Recently I’ve been feeling a bit like a chicken in a pen: cooped up. Since coming back from Melbourne in late March, we hadn’t left our little enclave, and I was starting to feel it. Not that our life in Malaysia is bad — far from it. In fact, my unsettled-ness might be because I’ve lost touch with reality, as I spend my weekends enjoying pastries at Jason’s and reading amazing books like Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic.
Yes, life is sweet, but everyone needs a change now and then… which is why we decided to up and leave to the Cameron Highlands for a few days. And let me tell you (in case the title of this post wasn’t obvious enough), that I have seriously fallen for this stunning corner of the earth.
We took a bus from TBS at 11:30 this morning, and after a decent ride (but a rocky one toward the end), we arrived at Tanah Rata (the local town) around 3. I feel at this point I must mention that we decided to ball hard on this trip, and instead of staying in a mid-price hotel, went all out for the Cameron Highland Resort. And goshdarnit, I think it’s one of the best decisions we’ve ever made.
Everything here is in the colonial British style: rich mahogany, understated elegance, and not a hair out of place. This is my jam. To give you a taste, here is what our sitting room looks like:
When we arrived, we were both pretty tired from the bus ride and so I didn’t take too many snaps, but I’ll try and remedy that tomorrow. Honestly, just the fact that we have a sitting area with all this space is making me giddy.
One of the reasons I love Cameron Highlands already (and yes, it’s love) is because it’s so much cooler here. Not just metaphorically, but literally: I wore pants and a jumper today. I don’t think i can quite put into words how happy this makes me; that crisp chill in the air just warms my heart (ironically).
We went for a little walk earlier, and found a little section on the roof with a beautiful view (both the mountains and Gav, hehe):
Of course, this weather goes hand in hand with the British influence up here. In fact, Gav was just reading about the explorer William Cameron, who was a Scot, and who came to these highlands because they reminded him of home. And for someone who hasn’t been “home” to the UK/Europe for so many years (when I used to go as a kid), I get that same nostalgic yearning for a little bit of the UK in my life.
And now I’ve got it!
Here’s just a taste of the style of the resort, along with some cheeky goldfish:
We had a beautiful hot pot dinner al fresco, with hot pot and a ridiculous amount of fresh, juicy strawberries covered in chocolate sauce. It’s just a dream. I can’t tell you how happy this makes me, and most importantly, how refreshed I already feel.
I, of course, took an excessive amount of time to arrange my strawberries in a circle, and then douse them with milk chocolate and white chocolate sauce, chocolate buttons and crushed meringue and walnuts. What can I say… I’m not holding back!
It’s funny how just a small trip can make such a big difference to your mentality, and your life. Just taking a little time out every now and then, to hit “refresh”, really puts everything in perspective. I feel so grateful to have this opportunity to stay here, and if you get the chance, I would highly recommend you do the same. After all, you deserve it!
It’s time for bed now, but I’ll be sure to report back on the next couple of days — I have my heart set on high tea tomorrow, complete with fresh strawberry jam and clotted cream. I’m in heaven!
Steph x