That's better

I seem to remember expressing disappointment about Malaysia. Not all of it, as it turns out. We just spent a couple of days in the Cameron Highlands, north central Malaysia, up in the hills. Much better! Maybe it helps that Tanah Rata is specifically geared to tourists, maybe because it isn't city (absolutely isn't city) with all those elbows and slums. I've discovered I'm very sensitive to the way the other half lives and how they care for themselves. There's a huge difference between urban and rural poor. I'll take the rural anyday.

Anyway, back to the Highlands. It has the oldest rainforest in the world, 155 million years, according to our guide. Unlike other Rainforests I've read about, the soil here is incredibly deep and fertile. The Malaysians use it to full effect despite the fact that there is damn little of it lying horizontal. Tea plantations (hundreds of acres) and commercial size vegetable gardens are all on an extreme angle with the vegetable gardens terraced. I saw one watercress farm of two acres. This makes for some unforgettable scenery. It also makes for some unforgettable roads. Our driver would regularly slow to a crawl and sound his horn around blind corners on the one and a half lane wide blacktop snaking its way up the hills. Cooperation among drivers was a life or death matter. All around was deep jungle, life feeding on life, every tree with its attendant parasites. Orchids bloom all over. Well, grow all over, only a few species were in bloom. Thou Shalt Not Touch or Pick, under pain of huge fines and even jail time, and the guide would be the one to turn you in. On the other hand, feel free to pick many edible fruits and enjoy them. Many are tasty, some are ................. interesting.

Lower right hand corner, a watercress garden,
the rest is vegetables in terraced plots.

Durian, one of the ..................interesting fruits.

Following our main theme, our hotel was not expensive. Also not new, built in the 1890's. I'm sure it's been through a few renovations, but I'm betting the bathtub is original. It fit right in with the main street of Tanah Rata, kind of a Wild West meets Southeast Asia. Concrete sidewalks instead of board, diagonal parking instead of hitching posts, open shop fronts instead of saloon swinging doors, still a wild west flavor. Our tours also were not expensive, less than RM100 (30 US) each for a full day out in the farms and jungle. At that, our guide/driver was very fluent in English and very knowledgeable about the area. Oh, the price included dinner. One jarring note was the many stops at, So Help Me Ghu, lawn and garden centers, indistinguishable from the ones in nearly every American suburb. Of course, the plant selection was a little different. The local flowers and shrubs looked like what we'd consider exotica while their exotica was cactus. Lots and lots of cactus! Apparently, the well-to-do were entranced with them despite (maybe because of) the difficulty of maintaining them in such a well-watered area. While I'm at it, I need to talk about the strawberries. The area has several strawberry farms, bearing constantly. If you've ever bought American supermarket strawberries and been disappointed by the resemblance to the taste of balsa wood, you'll understand my delight when I found these taste like those little wild strawberries I remember from childhood. Only big!

Which brings me to the subject of Malaysian food. You will not find faddy Malaysian restaurants springing up in your neighborhood unless it's after everyone grows tired of the Scottish ones. All those excellent vegetables and fish and the whole thing gets turned into a bland, greasy mess. The stuff even looks awful. This from a guy who's known to eat damn near anything, especially if it's labeled foreign and exotic. Of course, my experience so far is with the roadside (or streetside) food vendors. Nevertheless, there is a lack of variety in their wares and presentation. Even the Chinese restaurants we've visited in this country seem to have toned down their usual savory presentations for the Malaysian market. Again, this with the availability of fine vegetables fom the mountains,carrots and dakon radishes you wouldn't believe, with sweet corn and tomatoes and green peppers year around and great home-grown spices, mostly exported, is just not to be forgiven.  One meal did live up to my expectations and we had to cook it ourselves. I suspect it's a Chinese Iimport called Steamboat and I've only seen it in Tanah Rata. Basically, you get a big plate of raw prawns, thinly sliced venison, lamb, fishballs, tofu, several vegetables and noodles with a double pot of chicken bullion on one side and a spicy soup stock on the other over a gas burner. Sort of a fondue. We made a terrible mess, but it sure was tasty.

On our last night in Tanah Rata we did a bit more exploring and found the other side of town. Most attractive, with a big soccer field, a basketball court, a huge park with several children's attractions (monkey bars, slides, etc.), very nicely landscaped. On the other side  of a canal were several new hotels and resorts. Up and coming, indeed.

An early morning ride out of the mountains and into Georgetown, on the Island of Penang. I  don't know if I've mentioned the palm plantations . More than half the time we've been riding buses here, from Malacca to Kuala Lumpur to Penang, we've been in sight of a palm plantation more than half the time. These  are the oil palm, bearing a nut which is pressedd for palm oil, probably Malaysia's major export.  Penang is proving to be a better location than either Malacca or Kuala Lumpur. Seems more prosperous, poverty nothing like as evident. We're in Georgetown at a nice hotel at about 39 dollars a night. Breakfast on the 5th floor patio included. Bus ride to the far reaches of the island cost about a buck each. Most of the Island is urban or suburban with a quarter or less set aside for a nature preserve. We went hiking there this morning. The hike lasted into the afternoon, about 10 kilometers with very little of it flat. You didn't think they'd preserve the horizontal land, did you?

The central prohibition is
"no lewd behavior"



Monitor lizard




First thing tomorrow morning, we're on a bus to Bangkok. Out of Malaysia and hopefully into much better street food!