Malaysia: BOH Tea Plantation and more from Cameron Highlands

Cameron Highlands is Baguio City before it exploded. It's the most extensive hill station in Malaysia and became prosperous during the British colonial period of Malaysia when planters discovered that its fertile mountain slopes was perfect for growing tea, then a very important commodity.

I had booked a half-day tour of Cameron Highlands which was quite convenient. Our first stop for the day was the Rose Centre which is actually a botanical garden. Many of the flowers found in the garden are also seen in the Philippines, particularly Baguio City. But it was a nice walk up the hill with all the plants in full bloom.

The main reason I wanted to see Cameron Highlands was to visit the tea plantations. And the BOH Tea Plantation, the largest tea plantation in Malaysia surely did not disappoint.

The Sungei Palas Tea Centre of BOH currently has a well-equipped visitor center and is very welcoming to tourists. From the platform, you get a superb view of the plantations. Plus you could purchase some tea from the tea shop. It's a really great place to learn about Cameron Highlands, the benefits of tea, and the history of the BOH Tea Plantation which opened in 1929.

I got to walk around the small museum and a tea factory where they process the tea leaves. It's really informative getting to observe how natural and simple the tea making process really is.

After visiting the BOH Tea Plantation, we also passed by a bee farm and Market Square where you can purchase the local produce, flowers and other products from Cameron Highlands. There was a hawker who sold deep-fried battered vegetables which I enjoyed munching on.

Anyway, I was hoping to be back in Tanah Rata before the 1 p.m. departure of my bus back to Kuala Lumpur (the tour agent assured me I'd be back). But the half-day tour usually extends beyond 2 p.m. so I had to request the driver to bring me back to Tanah Rata while the other guests were in one of the attractions. As a result, I missed the the butterfly farm, strawberry farm and cactus farm which isn't much of a loss since that's something I'd see in La Trinidad and Baguio anyway.

Part 1: Bus trip from Penang to Cameron Highlands

Malaysia: Bus trip from Penang to Cameron Highlands

As soon as I arrived at KOMTAR in Penang, I bought a bus ticket to Cameron Highlands for the next day. I wanted to make sure I had a ticket already since I was pressed for time. The only downside of taking a bus was getting to the bus terminal very early in the morning. Instead of riding the bus from Penang (it's quite inconvenient getting to the Penang bus station especially early in the morning), I decided to catch the same bus when it arrived in Butterworth.

Anyway, I would later regret it since there are van services that would pick you up at your hotel and take you straight to Cameron Highlands. No need to go to the bus terminal, it leaves hours earlier, and the trip is faster since the vans are smaller than buses and thus it’s easier for them to move up the mountain roads. But you don't get refunds for bus tickets.

So the next day, I left the hotel at 6 a.m. and from my hotel, I took a local bus to the George Town port area. The ferry service from Penang to Butterworth is just 15 minutes. And the good thing about the port in Butterworth is that the terminal is right beside the bus station. So I arrived quite early for the 8:30 a.m. departure. In fact, I remember the bus left Butterworth at almost 9 a.m. If I took the van at 6 a.m., I would have been there already in Cameron Highlands as the bus made its way there.

The bus ride was quite uneventful. The trip was between five to six hours and the bus really moved slow on the zigzag road. To make the long story short, I arrived in Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands at about 2 p.m.

First order of business was to look for a place to stay. Since I wanted to keep my budget low, I was able to get a non-aircon room for less than RM20 (but no amenities, just a bed and common bathroom). At least it's very cool in Cameron Highlands so like Baguio, no need for air-con rooms.

Since it was too late to join a half-day tour, I decided to walk around and explore Tanah Rata. Transportation between the Cameron Highland towns is quite scarce. So if I wanted to visit Ringlet or Brinchang, I'd have to take a cab. So it's really best to join the half-day or whole-day tours.

For late lunch, I had tandoori chicken. Later in the afternoon, I decided to try out one of the walking trails of Tanah Rata. Since it was getting dark, I chose the nearest waterfall which is Robinson Falls. You get to view it from the top of the trail. It wasn't that impressive though and not that clean neither.

Just like Baguio, food in Cameron Highlands has a strawberry twist. So they had roti with strawberries in one of the shops. Dried strawberries are also available so I snacked on some while walking around. Later in the evening, I had more Indian food!

Since there was nothing much to do in the evening, I was able to rest especially since I wasn't feeling that good, tired from all that constant moving around. The cool mountain weather was definitely a relaxing break.

Twin Pines Guesthouse
+60 (5) 4912169
twinpines@hotmail.com

Part 2: BOH Tea Plantation and more from Cameron Highlands

Malaysia: Malacca's Perenakan (Nyonya) cuisine

Malacca also has it's share of Perenakan cuisine. So before I move on to a different topic, let's continue our discussion on Malaysian food. While we were in Malacca, we had lunch at a Nyonya restaurant called Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant.

We were served a really sumptuous selection of Nyonya cuisine that included chicken tempra, fish fillet with tamarind sauce, anchovies with cili garam, ginger venison (deer), fried kampung rice, lemak prawns and stir fried okra. For dessert, we were given yummy bowls of cendol.

