Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - Pasar Karat Memory Lane, Ipoh

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

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Another city, another morning market. This time around, it's the antique flea market in Ipoh. Affectionately known as the Ipoh Memory Lane, this is the place to be in Sunday morning if you want to be immersed within the crowd. 

Welcome to Memory Lane Ipoh

Located along Jalan Horley, right besides The Store supermarket, it might be hard to find some conventional items to buy but if unconventional is what you are looking for, this is definitely where you should be. From secondhand electronic goods to shirts of questionable origins, stamps to minted old notes and coins, ancient plastic toys to antique furnitures, you can find these and many more in this market.

 

 

Some of the antiques and old treasure troves you can find here

Just like the Sunday market in Kota Kinabalu, the road is closed off from vehicles early in the morning untill around noon to make ways for these hawker stalls to open. Between the two morning markets, the items in Kota Kinabalu are more varied compared to this flea market. Yet, you should not brush it off especially so if antique items are what you are looking for. You might find some great bargain here in this Sunday market.

People watching is also a good activity here in the flea market

Info Box

Pasar Karat Memory Lane,
Jalan Horley, Ipoh, Perak.
The market opens from early morning to about 2 p.m. every Sunday.

 

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - Kledang Hill, Ipoh

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

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The sun has yet to rise and still, people are already gearing up to start the day. The best part is that it is weekend, the days where everyone would slack off and wake up only hours to noon. Welcome to Kledang Hill, Ipoh.

Retirees doing tai chi

Granted, most of the early risers are retirees, uncles and aunties whose staminas are surely better than the young generations but there are young families as well as youngsters. While most of them are here for recreational purposes, some of them are in training, perhaps to prepare them for the upcoming Gunung Kinabalu or Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. I knew I was as I made preparation for Kinabalu.

One of the trails we took

Pavilions for us to rest when tired

Paved road makes driving your cars up the hill a possibility

The trail is relatively easy, a perfect launching ground for beginners. There are a few routes where you can take, each differs in lengths and distances but eventually ends up towards the peak of the hill, fondly known as the RTM Tower. 

RTM tower

However, there is more to Kledang Hill than that as the hill boasts some of the most beautiful aerial views of the city. You do not have to trek them in order to see it for there is paved road for you to take your cars up just for the views.

Aerial view from Kledang Hill

Info Box

Kledang Hill,
Laluan Kledang 1, Menglembu, Perak.

Visit Malaysia Year 2014 - 3D Arts Exhibition, Ipoh

To support Visit Malaysia Year 2014, I will be writing on various tourist attractions in the country. Let us work together to bring in tourists to our lovely Malaysia.

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This is a shorter version of my article first published in Virtual Malaysia which you can read it here.

Ipoh is a sleepy city, there's no denying that. So, imagine my surprise when I found out about this 3D arts exhibition currently being held in Kwan Yin Tong temple, a venue as unlikely as Ipoh being the host of this exhibition.

Large crowds gathered at the art exhibition

The entrance

There was a steady stream of crowds during our visit. Perhaps it was the pull of the holiday seasons. We paid for our tickets - RM 15 for adults and RM 10 for children - and the fun began.

It was quite an interesting exhibition and peoples of all walks of life were having an amazing time. They were all laughing at the amusing paintings, posing along with it just for fun. Some of the interesting paintings are gorillas breaking the door, giraffes licking the public, God of Wealth giving out gold ingots, and so on.

Too many words will spoil the fun. Therefore, enjoy the pictures.

Ipoh - Burps & Giggles

I was slightly early on purpose as I wanted to give a thorough exploration of the cafe before the meet up. Armed with my faulty Nikon, I began clicking the shutter button, capturing anything that fancied me. Since its opening in August 2012, I've only been in for a total of 3 times, inclusive of this latest venture. Back then, I was based in the capital city and my trips back hometown didn't involve leisure hours in cafes.

If you doesn't look properly, you might have miss it

But the third visit is as good as any to begin taking in its foods and decors. While I have yet to really taste all its offerings, at least I can say that I am very much delighted with its quirky and interesting concept. As for the delicacies, I just tried their cappuccinos twice (mocha on my first visit) and chocolate cheese cake. The former is a standard cup of caffeine while the latter is a subtle taste of goodness.

Berry Berry

Cappuccino

Chocolate Cheese Cake

But I wasn't here just to taste the food. I was meeting up with Adam, a fellow blogger who, together will be going to the #TSBreakAway contest organized by Tourism Selangor. Since we were the only 2 participants in Ipoh, why not get to know one another before this coming Saturday? We ate, we chatted, we discussed about the upcoming event. An hour plus later, we left.

Marilyn wishes to see you again

Personally, I quite like the cafe, mostly for its ambiance. While the foods are rather overpriced by Ipoh standard, it will not stop me from coming once in a while, sipping caffeinated drink, with a book to pass the time. Continue reading for photos of its many interesting decorations.