A Mini Road Trip up North

There is a town in the north of Malaysia which I seem to have a 'connection' to. Each time I drive towards this charming mining town, I come back with many stories to tell and more than a few happy events. Of course there are pictures to be taken too :-)







Drove alone after a relatively relaxing call to meet up my pals and enjoy good meals. Firstly, met up with the Hospital gang at Brewster, old city centre, Ipoh. This is a chill-out place with relatively good food. I wonder if the tequila in my fish has anything to do with my extremely

good mood that evening. Ah, good company and ravenous hunger are the best accompaniments to any meal! I swear...

Then, I hung around the old town area and snapped a few pictures as the sky was brilliantly lit by the setting sun. I spent quite some time contemplating the best way to capture the colours but I guess my photographs couldn't depict the majestic hues on display that evening. Everything was bathed in the warm afterglow of the setting sun amidst the limestone hills. It was so surreal that I am a silent bystander witnessing the beautiful creation of God. As the busy traffic buzzed past me, I am just so thankful that I was there at the right time.

My trip was interspersed with a simple and uncluttered wedding ceremony and a long rest before the main 'highlight' of the weekend, the Ipoh International Run 2008. Being unprepared, I was in much trepidation and excitement. To cut a long story short, I completed the 10 km race in one piece but I am not going to reveal my timing (shy lar...) My competitive streak in me was kind of disappointed but I vow to do better if I am going for another race in the future. So God please help me to have the discipline to train and improve, hehe.

Sometimes when I am not in a rush, I tend to take the trunk roads as these meandering roads are filled with characters and I love picking up interesting anecdotes about life as I zoomed past the zinc attaps of old kampung houses, brooding cows grazing by the roadside, abandoned tin mines and happy children playing by the roadside. That lazy Sunday was the perfect example of how relaxed I was. As I drove past the rustic countryside, I couldn't resist snapping a few snapshots of the unfolding scenes on my way home.

The most historical and yet decaying stretch is the sad old shophouses by the road between Gopeng and Ipoh. The crumbling facades hid uncountable tales and if these buildings could speak, their stories would fill many volumes of text. My imagination ran wild with possibilities as I imagine the lives of those past inhabitants. Who are these people who owned and lived in these houses? What were their concerns? What made the people leave this town in droves? What does the future holds for these monuments to time?

To be continued....