While we did our walking tour around Jonker Street later in the afternoon, I also got to try out some of the goodies. There was a shop which sold pastries with pineapple filling as well as winter melon cakes (a.k.a. hopia). Along the street were a good number of hawker stalls which sold siomai, baked siew pau, radish and yam cakes, dried fish and squid, and other local stuff.

It's sad that the chicken rice balls restaurant was closed by the time we arrived. It's really in-demand so it gets sold out easily and they close shortly after lunch. In Malacca, Hainanese chicken rice was modified so that the chicken is served with rice balls rather than a bowl of rice.

Part 1: Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca

Related entries
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca
Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot
Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Following the heritage trail in Penang

Seroni Nyonya Cuisine Restaurant
60 & 62 Taman Melaka Raja 1, Jalan Melaka Raya 24, Melaka
Telephone: +60 (6) 2814848

Malaysia: Traditional trades and food adventure in George Town, Penang

Intangible heritage, particularly traditional trades and local cuisine, is very much a part of the Penang cultural landscape.

I was quite pleased that some of these trades were identified in Penang maps. I got to see several of them while walking around old Penang such as the Chinese calligrapher and seal engraver who carves personal chops to order.

I also got to pass by the Nyonya beaded shoe maker who crafts women's shoes with beadwork faces. The designs are very colorful and intricate and I found out it takes several weeks just to complete a pair.

Near the Goddess of Mercy Temple is a joss stick maker who rolls incense and sandalwood sticks by hand. Also near the temple are several garland makers who create colorful flower garlands which Hindus adorn on statues of their deities.

Other trades worth seeing in Penang include the Indian goldsmith who hand tools gold jewelry in traditional Indian designs, the signboard engraver who carves and gilds Chinese calligraphic plaques, the songkok maker who sews Muslim headgear on an old fashioned sewing machine, and the tombstone engraver who chisels Chinese and Muslim gravestones by hand.

Penang is also a culinary delight. Another testament to its multicultural setting, you can get the best of Penang food from road-side hawker stalls. It's such a shame I missed trying out the Penang laksa, a spicy and sour tamarind-based fish soup with thick round rice noodles.

One of the more popular hawker areas is actually several kilometers outside old George Town in an area called Gurney Drive. The choices there are endless and it's a must visit for any serious foodie.

But inside George Town, you won't go wrong as well since hawkers set up shop, especially as day gives way to night. Anyway, while walking around George Town, I'd stop to taste something that looked interesting. Since I was on the go, I had cha shar pau and roti babi which I saw at Pitt Street Koay Teow Th'ng to satisfy my hunger.

The colorful Indian sweets got me really curious as well. But I would later realize they were like sweeter versions of our already sweet pastillas candies.

In the evening, I tried out the local satay as well as several noodle dishes such as wan tan mee and sui kau. I didn't want to eat too much. So I was content with walking around and observing all the hawkers cook their signature dishes.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Part 2: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca

Malaysia: George Town and Penang's British colonial heritage

The cities of the Straits Settlements represent various periods in Malaysia's history. Melaka covers the period from the 15th century Malay sultanate to the Portuguese and Dutch periods beginning in the early 16th century. George Town on the other hand is a testament to the British era from the end of the 18th century.

Near St. George's Church and the Church of the Assumption and close to the sea are an ensemble of structures that remind us that George Town was once a British city. In between the two churches is the Penang State Museum. Built in 1906, it was once the home of the Penang Free School and the Hutchings School. Across the street is the Supreme Court Building built in 1905.

My personal favorite is the magnificently-white City Hall Building, a neo-Palladian building completed in 1903 to serve as the seat of government of Penang. Right beside it is the Town Hall Building which was completed in 1880.

Right beside these buildings is the Penang War Memorial. This cenotaph to commemorate war dead is something I've seen in many British colonial cities.

Like many colonial cities, George Town also has fortifications. Fort Cornwallis was built by Sir Francis Light immediately after his landing on the island, with its present star-shaped structure completed in the early 19th century. Beside it is the Queen Victoria Diamond Jubilee Clocktower built in 1902.

Facing the port in Pengkalan Weld (Weld Quay) are the Boustead and German merchant houses that were built between 1890 to 1910. The Customs Building with clocktower, built in 1907, once housed the F.M.S. Railways. Near Convent Light Street is the Eastern & Oriental Hotel, a grand colonial hotel established in 1885 by Armenian hoteliers. Check out the 1920s echo dome and Otis cage elevator. It's now a luxury all-suites heritage hotel.

Finally, a Christian Cemetery that dates back to 1790 still exists. It has both Protestant and Catholic sections and is the final resting place of many of Penang's governors, administrators and other pioneers.

Part 1: Bus trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia
Part 2: Exploring the Penang heritage trail on foot

Related entries
Following the heritage trail in Penang
Melaka, Malaysia is a historic city of the Straits of Malacca
More Straits Settlements history in Malacca