Up in the mountains of Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Have you ever felt too much joy and happiness to the extent that you thought your heart was going to burst? This was my experience from my last trip. Cameron Highlands in Malaysia was my latest destination. I travelled with my best girls from Singapore, ate Noemi and ate Shirley. It was a 9-hour drive which wasn’t tiring at all, we just slept in the bus for 9 hours and when day light was greeting us good morning, it was just a few minutes away from our hotel. The road to Cameron Highlands was pretty tough though, it was up the mountains and it was zigzag all the way up but the view was just amazing!

Before anything else, let me tell you of our short but sweet dilemma on the night of our departure – our little adventure in Singapore, we almost didn’t make it to the bus station, ate Noemi and ate Shirley and me – bad combination when it comes to directions! We absolutely had no idea where we were and where we were going, oh and GPS, it confused us even more and that was just horrific! We finally got a cab which took us forever to get because that was a Friday night and I guess everyone was busy with their own thing, to add more stress to the situation, our cab driver dropped us off at the wrong building! Reliving that day is just F U N, LOL. That was the longest 30 minutes of my life!

When we finally got to the bus station, our faces were all flushed and we were just relieved that we did make it, LOL.

This was my first time to experience an overnight bus journey and I did enjoy it, the great thing about it was, I said goodnight to Singapore and woke up in Malaysia. Okay, you don’t have to get it, but it makes great sense in my own world, LOL.

We arrived in Cameron Highlands around 8.30 in the morning and had Adobo (Filipino dish) for brunch care of ate Shirley, yum yum yum!!! We then took a short nap, showered and off to our scheduled day tour!

Our first stop was at a Rose Farm, this farm though was not like the typical farms you’d see in the provinces/countryside. This farm was on the side of the mountain meaning it had different levels, which was pretty interesting too and the owners had put up some ceramic displays and paintings that matched perfectly with the flowers.

Next stop was the highlight of this trip!!! This was just breath-taking! The journey to the Tea Plantation was terrifying but at the same time exciting, terrifying because the road that we travelled going there was like one wrong turn and say hello to the cliff! The two girls were like praying for our lives and mostly our driver, LOL and while they were praying… my heart was just jumping for joy! It was such a great view up there! I was honestly scared too but with that view in-front of you, it just over powers everything else. It was like if that was the last thing you’d see before falling off the cliff (LOL), it would have been all worth it, haha!

When I was looking at this view my heart was just pounding really hard and the magnificence of it confuses your heart if you’re going to smile or cry. My jaw was just aching from too much smiling. And you just want to stare at it long enough to memorize each detail by heart. I never thought that there would come a time that every worry and negative thought you had in your mind can be swept off just like that. This was nature at its best, this was perfection.

This was my first time to see a tea plantation and it’s a memory to last forever. We also saw how they processed the leaves into the tea leaves/bags that we use. This event made the 9-hour drive all worth it!

After that wonderful experience, we them made our way to the Cactus Farm/Butterfly Farm. I did buy me a souvenir from this trip, I got me a preserved butterfly; which I will hang in my wall after I go back home (Philippines).

Most Filipinos would compare Cameron Highlands to Baguio (in the Philippines) but I think they are both great places to visit and they both have their own special things to offer. Maybe they are usually compared to each other because of the cold weather and numerous strawberry farms that they both have – which leads us to our next stop, Strawberry Farm! This was out of the ordinary planting, the plants were lifted on tables or planks which was all new to me.

We had a nice hot meal in the hotel, steam boat!!! We also had some desserts before going to bed… it was a great day indeed!!!

The next day, we had a heavy buffet breakfast! And after that, it was Singapore bound – we left Cameron Highlands at 10 am and arrived Singapore at around 8-ish pm.

In totality, this was a great trip! I had spent time with my girlies, our last trip together before ‘Sayonara’, and it was as always one of the bests. Travelling is at its best when you take it with your treasured friends. And a little countryside wouldn’t hurt at all! And to close this:

I sometimes close my eyes and imagine myself standing in the cliff that I once stood at… I feel the wind gliding back and forth my face and encourages me to raise my arms and embrace it just as much. It tells me that, ‘look at perfection it is yours to appreciate, treasure and love… it is your to take back a memory of and remember that when all else fail – there is perfection and beauty that hopes and awaits.

P.S.

Photos taken with Film Cameras