We leave Taman Negara early by boat which is very beautiful 2 hour ride down river passing jungle and Orang-Asli villages. We have a scary moment when there is a 50p size spider that jumps at Andy but after squashing it with my bag we are back to happy days although a little tentative looking out for any more. When we arrive at the port we are instructed to have lunch, it's only 11am and the local restaurant that is serving food provides some of the worst food we have eaten since we started traveling. So on board our mini bus to the Cameron Highlands the road winds higher and higher into the hills.

Tana Rata in the Cameron Highlands sits at around 1000m and is much cooler and fresher than the hot, humid and sweaty Taman Negara. After checking into our hostel I am keen to learn where the infamous tea and scones are served and the hostel staff point us in the direction of a cheap cafe called The T cafe with the slogan "when you miss your mums home cooking". Inside, the cafe is open, airy and has a pet fish called Mr T junior who is actually 1ft long and has beautiful scales. We order the tea from the local plantations and a scone each with butter and home made jam. Very la-dee-dar! The tea came in pot t-cups with a saucer and was spot on and having not had a decent cuppa with milk for over 2 months I thought I could probably stay in the cafe all day. The scone had been warmed and came with real butter, sweetened cream and the jam was amazing. I was making a mental note to come here again.

The tea plantations mainly employed Indian workers when the tea picking was manual and so resulted in many Indian restaurants in the town - yum!

The following day we decided to go up one of the nearby mountains Ganung Berembun at 1640m. It was a steep start and the jungle here was quieter then Taman Negara and had some similarities with the natural forest in the UK. Every now and then there would be a yellow sign letting you know how far you had traveled and these displayed distance down to the nearest metre. Much to my annoyance there were the insects here that sounded like electric drills or chain saws that we had also heard in Taman Negara that made it difficult to think some times. Once on top Iwas a little deflated by the graffitied sign and battered trig point. After a few jam sandwiches we headed down in time for afternoon tea, great timing huh? We had to deviate from the T-cafe as it's shut on Mondays (Damn it!) and go to the Vintage cafe that also does great tea and scones if a little more expensive.

The next day we go trekking again this time we catch a bus that has been hosed down on the inside for the previous 30 minutes and when the driver continues to clean the bus 10 minutes after it is due to depart the ticket lady is also getting a little confused. Eventually the bus is brought for us to board and we head to Brinchang which is 9km north of Tana Rata. After some help from the friendly locals confusing us we find the path and get going. The first 2/3rds of the path were easy and we were a little surprised. The last 1/3rd was much steeper and muddier but had some great view points out above the trees and down the valley. We came across the oddest orange and black flying beetle that distracted us causing us both bang our heads on the same large branch in an effort to escape. The top of this mountain, Gunang Brinchang (2030m) was covered in aerials and was fenced off so not great but there was a lookout tower that we could climb to get a better look at the clouds that had come in (Doh!). So we headed down the steep asphalt lane towards Brinchang. Afternoon tea anyone?

The next day we succumbed with reluctance to an organised tour and was picked up in some 4 wheel drive people carrier thing. It was complete with animal horns on the front. Thinking vehicle was over kill but loving having a ride in one we headed to the first port of call which was the rafflesia (worlds biggest flower that flowers every 7 years) so 1 hour out of Tana Rata we picked up some Orang-Alsi guys complete with machetes and then hit the off road. Ok, so now i knew why we needed the 4 wheel drive vehicles, it was great fun and a little scary holding onto the mesh on the roof of the vehicle to try to stop your self falling onto the others in the truck whilst watching out for plants that occasionally whipped you as they brushed past the outside of the truck. 20 minutes later the road thankfully ended and we got out for an hours walk further into the jungle. I was starting to wonder if this flower was worth the effort. The flower when we reached it was big, red and ugly but it was impressive. The small bees that it attracted were a pain as they were inquisitive of us as we were all sweating. We had been advised not to swat but to blow away which did work when you remembered.

Next stop was a Orang-Asli village where we had a go with a blow pipe that is used by the men of the village to hunt for special meals such as monkey. When we had a go it was aiming at a polystyrene sheet and the darts had no poison. The trick was taking a deep breath in BEFORE putting the pipe to your mouth and then holding steady blow out quick and sharp. It was much easier then we had thought. Andy took to this and had several goes increasing the distance each time. We then purchased a small blow pipe so when we get back home you guys best watch out but don't panic too much as we don't have any poison :) After lunch we headed to the Boh tea plantation and were taken on a factory tour. I also asked to taste some fresh tea leaves, the tour guide gave me a funny look so i repeated my question and so he took me to a tea bush so we could pick a leaf. We were surprised that they tasted quite strong and tea like but they didn't smell like tea. We settled into the Boh tea restaurant with a nice cuppa, some short bread with spectacular views of the tea plantation.

The next stop was a butterfly and insect house, with lots of butterfly's, some frogs, some VERY big beetles, snakes, lizards, scorpions, HUGE stick insects and some spiders. Eeeeek! The last stop of the day was a strawberry farm where we had the most amazing strawberry milk shake i have ever tasted (my mouth is watering just by bringing back the memories of this whilst i write).

To finish off a great stay in the Cameron Highlands we shared a steamboat dinner with Terry, Denise, Thomas and Linda (It turned out Terry and Denise had stayed in the same bungalow on the Kelic Perhentian as us! They met Gordon too!) and played various drinking games including a new one to us called "close the box".