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.
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