Joen could not wait to pursue our Malaysian explorations. Next up was the misty Cameron Highlands.
I always wanted to stay in an English faux Tudor house in Malaysia, so we did. The Smokehouse Hotel was an orgy in anglicism, complete with a cluttered pub, floral patterns, Sunday roast and afternoon tea. Unfortunately, the quality of the food was just as authentic. Like porn for an anglophile. Nowadays, many English B&Bs have left the lovely traditional Fawlty Towers look and morphed into some shabby chic style, which is such a shame.
The garden was equally magnificent, filled to the brim with orchids and tropical wonders.
I was very eager to visit the tea plantations, for some reason I’ve never managed to visit one, neither in China or India. I instantly had a bit of a chew on the tea leaves which was a big disappointment, it tastes just like any generic leaf. I knew this of course since I’ve read several books about tea, but academia ruined me a long time ago and I foolishly rarely believe in anything.
The little white dots are tea leaf pickers, it’s not done by hand though, but with some kind of machine.
Another mock Tudor mansion!
We had the most amazing jungle hike! In most jungles I’ve visited you have to have a guide (often forced to) but there are really good paths here so we had the jungle all to ourselves and did not run into a single person for several hours, it was close to a religious experience. The rains were magnificent, I just love monsoon rains, and although it was pouring down fiercely we hardly got wet because of the dense foliage.
Joen checking for leeches after crossing some streams, luckily not a single one in this area. I am always busy checking for orchids, they tend to be very shy in the jungle, most often growing high up in the trees but we found some lovely bright yellow ones (unfortunately no photos taken since it was raining so much)!
If you have visited Bangkok you most likely know about Jim Thompson. He was a famous art collector and successful silk merchant who mysteriously disappeared almost 50 years ago when on holiday in Cameron Highlands. He was last seen at his friend’s house, the Moonlight cottage (seen above) from where he vanished without a trace. Conspiracy theories have naturally flourished ever since.
We had a vain snoop in the jungle in the vicinity of the house. You can probably imagine how much that beautiful mist contributed to the myth, creating the most eerie atmosphere.
Unsurprisingly, we did not find any further clues but continued discussing different theories curled up in Chesterfields by the fireplace all night long. Well, until 11 pm anyway, they took British traditions very seriously at The Smokehouse. Very “Midsomer Murders”.
