Recently, a friend invited me on a trip to Cameron Highlands in Pahang. I was reluctant to join at first because I had been to the place a couple of times recently and the drive there was pretty long and tiring for me.

However, my previous visits were solely for hiking purposes; I had never actually been to any of the other nearby attractions. Also, my friend had never been to Cameron Highlands so I thought it would be nice to go on a short break after all.

Since I knew the area better, I made all the arrangements and bookings. I booked a hotel near Brinchang, which was where I stayed previously. We left Klang Valley on a Saturday and arrived at Cameron Highlands at around 6.30pm, where we immediately made our way to the Golden Hills Weekend Night Market, supposedly a “must-visit” attraction for visitors to the area.

The traffic was at a standstill en route to the night market, so we parked the car by the roadside and walked over instead. It was pretty crowded, but it seemed like any other night market in the Klang Valley. You can also find vendors selling various kinds of fresh produce, local delicacies and highland fruits like strawberries.

We had dinner at a Thai restaurant that another friend had recommended, and just hung around for a bit to enjoy the cool weather. Unfortunately, it got a little too chilly for me as I had forgotten to bring my jacket.

The view at the Cameron Valley Tea House KT was spectacular. — Photos: KOH KAR SIONG

After that, we went to Centrum Mall for a cup of coffee, and stayed at the coffee until closing time at 11pm.

The next day, we woke up early for breakfast at Gerai Makan Kea Farm, which was delicious. We visited the farm’s market area to buy some fresh produce before heading to the BOH Sungai Palas Tea Centre near Brinchang.

As expected, it was really crowded on the famous tea plantation. So, we just took a few photos before proceeding to next destination, which was the Lavender Garden. It had various kinds of flowers and was a very nice place to do a photoshoot. We proceeded to the Sam Poh Temple near Brinchang, where we prayed for a bit and bought some traditional herbs and oils from a stall right in front of the temple.

After lunch we decided to visit another two tea plantations that other travellers had recommended. One was the Cameron Valley Tea House KT. There was an entrance fee of RM3, but it was worth it as the view from this plantation was just breathtaking.

We also went to the Bharat Tea Plantation, though I don’t really have much to say about this place.

Cameron Highlands is one of the best places for a weekend getaway, or if you just need to go somewhere to unwind. The temperature is cool and the air is fresh. I did not expect the place to have so many other interesting attractions, other than hiking!

The views expressed are entirely the writer’s own.