Rent Car To Cameron Highlands

I am thinking of renting a car and driving up to Cameron Highlands with my wife. This will give us privacy, more control over our trip, and may be cheaper than taking a tour company there. What do you think? Is it a good idea?

I found that the humity of Malaysia was extremely oppressive to me. My clothes were continually saturated with perspiration and I often found myself physically exhausted. That is why I found the Cameron Highlands so wonderful. The air there is so clear and crisp. It is much cooler than in the lowlands. It is often shrouded in misty clouds.

The scenery was breath taking and I hiked for miles and miles without seeing a soul. The pace of life up there is much, much slower and the locals are incredibly friendly and welcoming. It is not the place to go for heavy duty shopping or night clubs etc. but it is a dream location if you just want to slow down a bit and take some time to relax and get away from the tourist jaunts. If you are into beautiful views - you will love it. There are lots of flower farms and markets etc. to walk around. I could imagine that it would be a fantastic place to spend some romatic time together.

A word of warning about driving though. Many people will tell you that the country roads are much quieter than the city roads and you might be tempted into thinking that driving is fine. What you will discover is that the roads into the Cameron Highlands are extremely windy and narrow. In many places the roads are only wide enough for one car and the other has to pull off the road to let a car pass before proceeding.

Due to the daily tropical downpours the road edges are very slippery and fatal accidents are not uncommon at all. Due to the fog and mist that are common up there, visibility is not always the best. There are many logging trucks that speed up and down the mountains as well, which make things hairy at least. Everyone I spoke to advised me against driving even on the country roads and I am so grateful that I took their advice.

The alternative that I found was that I hired a car for the month and in addition my travel agent was also able to hire local drivers for me also. Therefore, I would have a driver for 3 - 4 days whom would take me so far down the island, then another driver from that area would take over.

The added benefit of being in such close contact with a local was that I found myself exposed to so much culture, hints and tips that I never expected. One of my driver's was hindu - so he took me to many Hindu temples and explained in detail their religion and beliefs - another driver was Chinese - again he took me to his temples. He was a real foodie, so took me to see how Chinese Malay food really is prepared. The local drivers took me to places to eat and sleep that I would never have found in any tourist brochure - One driver took me to his relatives home - so I stayed a few days in a traditional tribal house.

Whilst having a driver was an expense that I did not plan on (however, due to exchange rates - it was incredibly cheap). as I explained, by having a local expert with me, I was able to save an incredible amount of money by eating and sleeping at much cheaper places than the mainstream tourist hotels offered. I saw and did things that I could never have dreamed of doing as a tourist. The drivers would also see that anything I did buy was at the proper price and not the one often offered for tourists. I honestly can't tell you just how much I gained from this experience.

Without exception, all the drivers I had welcomed me fully to their country, treated me with incredible respect and without any hesitation helped me immerse myself into their culture. I had the bonus of not being restricted by a schedule (if I had been on a tourist bus etc.) and was free to travel anywhere and stop at any place on the side of the road that caught my attention. It is amazing how many things you see in a foreign country and wonder what they are and how great it is when you have someone that can actually tell you what they are.

So bottom line for me, is NO I would never drive anywhere in Malaysia. I know that there are many bus companies that offer bus trips up into the Cameron Highlands etc. but I just thought I would explain to you the option I took and how well it worked out for me.

If you are planning to drive to Cameron Highland, I suggest you to rent a car in Ipoh. Maybe you can get onto train to Ipoh (about 5 hours journey from KL). Once there, rent a car and please buy a map.

However, need to alarm you that road in Malaysia especially in the city area like Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang, map doesn't help sometimes.

The road direction constantly change, and its like you driving in labyrinth. You might follow the right direction, but you will ended up at a different location instead. Even locals have hard time to go to one place to another. The worst I should say is Kuala Lumpur.

The only straight wide road in Malaysia is the pay-highway. My suggestion is, better use travel agent. You won't waste your time, get to see more places in short period, and they can plan few fun activities for you.

Do not take the group tour, just take the individual package. The agency can cater the plan according to your need. Enjoy your trip!

