Breathtaking Camerons

WHEN William Cameron reported about "this fine plateau with gentle slopes shut in by lofty mountains" to the government way back in 1885, was he describing the Cameron Highlands or a small plateau named Blue Valley?
In fact, was it he at all - or Kulop Riau, a Malay chap who had accompanied him on his mapping expeditions - who discovered Cameron Highlands 118 years ago?
Maybe it was H.C. Robinson, after whom a waterfall in Tanah Rata was named about the same time that Cameron was said to have found the highlands?
Cameron had described the Blue Valley in his report to Hugh Low, Perak's British Resident, but nature guide K. Kali of Camping Holiday (M) Sdn Bhd believes that the Irish surveyor was actually at what is now called Lojing Highlands.
"(It's) after the Blue Valley, near the border to Kelantan. Robinson was actually the one who discovered the highlands," he says, while driving us around Tanah Rata.
"A waterfall was named after him," he says, pointing to the signboard showing the way to Robinson Fall.
And Kulop Riau? Well, he never figured, which is hardly surprising because "the mat sallehs came and stamped their names all over the place. They were leaving a legacy... that's what they were doing," Kali says. And by the way, it was the Chinese tycoons who built the bungalows on the highlands, not the British.
"They chased them (the Chinese) away but they came back. There are millionaires here now... they work on the farm using well-worn Land Rovers to get around but go into the bigger towns driving their Mercedes saloons."
Incidentally, in Malaysia the highest number of Land Rovers - old and new, registered or unregistered with the Road Transport Department – are found in the Cameron Highlands.
And what about the legendary Jim Thompson, who disappeared while walking along one of the highlands' many trails in 1967? "Many theories... don't know which one to believe," Kali says, shaking his head.
Thompson was an American businessman who helped revitalised Thailand's silk and textile industry in the 1950s and 1960s. Originally an architect, he became a US Army volunteer in World War II. He was posted to Bangkok as a US military intelligence officer attached to the Office of Strategic Services (the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency or CIA).
After leaving the service, he returned to Bangkok to live.
"Some said the CIA killed him because he was their operative and he wanted out but knew too much. Others said he disappeared because he simply wanted to get out of the CIA."
But Kali pointed out that the area near Moonlight Cottage where Thompson had stayed when he disappeared is famous for peat soil.
"I think he might have fallen into a hole and no one could find him... you wouldn't want to be trekking there at night," he says.
Our initial assignment was to pursue the story about Cameron Highlands' actual founder but Kali, who has lived in the vicinity all his life (with the exception of two years in Petaling Jaya), sprang a surprise.
He introduced us to the highlands' best-kept secret - the "fairy jungle" - which is home to some of the world's rarest and most precious plants.
He drove us up - in a Land Rover, naturally - to the telecommunications tower atop Gunung Brinchang, the highlands' highest point. The fairy jungle is about 10 minutes' walk from the road.
And what a fairyland it is! I found myself looking out for Legolas as it was a scene straight out of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The forest was the location for the yet-to-be-released local epic, Puteri Gunung Ledang, I found out later.
Kali doesn't take very many people to his "secret" place. "We don't want just anybody to come here," he says. A concession had obviously been made for the local film crew.
Mossy forests abound at an elevation of 1,700m and above where the air is cool and damp. Gunung Brinchang reaches 2,032m.
We crawled through an intriguing "cave" carpeted with beautiful green moss while those hanging from the trees form natural arches. Kali helpfully identified the various species of plants, rare orchids, pitcher plants, wild ginger and lush ferns.
He picks a leaf, crushes it and beckons that I do the same. "Smell it and guess what it is," he says. I whiffed and it reminded me of a potion in the bathroom back home.
"Tea tree?" I ask.
"There you go. We have tea tree plants here."
He picks up a flower, tells us to bite its tip, then run our tongue over the teeth. I hesitantly did as told (but only after photographer May had done so) and my tongue instantly feels numb.
"The Orang Asli use the flower as an anaesthetic, especially for toothache," Kali explains. "Don't worry. It'll wear off," he says, assuringly.
"How do you think people survive in the jungle? Each plant in the jungle has its use," he adds.
The Orang Asli, for example, "will put rice in the pitcher plant and cook. The water in the pitcher, the unopened ones before the insects are trapped in it, is also drinkable."
As we venture further into the jungle, the temperature dips. "Stand here," Kali calls out under an arch formed by the mosses. "Feel it. Natural air-conditioning, yes?" Can't argue with him there.
He picks up a handful of moss from the ground and squeezes the water out. "They can hold water up to three times their weight. If you're lost in a mossy jungle, you now know where to get fresh water."
Our shoes (no hiking boots, these, as we went there unprepared) are wet from treading on the spongy soil. What intrigues us the most are the liverwort that look like soft corals.
"This part of the mountain was underwater millions of years ago," Kali offers an explanation.
Walking out of the jungle after spending close to half a day traipsing through the natural wonders, I can say that I will never think of Cameron Highlands in the same way again.
Yes, many tourists may come here just for the cool air, and cheap fresh flowers, fruits, and vegetables, but there are hidden treasures lying behind the trees lining the road to the top.