I arrived in Tanah Rata, a town in the Cameron Highlands, in the early afternoon. A man promoted Daniel’s Traveler Lodge as I exited the bus. And for once, it was the guesthouse I wanted. Usually, I ignore these touts. Why would they need to hard-sell, if their lodge was any good? Anyway, it was my intended destination, so I hopped in his van.
Two other travelers joined me in the van: Tony (Miami, Florida) and Ben (Australia). We all got lunch together after checking in. I learned they were both on vacation from teaching English in Hanoi, Vietnam. Tony wanted to camp overnight in the jungle. I said I’d be down for that, if they could find a guide.
I wanted to trek in the Highlands. That’s why I was here. I looked around travel agencies for guided treks. It was hard to get a hold of a guide since it was a Sunday afternoon. Finally I found an agency that had their act together. I signed up for the medium difficulty hike. I didn’t want to select the challenging one and possily get sick for Indonesia.
I saw Tony and Ben later in the evening (small town). They said they found someone who could take them camping at night. I said I would go.
I immediately felt overbooked. Two treks in a day? That would be exhausting, too. And it got cold enough in the Highlands. I guarantee I wasn’t prepared with warm gear. I let that feeling sit for a while.
I got Indian food for dinner. It was easy to find here–like Mexican food in the US. In fact, it usually finds me. Hosts standing outside their food place vy for business.
I sat by myself at a long table outside the restaraunt. A middle-aged guy sat down across the table and one seat down from me. Two older ladies sat down to the right of us two. We all introduced ourselves after we ordered food. The guy, Derek, was from England. He managed a bar in Melaka for the past six months. The ladies were from Canada. They taught English in Kuala Lumpur.
Derek’s career was unfocused. He did what he could. Derek was troubled about his experience managing the bar in Melaka. He had had enough. He mulled over the thought of returning to England and managing a bar there.
The ladies were focused on teaching English. They had taught in the US and Europe before coming to Malaysia. They loved the freedom of their career. They would move to a new country every 5-10 years. They enjoyed life.