Wednesday 13 August

At last, a clear view of Petronas Towers

We were up at 7 to finish packing and leave Kuala Lumpur. My throat was no better. Breakfast wasn't very well organised today. I had cereal and yogurt plus boiled egg and toast. Coffee was hard to find. I didn't have time for my blog before we checked out and set off.

The Hindu temple at Batu caves is a pilgrimage site

We had a long drive to Cameron Highlands. After setting off, we first stopped for a photo of Petronas Towers, and then William suggested an extra visit to Batu caves to see a Hindu temple. The place was a bit shabby and we didn't relish the 270 steps to see the god Ganesh, but we took some photos of the huge gold god outside.

The local villagers sell fruit by the roadside

After about 2 hours, we left the toll road to take a winding road up to the highlands.We made a stop at Iskander Falls and tasted some fruit from a stall. Further on, we stopped again for two local native men to demonstrate a blowpipe firing poisoned darts. In one of the towns we had lunch at the Golf Club - chicken curry.

Then we visited the Boe tea plantation to see the tea bushes growing on the hillside, before learning about the tea making process. We saw a film and some old machines, then bought some green tea and tasted some other tea in the cafe. It soothed my throat. I was intrigued to see how the women in full burka would drink their tea.

William showing us the tips of the tea leaves

We are spending a night at Copthorne Hotel which has unlimited WiFi and a nice bed. Dinner in the cafe was fish and chips, then a beer in the Cricket bar. Some men were smoking a hookah.