Ghost Town

I was driving on the main road of Kepayang, which is about 10km to the south of Ipoh. This is the Federal Trunk Road Route 1 that has non-stop traffic day & night. When come to the Kepayang town, the road becomes very narrow & it has caused many accidents over the years. There are several cases where truck crashing the shop houses & causing partial of it collapse. It ended up the residents have to move to the rear part of these building for safety concern and leaving the front portion vacant just like a ghost town.

More on Tower Regency Hotel

I realize many visitors reach this blog through their search for Ipoh’s newest hotel & apartment, the Tower Regency Hotel. I purposely make a short visit to the hotel and try to get some information for sharing in this blog.

It has quite a wide range of rooms for choice. The available types are from normal superior room, deluxe room to executive room; from junior suite, executive suite, ambassador suite to studio suite, and several ranges of apartment. The promotion rates are from RM135 to RM 388, whereas at peak seasons its room rates are from RM180 to RM420. It also has facilities & amenities such as lounge, ballroom (6 conference halls), gym, sauna, Jacuzzi, steam room, massage center & swimming pool.

Address: 27, Jalan Dato Seri Ahmad Said (Green Lane), Greentown, 30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia

Email: inquiry@towerregency.com

Website: http://www.towerregency.com,

Hunting line: +605-208 6888

Catching Sunrise Again

Well, I am a bit late out to work again. Somehow, I caught the chance to capture this nice sunrise moment again. The difference is the sky is so clear this morning where I couldn’t see any clouds. Hope you like it.

Convert to Gallery

The renovation of rear portion of Town Hall has been published on 14-Mar-2009. Lately I received comment from Anip, who is also an Ipoh citizen, telling more detail about the restoration plan. This part of the building is taken over by National Heritage Board and will be converted to a gallery of Raja Muda Perak & Lat (famous Malaysian cartoonist, originated from Ipoh - “Ipoh Mali”). Thanks a lot for the information, Anip :-)

The Beauty is the Story Behind

These three shops will be demolished to give way for a 7-storey hotel building construction (Tin City Hotel). I feel a little sad seeing another good looking heritage building disappearing. I wish more properties owner will start to think of restoration of old building instead of reconstruction because the heritage value of it shall be more attractive than a brand new building. A new one can gain modern & stylish outlook but can never gain the beauty & romance of having the historical stories throughout the years since its establishment.

Ipoh Tree Today

The only left over Ipoh Tree in town looked dry & weak when I capture a photo on 11-Mar-2009. However, it is in good condition today with thick green leaves. :-)

New Land Mark at South Gateway

On my way back from business trip to Kuala Lumpur, I was driving on North-South Expressway. To my surprise that something I predicting really does exist. As commented in this blog on 15-Feb-2009, the new landmark of IPOH formed by giant alphabetical blocks was installed on a lime stone hill at northern gateway to Ipoh, Kuala Kangsar Road. I was thinking the possibility of having a similar one at the southern gateway to Ipoh. Now I see it, amazing!! You will find it not far after entering the expressway from Gopeng interchange and heading north to Ipoh.

The Beauty of Aging Building

A lot of Ipoh citizen may not realize where this row of shop houses located, but many may know where the film shooting of Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution". The shops are, in fact, have been vacant for quite some time because of its non-strategic location in New Town. However these shops at Cheng On Siew Road had attracted the film director to choose here as one of the shooting location for his movie on a World War II story.

U-Meng to Maybank

This is the headquarter building of Maybank in Ipoh. The building was built by a local developer called U-Meng. I can’t remember since when Maybank has bought over it as its head office in Ipoh. It is one of the very few high rise buildings in Old Town with only 15 storeys.

Shop Name on Pillar

Well, you will see this quite common in many Malaysian towns. Pre-war shop houses are commonly carved the shop name on the pillars. This is still seen in many old shop buildings in Ipoh & this is one of those found in Hugh Low Street. The embossed characters are supposed painted in different color but it will be consider an advertising board if doing so & local authorities would charge for its license. Therefore many shops have painted it white or similar color to the wall so no cost incurred.

Regain the Shine

I believe this shop has been here for a century. It is probably one the most pioneer buildings in town. This is my guess from its simple architecture that normally applied during the early age of a settlement. New owner is restoring the building. Although I have no idea what will it be but I am happy to see it gains new life.

Cutting Lime Stone Hill

The limestone hill has been cut to a curve because it was one of the quarries near to North-South Highway at Simpang Pulai zone which produce marble stone. After cut and polish, the marble stone can be used to produce tile for the house or sculpture.

Red Sky

I know I have been uploaded a lot of sky photo but I really can’t resist to stop taking such a beautiful photo. Hope you also enjoy the photo.

Last Moment Before Night Fall

I was about to leave after having dinner at Kinta River Front. The skyline view from the open air car park looked nice. This is the moment where the last sunlight seen before getting dark. Captured in the frame is the Islamic Bank Building & new classroom block of St. Michael School.

