IPOH DAY TRIP 怡保一日游

Lei Hou!  It means how are you in Cantonese. Why am I speaking Cantonese here? Today, I'm going to talk about my beloved hometown, Ipoh. You might be wondering why I'm discussing my hometown after all these years of blogging. Well, even though I moved to KL 6 years ago, I still have a deep fondness for the charming town of Ipoh. It holds so many memories for me, my friends, and my family. Whenever my friends from other states visit Ipoh, they always ask me where to eat, what to do, and where to go in Ipoh. So, I decided to explore Ipoh for half a day and share the itinerary here, so you'll have some ideas for your next visit to Ipoh. Let's embark on a journey from KL to Ipoh! Enjoy reading!

Please note that I won't appear in the photos because I want you all to focus on the places and activities rather than me. Lol. So when I mentioned Ipoh, what was the first thing that came to your mind? When I first came to KL, most of my KL friends, especially the guys, told me that Ipoh has many leng lui (pretty girls) and delicious food. Hahaha. Well, I'm not going to claim that I'm a pretty girl, but I'm still proud to say I'm an Ipohian, and indeed, we have many delicious foods here!

First up, if you're wondering what mode of transportation you should take, bus or train? Well, I would suggest taking the ETS (Electric Train Service) instead of the bus. Why, you ask? Simply because the ETS takes only a little over 2 hours to reach Ipoh, and it can bypass the heavy traffic jams, especially on public holidays. All you need to do is go to KL Sentral Station for departure. Yes, usually I drive back to Ipoh, but this time I intentionally didn't drive because I wanted you all to experience it with me. Lol.

Just in case you're not sure how to get to KL Sentral, here's the attached map for you to have a look at.

This is the ticket counter where you can purchase your train ticket.

Since I purchased my train ticket online through www.busonlineticket.com, there's no need to buy it at the station. It's important to note that after buying the ticket online, simply print it out, and it serves as your official ticket. There's no need to exchange it at the ticket counter.

If you're lost, no worries. You can always refer to this directory.

There are 2 gates on the 2nd floor, which are Gate A and B.  We should stay at Gate A if Ipoh is your final destination.

Gate A was just beside KFC. So you can just look for KFC if you don't know where is the location Gate A. You may go take your meals while waiting for the train to arrive.

Ta-da! This is the ETS. It stands for "Electric Train Service".

The interior of the train.

Every coach has their one small LCD screen and their toilet is almost like the one on the plane.

After about 2 hours and 20 minutes, we reach our destination - Ipoh! Here's the entrance at Ipoh Railway Station.

Check out the "exit" signboard in case you don't know where is the exit.

This is the ticket counter at Ipoh Railway Station. You may purchase your train ticket here to another destination as well.

This is the entrance for you to get on the ETS. There are 2 entrances so remember don't enter the wrong one.

And this is the ambient of the outside of Ipoh Railway Station.

From the main entrance, you just walk for 1 minute to the right-hand side then you will see a bunch of cabs here. We took a cab to Nam Heong and it cost us RM15 for the ride.

For your info, Nam Heong was renowned as a local icon, especially among fundamental and traditional coffee shops. It was a signature of Ipoh because their old town white coffee was popular. Some people say if you never tried their coffee before, then you have never been to Ipoh.

I used to take away this Chinese pancake (大块面) when I finished school in those old days. I don't know what it is called in English but it is named Apam Balik in Malay. The inside of the pancake is usually filled with sweet corn and peanuts.

I ordered a "cham ice" which is also one of their signature drink in their shop.

And this is the hot white coffee that was ordered by my friend.

I ordered a "hakka me" and some fish balls, tofu etc as my lunch. It cost about RM4.90.

Fish ball Kuey Teow soup for my friend.

Details

Kedai Makanan Nam Heong

Address : 2, Jalan Bandar Timah, 30000 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.

Business Hours : Daily (7:30am - 10:30pm)

Tel : +6012 - 588 8766

After finishing our lunch, we walked to the nearby places to capture the street art. There are many random street art but we only managed to take photos of some of them.

There are many different themes of the shop and this one was the forest-themed shop I guess.

