Take The Path Less Ordinary

Ipoh is roughly 200 km north (1.5 - 2 hrs drive) capital Kuala Lumpur and 140 km south (1.5 hrs drive) from Penang island. Hence, Ipoh is a convenient pitstop and a good base if one is covering the Penang-KL route. It is near and well-linked to some of the most popular destinations like Pangkor Island, Cameron Highlands, Taiping, Penang, Taman Negara and east coast islands like Perhentians.

Origin of Ipoh

Ipoh is said to have been established by Malay chieftain Tok Keluang, son of Tok Sabang, in 1528. When Tok Sabang was killed during a rebellion in Kuala Kangsar against Sultan Mudzaffar Shah, the first Sultan of Perak, Tok Keluang had to fled downstream and founded a new settlement for his clan, which was to become Ipoh.

Don’t hug this tree - The crisscross marks on the tree trunk are made by hunters. Orang Asli jungle natives tapped sap by making cuts on Ipoh tree (Antiaris toxicaria) and use it to poison blow darts used for hunting. The sap is so potent, it induces vomiting if its fume is inhaled.

With the discovery of tin ore in Kinta valley, where Ipoh sits in the middle of it, influential merchants poured in throughout 19th century. The sudden wealth has its side effects. With conflicting ambitions of the Malay chieftains and disputes between Chinese miners, the British intervened and as a result, the Pangkor Treaty was signed in 1874, imposing a British Resident who would advise the Sultan of Perak. It was during the tide of British imperialism that saw Ipoh bloom from a humble tin smelting hamlet to sprawling town where businessmen and high society meet to strike deals, eat, drink and be merry. In early 20th century as the town churned out more and more mining millionaires, Ipoh boasted the first Mercedes Benz dealership in South East Asia and often touted as “the town that tin built”. In 1937 it was declared the capital of Perak state, a title which it still holds today.

Never heard of Ipoh?

One can easily miss Ipoh while passing along the North-South highway. There are few high rise buildings and if your car or bus whiz pass fast enough, you’ll think it’s just another nothing-to-see town. Guidebooks like Lonely Planet and Rough Guide are still suspended in the 70s’ time warp and grossly out-of-date for this region. Travel writers nowadays are less intrepid and kept to the beaten paths carved by their predecessors in old town areas.

Rail station (right) - The town center of Ipoh is riot of colonial leftovers which depict its rich 19th century past.

Of course, one key reason why guidebooks have snubbed Ipoh is because the place is never developed for tourists. There are no tour operators and posh hotels to fund visit campaigns and host feasts for travel writers. Inbound tourism is virtually non-existent. Simply put, Ipoh is a unpretentious place where people live. Nonetheless, if one care to scour the outskirts with an open-mind, a whole new world opens up.

Despite its bio-diversity and backwater surroundings, Ipoh maintains modern amenities for the global visitor such as world class medical facility, swanky hotels, chic restaurants, shopping malls, internet connection, immigration office, postal service, airport, rail station and all new age hooplas that are on par with any other township in the world (yup, there’s Starbucks and McDonald’s). Budget wise, it makes good sense too because Ipoh’s cost of living is considered the lowest among towns in Malaysia.

Embraced by natural beauty

Being sidelined by touristy maps and travel media is perhaps a good thing. This has helped Ipoh retain its surrounding region of unblemished rainforest tracts, mangrove, aboriginal settlements and of course, quaint countryside villages that retain the soul of Malaysia. First of all, you should know that Ipoh sits at the bottom of Kinta valley and is embraced by waves of ancient limestone (karst) hills reputed to be 240 - 570 million years old, formed during Paleozoic era. Surrounding limestone cave network is like a time capsule that tells Ipoh prehistoric past.

Long before the existence of dinosaurs, Ipoh was nothing but a vast blue sea teeming with ancient sealife. It is believed that Kinta valley was a huge warm sea then. Owing to this mind-blowing geological feature, Ipoh’s countryside is an interesting treasure trove of cave temples, limestone trail and breathtaking rock formations. It’s not surprising that the Malaysian Karst Society made its head office in Ipoh.

Intrepid adventurers know Ipoh is surrounded by one of the best and oldest jungle in the world that’s unblemished by tourism - and they work hard to keep it a secret. Surrounding rain forest, those draping Titiwangsa Mountainous Range and notably the Royal Belum Forest Reserve, are home to botanical wonders and wildlife dating back to Pleistocene Epoch 130 million years ago. While jungles in Africa and Latin America perished during the Ice Age, jungles around Ipoh has never stopped growing and evolving to what it is today.

Besides inland wilderness, islands, beaches, rustic fishing villages and 43,000 ha. tract of mangrove forest that fringe the coastline make the western part of Ipoh a haven for photography, bird-watching, sea romps and quiet beach time. In short, this region represents the best of Malaysia’s unsung gems, all condensed and interesting places are just a short hop away.

Ipoh is fast becoming the favourite hub for nature-loving foreigners who want to retire in Malaysia. Look up fabulous flora and fauna photos from around Ipoh by our retiree friends Fletcher & Baylis’s website, a prolific naturalist couple who decided to retired in Ipoh and loving every minute of it.

Ipoh’s share of limelight

It was the biggest news in 1999: Oscar winning actress Jodie Foster came to Ipoh. After months of scouring South East Asia for a good spot, Director Andy Tennant and crew found a 350-acre countryside ground near Ipoh to be perfect for filming “Anna and The King”, an adaptation of the memorable musical “The King and I” by Rodgers and Hammerstein.

On a site surrounded by jungle, rivers and mountains, film crew re-created a Siam palace of seven acres, the largest set constructed from ground up since 1963’s blockbuster “Cleopatra”. Thousands of locals were hired as extras, plus a mile-long line of horses and elephants; all done in the hope of replicating mid-19th-century Siam, now Thailand. Ipoh woke up in a frenzy of Hollywood hype in those filming months.

And oh, did we mention that award-winning actress Michelle Yeoh of the James Bond girl fame and 2005’s Oscar nominee “Memoirs of a Geisha” movie was born and bred in Ipoh?

Yup, besides nature and food, Ipoh has another forte - good looking girls. Every year, scores of Asian airline companies trawl Ipoh in search of the best girls to offer them jobs as flight stewardess. Girls of Ipoh origin are sought for their countryside charm, good skin (locals think it’s attributed to good water quality purified by limestone hills) and English proficiency. Thanks to the sediments of English colonial days, the town center is quite westernized and visitors would most certainly bump into friendly English-speaking locals who would gladly give advice or directions.

So, what is Ipoh worth ?

We recommend 1 week. Besides winging surrounding cave temples, historical sites, rain forest reserves and good eats around Ipoh, one can cover the following nearby places …..

1. Taiping - A quaint town steeped in colonial history, like Penang, but minus the tourists.
2. Pangkor Island - Fishing village island where you can rent a bike and blend in.
3. Cameron Highland - Drink to freshest tea and hike cool trails that string the farmland.
4. Kuala Gula Matang coastline - Fishing villages, bird watching, mangrove forest and of course great seafood.
5. … or you could check out our list of day trips

More good reads

1. How to reach Ipoh - Medan Gopeng bus station
2. Hiking and trekking trails in Cameron Highland
3. Beachtime in Pangkor Island !