Day 5 (Taiping, Perak to Ipoh, Perak)

Monday, 9th January 2017

92km

I woke up relatively early today at around 7.30 am. After a couple of snoozes, it was finally 8.00 am and I finally rolled out of bed and made my way to the shower to get ready for the day. I got dressed and applied a generous serving of sunblock over all the sun-exposed areas of my body. By now, despite the daily applications of sunblock, the tan lines all over me were pretty much here to stay for awhile and the sunblock was purely to reduce the damage and prevent sunburn. At this point, I noticed that my legs were feeling pretty good and my back and shoulders didn't hurt as much as they did at the end of Day 1. This probably meant that my body was getting pretty used to the hours of grinding each day. I couldn't help but feel a little satisfied with this small accomplishment of mine.

My clothes from yesterday were almost completely dry except for the socks. Good enough for me, I thought. I stowed my things away into my back pack and spent a couple of minutes looking through the room as I know myself to be a very forgetful person. Once I was satisfied that I had everything, I sat back down on the bed and finished a bun I bought the night before from a bakery across the street while checking Google Maps to figure out which way I needed to go. The route out of town was fairly straight forward without too many major turns and detours. I did one final sweep of the room before heading downstairs to check-out.

Waiting for the elevator.

I made my way out of the hotel and took a quick picture of the front before heading off. It was around 9.00 am now. The days ride was probably going to be one of the shortest at just around 90 kilometers but I was still pretty excited as this would be my first actual proper trip to Ipoh. If my memory is right, I think I've only ever once stopped in Ipoh, and that was during a trip from Penang back to Subang Jaya and it was just a quick coffee-stop before hitting the road again, hardly anytime for sightseeing.

The lovely Panorama Hotel.

The road out of Taiping was pretty quiet and calm. It was either that or perhaps I had already gotten used to lorries zooming by within inches of me. Either way, the smooth traffic combined with the cool morning weather made the ride out of town delightful. As I reached the outskirts of town the mountain's in the distance had crept shockingly near, which was both a challenge and a treat if you've got nothing else to do other than pedal all day.

I remembered reading in Sandra Loh's book about this segment of her trip, about how the hills would be a challenge. Not only that, the numerous bus rides to and from Kedah over the years have given me a decent idea about the terrain through this particular undulating stretch through Ipoh. Being someone who weights close to eighty kilos with an additional few kilos in my backpack definitely didn't bode well for my power-to-weight ratio, which is a key factor when dealing with long climbs. Well, one step at a time, I thought.

Eventually, I reached a stretch of road about a few kilometers before the YTL cement factory, a common, almost uncanny trademark as you pass the Padang Rengas area along the North-South Expressway. I pretty much steeled and mentally prepared myself for the hills ahead. The sun was almost as awake as I was at this point, shining ever so brightly up in the sky with not a single cloud for shelter. Wouldn't be an epic climb without the scorching sun now would it?

If this guy could do it, who was I to complain?!

The climbs were frequent but never for more than a couple of kilometers at a time. The trick was to stay seated and grind away at a lower gear than normal while occasionally kicking it up a gear or two to pedal out of the saddle to stretch my back and my legs. Holding on to the 'tops' of my handlebars helped as well as this put me in a more upright seating position, therefore allowing my chest to expand more, taking in more air at any one time.

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In between climbs were the descents. In an attempt to reduce my suffering up the climbs, I never simply freewheeled down but instead, always tried to pedal in a bigger gear to descend faster. This allowed me to carry more momentum up the next climb so I wouldn't have to grind up so much. These sections made me thankful for all the hours of training I put in prior to this because without all my preparations, at this point, I was a hundred percent sure that I'd have gotten off my bike and started pushing a long, long time ago.

Bright sunshiny day.

Rolling hills were pretty much 80% of the story up until Kuala Kangsar, with the occasional flat stretch of road offering some amount of rest and relief. The interesting thing about climbing was that the lorries that would zoom past me going up, because most of them were relatively heavy or underpowered or both, could only overtake at a snail's pace. This gave me some mental solace, knowing that they were far less scarier because they were much slower, and I wasn't the only one who was struggling that day.

The 'iconic' bald hill or more accurately known as Gunung Pondok, from which the YTL company quarries lime stone from to produce cement and cement-based products, started to come into view. This was a milestone of sorts for me as I've passed by this hill countless of times throughout my life during trips along the highway but never have I seen it up close before. According to my dad who used to work here a long time ago before the YTL company took over, the hill was once so high that, from the top, you could see as far as the Straits of Malacca.

