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.