So we arrived in the Cameron Highlands on Friday 5th November 2010 after a 12 hour journey! Due to it being Deepavali, a hindu holiday, everything was on a go slow! Our first bus journey was supposed to take 4 hours, but actually took 7! The second was supposed to take 2 hours, but after the mental traffic going into Cameron Highlands, it actually took over 4! We finally arrived at 9:30pm, it was pitch black, pouring of rain and we were tired! Got off the bus and as we hadn't pre-booked a room went into tourist information. Dean asked if they could find us a hotel room, the answer we got was 'this will be very difficult'. I then asked 'why will this be very difficult' and the answer was 'everywhere is full booked' - great!! Due to it being Deepavali and a local holiday the place was mobbed!! Tourist information advised us to walk about and we'd maybe find a room if we went in person rather than phoning. This would be fine if it was daylight and not torrential rain! So off we went, rain covers on our backpacks, hoods up, looking for a bed for the night. Two minutes into our walk and guess what happened, I fell down a sewer!! It was so dark I was walking along, totally forgot that most of Malaysia had open sewers next to the pavements and my left foot went straight into one! :-( I was lucky there was only a few leaves at the bottom of it and it wasn't full of you know what. So there I was, tired, soaked, heavy backpack on and with my left leg down a sewer. All I could do was break my little heart! After I stopped crying off we went on our search for a room, it was looking as though nobody could help us. Unexpectedly a Scottish couple, Rosy and Murray, asked us if we were looking for somwhere and said they thought their place had a spare room. We had nothing to loose so off we went, everything crossed that they'd have a room for us to sleep for a night. We got there and yes they did have a room but were charging double the price because of the holiday - 300RM, which is 60 pounds, the most we've paid for a room since we've been away! You'd expect 5 star treatment for that price in Malaysia but nope it was basic, damp, but with a tv so thats why they were charging more! Still it was better than sleeping on the street. We had a few beers with Rosy and Murray and then it was off to bed. If only I knew then I'd be freezing all night and waken up with a cold!

The next day we were up and out looking for somwhere to stay nice and early. We'd heard about the Fathers Guesthouse in Lonely Planet and on the web so headed in their direction. Found it nice and easy and to our surprise they had a room for only 13 pound a night! It was such a lovely place to stay, rooms were basic but it had a cozy lounge area that you could chill out, read a book, watch a dvd and drink theyr selection of yummy teas! The tea was needed in the evening as it got a bit chilly and rainy, we were in the Highlands afterall! It kind of reminded us of home. It felt really nice to have actual comfy clothes on, oh and socks!!

We arranged to go on our a tour with the Guesthouse, the Mossy Forest tour. It took you to the tea plantations, the factory where the tea was made, drove up to the highest peak in Malaysia, 6666 feet, then into the Mossy Forest for a walk. Was really interesting, got to feel, smell and taste some different leaves, should hopefully see us in good stead if we get lost in a jungle or forrest! It was very muddy, and some pretty difficult parts to climb. Thank god we had our boots, some guy did it in sports sandals! Needless to say he put his foot in a bog, what a dork!! He was a German, so you couldn't expect anything less. After this it was onto the Butterfly Farm and the Strawberry Farm. This wasn't on the agenda but it was on route back to our hotel so stopped off to see some dead butterflies and have a tasty strawberry milkhake!

Had a cozy night back at the Guesthouse, I had on two layers of clothing, but it felt really nice to actually need some clothes! Had a few Tigers with Ben & Ben from Australia, they've offered to put us up in Perth. Nice guys!

Next stop Penang!!

xxxx