Georgetown to Tanah Rata

Saturday April, 19, 08
On the ferry for a 7:55 am push off, we leave Georgetown for Butterworh, across the Melaka Straits. The cloudy sky reminds me of the rain last night as John and I met the two couples we had spent the day with, for dinner - Indian restaurant.
8:10 deposits us on the dock, bus station immediately in front, and two seats are secured on a bus heading to Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands. A cup of coffee for breakfast, 26 ringgit for the bus fare and we wait for the 10:30 scheduled departure.
Here's how the bus terminal works. There is the national transport bus, Transnational, that's what we rode from Kota Bharu across the peninsula, here to Butterworth. Then, there are Express buses which are a few ringgit more. They offer convenience. Learning the system of each country is a trick. Instead of riding to Ipoh and waiting for another bus to Tanah Rata, we pay the extra 6 ringgit ($2) for a direct ride. We hope to arrive mid-afternoon. The later you wait, the more difficult it becomes to find accommodations. Even before entering the terminal, touts intercept us. They are committed to a private concern and work to get you to buy their ticket. When we board the bus, we are handed a new ticket. The original reads 26 ringgit. The new one reads 23.5. Where did the difference go? Oh, there's always a something.
The 40 passenger bus is filled with 1/3 Westerners and 2/3 locals. Grinding up the long hills on the main highway to KL, we are passed by lorries, possibly the worst bus in the station. What's next, get out and push? Disgust turns to insult as a Moped passes to our left. We are in first gear. An inner cheer sounds as we work past an Esso tanker and enter a tunnel.
After 1 1/2 hours we stop for a rest. John and I share bananas, melon, and mandarins. We are in the very back bouncing and weaving. A barbarous act may be needed to rid us all of a few pesky flies.
Another 25 minute stop in Ipoh and we enter the Highlands. Sitting next to me is a young lad from Paris who is traveling with 3 friends. 5 months are behind him with 3 to go. We are each in our own tailor made walkabout. This is part of the mystery!
Grinding up steep hills we all become part of the same team. It can be done! We mentally push the bus with desire and cooperation. Over the top, this one, ahead is another.
Rain begins, slowly at first. A car is in the ditch as a tow truck works its magic. The driver, a young woman, sits across the road her head hung in her hands.
Now instead of passing on a blind curve, as our driver did on our last bus ride, we are being passed. Rain! Another car in the ditch. Fog.
In the Cameron Highlands, we pass thousands of hot houses featuring strawberries, all kinds of vegetables, flowers and nursery plants. Tea plantations dot the hillsides.
Rain, again, which drips in through a ceiling vent. Workers, who have boarded in Ipoh de-bus and walk home. One sign says "Strawberries - Self Plucking". That makes me grin!
We arrive at the bus terminal in rain, 4:00, and are ushered into a van which takes us to Cameronian Lodge. Here we have a room for 65 ringgit, own bathroom. Tomorrow, when John leaves, I will move to a new location two blocks away which I have already discovered has a single room for 15 ringgit. The air is cool. The town feels like a resort. Beautiful!