Cameron Highland Tanah Rata

Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands, is the biggest of the Cameronian towns. Comprising a row or two of shop houses along the main road. One can find many eateries, English café wannabees, banks, government office, grocery stores, from the budget accommodations to the more comfortable but pricier hotels.

Tanah Rata literally means 'flat land', was so named because of gentle slopes and plateau land. Tanah Rata is relatively flat in comparison with the other tourist town of Brinchang. There is quite a lot of development going on around here and if you return a few years later you will find some new additions to the town.

You can move around the town quite easily on foot as it is not such a big place. I myself have walked up and down the whole place exploring the area without much of a problem. The weather is nice to explore around the place and you actually don't quite really need a map of the area. Good excuse for me to avoid drawing a map for you guys, I'm just not good at using Adobe Illustrator and using Microsoft Paint was more like Microsoft Pain. If you really need one just pop in over to your friendly neighbourhood bookstore and get one inexpensively.

Overlooking the town is the old Roman Catholic Convent School, which can be easily seen atop a hill by standing on the main street facing towards the west. Next to it, is the Tudor styled Heritage Hotel. In keeping with the theme of Tudor style architecture, all new buildings thus constructed bear the same Tudor style. Greenhill Apartments is also located here and one of my church, Grace Assembly favourite place to hold up for church camp every year!.


There are several souvenirs shops selling the usual Cameron Highlands keepsake items. There is the Yung Seng Souvenir Shop which is more upmarket than the others. It has quite an interesting selection of Orang Asli crafts and woodcarvings. You can also purchase the Orang Asli blowpipes with its darts (minus the poison of course!) and try your hand at shooting it with your forceful breath exhalation! It is not easy! Imagine the Orang Asli still hunts for their meal with this contraption even today! As for me, my favourite souvenir has been the fridge magnet which I have collected from my various travels, perhaps if you are like me; do get one of those thingy to stick onto your refrigerator!

One of Malaysians favorite pastime of drinking teh tarik (lit. "pulled tea") and eating roti chanai (Indian bread) dip in curry sauce, sitting in the open fresh air, applies equally here in Cameron Highlands as per anywhere in Malaysia with one exception; the air is cooler here and you can sit around all day long! Even into the wee hours of the night, locals still enjoy a cup of teh tarik while gathered together with friends yakking away just about anything under sun (or moon, if nighttime)! If only they have WIFI just like the local bistro, wouldn't that make it complete! You can then surf and browse my Cameron-Highland-Destination.com web site to check up the details for your trip planning! And while you are at it, do sign up for my irregular Newsletter, no?

Not to forget, with the entrance stairs tuck away in an alley, is the cozy T-Café, located on the first floor above the Merrybrown fast food shop. It has a warm and friendly atmosphere with a very wide and inexpensive choice of food selection. Recommended visit for a meal, or maybe two!

There is a taxi station located further east of the town, where you can get your ride around Cameron if you are in need of transportation. And for those who use bus coach for traveling, the bus terminal is conveniently located here; easy access to all the hotels accommodation around town and other amenities.

Further on to the east, you will reach the government medical clinic and the Police station. Facing opposite is the Tanah Rata garden and playground. Good place for hyperactive children to run about while the parent relaxes and supervise the children's activities!

The road along the park will lead you on to one of the jungle trails leading towards the Robinson Waterfalls. There are several other trails from Tanah Rata. To find out where they start from, do get a map. I'm not that good in drawing it out!

During the night, plenty of food choices available, ranging from the delicious Chinese dish, the ever popular steamboat. Western dishes are available too. Do check out my Cameron-Highland-Destination.com eateries section to find out what are the choices available. But as for me I would prefer to go for the Chinese dishes usually. Western dishes here are rather average in taste unless you don't mind paying for it I'll show you a few good ones. For more spicy variety you could go for Indian rice and curry dishes.

And after gorging yourself with a sumptuous meal, there is not much of a night activity except maybe the night market if available or head on over to some hotel for a drink or two in their English styled bars.