Solo Trip - Ipoh (July 2022) - Ipoh First Impression

I have been to Ipoh before when I was younger. But it has always been a blur to me when I'm travelling with people, cause I never knew where they were bringing me. I learn new places a lot better when I am planning the trip as there is so much research involved, and I retain a better memory of the trip. So even though this was just a 2D1N trip, I mapped out Ipoh old and new town within the first day I was there!

So upon arriving and making my way out of the train station, the first sight that would catch anyone's eye would be the magnificent grand Ipoh Train Station. It is a beautiful colonial building, but it is in quite a sad state. If only the state government would stand some money to maintain it, it would have been the jewel of Ipoh. Even the water feature outside was quite a sad sight.... Sometimes living in Malaysia too long, I guess you just accept such deterioration and get used to it.... So the first two photos here is off the train station. I got a mental map in my mind when I reached, so I started to walk towards my hostel which was in the new town area. 

En-route to the hostel, I pass by a few heritage building like the court house, Ipoh Polo Club, the library etc. Notable are the two photos above showing Padang Ipoh, a lovely big field in the middle of town. With such landmarks around, it was easy to navigate around. And it was refreshing to see the flag of Perak there. Just opposite the padang was a beautiful old school which was very well maintained. It was called St Michael Institution and it looks like a grand boarding school from England. 

I knew that I would come across a river, and I needed to cross it before I reach Ipoh New Town. And this river was no other than the famous Kinta River. I like how they put signs by it, cause it makes the river to pretty and memorable. The Kinta River run across Ipoh separating the Old Town from the New Town. They also have a River Kinta Walk which I've been meaning to visit but have not to date, even though I've been to Ipoh 3 times now. To be frank, the path around the river looks a bit dodgy for a solo female walk, so although I ventured into the path a bit on my first trip there, I eventually turned back as it was quite deserted, and weird individual around....

There is a hotel further up which has a great view of the river, and probably just opposite the river walk. I always though that was Cititel Express, but unfortunately (or fortunately), it wasn't so. Cititel Express was closer to town. 

There is a bridge to cross over to Ipoh New Town. It looks pretty enough with the decorative lamps and bright tiles. There is even a stair case that leads you down to the river. There are many people fishing there in the morning, evening, weekends. Great spot to catch some fishes for the family. 

I saw this retro tarzan poster at the old town area just before crossing over. It looks so nostalgic. It reminded me of the drawings of cinema poster found in Lat's comic books. I learned later that Ipoh has many cinemas in the old days. But these cinemas are no longer in used, and some have been turned in to warehouse or furniture shops.... What a waste. Same fate for the cinemas in Penang too. 

Crossing over to the new town, the first landmark I found was Memory Lane. This is a pasar karat, or 2nd hand market that only opens on Sunday morning. So for this trip, I didn't manage to visit it. Happy to report I did manage to visit this market on my latest Ipoh trip in 2023, and it was amazing! It was so big! and it sells everything! From antiques, to herbal ointment, to fruits and vegetables, cooked food, and even parangs and farming equipments. A very interesting market. Even my husband enjoyed strolling along the market on our last trip. 

The more touristy place of Ipoh New Town has got to be Gerbang Malam. Here is where all the KL cars come to load up on traditional biscuits, pomelos, and other famous Ipoh Food. It was a nightmare for a solo traveller to get any seats to eat at cause there is a queue for table almost everywhere! Luckily I did manage to eat the famous chicken rice bean sprout here the next day just before noon time. 

Apparently Ipoh is famous for salted baked chicken or duck. Lot's of people jamming the shops buying them. I have ate the original salted baked chicken before but I don't recall any memorable taste of it. And since they have different variety of the same salted baked chicken, I bought one to try the next day which is of danggui flavour. It cost  me around 30+rm per chicken, and I will bring it back to Penang with me and it can usually feed me for 4 days at least. To-date, this has become a must buy item for me whenever I go to Ipoh. I always get them from the pink shop shown above. The aroma of the herbs is just heavenly to me when I cook it together with my rice. 