Descents are always fun!

Gunung Pondok up close.

Eventually, I passed the YTL Cement facility and was passing through the Padang Rengas town. Not too long after that, I was in Kuala Kangsar. Like Ipoh, I've ever only been to Kuala Kangsar once many years ago, and even then, it was just to get lunch and rest up a bit before continuing on home.

Kuala Kangsar was a welcoming sight, which is usually the case after what can become pretty monotonous pedaling after awhile, with only palm trees and the occasional zwooshing lorry to keep you company. Being around people, buildings, and slow moving traffic once again brings a sense security and it's almost like returning to civilization, so to speak.

Coming into to town, I was greeted by this big 'Welcome to Kuala Kangsar' sign that was just beside the railroad tracks. Despite being a 'royal town' or 'bandar diraja', Kuala Kangsar has definitely taken a back seat as far as urbanization goes, preserving it's rustic traditional feel more than other major towns and cities in Perak such as Taiping and Ipoh.

Kuala Kangsar definitely has it's own unique charms. As I approach the center of town, this colonial-looking tower catches my eye while I was waiting at a traffic light. Curious, I pedaled towards it. Only later did I find out that it was the Pavillion Tower, a landmark of Kuala Kangsar. The tower, like it's design suggests, was constructed during British colonial times for high-ranking officials to watch polo games on the field nearby.

Pavillion Tower.

Just across the street is the Malay College of Kuala Kangsar (Kolej Melayu Kuala Kangsar). The college is one of the oldest schools in the country, established in the early 20th century. During it's pioneer days, the school only accepted royals and children of the elites. Fast forward to today and the school is still one of the top schools in the country while being a lot more open with their acceptance policy then before.

The Malay College of Kuala Kangsar.

A little further down the road, I came up to a roundabout, at the center of which was the Kuala Kangsar Clock Tower. Apart from the beautiful clock tower, there was this well-maintained military-style aircraft set up on a pedestal nearby, just across the road from the post office near by. This, I found out later on, is the McDonnell Douglas A4 Skyhawk, and was presented to the Sultan of Perak for public display here in the royal town of Kuala Kangsar.

The Clock Tower.

The McDonnell Douglas A4 Skyhawk. A bit of a mouth-full.

At the roundabout, I took the first exit and headed northwards towards the Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge to cross Sungai Perak (Perak River). Shortly after that, quiet B-roads again before a few more rolling hills but nothing as severe as before.

Sungai Perak from the Sultan Abdul Jalil Bridge.

In no time at all, I rolled through Sungai Siput before reaching a small town called Chemor, just outside of Ipoh. By now, the sun was already high in the sky and sweat was beading off me as if it was rain droplets. My water was nearly gone and the bun I had for breakfast might as well have been air. My little cycling computer on my bike showed that I had done just over 60 kilometers already, however the hills really did take their toll on me, making it feel much longer.

I stopped for some rest at about 12.30 pm at a petrol station approx 20 to 30 km from Ipoh. A packet of raisin and some isotonic drinks were on the menu for today. Didn't want to get anything too heavy as I wanted to have my main meal in Ipoh. I sat down in the very lovely air-conditioned petrol station while munching away at raisins, sipping Revive, and checking up on places to eat in Ipoh. When doing my research on the trip, I came across numerous food blogs about all the unique places to eat in Ipoh, almost as often as Penang. So I definitely wasn't going to settle for McDonald's today!

Pre-lunch.

After allowing my legs to stretch and my skin to cool off a bit, I disposed of my trash, filled my water bottles with 100 Plus and continued on my way towards Ipoh. My first stop before lunch would be the Gunung Lang Recreational Park, about 25 kilometers away.

Almost there!

The northern outskirts of Ipoh.

I've always seen pictures of the place but that's just about it. The park is essentially separated from the entrance by a lake and one needs to take a boat there from the jetty at the main entrance. Because of it's unique, almost sealed-off natural geography, the inner park is a popular spot for photography enthusiasts and newly-weds looking for a picturesque background for some photos. It's quite a picturesque spot for a picnic too!

The park, located off Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman (formerly Kuala Kangsar Road), was opened in October 2000. It was developed around a scenic backdrop of limestone hills of Gunung Lang and Gunung Bilike. The main attractions of the park are the man-made cascading waterfall atop a limestone hill, a 2km broadwalk over the swamp and lookout towers. There's also a mini zoo on the inside. 

