From the islands, we got a bus back to Kota Bahru. We went to a cultural center where we saw traditional Malaysian games, music, and martial arts dance. Then we went to the night market where we had a Malaysian feast. We enjoyed listening to the evening prayer broadcast from the nearby mosque. That evening we took the night bus to Ipoh. In the wee hours of the morning (just before dawn), we could hear the Islamic prayer faintly in the distance while we waited for our bus connection. We wound through jungle-clad mountains up into the Cameron Highlands.

The town of Tanah Rata is an English hill station.  The population is predominantly Indian so we’ve been getting to enjoy fabulous Indian food all day long! The climate is much cooler than elsewhere in SE Asia. When we arrived, we took a short trek to a waterfall and through the mountains. Today, we caught a local bus to a crossroads and then hiked through tea plantations and dense jungle up to the top of a nearby mountain. We’ve enjoyed seeing all the morning glories, bamboo, banana trees, air plants, and moss-covered trees. We even spotted two monkeys on our way, swinging down from the top branches of a tall tree. We got to pick strawberries at a strawberry farm and enjoyed eating them with some chocolate along the ridge of the mountains. This evening, we took a walk along a trail to a tall waterfall where we had good conversation.