There are a lot of traditional biscuits and snacks sold everywhere. Since I come from Penang, I'm not very impressed with these. However there is a pork floss biscuit that I always get from Ipoh which I can't seems to find in Penang, They cost 10rm for 4 pieces, and is also a must buy for me, along with some Lam Fong white coffee. 

Above is the famous bean sprout chicken rice shop. I've never eaten here before! Can't stand the crowd. I always eat at Ong Kee just opposite. Ong Kee has the nicest ice kamquat drink I've even drank. I usually eat the chicken rice too, but to be honest, I think Singapore has the best chicken rice! But one should still try the chicken rice in Ipoh when one is visiting. It is only polite and tradition. 

Lots of pastry snacks can also be found almost everywhere. Most famous would be egg tarts and kaya puff. Believe it or not, I couldn't even manage to buy an original kaya puff on my first day there from this shop. Some irritating aunty has apparently reserved all the kaya puff! So even though I waited patiently for them to bring out the freshly baked pastry, the server dully announced that none of it was for sale as someone has already bought the next two trays..... I did managed to walk away with a charcoal kaya puff and an egg tart. 

Ipoh is also famous for pomelo. And as much as I would love to buy one back for my mum, they are just too heavy! On my 2nd trip to Ipoh with my aunt and cousin, we even stopped by and stayed at a pomelo farm around Kuala Kurau area. 

Lastly, after exploring Gerbang Malam, I walked to Tongsui Kai (a.k.a Dessert Street). It was in the late afternoon so most shops are still closed as they open during the night. I found an ice kacang stall, and since it was so hot, I sat down to try it while chatting with the lady owner.  Somehow, ice kacang always taste nicest in Malaysia :)  After this, I went back to the hostel to rest and freshen up. Let me introduce you to the hostel in my next post. 

Solo Trip - Ipoh (July 2022) - Ferry & Train Journey

For me, it's always fun to travel, regardless of the mode of transport. So even a simple ferry ride is enjoyable to me. Unfortunately, the glass window on the ferry wasn't too clean, so all the photos taken from inside is kinda blurred. But I'm happy to report that on my latest trip to Ipoh in 2023 onboard the new ferry, the photos turned out so much better. Will post that trip after all my solo adventure entries!

So the first photo is of the old nostalgic ferry parked at the Butterworth side. They still kept a few of these ferries around mainly for nostalgic purposes I guess? They make for a good photo. There is even one parked at Queen's Waterfront just for deco. The second photo is from Penang side, showing the newly renovated new Ferry Terminal that was opened recently in 2023. 

Upon reaching Butterworth, I found myself in Penang Sentral. I have not been here before. Actually I haven't taken a KTM train for ages! So all this was kinda refreshing to me. Everything was new to me. As I arrived way too early for my train, I went around and explore Penang Sentral. 

On the upper flow, there are some food places. The food court was sadly closed down, even as of 2023. There is a glass door next to Starbuck that leads you to this open air platform. The view was fabulous back in 2022, and you can see all the way to Penang Island. But in 2023 when I was back here recently, the trees have grown and have started to block the view.  It's quite a pity as it make such a nice viewing point for people. 

From the platform you can also view the ships and old ferries parked at the Butterworth side. That's where the above photo was taken, with the beautiful backdrop of Penang Island behind it. 

Moving back to the main floor, there are some shops for food, bubble tea and a Guardian too. But the main functional area was the bus terminal where you can purchase tickets to anywhere in Peninsular Malaysia, a nice ample sitting area with aircon, and quite clean toilet. If you go down further to the road level, there will also be Rapid Bus Stops where you can take the bus to anywhere in Butterworth. With my Muntiara Pass, I guess the rides are still technically free! Gonna give it a try one day. 

I needed to find the path to the train station. Back in 2022 it was quite a challenge to walk to train station. But in 2023, there is a direct connection there with escalator and lift. So fear not, you won't get lost. It will take around 10 mins to talk to the train station. Easy peasy. 

Via the old path, you will end up here and see the KTM sign. But via the new path, you will just end up at the station itself. Somehow, my memory of the train station when I was young was a much pretty walkway with old shops around. I don't really like the train station in Penang at all. It's old, disorganised, and small. 

