Old Trails…

Sg Woh at Batu 7, Jalan Pahang

Last week was a good time for me and my family to be away from KL and locked into the trail back to where I came from. ‘Balik kampong‘ or heading home with destination: Taiping. For those who were in KL last week feasting on the hazy polluted air should be envious of the time I had during this trip.

You can go mad with kids at home during school holidays. Not a good time to travel abroad either with swine flu checking in and out of airports. Take a slow drive back to Taiping was a welcome decision.

First stop while on the way was in Tapah, the town at the foot hill of Cameron Highlands. 2 hours drive from KL. I was once in this town for about 3 years. Never missed the good home cooking food there at The Little House restaurant. For those who loves the banana leaves, try Sundera Vilas Restaurant, located opposite the bus station.

Be more adventurous and drive up along the road to Cameron Highlands (Jalan Pahang) and head to Hutan Lipur Air Panas Kuala Woh at the 7th mile. This is one of my favourite hot spring river that you never wanted to leave once there. The river is wide enough for child’s play and shallow too for a cool peaceful dip. Most heavenly of all are the sweet soothing sound of the river spalshes and the echoing of the most natural jungle music, the cries of cicada. Green lush gigantic trees all around with Rajah Brooke butterflies flying freely. The facilities like toilets, camp sites, dewan are all there for campers and they are clean too. For the kids, don’t forget the over-hanging bridge.

All green at Kuala Woh

Old colonial buildings, good food, rain and lake gardens defined Taiping. One hour away from Tapah.

Taiping councils are restoring some old buildings, zoo had a make-over with new stage and entrance plus the night safari, hotels are popping up here and there….but the newly opened coronation pool no longer look like a part of Taiping. A modern looking building tucked in old history looks a bit unfitting. The original Coronation Pool was built in 1870.

Anyway, when you are in Taiping, watch out for your cholestrol as the food there are irresistable. For a guide, always start off with the cockle curry mee then followed by char kuey teow and save your stomach space for pulut tai-tai & popiah before you end with chendol or gandum. That’s for the first meal. Well, if you truly plan for a feast-food adventure there, just invite me and forget Anthony Bourdain.

Taiping is not all about history and food, don’t forget  the ‘touch pig’ temple if you plan to strike a million, how about the Kamunting ‘resort’ for politicians and of course,  Maxwell Hill.

It is time for Taiping to become a real tourist city like Penang and Malacca. It is also time to re-hire back those rickshaw peddlers, clean up the town and lake garden, restore all those made by the British, bring back the sarongs, cheongsam and saris for the folks and finally remember there should be ‘no chemical and no motorised vehicles’ in the lake garden.

Anyone interested to build a 5* hotel in Taiping and don’t forget to bring back a pack of heow peah (heong peang).?

“Ninety nine percent of modern architecture is boring, banal, and barren, and usually discruptive and unharmonious when placed in older cities.” James Stirling, 1974