It’s a ‘shame’ as the view is spectacular. The road winds through the Cameron Highlands, overlooking dense jungle and tea plantations.
I’ve been staying in Tanah Rata the ‘main’ town in the area. It’s been a relief to get out of the humidity of the rest of Malaysia. And one day I even wore a jacket!
Damp and slippery to the touch, the moss on the branches is green and soft. It only covers a small area of this mountain. The weather conditions are just right for it to grow in this area. We are clambering through a very small part of the The Mossy Forest in the Cameron Highlands. I’m surprised that I haven’t fallen over yet, as we slither through mud, cling onto slimy branches and duck under bowed tree limbs. The air is moist and it feels like we are in an ancient jungle, perhaps just vacated by dinosaurs. The view when we reach the end is worth the effort of trying not to fall over; you can see down across the valley. I feel that I’m the only person who has mud splattered all over themselves; my trousers are filthy and my shoes caked in dirt. The guide tells us about the native flowers and animals, and points out that vehicles are only allowed up on the mountain until 9:30 am as after that the daily rain starts and makes conditions too hazardous to be up there.
We take the Land Rover down the hill and see the tea plantations spread out in front of us. The rows of bushes are bright green and add interest to the mounds. We take a tour of the tea factory, and find out how they process the leaves. There is a long queue to taste the tea. The day ends with a look at the local museum and a visit to a Buddhist temple – I haven’t seen one of those for a while!
Journeys with my pencil 