The main entrance, jetty located behind the building.

It was around 2.00 pm when I arrived. Once there, I locked up my bike, paid the RM3 fee and waited a couple of minutes for my boat to arrive. From the jetty, the view was a calming one. Fishes were visible in the water, swimming up to the jetty in search of food from generous strangers. The lake itself looked pretty well maintained, no bits of rubbish or garbage floating around.

Once my boat arrived, I hopped on board, put on the life jacket and, pretty soon, we were off towards the inner park across the lake. I was sharing the boat with a couple of foreign tourists, Indonesians, judging by their accent. One of them proceeded to light up a cigarette when the boat conductor warned him not to do so, as it could potentially ignite the petrol fumes coming from the boat's engine. It was commendable that the boat conductor didn't just turn a blind eye to this. However, rather than just the engine fumes, what should have been more important to mention was that this was a public tourist area, and that it's technically against the law to smoke at such places.

As we went further out onto the lake, the appeal of the place really started to shine. It was almost like a get away from all the hustle and bustle of city life, traffic, noisy cars and trucks and sandy roads. What was even more astounding was that I was a mere few kilometers away from the city.

The boat ride was a much appreciated change of pace. It was nice being able to move around without pedaling, even if it was on water and I'd end up back at the entrance after all this was over. The weather had simmered down a bit and there was a breeze going. This, combined with the lovely scenery just added value to the few Ringgit I spent for the ride.

Coming up to the park in the distance.

Forgot to take my helmet off the entire time!

The entire ride took about 5 to 10 minutes minutes, although the boat wasn't exactly speeding. Once we docked, we were given the freedom to roam around for however long we wanted but the boat conductor did mention that he'd leave in half an hours' time and that if we wanted to stay beyond that, we'd have to wait for the subsequent boat to head back to the main entrance. I didn't want to stay too long as I wanted to have lunch pretty soon, so I set off for a stroll around the park whilst being cautiously aware of the time.

Just beyond the dock.

The park was nicely equipped with numerous wooden 'rumah kayu' (wooden houses), giving it a cozy kampung feel.

Towards the far end of the park, I came across the mini-zoo. There were a couple of ostriches and deers within their pens although I didn't get too close as maintenance or upgrading works were going on. On most days, according to the boat conductor, you can come and feed the animals here.

The zoo didn't look that well thought-out or even maintained as there seemed to be next to no consideration at all towards the well-being of the animals. The deers and the ostriches were in the same pen and had a tiny shelter in the middle with a metal roof. The deers were all huddled together, trying to squeeze themselves into the tiny bit of shade made by the shadow of trees near the perimeter of the pen while the ostriches, being the bigger and therefore scarier animal, conquered the tiny shelter in the middle. Seeing as how hot the weather was and how well the Taiping Zoo kept their animals, it was almost sad to see the state this mini-zoo was in.

Deers, all huddled up together under the shade.

Might ostriches, strutting about.

A couple of monkeys were visible in the tree line, swinging from branch to branch and well outside a restrictive pen. While the scenery was beautiful, there was definitely a noticeable lack of activity within the park. The local authorities should definitely look into organizing some events or setting up attraction to make the place livelier and draw in more tourists. I couldn't help but feel that I was walking through a ghost town of sorts. 

Pretty soon, my half an hour time period was coming to an end. I started making my way towards the docks again. As quickly as it was to get to the park, I was back at the main entrance again. By now, it was just after 3.00 pm and I had pretty much burnt through the raisins and drink I had a few hours earlier. It was time for a proper meal, I thought. I booted up Maps and made my way towards the center of town.

Not too long after leaving the park, I was coasting down on one of the main roads towards the city center and closer to lunch! I passed a couple of interesting-looking monuments along the way that warranted a stop and a quick picture. One of which was St John's Church that was just beside the main road. It was an old-fashion-looking building that screamed colonial heritage with it's red brick and mortar walls. There aren't too many churches in the country that are their own buildings, especially the newer ones in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, most of which operate out of a shoplot or something similar.

St John's Church.

Just a little further down the road was the Ipoh Train Station. You'd have to be beyond blind to miss the blindingly white building with it's wide open field and flags out front. Like the church, this building still maintains it's colonial roots and is probably one of the more popular, if not most popular, landmarks in Ipoh.

The Ipoh Train Station.

Just across the street from the Train Station was the Ipoh City Hall and again, like most buildings in the area, was just exuding colonialness. It was good then, to see that most of these buildings were not only well preserved but still functional more than a century after their construction.

