{"id":2087,"date":"2014-01-18T03:37:01","date_gmt":"2014-01-18T11:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tillthemoneyrunsout.com\/?p=2087"},"modified":"2015-04-10T14:28:06","modified_gmt":"2015-04-10T21:28:06","slug":"tea-for-two-cameron-highlands-malaysia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tillthemoneyrunsout.com\/tea-for-two-cameron-highlands-malaysia\/","title":{"rendered":"Tea For Two in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Cameron highlands, about 4.5 hours by bus from KL, was another Pinterest-inspired destination. I was perusing \u201cMalaysia\u201d pins and after seeing photos of sprawling tea fields like this one I knew we had to visit.<\/p>\n

\"Panorama\"

The highlands are a trekkers paradise and the cooler temperatures make all the hiking very pleasant. You can just walk around beautiful tea plantations or you can go on some self-guided well-mapped out hikes in the area. Tom and I signed up for the rafflesia trek, one of the only hikes that you do need a guide for. The rafflesia is one of the largest flowers in the world and blooms for about 5 days every 15-18 months. Local boys (I didn\u2019t see any girls doing it) criss-cross the hills looking for large buds that will bloom in the next day or two, and then lead people there on hikes to see the impressive flowers. This means that sometimes a rafflesia trek will be 2 hours each way, or sometimes it will be 5 hours each way- it all depends on where the flower is.<\/p>\n

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Our trek was a pretty serious 2.5 hours each way. It was beautiful and Jurassic-feeling and more difficult than we thought it was going to be. There is something that feels good about a 2.5 uphill slog through slippery mud and jungle to see a sight like this though. I think if we just walked into a garden and saw the rafflesia we would think \u201coh, look at that nice big flower!\u201d and then move on with our day. Earning the sight with an arduous hike just makes you appreciate it so much more. Also thinking about those boys searching the jungle floor to find the round brown buds is just amazing!<\/p>\n

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