I was on the bus on my way to Melaka when I met her, a very funny Dutch girl. We discussed our travel plans and it was a great fit; we had similar plans.
It has been a while since the last time I had a chance to hitch-hike. I was craving it! Plus, it’s always a great way to meet locals and enjoy the ride. I had already done a few searches about hitch-hiking in Malaysia. I knew it was supposedly easy. In fact; they were saying that it should take around 5 minutes to get a ride.
Here we were, getting out of the train to reach our first hitch-hiking spot outside of Kuala Lumpur on our way to Cameron Highlands. She was excited; it was her first time. I was a bit nervous as I was hoping for a great experience so she could enjoy it.
Hitch-Hiking from Kuala Lumpur to Cameron Highlands: 3 rides
Starting point: We took the train to Rawang so we can get to the highway. We knew there was a gas station and a Starbucks next to the highway and this could be a great starting point. But, we got confused on our way and we ended up heading in the wrong direction. It was too hot. We decided to hitch-hike knowing that our current location wasn’t good enough to get a ride. We met our first driver; a great Samaritan who came back for us.
– Girls, hitch-hiking is not normal in Malaysia! Where are you going? You will never find a ride! You should take the bus!
I was prepared. He drove us to the gas station, had a coffee with us and gave us his number in case we waited until the next day so he could drive us. He wished us luck and left. This was a great start.
Then, we met a very nice guy who works in the Air Force and a cute couple that were about to spend a few days in Cameron Highlands for their holidays. They drove us all the way to our hotel even though it was quite far. They even decided to book the same hotel. We stopped along the way to enjoy the tea plantations. We were still alive, happily safe and grateful!