Ipoh City Hall.

Just after City Hall, I made an immediate left turn as per Google Maps instructions. Along this road, I found the Birch Memorial Clock Tower, named after J.W.W Birch, the first British Ruler of Perak during the British rule. The clock is still very much functionally accurate and is located opposite the State Mosque. Behind the clock tower are a few food stalls while just beside it is the start of Panglima Lane or more popularly known as Concubine Lane, an alley much too narrow for a car but spacious enough for a group stroll, with shop houses on both sides and is an attraction known for it's heritage value. Somewhat of a mini Jonker Street, Concubine Lane has many shops selling trinkets and souvenirs as well as small snacks. 

The Birch Memorial Clock Tower.

At the end of the road, I caught a glimpse of the hotel I'd be staying at for the night, The Container Hotel. I recognised it from pictures online, partially covered by crawling greenery out front. I didn't want to check-in yet as Nam Heong was in the opposite direction and my stomach wanted relief more than I wanted a shower. And so I pressed on.

The Container Hotel (the white hexagon with a 'C' in it)

Probably one of the most famous eateries in all of Ipoh is the Nam Heong coffee shop. Even if you're not a coffee drinker, chances are if you've ever been to Ipoh before, you've heard of this place. Apart from their coffee, which they've very successfully commercialized, they're also known for their pastries, toast bread (roti bakar), egg tarts, and other delicacies. They have grown over the years, expanding from just a small-town coffee shop to a nation wide franchise with numerous branches in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor.

I locked my bicycle outside, went in, sat myself down in the middle of the bustling coffee shop and ordered a few rounds of toast bread, an egg tart and an ice-cold 'cincau' or grass jelly drink. Not a lot, I know, but I wanted to save some space for dessert later as there was an ice-kacang stall that I wanted to hunt down. And after having barely eaten anything since breakfast, this tea-time snack of mine surely hit the spot.

You can also purchase their famous coffees behind the counter but, then again, you can pretty much find it in most major supermarkets. Apart from snacks, they also sold dim sum and there were a few other stalls inside selling various noodles.

With my stomach settled, it was time for a shower and some rest. I headed back up the road, to the Container Hotel, just a kilometer or so away. By the time I checked in, it was already 4.30pm. Now, I'm not exactly a travel blogger or someone so fortunate enough to go on trips on a whim. Therefore, my experience with hotels isn't exactly vast. That being said, I'm still willing to bet this is one of the most interesting hotels out there. A bold claim coming for a not-so-seasoned traveller, but let me just start you off by mentioning the slide inside the hotel!

The slide INSIDE the hotel!

The concept behind the hotel was to maximize the utilization of space while minimizing the cost incurred onto the customer. In order to achieve this, unnecessary luxuries are cut out in favor of basic necessities while still maintaining a decent amount of comfort and practicality while being fun at the same time. 

First of all, instead of conventional rooms, guest are given 'pods' which are essentially tiny spaces big enough to fit a mattress in it along with some space to move around. These rooms are stacked one above the other to further maximise space. Hence the 'container' in Container Hotel. Each pod also comes with it's own safety box, accessible only by it's specific key card, which provides a layer of security when sleeping in the midst of strangers.

Drinking water is free.

My safe.

My comfy pod.

Apart from the unconventional pods, there are shared bathrooms on the first and second floors with a women-only one on the third. Each bathroom has a few cubicles, each cubicle generously spacious and supplied with it's own shower with heater, toilet bowl, sink, mirror, hair dryer etc. Everything was clean and quiet. Air-conditioning was as cold as necessary and the WiFi was fast. The hotel was also strategically located along Concubine Lane, so eateries during the day wouldn't be a problem. All of this for just RM36 a night. Who could argue with that?

I left my bicycle downstairs, behind the reception area, which is manned 24/7. After my shower and a short rest on a very comfortable mattress, I made my way out to look for that ice-kacang I mentioned earlier as well as to take a stroll around town. I asked the receptionist if there was anything good to eat around the area and, according to her, most of the stores and cafes around the area are 'food-blog famous', so finding decent food wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, most of these so-called famous eateries were closed at night and it was already almost 6.00 pm. Never mind then, I'll save them for breakfast.

I left the hotel and explored the area around it, sticking to Concubine Lane in particular. Unlike most back alleys in major cities across the country, this lane, being a tourist-oriented walkway, was very well maintained in terms of cleanliness with unique arts and craft beautifying the walls and shops along the lane.

