perak

Things to Do in Ipoh, Malaysia (2018) – Of Crumbling Colonial Architecture, Heritage Trails & Limestone Caves

November 27, 2018 by Bino 16 Comments

Exploring Ipoh while on an impromptu heritage walk, I had my doubts on how such a sleepy town could actually be the 3rd largest city in Malaysia. Seeing Ipoh for the first time, I felt like I had stepped into a bygone era when people still traveled by rickshaws and opium dens were the order of the day inside the many Peranakan-style shophouses. The quietness of the old town’s streets coupled with the charming but crumbling colonial architecture only seemed to add to the allure.

the ipoh railway station… affectionately known as the taj mahal of ipoh

Regardless, there’s nary a doubt on Ipoh’s historical significance. The colonial buildings here are some of the most impressive in Malaysia. With the historic Ipoh Railway Station as a natural starting point, I began my walking tour down the compact old town where an architecture buff such as I was in for a treat. From here, the whitewashed Ipoh City Hall was practically staring at me in the face, with its Edwardian Baroque features that I swore bore a strong resemblance to Singapore’s Raffles Hotel. A walked a few more steps down the road and was greeted by more fancy-looking buildings. OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC… Ipoh in its heyday during the tin mining boom, was second only to Kuala Lumpur in importance and had many major banks erecting their own buildings when they set up shop. The original occupants are still there to this day, this time embellishing their ultra-modern logos against the classical structures.

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Majestic Kuala Kangsar – Royal Town of Perak, Malaysia

January 16, 2014 by Bino 1 Comment

Nestled in a valley with the Perak River meandering its way around it, the royal town of Kuala Kangsar is another one of those classic Malaysian outposts replete with grandeur and serenity. Cities such as Ipoh and Taiping I could consider as laidback, but Kuala Kangsar, despite being the place of residence of the Sultan of Perak, felt empty. It was as if the whole town was a museum showpiece. We were to discover later that this assumption was not so farfetched.

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The Lake Garden City of Taiping in Malaysia

January 12, 2014 by Bino 8 Comments

There are times when I obtain the resolve to go somewhere just because of a picture that I’ve seen. That pretty much led me to Taiping, Malaysia; a seemingly nondescript town in between Penang and Ipoh. Taiping – translated in Chinese as “Everlasting peace” – is not a tourist town, with its claim to fame being the rainiest city in Peninsular Malaysia. This has benefited the town with an extremely verdant vegetation, the kind that even others from the tropics would envy over. As for me, all it took was one picture of the beguiling Taiping Lake Gardens, with its lush greenery and calm waters with almost perfect reflection for me to get smitten.

the spectacular raintrees which taiping is known for

Coming from Singapore, there is actually a direct 10-hour bus to Taiping but I came here from Ipoh, where I arrived by air. From Ipoh, Taiping is a manageable 1-hour drive through some of the most breathtaking highway scenery in Peninsular Malaysia.

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