There is a crossover bridge which leads you from the road side to the station. It makes a nice spot to take photo of the train tracks and train with the platform and surrounding areas. If you like train, this is a good place to park yourself while waiting for the train. 

I can see all the way to the Perai Bridge and mosque. The train tracks will run nearer to the bridge if you want a more close up view of the bridge. 

You can also view cargo trains carrying their loads that are headed to Penang. The train actually runs all the way to the coast nearer to the sea. 

Back to my train journey, my train was at 1245pm. I got my tickets online via the KTM Mobile appl. It's easier as you can just use it to scan the barcode to enter the train station or exit it paperless-ly. The cost of a ticket to Ipoh was 40rm+ one way. Good news for 2023, if you want to save cost you can take the kommuter train which cost only 12.50rm one way. I've tried it, and I must say, for weekday travel, just go via the cheapest route will do. It isn't very crowded. 

Sign board on the train telling you which train is arriving and the platform to go to. You can't actually go down to the platform until maybe 15minutes before the train depart. You can just wait at a small aircon room until they start opening up the stairs route to go down to the platform. I guess this is to control crowding?

Here's a map of the trains. I find it quite confusing. 

Above shows what the platform looks like. The train stopping there is a kommuter train which runs more frequently and without seat reservation. 

Finally, above is the ETS train internally. It's pretty clean and cold inside. The seats are comfortable, and the window clean. You can also charge your electronic devices as there are power points between the seats. I was impressed. It was like those trains in those advance countries. I wish they have a ETS service between Singapore and Penang, I would be more than happy to be a regular customer cause I love taking the train!

There is also a cafe carriage. And the food there is actually quite good, although the price is quite high. I've tried their Nasi Ayam Merah which cost 11rm, and it was after I ate a 6inch subway veggie sandwich too. But it's always nice to know you can get some food during your trip in case you get hungry :)

We will be arriving in Ipoh soon! Lot's of nice kampung, lake and limestone cave view along the way! If you are headed to Ipoh, book a seat on the left side. On the way back, book a seat on the right to get the best view!

Solo Trip - Ipoh (July 2022) - Esplanade Area Penang

I've always loved travelling. And Covid was quite a devastating time for me. Thankfully I had a side project of renovating my apartment to keep me busy during that time. I should probably do a separate blog on my journey moving back to Penang. But in order to motivate me to start blogging again, I thought I'll start with topics that I am happiest writing about - travelling.

I love the idea of Solo travel. If the world was a safe place, I would solo travel everywhere. Unfortunately, it isn't the case. So I had to build up my courage to start travelling solo if I was planning to retire and explore the world. So to start off small, I decided on a 2 day 1 night trip to a nearby town call Ipoh. Note I have travelled alone before, on business trips, to and from Singapore, to visit friends, and probably the first trip I was on my own in an unfamiliar place was to Ubud. But my husband accompanied me the first half of that trip. So Ipoh Solo was going to be the start of the new way I am gearing up myself to travel!

Journey to Ipoh was going to be via train. I've booked a ETS (Electronic Train Service) for a 2 hour ride journey there. The train station of Penang is situated in the mainland, so it was quite an adventure alone just to get there. First I took the early bus to town. My train was around noon time, but I also needed to take the ferry across to the mainland to get to the train station. Being the 'kiasu' me, I was out by 9am, and reached town by 10am. A bit early, so I decided to take a walk to the newly renovated Esplanade to take a look. Above are the two beautiful view of the area. 

They have build a special wall around the coast, where the water can actually come in during low, and even high tide. There are steps leading down which you can also go down to. It was a nice concept where you can actually get close to the sea water and get yourself very wet during strong tides too! It forms a nice change of scenery for a morning walk. 

Here are the steps that goes all the way into the sea water. I was surprised that the sea was quite clear on that faithful morning. And as always, I am always happy when there are blue skies for my photo backdrop.

Further up there is a beautiful big tree, and I can sea people fishing underneath it. But what is beautiful are the tall high rise building behind, and I can sea the landscape of Gurney and Tanjung Tokong area out there. There's something about looking out to a familiar scene that reminds you that your home is somewhere out there :)

I don't often come to the Esplanade, so it was a good time to play tourist and walk around. I often see nice posting of the site on Facebook. Now it was my time to visit and see for myself. Above was the City Council building all in white. Any colonial building is beautiful to me. And I am glad the Penang State Government does try to preserved and make these heritage building functional. 