When I looked at this "Selalu Lock" area I kept laughing. I don't know even Ipoh has this kind of lock section like other countries.

They also have a bazaar here. I'm not sure whether they will have a bazaar daily or only for the weekdays because the day we went there was on Thursday.

Finally, we reach the famous Concubine Lane 二奶巷. This lane was very messy and dirty last time because a fire happened a long time ago. And guess what~ Concubine Lane is a 120-year-old lane at Old Town Ipoh! I knew they already renovated but this would be my very first time to step in after so many years. I felt surprised by all the changes. Now it has become the tourist favourite place to visit. Continue reading to find out more.

This is a quite unique shop for tourists to grab some cute products as souvenirs or gifts for friends and family.

Ipoh key-chain. LOL

They also sell flower-style cotton candy. I didn't try it but it might taste delicious. (Check out the expression of the little girl)

Details

Eesha Handmade

Address : No. 12, Lorong panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak.

Business Hours : +6012 - 519 9152

Tel : Tue - Sun (11:00am - 5:00pm)

Right beside Eesha Handmade was Meiko Gallery.

Noticed the signboard was very retro and old. It's because this shop will display all of the objects that we used to see and use when we were kids.

It was definitely the interesting retro shop cum gallery @ Concubine Lane.

Since the building was really old, they needed to maintain it well. They requested to collect RM1 for taking photos purpose. Since I and my friend was thinking of taking photo up-stair we paid RM1 for each person.

My grandma used to use the sewing machine like this when I was a kid. I like the sounds of this old typewriter. "Tik tak, tik tak"

Details

Meiko Gallery

Address : No. 14, Lorong Panglima, 30000 Ipoh, Perak.

Business Hours : Daily (9:00am - 5:00pm)

Tel : 016 - 414 4399

You may stop by here to try their red bean ice.

All I can say is, it's worth paying a visit here especially for tourists. Well, even though I'm an Ipohian I feel new here. Lol

Details

Concubine Lane
Address : Panglima Lane, 30000 Ipoh, Perak.

We then head to Big Johns Music Shack to take a chill. It was located opposite of Snow Beer 元华雪花啤.

Big Johns provided Western foods at the time. By night, they will be having a live band and provides alcoholic drink as well. Open until midnight.

I was excited to try on this Rose Conet ice cream because I always saw this on YouTube videos but I have no idea now I could taste it at Ipoh! It cost RM2.50 (1 layer), RM3 (2 layers) and RM5 (3 layers).

Ta-da! Here is it! Too bad the weather was so hot and caused the ice cream to melt so fast. =(

Rose bud tea which cost only RM5. Quite affordable because we can't get this price at KL.

Details

Big Johns Music Shack

Address : 24 Lorong Panglima (Concubine Lane), 30000 Ipoh, Perak.
Business Hours : Tue - Sun (5:00pm - 1.00am)
Tel : +605 - 241 1617

Oh ya! Besides leng lui and delicious foods. Ipoh is also famous for the Dim Sum. I know normally you guys will visit Foh San Dim Sum but there are so many people queuing. So in the end I and my colleague decided to choose Ming Court Dim Sum.

The taste of the dim sum was fine. There was so crowded in the restaurant because their shop is in small size. However, dim sum is not much choice compared to other dim sum cuisine.

Details

Ming Court Hong Kong Dim Sum
Address : 32. 34. 36, Jalan Leong Sin Nam, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Business Hours : Daily (5:00am - 12.00pm)
Tel : 05 - 255 7134

Actually, there are still many places and cuisines that you should visit at Ipoh but I can't list down all here and I rarely go back to Ipoh even if I do I also go back there for only 1 or 2 days. I will try to share more with you guys about the place, foods and activities that you guys should try. Do share with me as well if you have any suggestions.

You may also interested

If you find it interesting, feel free to visit other day trip posts as follows:

• Malacca Day Trip : http://www.shinilola.com/2015/12/shinixtravel-malacca-day-trip.html
• Johor Bahru Day Trip : http://www.shinilola.com/2015/11/johor-bahru-day-trip.html
• Sekinchan Day Trip : http://www.shinilola.com/2017/09/sekinchan-day-trip.html