Day Four – Cameron Highlands, Malaysia 8:30 a.m. — Wake up and partake in some of the toast and tea that is also free at this guesthouse. I have my bed for the night again and pay another $7.20. Chat with people for a while and decide with an Australian couple to trek on Trail 1 later that day. We plan to leave by 11. $7.20

10:30 a.m. — I go out and buy some snacks for the day’s hike: coconut-fried peanuts, more dates, fresh bananas, and a liter of water. $5.18

11:30 a.m. — We finally get ourselves together and leave the guesthouse by 11:30. The trailhead is about 6 km away, so we hitchhike to the bottom and begin walking. The 3.5 km trail is steep, at times almost a sheer vertical through the jungle that involves lots of mud and ropes and upper-body strength. After an hour and a half, we reach the top and are greeted by a lovely viewpoint and mist-filled mossy forests. We rest for a while and take some pictures.

3 p.m. — We head back down on the road and it takes us through a tea planation, one of the crops the Cameron Highlands are famous for. We stop at the café in the center of the plantation and enjoy a very soothing cup of tea with a scone ($1.54). It starts to rain almost the moment we leave the café, but not a minute later a Malaysian family lets us pile into the back of their car and drives us back to town. They also invite us to go strawberry picking with them, which we accept. I proceed to pick and eat a whole lot of free strawberries. $1.54

5:30 p.m. — We are still a few kilometers away from our guesthouse at the end of the strawberry picking, and after saying goodbye to the kind family, we start walking again in the rain. Within a minute, another car stops and picks us up, driven by a Malaysian girl who lives just around the corner from where we are staying.

6 p.m. — We are famished, so after returning to the guesthouse and dropping off our wet stuff, we immediately head to a restaurant for dinner. I order a thali, a biryani, and a mango lassi. $3.84

7 p.m. — Back at the guesthouse for a shower and to hang out. I play cards and then read a bit, nodding off by 10.

Daily Total: $17.76