Holidays (Cameron Highlands Trip) Part 6

...We were so full after we had our brunch. Just as we were about to get in the car, it started to rain heavily. The rain made the air even colder and I was shivering after the ice cream I had. We had no choice but to wait for the rain to simmer down before we could get to the car. During that time, we took the opportunity to read about the different types of packages that the Bala Chalet and Tea House had to offer and also about the eye-opening history of the place. Their packages include many cool activities such as jungle tracking through the jungles of Cameron Highlands and also having a sightseeing tour around Cameron Highlands. My parents looked quite interested when they read about the packages and perhaps a future trip here could be very much possible.

We were mesmerized when we read about the history of the place. The place was established back in 1934 as a boarding school for European expatriate children as a branch of the more famous Tanglin school in Singapore. It began with as much as 150 pupils and 22 qualified teachers all recruited from England. The story of the Tanglin School through Japanese Occupation and Emergency inspires any educator. Its owner and headmistress, Miss Griffith Jones O.B.E. had passed on her love for nature by preserving the school's surroundings in its natural habitat complete with tigers and leopards roaming around but at a safe distance. When Miss Griffith retired in 1958 she still stayed on, in the highlands she had grown to love and was finally buried at the foothills.

 A former pupil always recalls "tea being served in the best British tradition", a tradition that has passed on till today. Though now it is no more a school it still carries on this tradition in a different way. It's present owner, K. Balakrishnan, a local boy bought over this property with Peter Blumbach, a German businessman after the school closed down and turned it into a guesthouse which became a fine place to stay over the years. In spite of the numerous refurbishments, the original Tudor concept is still being preserved so much so that old girls of the school have returned to pleasantly find they could recognize the music room, the dining room etc. Even the gardener, Mr. Kuppanan has stayed on for the past 47 years tending to his beloved flowers. Now in the present day, the place is still a favourite for tourists visiting Cameron Highlands...