Day 305: Ipoh

Feb 2 - Today wander around the downtown area of Ipoh. Our original objective, Kek Lok Tong, is temporarily closed. Was glad to find that out before going, as it would have required a taxi ride.

First we go to DR Seenivasagam Recreational Park on the east bank of the Kinta River. Very quiet today as most people are at work.

A lot of noisy birds around, great to hear in the middle of a city.

Big Letters, of course.

Many strangler figs here, doing their nefarious work on the trees.

After the park, head south along the river to the old town.

The ‘Mistress’ or ‘Second Wife’ Lane of Ipoh. A hundred years ago, it was infamous for opium dens, gambling houses, and brothels. Now just a row of souvenir shops, In the same way that a town like Tombstone, Arizona, wants to remind the tourist of all the wild stuff that went on but now safely in the past, here they’ve done the same, except that most of the tourists are Chinese.

There were also a few streets with some great murals.

This one is a bit dated. Uber has since been expelled from Malaysia (now there is a similar service called Grab).

A last look at the narrow lanes of old town before the afternoon rains set in.

Malaysia I