Elephants, Tigers and Tappers

Recollections of a British rubber planter in Malaya

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.