If you have been following my blog, you would know that my family and I travel to Ipoh very often. We love taking road trips and Ipoh is the city that we frequent a lot. That is because my husband and I grew up in Ipoh. However, we have left our beloved hometown more than 20 years ago. While both our families have moved to Kuala Lumpur, we still have relatives and friends back home.
It is always a joy to travel home. I love seeing this huge IPOH signage along the North South Highway. It means we are almost ‘Home‘.
As we do not have our family homes anymore, we usually stay in our favourite Syeun Hotel Ipoh. This hotel is very conveniently located and just right across it is the Parkson Shopping Mall.
Besides catching up with friends and relatives, we love savoring the food that we grew up with. There are many foods that we cannot find in Kuala Lumpur. Ok I am bias, maybe they can be found in KL but they sure do not taste the same. Here a few of my favourites:-
Sticky glutinuous rice with kaya (coconut jam) from Keng Nam Coffeeshop
Chee Cheong Fun in mushroom sauce. Available in many coffeeshops.
Sar Kot Fu Pei (Fried jicama), another delicacy unique in Ipoh. They are usually eaten together with a delicious bowl of noodle. We love to just eat them without the noodles.
One must never forget this ~ Ice White Coffee. Some like a nice cup of piping hot white coffee but we prefer the ice version. This is Ice White Coffee ‘to-go’. I feel like having some right now as I am typing this post. The best Ipoh White Coffee, in my opinion, is from Sin Yoon Loong, old town.
Our car always ‘feel heavier’ on our return trip from Ipoh because of all the yummy grubs we had been eating while we were there. Apart from the good food in Ipoh, there are many interesting places to explore. We love strolling along the streets to check out the many beautiful wall murals done by Lithuanian Ernest Zacharevic and other local artists. We also enjoy looking at the old shop houses and colonial buildings that have been restored. One day I should plan to take a walk from New Town to Old Town and crossing the Kinta River which separates the 2 areas. This will surely bring back sweet memories of my childhood. I used to follow my mother to the shops located along Hugh Low Street (now known as Jalan Sultan Iskandar) which is just before the Kinta River.
Mural of a little girl standing on some plastic chairs and books.
Old shophouses that are now turned into cafes in Ipoh Old Town. Love this photo by https://findingbeyond.com.
Can you believe it that we still have not visited all the places of interests eventhough we are from Ipoh? Some of the places in our list are the Kek Lok Toong Temple and Perak Tong Temple which are built inside the million-year-old caves. If you love limestone caves, you may want to visit these temples or Gunung Lang, a recreational park developed around a lake and scenic backdrop of limestone hills.
Gunung Lang Recreational Park. Image via Tripvisor. For the more adventurous, you can opt for a caving adventure at Gua Tempurung.
This rock formation inside Gua Tempurung looks like a space ship.
Missy just found out that a new theme park has opened in Ipoh. Movie Animation Park Studios (MAPS) is Asia’s first animation park and has over 40 attractions in six thematic zones. She has been asking us when we can visit this theme park and even complained that we have not brought her to visit Sunway’s The Lost World of Tambun. Looks like we shall be making more trips to Ipoh soon.
Ipoh is a great weekend getaway. This city oozes with nostalgic charm and offers a mixture of delicious hawker food and nice, hip cafes. If you love food, nature and adventure, plan a trip to Ipoh on a weekend or the coming school break. Remember to check out the Traveloka Landing Page and make a hotel reservation.
