In September last year, I packed my bag, flew to Kuala Lumpur, and boarded a train to Ipoh, Perak. It was a last minute plan for a reunion trip to celebrate TK’s bachelorette party.
There were four of us. I live in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah while my friends live and work in Kuala Lumpur. We had not seen each other for five years since graduation. During our uni years, we were coursemates and were always together. We called ourselves the Ivory Sisters – a name TK picked up as our ‘company’s name’ for our advertising and business courseworks/assignments.
So when Joan, Candy, and I learnt about TK’s plan to tie the knot (she got married on 24 January 2015), we decided to meet up and chose Ipoh as our destination because we had always wanted to visit Joan’s hometown.
Our initial plan was to go Tioman Island off Pahang or Perhentian Island off Terengganu but had to cancel it because according to Candy’s mom, being near waters around that time would bring bad luck. It was a Chinese pantang larang (taboo/superstition).
To cut long story short, our three-night stay at Joan’s was fun. On our first night, we had our reunion dinner, walked along the Kinta Riverfront, and went people watching at the square.
Ipoh townhall and court house
Watching people at the square near Ipoh’s Railway Station.
The next day, Joan took us to the Lost World of Tambun (a water park and amusement park) where I almost puked after going on one of the rides. At night, we had dinner to celebrate TK’s hens night and went bar hopping and ended up drunk in one of Ipoh’s best club houses (or probably the only one), Sensation of Sound.
Main entrance to the Lost World of Tambun.
How Ipoh street would look like in the olden days.
Just a tiger show.
Mini bird park.
Dulang Tea House, where we have our tea in a ‘cave’.
Sober picture. The Ivory Sisters at TK’s hens night.
We went for a long drive the next morning and visited Kellie’s Castle, then drove a little further and stopped at Gua Tempurung, one of the longest caves in Peninsula Malaysia. We spent our final night watching movies and arguing. It was all fun.
The famous Kellie’s castle.
On the way to Gua Tempurung.
A guided cave tour is open from 9am to 4pm.
I saw as much as I could of Ipoh in just four days. Would I return? Maybe for the cave tour but not that soon. At the mean time, I want to explore other states in Malaysia. Penang next?
At the railway station. Goodbye Ipoh.
a.geraldine 