There is also the City Hall building, all yellow and white. I've never actually been inside these buildings before. I am not sure if visitors are allowed? I'm sure it is just as old and elegant inside. Perhaps I will give it a try one of these days.....

On my way walking back to the Ferry Terminal, I passed by Fort Cornwallis. The old trees outside with the old fort stone walls make a good photo. You can actually have breakfast inside the fort during that time, but as of 2023, Breakfast At The Fort has been closed. There is a restaurant inside too which serves pretty nice local fusion food. I'll try to blog on that one day.

Inside Fort Cornwallis, there are old canons and a lighthouse. Interestingly, I have been locked inside the fort before when I was young. They would just lock up the gates without checking if all the visitors have left. I had to climb the gates in order to get out....

Walking on further would be the Victoria Clock Tower located at a round-about. Glad that it was newly painted, and the clock was still in tact. Can't say the same for some of the other old colonial buildings in Beach Street area.... 

Here's a view and a road sign of the location where I was at. The road-about is where the clock tower is, and I am headed to Swetteham Pier. My home in Penang is just before Batu Ferringgi. 

At last, the pink coloured temporally ferry terminal at Swettenham Pier. As of 2023, the ferry terminal has been moved back to it's original place at Raja Tun Uda Port/Pier/Jetty. I have no idea who Raja Tun Uda is.....

The frequency for the ferry then was almost an hour a ferry. So I had plenty of time to look around and take photos of the old godown. If cruise ships were to dock in Penang, this was also the pier they would docked at.  Anyway, the ferry ride to Butterworth and back was free back in 2022. As of 2023, with the start of the new ferry service, it now cost 2rm per trip! So now I have to add 4rm to my travel cost if I take the train from now on..... Anyway, leaving you with a serene seaview of the godown as you wait for the next blog entry. Happy waiting!

Vintage Photo Collection

It has been ages (3 years to be exact), since I last posted. I realised that I was so stuck in a job that I forgot to have a life! But hopefully that is all over now, and I can start a new at a different stage in my life.... So here's a restart of this blog, and I would probably revived my other financial blog soon too :)  To start off this new beginning, I thought I'll post on old vintage photos that has recently came into my possession. I've been meaning to post them here as it was easier to view and categorised them. Hard drive is like a place where photos go to die. Here in this blog, I can always revisit and view them, share them, and write a small note on them. So here goes! 

First photo on top is a photo of my paternal grandfather on the wheel. This photo was recently passed to me digitally by my cousin. I've never met  my grandfather before, so I can't say I recognise him, or where this photo was taken. I just want to include it here for remembrance, and as a document of my family.

I come from a Peranakan (Straits Born Chinese) family at both maternal and paternal side.  This photo, if I didn't recall incorrectly, is of my maternal side grandparent's wedding photo. Again, I have not met my grandfather before, and I've only known my grandma till age 7, so I can't really say I recognise her either. It's great sharing these photo to preserved their existence, but I wonder sometimes whether I should also document down the names and family tree next time.... Or just let bygone days be ....

Here is a photo of my paternal grandmother and all her sisters. From left to right is my 1st grand aunt (Ee Poh), 5th grand aunt, 4th grand aunt, 6th grand aunt, and my grandmother is the 3rd daughter. I've only ever met my 4th, 5th and 6th grand aunt. 

These days, people are colouring their vintage photos, and I got a copy of the above from my cousin. I can't say I like it very much. I prefer the monocromatic effect of the old photos. That's what made them special and vintage in the first place. 

I got most of the vintage photos from my Dad after he has passed on. I still have a box of it under my bed. But those that I think are special to me, I've framed them up and put them in my book shelves. Photo boxes are also another place where photos go to die. I've taken so many photos of life while I was absent from the blog, and now that I have more time and less hard disk space, I would be slowly processing them and publish them here in due time... But until then, let me leave you with my favourite photo found, a photo of my dad reading 💗