Travel Stories

January 1999

Highland Fling

by Wendy Hanlin

We have recently returned from the Cameron Highlands after one of the most enjoyable weekends I have spent in Malaysia. Since the arrival of our second child we have made it a policy to holiday en masse with friends and their children. This relieves the pressure-cooker atmosphere that develops when two kids and two adults eat, sleep and play together 24 hours a day, and gives the kids (and ourselves) some alternative companionship. This time five families (10 adults and 9 children ranging in age from 6 months to 10 years) booked out the Lutheran Mission Bungalow, located in the hills between Tanah Rata and Brinchang.

The region now called the Cameron Highlands was only known to the local orang asli until the 1880's when a British surveyor called Cameron found this plateau area deep in the mountains in Pahang. It took many more years before it was found again, and then development was slowed by World War II and the Emergency years. Now the area is renowned as a hill resort and horticultural centre. Depending on traffic, it is about 3 hours drive from KL, most of which is up a fairly narrow mountain road - very pretty, but a test to all but the most iron-stomached car travellers (our 2 year old did a very impressive vomit about an hour from the top and had to travel the rest of the way wearing nothing but a nappy). There is a waterfall flanked by stalls about half way up which makes a good stopping point if you need a break (we bought some wonderful and very inexpensive terracotta pottery there). By the time you reach the Cameron Highlands the temperature has dropped 10 degrees, the humidity receded and the weather alternates between bright sunshine and misty rain rolling down off the mountains.

The bungalow we stayed at is run by the Lutheran Church, but is not for religious retreats - just family holidays. Tucked away at the end of a long rutted bridle track, it has a large grassy garden full of flowers, a tennis court, kid's playground and beautiful views of jungle-clad mountains. In the family annexe each room has a separate bedroom for the kids, a fireplace and a bathroom (with a big bath). Meals are served in the main bungalow - plain but delicious fare (roasts, sausages, steamed veggies, baked puddings, bacon and eggs etc) served dead on time (no begging the waiter for the 5th time to bring the kid's fried rice!). Under the rooms is a large recreation room with a view of most of the garden where you can read, play table tennis or other games while the kids run riot outside or sleep upstairs. We bought our own beer and wine and enjoyed raucous card games every night.

There is quite a lot to do in the Cameron Highlands during the day. We visited one of the two butterfly parks (not as beautiful as the KL one, but easier to see the butterflies). A visit to a tea factory is essential, if only to sit in the café and enjoy a cup of tea in the cool atmosphere and a view of manicured tea bushes clinging to near-vertical slopes. For a cuppa in more salubrious surroundings you could splurge on afternoon tea at the Olde Smokehouse hotel. There are lots of flower, strawberry and vegetable farms, some of which you can visit, and there are stalls everywhere selling fresh produce. If you are feeling energetic and have good boots, try going for a jungle walk, but beware - it's very steep and very slippery. I set off with my two kids in the double stroller to take them 'bush walking' down the track. Unfortunately it started to rain and everyone was wet and complaining until my husband appeared with an umbrella to rescue us.

We spent Sunday morning just mucking around the bungalow before having an early lunch at the Lakehouse Hotel and driving back to KL. For me it was a relaxing and fun weekend (even though our baby son woke up every hour throughout the night), with the kids entertaining each other enough to allow adults time for a bit of reading and conversation. If you decide to go to the Lutheran Mission Bungalow, don't expect luxury - the facilities are sound but basic, the walls paper-thin and the plumbing noisy. But the meals are huge, punctual and yummy, the cleaning service is quick and efficient and the expanse of grassy yard and playground are fantastic. We will definitely return.

Lutheran Mission Bungalow Tel: (05) 491 2527 ring 9:00 - 12:00 noon or 3:00 - 5:00pm