Ipoh, Malaysia - October 2010

Ipoh – It was the tin mining that brought the Chinese to the area. 70% of Ipoh’s population is of Chinese descent so I felt like I was back in China. This is also where Collin and his sister, as well as his mom, grew up, so the ties to the city go back at least 2 generations.

Since relatively few tourists would include Ipoh on their itinerary, you can imagine our surprise when Collin spied one of ‘my people’ near the train station. The initial thought – what is a Caucasian doing selling baskets here. Of course, this required closer investigation so Collin and I went over and had a chat. He was actually part of a German film making crew and was hanging up baskets to give the appearance of a market in Indonesia. He explained the film is set in Indonesia but for whatever reason, it is being filmed in Malaysia. This guy asked me if I wanted to be in the film as they could use extras who actually looked Caucasian. Unfortunately I had to decline as we were just too busy. However, we did go back the following day just to check out the scene. It was interesting as they were filming what looked to be an attempted assassination. The street had been covered with sand and a few old cars were parked there – giving the area a 1920’s look. I missed a chance to ‘star’ but in reality, there is always a high probability of my scenes being cut.

Collin has not been back ‘home’ in about 25 years but not much has changed (except maybe him). Ipoh seems to be a city frozen in time since the 1970’s. Most of the original buildings, parks, monuments, fountains and restaurants are still there. Even the city buses are the original ones from Collin’s childhood. There is an old town and new town separated by the Kinta River, but quite frankly we all agreed that both sides looked the same – old town.

One of the nickname’s of the city is ‘Bougainvillea City’. Collin always talks about the bougainvillea tree/bush that bloomed in his yard as a child. Yes there were flowers in bloom but what I remember more are the fruit trees - pomelo, mango and the fake dragon fruit tree, with a real one nearby.

If you ever do find yourself in Ipoh, there are a few architectural buildings of note such as the Railway Station, nicknamed the Taj Mahal of Ipoh, the Town Hall, site of the German film and St. Michael’s Institution, one of the most prestigious English schools in Malaysia. There are numerous parks in the city, the most notable D. R. Seenivasagam (formerly Coronation Park) with its’ manmade lake (Collin fell in there as youngster trying to catch tadpoles) and a fun children’s traffic playground.

On the outskirts of town there are various limestone peaks (Karst formation) with caves. I rediscovered with the family the Sam Poh Tong and Kek Lok Tong Caves.

Sam Poh Tong is a Chinese Buddhist Cave Temple that has a beautiful bonsai garden and fish pond in front. Out back is a turtle pond where Collin remembers feeding the turtles as a youngster. We speculated on the longevity of turtle life and whether some of the big, old granddaddies ‘remembered’ Collin.

Kek Lok Tong, Cavern of Utmost Happiness, certainly lived up to its name. Out front there are stairs leading up to the cave, lined with minature figurines and scenes using the natural carving of the limestone for a backdrop. The backside of the cave offers respite from the heat and seats are provided for viewing a lovely park. The inside is ‘decorated’ with stalactites hanging from the ceiling that give a haunting yet peaceful effect.

And if all else fails, there is the food to be had in Ipoh. It was here where we upped our meals to a hefty 6 times a day. The offerings are delicious and varied. For more on food, go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfick/sets/72157625693723212/

We spent 1 ½ days in Ipoh with the family reminiscing of days gone by.

Then it was off to the Island of Penang for another 1 ½ days of continual eating and sightseeing.

For more pictures of Ipoh check out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisfick/sets/72157625603451265/