A Malaysian Photo And Travel Blog

I LOVE Cameron Highlands. Breathtaking scenery, rolling hills, Tudor-styled cottages and exquisite tea estate atmosphere ~ truly a HEAVEN on EARTH. My last trip to Cameron Highlands was three years ago and I enjoyed every moment of my time spent at this place.

On my recent trip to Cameron Highlands, I had high expectations. But then the bad news started to appear. "Land clearing rampant in Cameron Highlands in the last four months", "Cameron Highlands in terrible shape due to land clearing and water pollution", "Illegal land clearing fouls water source for 13 farms in Cameron Highlands" and more! WOW! Are you kidding me? Daylight land clearing in Cameron Highlands?! This is insane! What's wrong with these people? Two words...HUMAN GREED! >.<

Despite all that, I boarded a local coach all the way from Pudu Sentral (formerly Puduraya Terminal, Malay: Hentian Puduraya is the main bus station terminus in Kuala Lumpur) to Cameron Highlands. A whooping 4.5 hours bus ride. The coach left Pudu Sentral 8:30 am and I arrived at Freesia Bus Terminal, Tanah Rata, Cameron Highlands at 1:00 p.m in the afternoon.

Tanah Rata is the most popular destination among backpackers, resulting in a large collection of budget hotels, inns and lodges. Talking about budget stay, I had sleepless nights in Kang's Traveler Hotel....stone hard pillows, malfunction water heater, and night bugs. ARGH! I'd rather not go into details, but this shall be my last stay in Kang's Hotel :(

On Day 2 of my Cameron Highlands trip, I spent almost four hours exploring BOH Tea Plantation (Estate) in Sungai Palas, Cameron Highlands. The weather here is SO UNPREDICTABLE! One moment it rains so heavily, then the next moment you have the sun come out. I managed to track down a small group of tea pickers on a secluded hill. The trail is a bit tricky and steep, but again for a seasoned trekker like me it is just a piece of cake.

Upon reaching them (the tea pickers), the supervisor looked at me with grave disapproval. He told me bluntly to my face that I need an official letter to take pictures. WTF? Are you kidding me? I tried to explain to him that I'm NO reporter, photos NOT for commercial use. I'm just an ordinary photog. After much explanation, he finally relented and gave his permission. JEEZ!

Before diving into more details, let us first take a look at some COOL FACTS about BOH Tea Plantation and Estate in Sungai Palas, Cameron Highlands:

1. In 1885, the surveyor William Cameron, described the 1,500 m high Cameron Highlands as a fine plateau with gentle slopes, shut in by lofty mountains. His account was the first record of the ascent on the mountain range although the native Orang Asli had been visiting the mountains for centuries
2. BOH Plantations Sdn. Bhd. has a total of 8000 acres planted with tea. The BOH Tea Plantation, which is located at Cameron Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia is also the largest tea plantation in Southeast Asia.
3. The current slogan of BOH tea products is "BOH ada Ummph!" (BOH has Ummph!).
4. BOH Plantations was founded in 1929 by J.A. Russell, a British businessman during the British colonial era in Malaya. He was optimistic of the tea plantation business due to huge demands despite of the world-wide Great Depression at that time. As a result of the potential, he applied for and was granted a concession of land for his first tea garden in Habu, Cameron Highlands.
5. Today, BOH Plantations owns four tea gardens – Habu, Sungei Palas and Fairlie situated in Cameron Highlands; and Bukit Cheeding in Selangor. To ensure the freshness of its tea products, BOH Plantations also set up a packaging factory near its main garden. BOH tea products are distributed both in domestic and international markets.
6. The Fairlie tea garden utilises some of the most modern machines in the world. 
7. With a production capacity approaching 3000 kg per hectare, the company produces 4 million kg of tea annually which translates to about 5.5 million cups per day. This represents about 70% of all tea produced in Malaysia.
8. Today BOH exports its brand of prime grade teas to various countries including the USA, United Arab Emirates, Japan, Singapore and Brunei. 

NOTE: Facts and numbers are obtained from Wikipedia, Brunei Times and CameronHighlands.com.

Walking along the paths taken by tea workers can't be that bad, honestly. This is how you get to see their daily routines up close. I'll let my pictures do the the talking. If you enjoy reading my photo blog article, click LIKE and share it with your friends :)

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1. Learn about the tea plantation in Cameron Highlands, the benefits of tea and the fascinating history of BOH Plantations who was a pioneer in the tea industry since 1929. That's 83 years ago! 
2. Visit the adjacent tea factory to observe how natural and simple the tea making process really is. 
3. Take a picture near the six foot diameter solid brass tea rolling table at the main entrance. 
4. Savour the various teas uniquely manufactured by BOH in Malaysia. 
5. Admire the superb views of the estate from a 20 foot overhanging wooden platform. 
6. Try the yummy snacks and light meals available at the Tea’ria. Taste scones, chicken pie, Boh Ice Lemon Tea, Cameronian Pot of Tea and more!