Elephants, Tigers and Tappers: Recollections of a British rubber planter in Malaya

A young and na?????‚??ve Englishman sets out on his first tour of duty as a Rubber Planter in an isolated rubber estate in near Kuantan, Pahang. Set in the waning period of the last few years of British Malaya, from1956-1960, Michael Thorp paints a vivid picture of his life on a rubber estate in the harsh tropical climate of Malaya. As a young 20-year-old with no prior knowledge or experience in rubber planting, he recalls, with fondness, and humour, the challenges and difficulties of learning the ways, cultures and languages of the various ethnic groups that worked on the rubber estate, of learning to adjust and live a life of isolation, with no transport and little or no company, and unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that could only come about from living on a rubber estate. Lively anecdotes that recount these experiences complete each chapter, from weaning a stranded baby elephant on condensed milk, to harrowing encounters and narrow escapes from dangerous snakes and ravenous tigers. Contents......Page 4 CHAPTER 1 Do you Play Cricket?......Page 5 CHAPTER 2 The Voyage out, On the Willem Ruys......Page 14 CHAPTER 3 Arrival On Kuala Reman Estate......Page 22 CHAPTER 4 Life On A Rubber Estate......Page 34 CHAPTER 5 Working With Robbie And The Elephant fence......Page 51 CHAPTER 6 Working With George Wood......Page 61 CHAPTER 7 Loneliness Can Lead In Many Directions......Page 68 CHAPTER 8 Maurice In The Jungle And On Merdeka Day......Page 73 CHAPTER 9 Hot Days, Sweaty Nights,And Cool Muster......Page 92 CHAPTER 10 Motorcycle And Liberation......Page 105 CHAPTER 11 Telok Cempedak......Page 121 CHAPTER 12 Cricket On The Padang Besar And The Kuantan Recreation Club......Page 130 CHAPTER 13 A Lift From The Sultan, With No Outriders......Page 139 CHAPTER 14 West Meets East......Page 147 CHAPTER 15 Transfer To Nada......Page 153 CHAPTER 16 Hit On The Head By The Shopkeeper’s Wife......Page 165 CHAPTER 17 Back To Panching......Page 190 CHAPTER 18 Ah Moi......Page 202 CHAPTER 19 Sungai Lembing Cut Off By Floods......Page 207 CHAPTER 20 Monkey Attack......Page 214 CHAPTER 21 Going Home......Page 219 A Poem For Ah Moi......Page 223 A young and naïve Englishman sets out on his first tour of duty as a Rubber Planter in an isolated rubber estate in near Kuantan, Pahang. Set in the waning period of the last few years of British Malaya, from1956-1960, Michael Thorp paints a vivid picture of his life on a rubber estate in the harsh tropical climate of Malaya. As a young 20-year-old with no prior knowledge or experience in rubber planting, he recalls, with fondness, and humour, the challenges and difficulties of learning the ways, cultures and languages of the various ethnic groups that worked on the rubber estate, of learning to adjust and live a life of isolation, with no transport and little or no company, and unique, once-in-a-lifetime experiences that could only come about from living on a rubber estate. Lively anecdotes that recount these experiences complete each chapter, from weaning a stranded baby elephant on condensed milk, to harrowing encounters and narrow escapes from dangerous snakes and ravenous tigers. Collection of stories on activism and radical movements within the premier state university in the Philippines