So off we went to Camerons using the Simpang Pulai way- the newer part of the highway which was supposedly less nauseatingly windy and more scenic than the old tapah way.
I can say the latter is true but the road is quite windy. Me n kaye had to undergo a sleep induced by motion sickness.

Well... it is better than vomiting.




The air was so cool that yen just switched the aircon off and wind down the windows. It was so cold i had to wear my cardigan. And kaye forgot her jacket...


Finally reached camerons and crossed the Pahang border. On the way to Brinchang, we stopped by a coffee place and it had endless fields of tea plantation behind it.

Beautiful scenery and with 3gb of camera memory to waste, we camwhored :D



We then went on to find accomodation in Brinchang town and weended up in a place called Tudor Home Inn which was a newly opened inn. We paid rm170 for a room with 2 double beds. The room was quite big but the bathroom was a bit miserable. Ok rate lo since it was christmas eve in a tourist destination area.

By the time we got bathed and etc, it was night and extremely cold... I pity kaye who had to constantly wrap herself with her hands. The best thing to do at that time was to eat steamboat!


rm15 per person. Alright since they gave us a lot of fresh veggies, squid, fishballs, prawns, chicken meat, bihun, egg, etc. The meat was surprisingly fresh.

While eating yen noticed a strange thing peeking over the roofs of the nearby shoplots:

It was actually:

Then we went to the famous Brinchang night market. Loads of stalls and the pasar stretch a very long way. But most stalls were almost identical- selling fried stuff, veggies, strawberries, souvenirs, flowers, drinks, clothes.



The next day, we made our way to Ye Old Smokehouse. It's a famous accommodation and restaurant but very overprice. We wanted to see it anyway since it was mentioned in almost every guide.
The place was really a whole new dimension. It felt like i've just stepped into UK or something (apart from the proton cars scattered everywhere to give it away) cause the buildings there were built during the British colonial times

We left when we saw the menu (rm22 per person for breakfast) and when we met the waitress. The waitress was very rude but maybe because there were a lot of customers and she was the only one there serving.

We later went to Raju's Strawberry Store or something. Although the stuff there were also overpriced we were too lazy to go anywhere else. Look at the glorious food:



The upside was that the ppl there were really friendly. The person who served us also remembered that there were 3 of us so she purposely gave us 3 cups to share the tea between us and 3 pieces of tissue. She also asked if the food was nice. We said yes (sincerely)

We then ventured off to Puncak Brinchang. One of the highest points in Camerons. The drive up was really... ala Indiana Jones style. One narrow path for 2 way traffic. Each time there were cars coming from the opposite direction, we had to stop and wait at the bend where the road was wider. The roads also had no skirting (fences?) so the car can easily just slid off and drop off to our doom. It was also mandatory (sort of) to honk each time at a sharp corner so oncoming cars can be warned. Yen is a really good driver so we made it there without harm.
Proud to say that yen was the only female driving upwards to Puncak Brinchang at that time. Girl power!



The top was exactly 6666ft from sea level (not an auspicious number for those believing in the book of revelations though) The air there is super cool and kaye was freezing. Me with my long sleeve and cardigan also managed to shiver a little. But i am slightly cold blooded. ahhahaha

There were some jungle treks that can be followed to reach the other summit but without a guide... it's best to stay away from the dense jungles.

Because of her fear of heights, kaye couldn't follow us up this watchtower sort of thing. Me and yen went up anyway to view the scenery.




Later kaye did join us at the top but she only did that cause i guess she wanted to try to overcome her phobia. At the top she wasn't really relaxed and another group of tourist came so we went down.

After the travel down the puncak, it was the end of our trip to camerons cause we were finally heading to penang. We did stop by Blue Valley- a place with vegetable and flower plantations on the way back to Simpang Pulai.
Disappointing. Better to save the fuel for something else.

Penang- cont in the next entry.