The Cameron highlands is a hilly northwest region in Malaysia. Due to its good climate, and cooler temperature, the region is called a food market for Malaysia and Singapore. The area is known for green tea plantations, farmlands, and rainforests.

The Cameron Highlands is 200 km from Kuala Lumpur. I took a private car to Taman

Rata, the main town of the region. The ride took four hours. The second half of the trip involved a steep winding road and I could hardly wait to reach the hotel.

It was raining during the night, but in the morning the sky was clear, so I decided to do the trek to Gurung (Mount) Berembun at 2077m high. The Cameron Highlands has a network of trails marked by numbers and I downloaded the trail from App All Trails. I should follow trails 3,4 and 8 which meant around 10-12 km, 4 h, and 600 m ascent. Ok. Super. But… After two kilometers a man approached and asked me if I had permission to be on the trail. No??? But, of course, I would buy it. No!!! It's Sunday! There is no one that could sell it. :(( He even threatened me with the police.

So I turned around and decided to take another route. I reached the peak in two hours and was proud of myself. But, too early!!! For the descent, I decided to go on trail No. 8. Mistake! Most of the trail was very steep with the descent up to 60% on slippery and muddy terrain. I was like a Jane (without Tarzan) hanging on lianas most of the time, sometimes on my bottom, sometimes on my belly. After three hours I reached the bottom of the hill. My shoes and trousers were unrecognized and covered with mud. I tried to clean myself in a river where I found out that on the way down I got four companions, named leeches. :( At the end of the day, I was happy to be back alive and in the hotel.

My watch showed me that I walked 12 km and did a 685 m ascend in five and a half hours.

The next two days weren’t so terrible. I visited the tea plantations and did another less strenuous trek over Mt Jasar, but again 13.7 km, 630 m elevation in five hours. On the way down the mountain, I went through the tea plantations and the village where the workers live. I posted some photos on Instagram. I don’t want to talk about their poverty, but what I saw is that the children were playing outdoors, they were smiling, and they were happy. Without phones or tablets… I also met the workers picking tea. They allowed me to join them and showed me the way they are picking the tea leaves and storing them in

bags. And they seemed to be happy too. Probably that was my most important, relevant, and even most beautiful experience in Malaysia.

What to say about Cameron highlands:

My next stop is Penang island.