Driving back in time

We left the metropolis of Kuala Lumpur and drove 150 miles north and at 150 years back in time to the tea growing Cameron Highlands. This beautiful hillside was "discovered" in the 1880's by the British surveyor William Cameron and is only accessible by a windy mountain road that leads you up to 4000 feet in elevation. I am amazed that my cellphone still works here and I can wirelessly transmit this blog entry. The highlands up here are a total departure from what's going on in the cities further to the South. Instead of the latest model Maserati people ride rusty bicycles with a bundle of firewood strapped to them for this evening's dinner cooking. Malaysians here live in wooden shacks on stilts that have no windows but only wooden screens to allow the breeze to blow through. 

As we were driving by, my father and I pondered the concept of living this way: according to some UN world survey the people in this area would probably be considered to be living in "poverty" and the inclination would probably be that something has to be done to "help" and improve their quality of life. But to us it seems like everyone is very happy and content and you wonder how many of the things that make us westerners appear to be not living in poverty are really necessary. The hand-to-mouth subsistence economy of everyone here is working pretty well. Kids leave school in their uniforms, smiling. Everything is clean and well taken care of. Foreigners are received with kindness and no envy. Maybe it's the religion here that facilitates.

OM!