Guest Post with J. C. Martin taking us around Ipoh, Malaysia

Good day and welcome to Kuantan! I'm really pleased to introduce you to J. C. Martin, who is my guest today.

J.C. is from Ipoh, Malaysia and currently resides in London, England with her English husband and an impending addition is on the way! She has a black belt in Wing chun kung fu, so don't mess with her! She's also a pretty good writer - her debut novel "Oracle" was released earlier this year. To learn more about J.C. go and visit her blog!

Now J. C. it's over to you . . .

Eat, Pray, Live: 3 Things You Must Do While in Ipoh

By J.C. Martin

Ipoh holds a special place in my heart. Even after twelve years of living abroad, the city continues to draw me home, year after year.  Apart from visiting family and old friends, my annual trip back is a pilgrimage of sorts, with a to-do list of things you should not miss out on when visiting my quaint little home town.

Eat

Few would argue that Ipoh is the food capital of Malaysia. Why else would people travel from as far as Singapore to sample the culinary delights of the city? Natives insist that the high alkaline content of the local water (due to the fact that Ipoh is nestled in a valley surrounded by limestone hills) contributes to prime ingredients for the local cuisine.

If you’re ever in town, here are some gems you just have to sample:

Thean Chun

Thean Chun is a coffee house in the heart of Ipoh’s Old Town. Located on Leech Street (now Jalan Bandar Bijih Timah), its name is synonymous with famous Ipoh food. No visit to Ipoh is complete without sampling the original Ipoh hor fun, a dish comprising silky rice noodles, shredded chicken, prawns and chives in a sweet, fragrant broth.

For some scrumptious sides, order a nice popiah, a local spring roll filled with shredded vegetables, shrimps and tofu, cheecheong fun, sliced rice noodle rolls with your choice of sweet, spicy, or savoury topping sauces, and some famous Thean Chun satay, unique because it is made from pork rather than the usual chicken, beef and lamb.

Finally, if you have room for dessert, the coffee house’s velvety caramel custard is not to be missed.

From top: Ipoh hor fun; popiah; satay; cheecheong fun; caramel custard.

(Images courtesy of MalaysianFoodie.com and Kopi for Copy)

Nga Choi Kai (Beansprouts & Chicken)

This simple combination is made super-special with smooth and moist poached chicken, fat, juicy and crunchy beansprouts, and a fragrant soy sauce. Served with more hor fun noodles, either dry or in a soup, this makes for a simple yet thoroughly satisfying meal.

The secret is in the fragrant soy sauce and oil used to season both the chicken and the beansprouts.

(Click for image source)

There are several restaurants around the city that sell good ngachoikai, but my favourite has got to be Restoran Cowan Street on what is now Jalan Raja Ekram, although nearby Lou Wong and OnnKee, the more established joints, are also pretty good.

Pray

My English husband can attest to the fact that you can happily spend weeks in Ipoh just eating, but there is much more to the city than just the food (although the food is a big part of it!).

Surrounded by verdant limestone hills dotted with caves, the outskirts of Ipoh are green, scenic, and serene. Not surprising then that a number of Buddhist temples have been built into these natural formations to capitalise on the Zen spirituality of the place.

A trip to Ipoh is not complete without a visit to one of these magnificent cave temples. Here are three of my favourites:

KekLok Tong, my favourite cave temple as it incorporates the natural features of the caves into its architecture the most naturally and seamlessly. The rock formations within the cave are a must-see!

(Image copyright © 2012 J.C. Martin)

Perak Tong. Look out for the colony of monkeys inhabiting the temple grounds!

(Image copyright © 2012 J.C. Martin)

Sam Poh Tong, one Ipoh's most popular cave temples. While you're here, check out the tortoise pond where you can feed the terrapins.

(Image copyright © 2012 J.C. Martin)

Of course, not all the caves around Ipoh have been converted into places of worship. To explore the geology and ecology of a natural living cave with its own subterranean river, a tour of GuaTempurung is a must.

Rock formations inside GuaTempurung, the result of millions of years of erosion.

(For more images and information, visit GuaTempurung.com)

Live

After filling your belly and finding inner peace, it is time to explore the rest of what Ipoh has to offer, and the best way to do this is to throw yourself into Ipoh life.

Don’t just take pictures of the colonial architecture. Walk the streets of Old Town, converse with the traders in the food square, smell the spices of Little India. Come and meet the friendly and sometimes eccentric inhabitants. Don’t just see the city, live it. And hopefully, like me, you will come away with a piece of Ipoh in your heart.

Ipoh old and new, from top left: Ipoh Railway Station (image source: Wikipedia); St. Michael's Institution (image source: Wikipedia); Kinta City shopping centre (image source: Images of Ipoh); AEON Station 18 shopping centre (image source: Images of Ipoh).

That was great J. C. I really enjoyed your tour of Ipoh! I lived there temporarily and miss it from time to time. The food looks great!

Don't forget to visit J. C. Martin's blog

What did you like about Ipoh?

My Journey to Kuantan - Part 4 - Love at First Sight

This week I am sharing a series of blog posts explaining how I ended up where I am today - in Kuantan. If you have missed any previous posts, you can get yourself acquainted with them here:

PART 1 - RAISED IN ENGLAND (1982-2002)


PART 2 - SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER (2002-2004)


PART 3 - MISSING MALAYSIA (2004-2005)

I came back to Malaysia for my second holiday in a year in May 2005. This time I went alone and for a period of 3 months. I had planned all the places I was going to visit and the people I wanted to see, including Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Kuching and Singapore.

