Food Truck - New Generation Mobile Hawker

Food trucks are no longer strange to Ipoh citizens. Some local and outstation food trucks often visit tourist hot spots of Ipoh to promote their unique and delicious food and beverages. If we recall the history of street hawking during 1960's, 70's & 80's, there were many mobile hawkers around the city, which appeared in much simpler setup, tricycle or three-wheel motorcycle.

Tough Job

It is really tough to work under direct hot sun. The car mechanic is trying very hard to put the car engine back in operation. Not just the extreme hot weather that he has to bare with, but the pressure to complete his repair job as fast as possible during this afternoon rush hour at one of the busiest trunk roads in the city.

Start of Hazy Days?

The visibility in the city seems reducing a little in recent days. Despite dry and hot weather, many irresponsible people still practicing open burning which worsening the air pollution. We could begin to see sign of hazy atmosphere when mountains and buildings at distant are slightly faded.

Grilled and Barbecued

When I am feeling like being grilled by the sun, I also imagine the pigeons are being barbecued. The effect of heavy rain yesterday has completed vanished after the sun rises for few hours. The Malaysian Meteorological Department has predicted the extreme weather due to El Nino will most probably lasts until April.

Finally Rainfall in the City

It is enough torture by the extremely warm weather that lasts for almost a month. I guess no one in the city is not wishing to receive a downpour to stop us from sweating day and night. Finally we have a half-hour rainfall in Ipoh this afternoon. Watching splashes of rain water become such an exciting moment while enjoying the cooler atmosphere.

Solving Public Parking Problems

The new building of Ipoh general hospital, Hospital Raja Permaisuri Bainun (HRPB) is progressing quite aggressively. It will provide additional parking lots for the public once completed. Currently many visitors of the hospital are taking risk to park their cars illegally at both sides of Hospital Road, as seen in this photo. It is sometimes causing traffic congestion during rush hours, especially the direction towards city center. Hoping that the new hospital building will solve this public parking problem.

Green Belt Turns Brownish

Well, I can't stop talking topics about the hot weather. This is another typical scene when hot and dry season prolonged. Grass at road side or on the divider would normally goes dry out first due to the limited soil, which means limited reservoir of water. When the situation worsen, we may see the "green belt" along the road turn into "brown belt" and eventually "black belt"; too dry to get ignited easily by any source of fire, most often caused by cigarette butts.

Flame in the Sky of Real Hot Days....

The unusual hot days have been prolonged for more than 2 weeks due to the effect of El Nino, which not just prevents rainfall in Ipoh, but limits the amount of clouds in the sky. When direct sunlight hitting Ipoh's ground all day long, everyone feels like being grilled alive....... Look up at the sky, it often appears only some cirrus clouds, which have no way to filter any heat from the sun, and turn out like burning flame during sunset. A very symbolic scene for the recent extreme hot days.

Cloudless Sunset

The cloudless day is finally over. In order to stay away from the torturing warm and humid atmosphere, spending time (and money) in shopping centers would probably be the best solution in this Sunday.

Greeting in The Year of Monkey

The giant signboard in front of Tun Razak Library is always the platform of Ipoh City Council (MBI) posting festive greetings and publicity of the city's major events. Just not too long after the 2016 new year poster, the signboard has been replaced with a big red poster for the year of Monkey. With continuous increasing of cost of living nowadays, I wish all Malaysians Gong Xi Fa Cai (wishes of wealthy) so all of us will have prosper and peaceful life in year 2016.

Spotlight on Mount Korbu

In a sunny evening, the bright sunlight is spotlighting Mount Korbu and Titiwangsa Range which highlights the details of mountains and displays its contour and layering clearer. Such a clear picture of Mount Korbu making me feel that it is closer than other time when it only shows the online.

Octagon Has Reached Its Top

The Octagon, the 23-storey tower stood in the middle of downtown is now the tallest building in Ipoh city center. Despite the construction works still progressing, the owner has installed the sign of the building. While works continued at the interior, one iconic exterior feature still yet to be constructed, the projecting shell roof, which looked like spikes growing from the roof top. This is inherited from the famous Yau Tet Shin Bazaar, which stood at the same site last century. It should be constructed on the roof of podium and the tower.

Dataran Ipoh in a Sunny Morning

It's a beautiful sunny and peaceful morning in Ipoh. I was standing in the middle of Dataran Ipoh (Ipoh Square) taking photos and video of the surrounding, which sees the nice blue sky and some modern buildings of Greentown. This is now probably one of the best modern scenes of Ipoh city center.

Move On with Tin Tower

The first phase of Tin City project at Falim which consists of 3 and 4-storey shop houses has been completed. Although there is still no any business activity commences on these commercial properties, the project moves on to the construction of the condominium, Tin Tower. I was once skeptic about the feasibility of the high rise condominium proposal at this location, but it is now cleared after seeing these tower cranes setup at the site.