On our final full day
in Penang last week, we paid a visit to the Khoo Kongsi clanhouse, a stunning
building which houses a shrine, artworks painted on the walls, two rooms
dedicated to the high achievers of the Khoo family, and an informative display
of how the building and nearby clan opera house were restored. Also worth a
visit is the improbably named Beach Blanket Babylon, a bar with a lovely sea view.
First night out of
Georgetown we stayed at a magical location, Malihom. High in the Penang hills,
we had the place to ourselves. Each multi-levelled bungalow is built out of
recycled wood from Thailand teak houses and Malaysian railway sleepers. The
bathroom was a feature – open-sided, looking out to the valley. On the way we
passed so many durian sellers we lost count – it’s durian season, and the ones
grown in this region are considered especially good.
Since leaving Penang
on Wednesday in the hire car, we’ve travelled south, usually getting lost once
we get off the North-South Freeway, as inexplicably none of the names or places
marked on our map seem to correspond to the signs on the road. The air quality
was bad too for the first few days, partly due to burning off in Sumatra, so visibility was low. On our way to Ipoh, we
were looking for the Kuala Gula bird sanctuary, but found the Big Durian
instead.
We took a brief stop in Taiping, to check out the Lake View Gardens.
Our night in Ipoh was
very enjoyable – the manager of the proprietor of the budget hotel where we
were staying was very helpful, and there are a number of very good maps of the
town available. Ipoh is known for its food and I had a wonderful meal of
noodles. We checked out the night market, and a beautiful teashop selling
Taiwanese and Chinese tea.
The drive from Ipoh to
the Cameron Highlands took longer than expected, mostly due to the vast numbers
of weekend visitors to the area. The roads between the main towns were like
carparks. But eventually we got to Tanah Rata.
We have an excellent
view of the mountains from our room, and have had clear blue skies since we
arrived. Yesterday we attempted some bushwalking – it was hard work finding the
path. Signs pointed us along two roads, past a rubbish dump, through a building site and then
the overgrown path wound through someone’s market garden. We also visited Parit
Fall (sic) (hehehe).
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| The Big Veggie Patch, Tanah Rata |
Today it was a visit
to the tea plantations, most of which seem closed on Monday, but we saw
wonderful views of the terraced hills at estates near the towns of Brinchang
and (tee hee) Ringlet. At the Bharat Plantations (‘Anytime is tea time') tea room we
enjoyed some mint and cardamom tea while enjoying a view down the valley.