However, just a few days into my holiday, on the island of Borneo, a girl called Fidelia threw my plans upside-down in a matter of seconds!

Meeting Fidelia one night in Kuching was completely unplanned. I didn't even know she was around. It was her younger sister Florina, who made the call and engineered our meeting.

It was after 10pm and Fidelia was coming back home from work. She walked through the door of a friend's house and it was love at first sight!

I don't know how it happened but I just thought silently in my mind, "this is the girl I'm going to marry!"

This was a picture we took on that first night we met each other. We look good together already!

Just a month later we were engaged. Can you believe it? Neither can I!

Here's where I proposed to Fidelia with a poem I wrote. Can you tell she said "yes"?!

We held a very simple engagement party at Fidelia's home. Didn't cost much but it was a nice evening spent with family and friends

Can you spot the mystery hovering paper plate?!

I briefly went to Ipoh but didn't last long there as I missed Fidelia too much! I swiftly returned to Kuching! The rest of my holiday was spent with Fidelia in Kuching and then in Kuala Lumpur.

At church in Kuching

We came in 2nd place and won RM100 in a blowpipe competition in Kuching! (How good does Fidelia look?!)

At Mid-valley Megamall in Kuala Lumpur

Our favourite picture together at KL Tower

We had a great day out at Sunway Lagoon water park. Later we spent some time on a children's train, and chocolate tasting at Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, West Malaysia

Here's where my holiday came to an end. I was shortly heading back to England. Fidelia was returning to her studies at university near Kuantan.

I racked up a hefty RM12,000 phone bill during the period of August 2005 - April 2006. Gave my mum a cheque each month to cover it. At times it was worth it, but at times we drove each other crazy by calling at all sorts of hours (because of the time difference) and worrying about things that didn't really need to be worried about! These months were torture!

 We decided to get married in May 2006 and we would find a place in nearby Kuantan as Fidelia's university was 30 minutes drive from there.

Here are the home-made wedding invitation cards I designed. Didn't pay a penny for them!

On 2nd May, 2006 we registered our marriage at the Kuching register office, and came back to sign the papers on 4th May

To celebrate our marriage we simply booked a nearby restaurant for a small sum of money. A good-sized group of family and friends attended and it was a very nice evening. There was no huge cake, no lavish setting, no photographers, no expensive clothing code, just us and close family and friends. That's all we spent and it was worth it because we needed the money for the start of our married life, paying rent and bills etc...

We took some great photos at a studio in Kuching for a good price, and here are a few of them:

In traditional Iban attire

The second part of our marriage took place in England. There we were married inside a LDS temple, which event is kind of like going to Mecca and circling the Kaaba for a Muslim. To find out more about Mormon temples, you can follow this link:

What happens inside a LDS temple?

Have a look inside a LDS temple

Browse LDS temples all around the world

Here we are at the London England temple grounds

On the steps of the London England temple

We had a small gathering at my home in Leicester for family and friends and that was it.

My journey to Kuantan is almost complete!

Don't miss the final installment tomorrow!

My Journey to Kuantan - Part 3 - Missing Malaysia

If you missed earlier parts of the story, you can catch up by clicking these links:

PART 1 - RAISED IN ENGLAND (1982-2002)

PART 2 - SERVING AS A VOLUNTEER (2002-2004)

Upon returning to England from my 2-year volunteer service, I went through a short period of depression.

Such was the extent to which I had fallen in love with Malaysia and Singapore and its people, that I just couldn't live without it.

I remember stepping off the small propeller plane which had carried me from Frankfurt to Birmingham, and feeling the sheer and utter cold in stark contrast to the warm, tropical conditions of Asia I had become so accustomed to.

It was horrible.

And it was NOT good to be "back."

I sat at home doing nothing. Constantly thinking of my friends in Malaysia, of the myriad great experiences, of the emptiness I now felt in England.

I feel sorry for my mum. She missed me immensely for 2 years, but during that time I had changed to a different person and found a completely new home.

From that moment on, England was just never going to be enough for me.

So in July 2004 I swiftly returned to Malaysia and Singapore and brought my whole family along with me. Seeing my beautiful friends again so soon, and introducing them to my family was a wonderful time!

At Sunway Pyramid, Subang Jaya, West Malaysia

On the skybridge at Petronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur

Meeting friends in Kuala Lumpur

Friends in Ipoh, West Malaysia

At the Sarawak Cultural Village, Kuching, East Malaysia

At my favourite restaurant, Fu Bin Seafood Restaurant, with the staff, in Kuching

With Florianna and Florina, who would later become my sisters-in-law!

Between September 2004 and May 2005 I began working in England. This was a welcome relief because it kept me busy and I was able to earn some money.

I also spent time hanging out with my friends whenever I could.

Met with a fellow volunteer in Malaysia who served with me. Took my best friend with me to Manchester to meet her

Meeting people became interesting as conversations always turned to Malaysia and Singapore and my adventures there.

Met some new friends on a trip to London. It was cold!!

In May 2005 I stopped working and embarked on a second holiday 'back home' to Malaysia, this time for 3 months. 

The truth is, I never stopped missing the Far East...

And that's where the most vital part of my journey to Kuantan occurs!

Stay tuned to find out tomorrow!