Caroline's Studio: cameron highlands

23 January 2012

23 November 2009

On the Jim Thompson Trail - Cameron Highlands

photos : http://www.jimthompson.com/

Perhaps those of you who have travelled in the Far East will have come across the name Jim Thompson, the Thai Silk King. Jim Thompson single handedly revived the cottage industry of silk weaving in Thailand during the 1960's and was renowned throughout the region for his expansive nature and gracious hospitality. His house by the klong in Bangkok was always full of good food and good cheer and today his spirit lives on in silk emporiums, the Jim Thompson House and museum and restaurants throughout the far east.

But - did you know, that this man disappeared without trace one evening in March 1967 in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia?

Moonlight cottage http://ipohtalk.com/camerons/camerons.html

Thompson was visiting his Singaporean friends the Lings at Moonlight Cottage. Following a picnic on Mt Brinchang, he and his friends went back to enjoy a siesta and then he simply vanished. Stories about his mysterious disappearance abound - there are numerous theories as to why Thompson was never seen again, some plausible and others complex and far-fetched. For example, many believe that he was kidnapped for his previous involvement in spying activities. Others reckon it is more likely that he was eaten by a tiger, murdered in a botched robbery, or fell into an aboriginal animal trap (a pit with a spike) and buried by the the local people (Orang Asli) when they discovered what had happened. It has also been said that he may have eloped with a beautiful local girl! Many hypotheses have been put forward to explain Thompson's disappearance and there were some reported sightings of him after his disappearance, but what happened to him still remains one of the greater unsolved mysteries of Southeast Asia.

Map of the highlands

Well, a visit the Cameron Highlands is certainly not complete without a search for the legendary Jim! We recently spent a couple of days in this beautiful cool region which is 3 hours drive north of Kuala Lumpur. Whilst there we followed the Jim Thompson Trail which was not far from our hotel , the Cameron Highlands Resort. Our guide (one of the original search party back in the 1960's) provided us with an interesting short trek through the jungle, peppered with stories about the legendary Thompson and fascinating facts about the flora and fauna of the rain forest. Unfortunately, I don't have many good photos as the late afternoon light in the forest was dim and our guide set a cracking pace!! We saw a lot of trees, fungi, ferns, ginger plants, bamboo, rare orchids and animal tracks. We heard many birds and insects and babbling streams, but we didn't find Jim!

At ground level fascinating fungi. This one's a Stinkhorn fungus - see my blog post here.

Magic mushrooms!

statuesque ginger,

and small bright flowers.

Tree trunks and branches are festooned with wet moss,

orchid plants

and ferns

Cameron Highlands was named after William Cameron, a British Government surveyor who discovered it in 1885 whilst on a mapping expedition (on elephant back!) of the Titiwangsa range. However, he failed to mark his discovery and it was not until 1925 that Sir George Maxwell recorded Cameron's discovery and decided to develop it as a hill resort.

Mock tudor buildings abound in the Camerons!

The fame of Cameron Highlands grew during the colonial era. The British were attracted to this cool hill station; its climate tailor-made for nostalgic reconstructions of English cottages, narrow village lanes, invigorating hikes through the countryside, rounds of golf and afternoon tea and scones accompanied by jam made from locally grown strawberries.

http://ipohtalk.com/camerons/camerons.html

Tea Plantation

British planters soon realised the potential of its fertile mountain slopes for growing tea, then a prized commodity. Cameron Highlands is still home to many tea plantations, as well as strawberry and vegetable farms, jungle trails, cascading waterfalls and rose gardens.