The lane goes on across three or four streets before coming to an end near the Kinta River. I came across numerous shops selling all sorts of traditional chinese snacks and crafts. Unfortunately, most were already closed at that time and the foot traffic was minimal to say the least. This did allow for a nice, quiet and hassle-free stroll, which I very much enjoyed. That, combined with the cool evening weather, was a fantastic change of pace for the day.

Like Penang, Ipoh too was not spared from the paint brush of urban landscape artist, Ernest Zacharevic. Now, I will admit that I put in a little effort into tracking down a couple of his street-art/graffiti work in the area, but most of these works of art can be easily found within the Concubine Lane vicinity and are not too far apart from one another. Keep in mind, all I did was walk.

Evolution - Jalan Bijeh Timah

Hummingbird - Jalan Panglima

Kopi "O" - Jalan Tun Sambathan

After snooping around for awhile looking for graffiti, I continued my walk about town, with my final destination being the nearby mall because there would probably be food there and I was thinking about catching a movie at night. Plus, I'm a shopping mall-type of person.

Down the road from the hotel, surrounded by colonial buildings, was the locally famous Padang Ipoh, a field originally meant for cricket matches during the British rule. Nowadays, local football matches are held here, and as the field is open to the public, joggers and cyclists are a pretty common sight.

At the end of a junction, overlooking the field, was the local HSBC bank that operated out of yet another well-preserved colonial building. This made me think about the branch in Sungai Petani that also operates out of a building with British heritage. Do they have a policy towards operating out of old-fashion colonial buildings?

Padang Ipoh.

The handsome-looking HSBC bank.

I made a right turn before reaching the end of the road and wound up on the bridge across the Kinta River.

Sungai Kinta.

Ten minutes or so later, I arrived at the Tai Soo Famous No 1 Dessert stall (the name definitely needs work). According to a couple of food blogs and where-to-eat sites, the unassuming stall came up pretty often as the spot to go for good ice-kacang and cendol.

Despite being a small stall with barely enough seats for 5 people, it definitely resonated well with the locals as numerous cars stopped by to 'take-away' ice-kacang, cendol, and some soya bean cincau.

My bowl of ice-kacang was pretty good, different from the Penang style by having more ingredients and not being as sweet. What was bugging me a little though was the fact that there was only one individual manning the stall and she definitely wasn't a local. Don't get me wrong, I'm not at all adverse to the hiring of foreign workers here. In fact, most major buildings, including offices and houses, across the country nowadays are built by foreigners. However, when it comes to certain jobs or certain roles, we definitely cross the line and should feel ashamed as Malaysians.

Take this stall for example. Ice-kacang is supposedly a local delicacy and this stall has become a proudly reputable business that serves quality ice-kacang. Yet, the owner, after tasting success, chose to leave the business entirely in the hands of his or her employee. Where's the sense of pride in running your own business as opposed to hiring others as proxies? There's a big difference between hiring staff and hiring people to completely replace you.

Pretty good stuff.

Soon after my refreshing bowl of sweetness, I was on my way again. The one thing I liked about a handful of the streets in town was that their pedestrian traffic lights were functional. I could push on the pedestrian button located on designated traffic lights and count on them to stop traffic and allow me to cross safely. This might sound almost like blunt common-sense to an international reader, but here in Malaysia, decent pedestrian-friendly infrastructures such as over-head bridges and zebra crossings are a luxury.

Finally, I arrived at the Ipoh Parade mall. I'm no mall expert but the place was comfortable to be in with a decent variety of stores to window shop. I went up to the cinema to buy a ticket - The Arrival, pretty good popcorn movie - before coming back down and getting dinner while waiting for the movie. I didn't want to have too heavy of a meal as I was planning on getting some popcorn for the movie. I settled with some bread from a small bakery in the mall. Not exactly uniquely-Ipoh but not as common as McDonald's either. I told myself that I'd hunt down something proper along Concubine Lane for breakfast tomorrow.

The mall in the distance, rush hour.

By the time the movie was over, it was getting pretty late. By the time I got back to the hotel, it was almost midnight. The sad thing was that, after my little stroll and the time I spent pedaling through town, Ipoh genuinely felt like a good place for a holiday, with it's many eateries that I will not have time to check out, the plethora of beautiful and well-kept colonial buildings, and the lovely hotel I was staying in. Thinking back, maybe I should have allocated a rest-day for Ipoh, just so I could've explored it more. Ah well, there's always a next time!

Not sure if this is Mr Zacharevic's work.