The Cameron Highlands

It’s been over two months since we got back from our honeymoon now, but I wanted to complete my series of honeymoon posts before I forget all about it – in this post I’ll be talking about the Cameron Highlands.

The drive from the Perhentain Islands seemed to take an eternity, but was well worth it for the stunning views of the famous strawberry farms and tea plantations. It was also a relief to get out of the scorching heat for a while as were both nursing some pretty painful sunburn!

After our accommodation problems on the Perhentians, it was a relief to find a nice little guest house just outside the main town of  Tanah Rata. Bala’s chalet was originally an old school built during the pre-war era for European expats, and the hotel still has that old-fashioned charm to it. On arrival we instantly felt the ‘Britishness’ of the place - I certainly didn’t expect to be eating scones and drinking tea but that’s exactly what happened! I certainly wasn’t complaining though – as a Yorkshireman drinking tea is one of the things I do best, so the more the merrier!

There were two things that I found hilarious about Bala’s:

1. It is the first hotel I have ever seen to advertise a whole menu but only have one main available (the Indian set meal)

2. The strawberry jam served at breakfast was made by Heinz and imported from Australia – got to ask questions about that haven’t you when there must be 10 strawberry farms within a few miles of the hotel! How can it be cheaper to import jam from Australia?

We both love walking so we decided we would do one of the jungle treks…. in the middle of the midday heat. As you’ll see from the photo – I got a bit sweaty!!!

On our last day we visited a huge butterfly farm that gave me a chance to play with my new Macro lens! I got some pretty good shots, but noticed that there were literally hundreds of these butterflies dead – I think quite a few got caught in the netting at the top of the enclosure which was a real shame – I couldn’t help but think that they should be free to fly where they pleased. Anyway, here is some of my handywork!

And that was pretty much. Apart from Susie spraining her ankle 2 hours before our return flight in KL - she had to get wheelchaired onto the flight….. finally on a plane first! Anyway, hope you’ve enjoyed reading about such a special holiday, and I hope to be adding more recipes really soon.

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