We were on our way up into the Cameron Highlands, north of Kuala Lumpur. A favourite weekend journey for Singaporean supercar owners, the pristine winding roads are enclosed by dense, humming foliage on either side, but occasionally you catch glimpses of the most incredible views through gaps in the trees: forest rolling over mountains and valleys above a bright white blanket of cloud, and patches of mist drifting like ghosts over the tree-tops.
We stayed in a town called Tanah Rata in the highlands. It felt like a real mountain town – much more Alpine than Malaysian. Having trudged the length and breadth of it looking for our hostel (this took 10 minutes – it wasn't a big place) and finally checking in, we set off once more on a mission to find 'The Best Meal Ever'.
Todd's brother Joe had visited the same town several years before us, and in one presumably beer-fueled evening had stumbled across a restaurant that served him what he claimed was The Best Meal He'd Ever Had. His directions to find this culinary nirvana were, ' It's on a main road, can't remember the name of the place, but it has a sign outside that has mispelt 'various' 3 different ways'. Luckily for us, there was only one main road and it was a fairly small one at that. I'm not sure it was the best meal I've ever had, but it was definitely one of mine and Sarah's best currys. Thanks Joe!The main attraction in the Cameron Highlands are the tea plantations. 70% of all Malaysia's tea is grown there, and about 2-3% of the world's tea. We visited the Sungai Palas Boh Tea Estate. Boh is the biggest brand of tea in Malaysia, which was founded by Scotsman J.A. Russell in 1929 and is now run by his grand-daughter Caroline.
The tea plantations themselves are beautiful, covering the hills in emerald green stripes as far as you can see. The younger leaves that haven't been picked yet are almost luminous in colour, highlighting those patches that have yet to be sheared by the teams of pickers. We only saw a handful of workers in the field, but apparently the whole estate is still picked by hand. We had a great tour guide who explained the process of growing, cutting and preparing the leaves prior to processing into tea. The marketeer in me got a little bit carried away with the details. I was amazed to find out how versatile tea plants are. Most of the differences between types of tea (Japanese, Chinese, Black) comes from the age of the leaves and the way they are processed after picking rather than from different plant types. All of Boh's teas come from the same plant, and the entire plantation is a monoculture of this one varietal. Definitely premium innovation possibilities here – single estate teas, different terroirs, new species of tea...
...as my head cleared, our 4x4 climbed further up the mountain roads (which by now had given way to gravel) clear of the tea fields and up to the summit of the Highlands – Gunung Brinchang at 2031m. After taking in the cloudy views we took a short trek into the 'Mossy Forest'. Todd tells us this was one of his highlights. The forest was a magical place (at least until we got there) - very cool, very damp and very quiet, it feels ancient even before you learn that it's around 240 million years old. Older than the dinosaurs. It's called 'mossy' as grows out of the very first moss that can attach itself to bare rock that lifted itself out of the sea. The dead leaves, trees and insects that the forest drops to the ground go on to form the soil that nurtures future forests. Each centimetre of this spongy springy soil takes over 100 years to form. Sarah managed to accumulate roughly a millenium's worth of sediment on her shoes and trousers within 10 minutes.
On the way back to town, we stopped at the Boh factory to sample some of the finished product. Their visitor's centre is cantilevered out over the side of one of their fields, and we stopped on the balcony to admire the view and enjoy the finest Cameronian Blend with some jam and scones.
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