Tanah Rata

Tanah Rata is very close to Ipoh. Unfortunately there is a mountain in between, so we had to travel South first and then go North again to Tanah Rata. The government is building a new and fast road, but when that one is finished, I don't know. 

Tanah Rata was worth the long busride. The climate was cool, the town is pleasant and there is a lot to do here.We stayed in a very good hotel; The Cameronian Inn. It is very quiet, there is a big garden, not very far from the centre, cheep, a internet facility, a tv room, you can take what ever you want, just write it down on your own bill, and of course the rooms are spacious. This sounds like a tv commercial, but it was really great. We stayed 4 nights.

On the second day the Taipusam festival was held. It is a yearly Hindu event, where man and woman 'like' to hurt themselves all day. Man have big hooks in their backskin, or are hitting themselves on their back with axes (not that sharp I noticed !!) and some women had a pole trough their cheeks. All day we did not see any blood, so that was one positive thing. It is unbelievable that people are doing this. And they had to walk around the village ALL DAY !! Of course they used some 'powder' to get in trance. The hooks of the man were attatched to some ropes, and another guy was pulling these ropes all the time, or he did it himself. It was actually pretty impressive. 
The music drove me crazy after a few hours (like the Thai boxing music, only not that bad !!).

The next day we booked a tour with Trivu, a local guide. First we went to the Boh Tea plantages, the largest tea plantation in Asia. Run by a Scotish family. All where you looked, it was tea. The tea workers live here in small communities on the plantation, all facilities included. Even schools and small shops.

Later on we went into the jungle. We parked our 4-wheel drive in a small village, in which the people lived from the jungle. And even NO tv-antennas here. The kids were outnumbered here and they all wanted candy. We did bring some, so we felt like Santa Claus. The jungle here was hot and the paths not really marked. Fortunately we had a local guide.We did not see any (interesting) wild animals, but I believe that is very rare here.

The next day we took the bus again, back to Kuala Lumpur. That took us about 4 hours. In Kuala Lumpur we went to the busterminal and took the bus to Seremban, a city on the way to Singapore. 

Seremban

We only went to Seremban for a stop over for Singapore. As the LP told us, there is not really much to do here. And indeed, that was true. And above all, it rained almost all day. We stayed here in the Chiew Kee Hotel, which was commended in the LP as scruffy. In fact this was a perfect hotel and cheep too. The one that LP did recommend, the Oriental, sucked and the small and screaming Chinese woman here was not very nice either.
The only highlight were the buildings (University), built in a Minangkabau style of architecture. Not very special, but a good target to walk to.