Shadows of Reality

It has turned out to be a really interesting day. Our hotel is in the town of Ipoh - a good springboard for the Cameron Highlands which we wanted to see. On arrival, we picked up a leaflet of local street art (a version of Brick Lane) and so spent the morning trying to locate as many of these displays as we could find.  This search was hampered by extreme heat and a very poor map.  However, we did find quite a few as well as other interesting places; you never know what you'll find in a new place. One image potential that caught my eye was this row of bird cages hanging outside in the sun and fresh air - actually outside a pet shop. I was particularly taken with the strong shadow shapes of the cages. 

We returned to our hotel to refresh before setting out for a look at the Cameron Highlands where we expected to view areas of tea plantations.  In fact there were many, many acres of enormous poly-tunnels of strawberries. The whole countryside is covered in these constructions - it's BIG business.  We continued on our twisty turny route and eventully came across the one hillside covered in tea bushes, also accompanied by tourist viewing point and souvenir shop! It was actually very photogenic despite poor light.

We continued our journey back down the mountain, realising that the many roadside shacks were, in fact, where people lived. There were also lots of dogs - semi-wild and on every bend of the road (of which there were many).  Passing by one spot there was a group of children sitting on top of an old car - they waved and we stopped.  They were keen to pose for a photograph.  They seemed vey happy and it is a sobering thought that it is not necessarily possessions or fancy housing that creates happiness!

Tomorrow we move on again to a coastal town - no doubt stopping at a few things on the way.