Taiping, Perak Malaysia.

February 15th – 25th

Taiping is a Chinese word which means a ‘Peaceful Town’ or ‘The Town of Everlasting Peace’, you know I gotta love this.

Now arriving in Taiping by bus from Kuala Lumpur (KL) it was about a 4 hr trip to the terminal which I did not take the official taxi, but a car service which was a flat rate of 12 ringgits to the city where I was taken to the only backpackers hostel, called Sojourn Beds & Cafe. The dormitory rooms were 35 a night, now as far as I am concerned compared to KL this is overpriced by about 15 ringgits, it should only be 20 a night, as for breakfast included was toast & coffee, the room I was in was the tiniest room I have been in so far, the traveller above me agreed as we had our luggage on the floor and then there was no more floor space left. I enquired at Malay Hotel and offered a room for 33 ringgits with own room, double bed and own bathroom, tv and fan, so do check out other places, even at 50 a night one gets a big room, double bed, tv, air con. own bathroom and the extra 15 ringgits is like an extra $4.50 CAD to have more room and privacy, especially if one is over charging because he is the only backpackers dormitory in town and perhaps taking advantage of the this.

I met and talk with a local lady that has a position as Head Tourism for Taiping through a connection with the friend I met in KL at Suzie’s Guesthouse. Anyways she is a great lady, very hospitable in promoting the city she lives in and as her guest she guided me to the zoo, showing me all the animals and exposing how the zoo takes special care of the animals and their habitats, seeing that there is plenty of room and that it is as close to their natural environment. This city zoo was 100 % better than the one in Philippines, from a concrete zoo to jungle looking. These animals all looked well fed and there is even a Night Safari for viewing the nocturnal animals such as bats or watching the movements of the big cats such as lions and other animals after they’ve slept for most part of the day due to the sun and heat. Also when I went back again a night I had a chance to hand feed a friendly giraffe.

I was also taken to Matang or what use to be called Port Weld, which is a small fishing port now and for charcoal production, but use to be where the tin was transported to by trains to boats to be shipped up the coast to Penang to bigger ships to be transported to England, all this was back in 1870’s – 1890’s. With the charcoal production as creating charcoal for burning to cook, the Mangrove trees must be of
30 years old and because of the very high water density within these trees they go through a steaming process in big ovens with a high heat for 10 days, then a lower heat for another 10 days, then a cooling down process for another 10 days, the entire process is a month long and in the end one has charcoal to burn for cooking, apparently Japan buys much of this charcoal for cooking, but locals use it too. Any Mangrove trees that have not reached the maturity age of 30 years are used as pilings for construction.

Now the Mangrove Forest is nearby to this area also, being called the Matang Mangrove Eco Education Centre, now this is the second time in my travels that I have seen the Mangrove Forests if you recall, first time being in Sabang, Philippines and now here in Taiping, Malaysia. These trees are very unique as when you see them up close their roots which are many of them are spreading out wide in a circular pattern from the trunk and then in a downward direction to grab a foothold in the earth. If these roots are submerged under water they are still able to breath and if strong waves of water hit these trees because of so many roots from these trees they quickly dissipate the force of the waves by breaking them up quickly into water that is not so distrustful with force, these trees are fast growing and resilient, they can replenish themselves when harvested prudently and water is clean. Besides they are home to a rich variety of wildlife, including small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, crustaceans and shellfish. And again, Mangrove Forest being an ecosystem on what the locals in Sabang, Philippines call the ‘Carbon Sink’, as it absorbs and converts the harmful carbon dioxides into a pure breathable oxygen to enable everyone to inhale the breathable oxygen to refresh your respiratory system as what Mother Nature does and is good at. Also a night one will see a display of fireflies as another attraction.

Now on your way back to the city from Mangrove Forest of Matang or Port Weld fishing port and the charcoal production one will pass a couple of cemeteries first one being a Chinese cemetery with very big plots or headstones I suppose, and the next one being the Islam (Malay) cemetery, which I noticed much smaller headstones, when I asked about this I was told in the Muslim culture when one dies no matter how wealthy or poor or what ones status was being alive, when dead everyone is the same or equal also as to be humble and not to have a big ego with such a lavish or grandiose headstone.

After two nights at what I personally felt is an overpriced dormitory hostel, I left Sojourn Beds & Cafe to Bukit Larut also originally known as Maxwell Hill, many locals and tourists walk this 10km hill for exercise as it takes about to 2 1/2 hr to climb for a beautiful panoramic view of the entire city and landscape. The elevation is 1036m, If one is
not into walking a steep climb, there is a Land Rover that will transport you up the hill in about a half hour for the cost of 10 ringgits which includes the return trip down, but this service operates only three times a day and no local traffic allowed on this road as it is steep, very narrow, basically only one lane with many 180 degree turns on the
road, thus unsafe for any other vehicles than one or two at a time. If one decides to take a ride up Maxwell Hill for the view, hang on and don’t eat a meal as this ride is like a wild amusement ride, if your not seated tight and hanging on, you may be tossed around like a ball in a pinball machine.

Now the reason I went to the top of Maxwell Hill or Bukit Larut for my next temporary lodging was to help out as in volunteer work in exchange for free nights stay with a room, bed, and food as I need to find ways to save and/or earn money.
I’m alone in this very big bungalow, well except in the bathroom as I seem to share it with a spider, rat and two nice size lizards, every time I pop in there I never know what I’m going to see, so when I need to use the bathroom I open the door slowly and take a good look around, as I want to crap in the toilet and not my shorts by being surprised
by something crawling around.

Apparently I have been told at the top of Maxwell Hill or Bukit Larut is at 1250m above sea level and where these heritage buildings and bungalows are being founded in 1884 its Malaysian’s oldest and smallest hill station. William Edward Maxwell (1846-1897) after whom Maxwell Hill is named, was a British Assistant Resident in Perak. Bukit Larut is located in the wettest part of the country, and experiences the highest rainfall in the country, with about 4000mm a year.

Now these bungalow’s today are rented out as a tourist destination and stay for an experience on top of this hill, and seeing some heritage or character buildings back in the time, one can get away from the hustle and bustle of the busy city life to enjoy peace and quiet and the views of the city of Taiping below. Again for those that need exercise and like a challenge one can hike up this 10km hill to the 1036m elevation for a 2 1/2 hour or so climb with nature, while staying in a bungalow. I have seen many beautiful birds in flight at these high elevations.

Bukit Larut is a tropical rainforest which is a treasure trove of natural resources which can attract tourists to explore. Tigers, Black Panthers, wild cats, gibbons and many other species are the examples of mammals which make Bukit Larut their home. Bird life is plentiful, the best trail for bird watchers is the Gunung Hijau Trail which spirals up
towards the summit of Gunung Hijau (1449m), it’s the highest peak of Bukit Larut. Along with the diversity of insects and uniqueness of invertebrates such as butterflies, but the biodiversity encompasses all living organisms including microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi and flora and fauna, to other plant life such as ferns, orchids, and then
reptiles & amphibians that all reflect on the quality of the original forest in Bukit Larut.