Growing up as a humble country pumpkin in the small historical Taiping town, never once did I think of my hometown as a unique heritage town that offered a spectacular experience for anyone who decide to call it their home or for anyone who decide to visit it. It was even more bewildering for me when I found people naming Taiping as their choice holiday destination!
If you were born and bred in a small town, you would probably have had the same feeling as me during your childhood - the want to experience the glitz and glam of a metropolitan city.
True confession - I had that feeling real strongly, especially when I was in my teens. However, when I left Taiping to experience the bright lights of Kuala Lumpur while continuing my studies and subsequently to work, I began to realise how good a life I had in simple Taiping town.
Taiping is a beautiful medium-sized town that is situated amidst rolling hills. The town is structured in such a way that allows people to easily travel on foot. It's not easy to get lost in Taiping as everything is close within reach. Just give it an evening, and you would have conquered the whole of Taiping town!
From an Insider's Point of View, here are some of the places that I found most interesting about Taiping. Please feel free to leave your suggestions/comments to update other readers on the other Taiping attractions that are not mentioned here.
TAIPING LAKE GARDEN:
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| The beautiful Taiping Lake Garden in its full glory |
The lake garden offers visitors with endless panoramic view, ideal jogging tracks, a romantic getaway for couples and picnic spots for family outings. A famous activity here is boating.
TAIPING ZOO:
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| A photo taken at Taiping Zoo |
Part of my sweet memories of Taiping was listening to birds chirping by my window seal every morning when I wake up. In Kuala Lumpur, you can hardly hear birds chirping, except if it was a tape recorded sound of birds chirping!
Apart from the natural bird chirping sound, Taiping offers people with the opportunity to view various species of animals in the famous Taiping Zoo.
What I like about the Taiping Zoo is that the zoo is structured in such a way so that you can see the animals in their natural surroundings.
The Zoo was recently extended and the amount of animals in the zoo has increased. Hence, it would be very ambitious if you would want to walk you way to tour the entire zoo. For those who lack in stamina, there's always the train ride!
Taiping Zoo is no inferior to the Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, and that I can assure. My sister recently went to the Zoo in Kuala Lumpur and told me that the Taiping Zoo still beats the Zoo in Kuala Lumpur hands down.
*Special tips: If you bring along your Taiping friends, you get discount on your entrance fee!
PERAK MUSEUM:
To be very frank, this museum is not really very informative. What attracts me the most about this museum is its beautiful Colonial architecture . The Perak Museum was once the residence of Sir Hugh Low, the British Resident of Perak during the English settlement.
Through touring this museum, you can actually get a pretty good sense of what life was like in the olden times living as a wealthy and upper class person. I encourage you to take a look and discover this beautiful mansion because it would be very worthwhile.
*The Perak Museum is currently under renovation and would probably be ready next year. So don't go there till 2009 ends!
TAIPING CLOCK TOWER:
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| The magnificent Taiping Clock Tower |
When you visit Taiping Town, you will find that right smack in the heart the town is a beautiful Clock Tower.
This is the famous Taiping Clock Tower.
There isn't really any facilities to climb the Clock Tower but you can admire the beautiful architecture of the Clock Tower from outside.
The Clock Tower has not been ringing for many years since but I was little. But recently, the Clock Tower seemed to be revived. So yes, you can now get a feel of what life was back 'then' with the ringing Clock Tower.
TAIPING RAILWAY STATION:
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| The ancient Taiping Railway Station |
Ever wondered what a 'cowboy' town railway station looked like? Well, step back in time to the previous era as you visit the famous Taiping Railway Station as you will be stepping in an old country style railway station.
This railway station has not been modified since it was built; hence, giving you a rustic kind of feel to your visit. If you are lucky enough, you may even see some really old trains parked there occasionally.
I mean, hey! This is even better than visiting a museum when you can see the real thing, right?
TAIPING TOWN:
Even though there isn't any big malls in Taiping town itself (there are a few in the outskirts of Taiping town), who cares?
The whole Taiping town itself can be your own gigantic mall! Yes, this is extremely true because Taiping town itself has a number of delicious eating places, boutiques, entertainment arcades and grocery stores...enough to be called a gigantic mall if you place them all together!
Just walk the entire Taiping town and you would be mesmerised by its beautiful old and charming shop houses. This is indeed a chance in a lifetime to experience a meganormous museum come to life!
Taiping town is unlike 'hot' tourist destinations, that needs you to push your way around to see famous tourist attractions. Instead, Taiping provides tourists with a peaceful surrounding.
People here are very friendly. However, most of them speak in Hokkien and Mandarin. Thus, it would be pretty hard if you want to move around when you do not know these two languages. Fortunately, there are the occasional few who can speak in English and Malay Languages.
Transport to move around Taiping town is cheap because you can walk around the entire town - so transport is free!
Food portions here are very small. Hence, you have to get two plates of food before you can get full if you're a big eater. However, the plus point is you can try more types of food.
Want to find out more about Taiping? Leave your questions in the comment section! =)
