Malaysia — Driving to the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
My drive to the Highlands — what a trip
August 2015
The drive to the Cameron Highlands from Kuala Lumpur was stunning. Well, the first two hours weren’t as that was along a boring motorway — the AH2. But as soon as I turned off the motorway and started heading into the Highlands, it became a magical mountain drive along switch-back roads that seemed to climb forever and ever.
The route from KL takes you north along AH2 until you reach, after 2 hours or so, Tapah, where you turn off onto Route 59.
Beside Route 59, there were several stalls selling orchids, plants, and food collected from the surrounding jungle.
And something that seems to be on sale at most stalls (must be the season?) — Petai.
Petai (Parkia speciosa) is a type of bean pod that grows in ribbon-like clusters. It has a strong taste and smell. I tried them raw and found them to be quite bitter. However, usually, they are eaten cooked, and I have been told they can be used to make a great chilli.
The beans out of the pod.
There were also my favourite fruits on sale — mangosteens and rambutans.
And I saw a lot of bottled drinks on sale. These all looked homemade, with no labels. I have no idea what they were.
There was also quite a bit of ‘craftwork’ available.
About halfway along the route, there is the Lata Kinjang waterfall.
It is an incredible, fun drive up from the Tapah to the Cameron Highlands, and I was glad I did it in daylight to get the whole experience.
