2/1 - How Tea Is Processed

We did end up hiring a guide, in a way. We let the owner of our hotel talk us into going on a half-day thing that they organized, which ended up being Aubrie and I, as well as an English couple from Bristol, and our guide Ravi, in an ancient green Land Rover. It was actually pretty cool, and not too horribly touristy. We went up to the highest elevation around, on Gunung Brinchang, which is at 6,666 feet. Then we took a leisurely walk through the jungle for about an hour, and checked out some pitcher plants, which are those scary-looking pitcher-like plants that eat insects by luring them in and then dissolving them with acid. This is not to be confused with the venus fly trap, which only grows at lower elevations. Afterwards, we drove over to the tea plantation nearby, where we were taken in to see where they process the tea leaves. As much as I felt like a silly tourist at that point, I have to admit that it was interesting. They use ancient machines from the 1930s to roll the stuff violently- it's quite dramatic, really. The highlight of the whole thing was driving through the tea plantation, which is beautiful. In the distance the tea plants appear as acres and acres of bright green amoeba-like shapes, looking most dramatic on the steeper parts of the rolling hills.

Were you aware that 80% of the workers on the plantations are Indonesian single men from Sumatra who get sent up here on three-year contracts? And were you also aware that 50% of the population of the Cameron Highlands is Chinese, and 30% is Indian? Furthermore, tea is the 2nd most consumed beverage in the world next to water, and Americans drink 80% of their tea iced. Luckily for all of us, the health benefits of tea are not lost in the icing process.

At one point, passing a golf course on the way to the jungle, Ravi told us, "very cheap, only 50 Ringgit per day....many Japanese come, stay three, six months, play every day." And then later, walking in the jungle, on the topic of the monsoon season, he said "not many tourists, but still some come, Japanese....they have short leg but can still do it."

Ravi was a cool guy, and the Land Rover was cool to cruise around in for a morning, so I was happy enough to have paid 40 Ringgit for it (about $10). This wasn't in our budget, but oh well. Speaking of which, it's very difficult to stay on budget in cheap places, because everything's so cheap that it feels like you might as well have that extra drink or take the 1st class train seat. Anyway, we're still living on pretty meager sums, but probably not doing quite as well as we could be doing.

Some Looming Dilemmas:

We're not sure how we'll get back to Singapore. We could take the local bus to Tapah, down the mountain, then catch a Singapore-bound bus from there, and spend another night in Singapore before our flight to Bangkok on the 4th. But that local bus to Tapah is described as a "real rattler", and it would mean an early morning. Or we could take the overnight bus to Singapore and save a night of accomodation, sort of, but it arrives into Singapore at something like 4 in the morning, and our flight out isn't until 10:30 p.m., so that might leave us in a bad situation. The other option is going back via Kuala Lumpur, and spending one night there, but that means braving that bus station madness and windowless-box rooms once again. Having so many options is a good feeling, like we're free to follow our impulses, but then again, I have no idea which way to do it and we have to decide soon.

Slightly further in the future, we also have to decide where in Bangkok to get our Laos visas, and how to get to the Lao border (overnight train, flight, or bus). But more on that soon.