1.             The Sublime and the Ridiculous

From The Cameron Highlands to JB, (Johor Bahru, Baru or Baharu: take you pick, Malaysia

The (almost) Sublime Cameron Highlands. The tea plantations that coat these lovely highlands with a soft green carpet provide one of my favourite destinations in Malaysia. Green, Cool, Quaint. Tea plantations gracing the hills. Rain, and more rain. A scenic trip up to the mountains: those are the pluses.


However, there is a huge minus. I love walking and hiking. I have walked all over the highlands: Mount Brinchang to Tanah Rata, Tanah Rata to Brinchang town (several ways), Tanah Rata to Habu and so on. Putting aside the neglect by the authorities for poorly maintained paths, what I cannot forgive is the garbage. Go to the Parit Falls and what do you see? When a waterfall cascading into a forest shrouded pool is nothing more than a bobbing morass of polystyrene, plastic bags, cans and garbage, you cry out in total disgust. The rotting piles of garbage come from Brinchang town where the locals feel it is the most convenient way to dispose of rubbish.

The local council is a culprit.  They pile garbage on the river bank. Whoops. Some falls in. Too bad. The Highlands are far too beautiful to be destroyed by this attitude, a.k.a. laziness.
I would not want to put you off, as a visit to the tea plantations and the moss forest are charming. The garbage spoils it.

Attractions with more than average charm include the Time Tunnel, the rose Garden (getting a little dilapidated, sadly) and the Smokehouse.
Some of the other so-called attractions are less worthwhile: the bee farms and the butterfly centre near the Kea Farm area. The strawberry farms are OK, but it’s a pity the fruit is so tart. They suffer from GM. Fruit today is grown for packaging and not for taste. That is true of anywhere in the world: especially Woolworths.


But at night, the relative cool is a welcome respite from Kuala Lumpur’s heat. Wander down the main street of Tanah Rata and enjoy great Indian food. Starbucks opened. Yuck. The place is not only suffering from a garbage problem: it is facing a fast food invasion which will serve to replace charm with commercialism.

There is another interesting side visit you can make. The Cameron Highlands is home to a special group of the Orang Asli (aboriginal people): the Senoi, the dream people. The mention of dream people evokes my own appreciation of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia.

Similarities between them? Dreamtime is the reality. Genocide: also a reality. When the Malays invaded the peninsula, as happened in Australia, the aboriginal people were virtually wiped out. The Cameron Highlands is home to the largest remnant of this once great people on mainland Malaysia. The Malays referred to them as ‘saki’: ‘bestial aborigine’ or ‘slave.’

They still carry on their traditions, but they have been reduced to a shadow of their former selves. Those that live here still hunt, fashion blow pipes, weave baskets…Why? For the tourists. For the most part, they work, alongside the Indians, at the plantations. Visit them by all means, but reflect on what it must be like to be a remnant amidst a society that sees little value in you. Sound familiar? Ask an Australian Aboriginal.

But, if you feel like a day in somewhere totally different to Singapore, take one of the cigarette infused Malaysian buses from Queen Street to JB. (remember to have correct change when you return two ringgit fifty — it has risen to 3.30 in 2016) I have traveled several times to JB over the past forty years, usually from Singapore, and usually to play golf at the one of many good courses on the outskirts of the city of Johor Bahru.

That, I recommend. I also recommend going to your golf game via Tuas and not over the causeway.


The bus trip from Singapore trip is short, and customs and immigration on both sides are normally fast (and even sometimes pleasant), but avoid peak hours.
JB itself? Jalan Wong Ah Fook is the main street immediately outside the customs and immigration complex. I have lived for over forty years in Asia. I have visited some towns that are less than salubrious. My least favourite: Karachi, Medan, Manila. This one, and this street in particular, has so little to commend it that you might as well give it a miss. Smelly, rubbish strewn streets, cracked pavements, gaping and downright dangerous, decaying buildings, is shoddily built and immediately starts to disintegrate.

 Is there anything to commend it? I tried to visit the botanic gardens. Closed.

‘For renovation’ I asked the guard,

‘No. It borders on the Sultan’s palace. He uses it has his back yard.’

‘Which palace? He has seven in the state?’

‘The biggest one.’

Renowned as the wealthiest of all Malaysia’s fabulously wealthy Sultans, some of his wealth comes from nature. One of his favourite pursuits: wild life smuggling and international sales. They help him reach a level of wealth that enables him to buy a Lear jet for his son’s birthday. His take from the largest oil palm plantations in Malaysia is considerable. His Richness owns hundreds of cars, including several classic cars. One used to belong to Hitler. It is in appropriate hands.

Johor Bahru is home to horse polo. The Sultan’s other whimsy. The Royal Selangor Polo team is touted as being the pride of Malaysia. Tacky tacky. Ralph Lauren designed polo t-shirts for them.  Yay. But, the Sultan supports it so it must be good. It beats me how some Malaysians still revere this bunch of corrupt individuals. Maybe they respect the fact that at least some one can make a fortune. But at whose cost?

Like any other country or city, travel a little, walk a little beyond the main air conditioned magnets, and you will be charmed. Try Jalan Segget for starters: the quaint Chinese sector of the city. Olden style coffee shops, traditional bakeries, temples, an interesting Chinese history museum. Add to that the fact that the buildings are renovated and a delight to the eye. A winding street, weaving around shady trees. That is more like it.

Other parts of the city have charm. Wander round the environs of Larkin Bus Terminal and check out decaying shopping centres and old homes. Travel through the tree lined suburbs and you could find it attractive.

The waterfront? Danga Bay? Touted as a paradise for the well off, it is taking shape: slowly. Interspersed with new high rise towers of expensive apartments are malls that have already failed. This is, after all, Malaysia, where the money is made in the construction, not the operation.

Johor Bahru is almost a dormitory suburb of Singapore. People (including Singaporeans) live there as they cannot afford to live in the world’s most expensive city. They clog the causeway or Tuas checkpoints with their motor bikes and cars, or pile on to the buses and spend a couple of hours a day traveling internationally.

There are plans to link the cities by MRT. Developing overly fast, white elephants abound. Try using your GPS in Kota Iskandar: the development is so chaotic that not even Google can keep up.

‘At the next intersection, turn left.’

You do as you are told and run into drums blocking roads that don’t exist. These days, you can visit Hello Kitty, Pine Studies and Legoland. Tours run there from Singapore. Food, golfing and a couple of pockets aside, JB is dirty, chaotic and uninteresting. It has precious little of the charm of other Malaysian cities such as Melaka, Ipoh, Taiping and Georgetown.
In a word, only go if you live in Singapore high rise and need a reality check.