To wrap up my time in Malaysia, we did a little strawberry picking up in the Cameron Highlands –
– it must be the unique climate that makes them grow so big …
The Highlands are ideal for growing tea, and in some places there are tea bushes as far as the eye can see in every direction –
And there is also cloud forest, which is a tropical forest at altitude, so it is often in the clouds. The high moisture level means that there is an abundance of moss, and with a flash of inspiration, they named it –
– Mossy Forest.
It’s creepily atmospheric –
– and if the Black Riders had galloped around the corner, in pursuit of The Ring, I wouldn’t have been at all surprised.
We stayed in a rattan hut in the jungle –
accessed via a bamboo bridge over the river –
And I took the opportunity to hone my blowpipe skills –
It was a bit too back-to-nature for Anthony, who spent the whole time grumbling about how noisy the jungle is at night, and how few mod cons there are in a rattan hut.
On the way back to KL, I insisted that we stop for durian as it’s an essential part of the Malaysian experience, and it’s the durian season now.
This is Olivia demonstrating the typical beginners’ durian face –
– as she tries a dessert called cendol, with added durian garnish.
Whereas I’m an old hand and can eat it without grimacing –
In fact, if it wasn’t for the smell and the rotting-vegetation aftertaste, I’d happily eat it every day.
There was just one more experience to cross off my list before I left KL … a visit to the luxury screen at the local cinema, where you get a reclining seat and a duvet –
– a duvet might sound ridiculous in a city that’s 217 miles from the equator, but the airconditioning in the cinema is cranked down so low that you’d be at risk of hypothermia without it.
Then there was just time for a farewell dinner with all my chums from school –
who I’ll miss enormously – and then I packed up and left Malaysia.
Next stop – Australia …