Cool & Fresh Day

The rain started since morning & just stops in the afternoon. However it’s still cloudy. It makes the day cool & fresh, preventing from the skin burning afternoon heat. We can see the low hanging cloud is surrounding the limestone hill at Simpang Pulai.

Mini Harbour Bridge

This is part of the Kinta River Front. The developer is planning to build several pedestrian bridges across Kinta River. These bridges will be mini duplication of few world famous bridges, such as London Tower Bridge, San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge, etc. As of now only two completed and this is one of it, which is a copy of Sydney Harbour Bridge. Somehow I find this iron structure is too simple & not attractive enough.

Hot & Cold

This is my dinner, hot soup noodle & cold desert with mixed fruits. It is just like the weather now, a transition between hot & cold; rain just started in this evening. I am enjoying my dinner at Rainbow City Food Court. The clay pot soup noodle is one of the delicious foods over here and I am sure you will like the fruit mountain with blended ice….yummy!!! I really enjoy it and am very full…..haha :-)

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A Favorite Building

The HSBC building is one of the landmark heritage buildings in Old Town. Located at the meeting point of Belfield Street (Jalan Sultan Yussof) and Hale Street (Jalan Tun Sambanthan), the 4-storey building was the tallest in town. It was completed before World War II and occupied by HSBC since then. This is one of the three banks (Standard Charted & OCBC) that are occupying beautiful heritage building in Ipoh.

Traffic Jam

The traffic on Brewster Road moving towards New Town is jammed in this Saturday afternoon. It seems a little bit unusual as I find the queue is getting longer and longer. There must be something happen in front because it is rarely to see such a long queue here. The Ipoh citizens are, in fact, quite fortunate because there is seldom heavy traffic compare to other major cities in Malaysia.

Just a Short Break

When queuing to escape the traffic in front of Kinta City Shopping Center, the sunset captured my attention. Rain has just stopped, but there are still rain clouds in the sky. Look like there will be another downpour tonight. I believe the continuous rainy days have impacted a lot of retail business. Many are suffering from the economy down turn, yet the weather worsens the situation.

Town Hall

Did I publish any close look photo of Town Hall? I guess not. Even though it has appeared in my blog for few times but not a closer look on it was shown. Well, before the day turn cloudy & rain, I capture the Town Hall in the afternoon with its elegance white walls.

Brewster Bridge

I like the classic-design street lights along the historical Brewster Bridge. This is one of the earliest bridges crossing Kinta River from Old Town to New Town built in the early 20th century. Although these lights are not originally installed but it just decorates the bridge nicely.

When will the Neon Light Up Again?

This building is strategically located along Brewster Road (Jalan Sultan Idris Shah) which is one of the main commercial streets in the city. It started as a famous cinema in 1940’s. When I was young, it is known as Odeon Cinema. However, it was closed during the fall of traditional cinemas throughout Malaysia in the 1990’s and later the building is then occupied by the Rainbow City Night Club. Somehow it did not last long. The owner of the building & its name had changed few times (I don’t even able to remember what were the names). Now, it is vacant. What will be its fate & when will the neon light up again?

Tasek Cement

Ipoh is surrounded by limestone hills and it is the natural resources to produce cement. Tasek Cement is one of the largest cement producers in Malaysia and the factory is located at Tasek Industrial Estate. Almost every Ipoh citizen knows Tasek Cement as it is one of the pioneers of industrialization in the city. Everyone passing by Ipoh via North-South Expressway will definitely find this huge factory which is just next to the expressway.

Driving in the Green

This is Lahat Road, one of the major trunk roads to enter Ipoh city. It is linking Ipoh to the south west suburban areas, such as Menglembu, Lahat & Pusing. I like this road with many trees along the road side and it looks green. Hope the city council will continue to plant more trees in the future. Save our planet….yeah…. :-)

Qing Ming Day 清明节

Qing Ming 清明 is a day to clean & pray the ancestor graveyard in Chinese tradition. Normally the Chinese will visit the cemetery few days around Qing Ming. This year, Qing Ming falls on Sunday but my family & I come to pray my grandparents today. The cemetery is located on a hill and has very scenic view on the northern part of Kinta Valley.

Splitting the Sky

Does the sky seem like split into two layers? This is an amazing scene in the morning right before sunrise.

Kinta Water Front

Recently a new spot for night outing in Ipoh established along the Kinta River bank. There is a café & a mini museum on tin mining history of Kinta Valley. The lightened limestone hill of Gunung Cheroh is seen at far right.

Rainbow City Food Court

For the purpose of reorganize outlook of the city, Ipoh Municipal Council (currently known as Ipoh City Council) had group majority of the street hawkers in downtown to this area next to Rainbow City Night Club in year 1986. Although it was seriously objected by the citizen, somehow the plan was implemented. This area is now known as Rainbow City Food Court & has been one of the famous spot for nice Ipoh local food for the past 23 years.