British-style colonial elegance in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
By Massimo Morello
This was the perfect setting for his stage exit,” says Mister Oui, a Chinese-Christian playing the piano in a white jacket at the Cameron Highlands Resort. In this area of Malaysia, 200 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, Jim Thompson, “the American who became the king of Thai silk”, disappeared somewhere on the hills behind the hotel. Since then, the theories about his disappearance have come thick and fast. “No one knows what happened on that afternoon of Easter 1967,” says Mister Oui. “We don’t know the whole story, but it’s a good story for this place.”
This was the perfect setting for his stage exit,” says Mister Oui, a Chinese-Christian playing the piano in a white jacket at the Cameron Highlands Resort. In this area of Malaysia, 200 kilometres north of Kuala Lumpur, Jim Thompson, “the American who became the king of Thai silk”, disappeared somewhere on the hills behind the hotel. Since then, the theories about his disappearance have come thick and fast. “No one knows what happened on that afternoon of Easter 1967,” says Mister Oui. “We don’t know the whole story, but it’s a good story for this place.”
The Cameron Highlands, 1,500 metres above sea level, were discovered in 1885 by British surveyor William Cameron. They became a favourite holiday destination among British expats, who found the terrain ideal for growing tea, strawberries, vegetables and roses. The Cameron Highlands were thus transformed into a sort of tropical England, benefiting from temperatures between 15C and 25C.
The resort is almost a theatre continuing the elegance of an age in which quality, attention to detail, and excellent service were a way of life for the fortunate few. Bespoke furniture merges with the beauty of Thompson’s finest quality fabrics. Teak and silk combine to create an environment that is both beautiful and comfortable. There are 56 well-thought out rooms and spacious suites that feature an elegant colonial design. No wonder that The Independent rated this hotel as one of the five best tea plantation hotels in the world.
If they take a walk just a few hundred metres away from the resort, visitors are plunged into the few areas of deep jungle remaining intact on the Malaysian peninsula. This is the setting of the Jim Thompson Mystery Trail, a guided tour led by naturalist Shahril Kamarulzaman, who has travelled through Southeast Asian forests for 25 years and has now settled in the Cameron Highlands to study and protect its ecosystem. The fantastical and the romantic become an opportunity for discovery, following a script tried and tested by the colonial masters of a bygone era.
