Ipoh

Malaysia has many cities and regions renowned for their food. Penang and Melaka are two major examples, but Ipoh is definitely up there as well. Ipoh’s grand white railway station is a splendid welcome to this city of historic architecture, traditional cuisine and modern hip culture.

We begin the day with a breakfast at Kim Fatt Xin Wan Li Kopitiam, adjacent to the hotel, ordering roti canai for me and bak kut teh for the others. The Indian stall owner spins the roti dough like the pro that he is. Such a good traditional breakfast.

Further along is the morning market, selling fruit, dried goods and clothes. We are convinced to purchase some Indian biscuits and kuih.

Unfortunately the lorbak stall under the Peace Hotel isn’t open today. So on we go, for we are walking to the station today. Past old buildings, shop houses with small businesses run by the elderly, abandoned shops. This city feels trapped in a past era, echoes of British colonialism and Chinese society are everywhere, but with the addition of Malays and Indians now filling in some of the gaps.

The Peking Hotel, once a mansion, once a house of horror for the Japanese Kempeitai secret police, after Malaya was invaded during the Second World Warm, still functions as a hotel today.

The plaster signage of the Paris Hotel opposite claims air-conditioning. It’s difficult to imagine that a Malaysian hotel could survive without it today.

We reach the station and board our KTM Kommuter 83 Class EMU to Ipoh. The 83 Class was built in South Korea by Hyundai Rotem and used to serve the Kuala Lumpur commuter lines. This one was then run on the previous service to Subang Airport. The glazing on the windows makes everything blurry, but the fixed 2 by 2 seats are comfortable and the air-conditioning cold.

The commuter service is less than ten minutes slower than the ETS express over the same line and the seats are not pre-booked, making it more convenient for us today.

Unable to photograph out the windows and crossing the same line as yesterday, I fall asleep for part of the 52 minute ride.

Ipoh station shares the same architect, Arthur Benison Hubback, as Kuala Lumpur Station, although not its Mughal design. It has the appearance more of a museum than a station. Passenger facilities are somewhat lacking, however, with only a small waiting room and kiosk open right now.

It is hot as we walk out the front of the station and cross the busy road into the old town centre. You would think there would be a pedestrian crossing in front of station, as there are elsewhere in the city, but no.

Other examples of white English architecture feature on our walk, such as the massive old post office. We locate the tourist information centre, where the Malay attendants steer us towards Malay rather than the Chinese heritage that established Ipoh to support tin mining opportunities.

One of his suggestions was very good, Nasi Kandar Dato Sagor, just down the road from the information centre. Their red grilled chicken was so good! Lime juices were nice too, unlike some I’ve had on this trip.

We decide to visit the Sam Poh Temple in the limestone karsts surrounding Ipoh, ordering a Grab car to take us there. The temple exterior is an unassuming white compared to the garishly decorated red and gold temples surrounding it. Inside, however, there is a fascinating rock sculpture pond with many different features, such as a hidden temple, to look out for.

The temple is accessed inside a limestone cave, with a number of gold buddha statues on display in alcoves. The wonder is what lies on the other end of the cave tunnel.

The actual temple building sits hidden away in an open space surrounded by steep cliffs and jungle. A turtle pond is opposite and visitors can by food at the cave’s entrance to feed them.

There is something quite magical about this hidden temple, abandoned though it appears. I think back to a book I read a couple of years ago by Ipoh-born Australian author Grace Chan, Every version of you, which ends with a lonely visit to an Ipoh temple.

We order another Grab car to return us to the town centre. He only speaks Mandarin rather than the other dialects of Chinese that were spoken by the descendants of many other immigrants from China in Malaysia’s past.

B is hunting for Malaysian Chinese biscuits and there are a number of original shops along Jalan Sultan Iskander. We get some from the friendly Ching Han Guen and return back there for more pineapple tarts when other places disappoint.

I was the only one who ate much of the nasi kandar and the others are very hungry now. Fortunately there are a number of bean sprouts chicken (ayam tauge) restaurants around the corner. We pick Ong Kee to dine in and order half a (small) chicken and sprouts. Their chilli sauce, which you pour out yourself, is very tasty.

We wander some more, cross the Kinta River and do the whole touristy Concubine Lane thing. It’s not particularly interesting, but the heritage of the area is very evocative.

Alex is hungry again, so we order a bowl of Ipoh style prawn noodles at Ipoh Restoran Kong Heng. It’s very nice, but the pork bun and egg tart I also purchased are as stale as the aged owner.

It’s hot and we are tired, so we walk back to the station, despite the fact that our train won’t arrive for almost an hour.

The Class 83 train that returns us to Taiping has inward facing seats, so isn’t quite so comfortable. I still snooze for a bit, I’m feeling a bit under the weather. For the stretches that I do look out I am mesmerised by the scenery. It’s after 5 PM, when the light in Malaysia takes on a special quality. The mountain ranges, limestone outcrops, the palm trees, they never look so exotic, so evocative, as now.

Taiping’s railway station no longer looks so grand compared with Ipoh’s. We hire another Grab rather than walk back to the Novotel, we are too exhausted for that.

There is no lovely sunset tonight, just rain on the windows.

We debate where to eat, settle on Restoran Kampung Wang, requiring us to walk past some residential houses, but not too far. Their curry fish and otak prawns are very, very good.

On the way back we further explore the Taiping Mall beneath our hotel. It is very much a local mall, somewhat empty. We check out each of the levels of the Pacific department store in it. Alex is amused by the B.U.M. Authentic t-shirts.

At the bottom is a large supermarket, from which we purchase ice creams to clear the curry spice of dinner.

When I return to my room I can see the big sign of the Kampung Wang below and a searchlight scouring the clouds in the distance.

It’s time to sleep.

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