[Cameron Highlands] Driving Up the Highlands

We started out at about 2:30pm from Ipoh and the first thing I saw was the massive destruction of nature. Hill after hill have been chopped off and big tipper trucks continued their extraction of stones, rocks and soil from these hills. I'll make this statement and keep it as that because I do not want to be involved in the politics of this matter. I hope the Malaysian government will ensure that the destruction of these hills do come with very good reasons other than just for development and modernization. 

Two Routes to Cameron Highlands

There are two roads from the opposite end that will lead you to this "hill station" in the clouds. Hill station is a term given by the British to signify a town that is up in the highlands or mountains that are generally above 1,000 metres. These two roads are from the western side of Malaysia. 

Tapah 

One is through Tapah which would be a curvy 1.30 hours drive. Even though it's a closer route to Singapore and KL, more people are skipping this route since it's more windy. This route though is more scenic and you can also stop to see the Lata Iskandar Waterfall.

Simpang Pulai

This road starts from Ipoh. As I did not want to be wrecked by the dizzy spell because of the windy road up to Cameron, I used this road. The roads are said to be much wider here. The ride up took me 1:45 hours and it was totally interesting for me. 

Firstly, I enjoyed navigating the bends. I tried to keep my speed low so that when I turn, the car does not gravitate too much to the left or to the right, thus reducing the probability of my passengers getting motion sickness.

Secondly, I faced all the elements as I drove up to Cameron - sweltering sun at the start of the road, then with intermittent showers, before feeling the coldness of the air that started to deep into the car. The temperature monitor in the car showed a drop of temperature from 33 degrees to 21 degrees. What a huge jump in temperature!

Thirdly, the road signs were well put together. So the chances of getting lost is rather low. Halfway through the journey, you will see a sign Tanah Rata (this is the name of one the towns up in the highlands). Follow that signboard, and other signboards with the words "Cameron Highlands" and you should be fine.