The Cameron Highlands 30.01.10 - 31.01.10

view from the crest of the hill on our trek/ The Crazy Plumber's own garden

We transfer by minibus to the cool tranquility of the Cameron Highlands tea plantations set in the jungle covered hills in western Malaysia. Choosing a tudor-style traditional guesthouse proves instantly rewarding when we spy a chalkboard sign saying 'Homemade tea and scones served!' There's nothing like a good cup of tea, so it's imperative we stock up while we're here. They don't pick by hand here though, like in Sri Lanka. They use a piece of machinery which still needs to be held above the plants by two workers, but it takes off all the top layer of leaves and stalks and this has to be sorted through back at the plant. In Sri Lanka the top grade of tea, the gold tip, comes only from the young leaves, specially hand selected, but this selection process is virtually impossible here, using the mechanisation. We come to the conclusion that Malaysia is a much more developed country than Sri Lanka and the career of a tea picker would not be acceptable as its back-breaking work and the pay would be too low. We opt to go out into the depths of the jungle again to see how different it is to Taman Negara and book a local guide to take us. Now begins a very memorable part of our stay here. Our guide, the 'Crazy Plumber', as he calls himself, does not actually want to be a guide. He gets labelled a botanist because of his discoveries of new orchid species but he just enjoys being out in the forest, observing the plants and looking out for any new varieties he's not come across before. He doesn't like to be called a botanist because he's not formally trained, but, as we learn throughout our enlightening jungle trek, he holds an intense passion for plants and cultivation. He's been internationally acclaimed for discovering new species of orchid and we have the distinct privilege of viewing two of these rare beauties in their natural habitat. He brings us to them, exclaiming that he's not ever seen this particular one grow to such a height.

He's keen for us not to report back to the tour operator on the places he's taken us today because he feels protective of their secrecy and wishes to maintain their beauty by preventing too much foot traffic passing through. He is scathing of other guides who tear down the plants if they should encroach the trail. He shows us a patch of ferns which he was nurturing and they'd recently been cut down, he believes by a local guide who must be unaware that if a fern is cut at the merry stem it will not grow back. The forest is not protected and we're appalled by the news part of it is to be cut down for building development.

The Crazy Plumber tells us he's also a smuggler, removing samples of certain species from the forest to cultivate in his own extensive garden. He knows this is unlawful but believes that if he did not do this, rare species may be lost when the developers come. He occassionally sends pieces to botanical gardens at Kew in London and other parts of Europe for recording and further cultivation. He's very knowledgable on the identification of species and shows us a hoya which is almost indistinguishable from a vine. We learn about how to grow orchids from shoots, the difference between types of liana vines and get to smell the various leaves from the cinnamon to the 'deep heat' plant. The forest is enchanted. It's much more alive with flowers than the Taman Negara rainforest and if we came back in the month of June, the orchids, which are everywhere, would be in bloom and it would be a beautiful setting.