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I never thought that we would all live in a period mobility is a total restriction, even to have a short walk just in front of house porch is a considered as a crime. Like seriously, how can walk around the house within your own house premise is totally prohibited?. Something I just could not accept. But that what happened back then right?. The whole world was in a total chaos and absolute lockdown, thanks to Covid. Even up until today, after years from day one of pandemic, the origin is still in a puzzle. Definitely reports from the media are not reliable nor to be trusted. Oh well, time has passed and at least we regain our freedom with ability to move around and travel. That matters the most.

Back then, even able to jog or cycle around within the neighbourhood was a blessing. After days of being confined at home, the taste of small freedom to move was something to be grateful for. In Malaysia, the lockdown was in phases. The 1st phase with a duration of 3 months was a total lockdown and movement was allowed only within the district, and restricted for essential supplies. The 2nd phase was a bit lenient where movement was allowed within the district and state that lasted for another 3 months. Came the 3rd phase, full movement within the country was allowed but cross border travel was still prohibited plus not even a single country opened their border for tourism.

It was a big relieved when the 2nd phase was implemented and at least outdoor activities were allowed but still with some of enforced restrictions like face mask…distancing….etc (it’s okay with the restrictions, at least we’re free!). Post pandemic, I really value the freedom and importantly the outdoor activities to keep the mind sane and for health reason of course. Mental health is something we always overlook and perceive as our inability to deal with life stress but no, it’s actually our inability to channel out the stress through activity that suitable for us (just make sure something that is appropriate, legal, and also respectful).

As the restriction is lifted, me and friends decided to have a long distance cycling outside of our district but somewhere that we are a bit familiar with the location. We ended up with a plan of cycling in Ipoh, Perak. This is the capital city for the state of Perak in Malaysia, located up north with travelling time around 2 hours from Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya. Reason why this route is because good food is easily available, distance wise that is closer to drive, abundant of accommodation and less traffic (in actual fact Ipoh itself is known to be a place of retirees hence life a bit more slow in pace). We prepared ourselves and packed our belonging for the journey. We started the travelling to Ipoh after work on Friday in the month of November 2021.

Luckily a friend of us volunteered to drive all the way to Ipoh 😀 so me and another friend slept throughout the journey (we tried to stay awake but the work aftermath really made us slept like babies). We had a few stops for refreshment and toilet break. Driving throughout the night more longer breaks in between for refreshment. One thing I like about road trip in Malaysia is the abundance of good food you can find along the road (somehow I prefer to drive along the state trunk road, that will definitely consume more time but vibes and atmosphere are something you cannot get when travelling on highways).

We finally reached Ipoh around 4:00 am in the morning and stop by at a mosque for morning prayer before changing to cycling attire. Our Airbnb is only accessible past mid day so we need start the cycling first with total distance of 80 km. Cycling in a tropical climate is a no joke, you really need to be prepared for the heat and humidity (it’s totally unbearable when it reaches mid day peak as the temperate can soars up to 35-38 degree in certain places and not to mention heat from the tarmac together with evaporated water from the rainfall….it’s like a free sauna on the road!). By the time we are ready on our bikes, the sun has rises with time indicated around 7:30++ am. We started cycling immediately once our belongings are placed back into the car that is parked nearby to our Airbnb.

The cycling route will cover a few places of interests which we haven’t been there before. So starting from the town of Ipoh –> Papan Heritage Village –> Kellie’s Castle –> Tanjung Tualang Tin Dredge No. 5. before turning back to Ipoh and the plan is to reach the Airbnb before sunset if possible (we’re not prepared for night ride here and many haunted stories around this place…so better to ride while the sun still shines). Just a brief history on these places, Ipoh is previously known for its tin industry. Rich with tin ore and various sites excavated for tin mining. On population distribution, most of the locals are chinese descendent who work at the tin mines, hence settled down in Ipoh. So basically, some of the delicacies and architectures have some influences of chinese.

The cycling started with a breeze as traffic is less throughout the roads exiting the city. We cycled mostly on the main roads and extra cautious of any uneven surfaces or potholes but overall, roads tend to be in good condition compared to Kuala Lumpur. Morning air in Ipoh is way better than Kuala Lumpur of course, with minimal cars on the roads and the town is well surrounded with lush greenery. As we approaching the exiting road, by right we should be taking a specific road that will lead to a trunk road all the way to Papan (Papan Heritage Village is located in a place called Papan). Instead of taking the right turn, we accidently take another trunk road that leads to a hilly place that happen to be a landfill!. The worst was being chased by stray dogs while ascending and definitely the smell from the landfill!.

After that unfortunate ordeal, we managed to cycle in the right direction and it takes literally about an hour plus to before reaching Papan. I like how Papan area is surrounded, lush greenery and windy. The air was cool with trees shaded the road and in a total silent except for birds chirping (practically no sound of car or even motorcycle). We cycled through the roads and reaching the town of Papan. Apparently this town seems to be deserted with a row of shophouses that looked abandoned (can say only several of the shophouses are occupied) . Even it’s abandoned, the town still has its charm with old colonial architecture. Some of the shophouses are completely inhabitable with overgrown.

We cycled slowly through the road while looking around fascinated by the beauty before making a quick stop for some photos. I would imagine this place to be packed with people back then with flourishing mining activity and trading with nearby settlements. This location would be a good tourism prospect if well preserved and maintained (somehow as time goes by this place has gained an attention and apparently designated as a heritage village). After the quick stop, we continue on deeper into the road until come across a moderately sized building which happens to be a royalty mansion called Rumah Besar Raja Billah. The building is still well preserved, only the entrance up to the mansion has a bit of overgrown that gives the ageing look of the building. Spooky looking old building but still preserved its beauty.

We stopped a bit longer here to explore around and only limited to the lawn area since the entrance into the building is inaccessible. The building architecture has a mixed of influences from both colonial and malay as the windows are beautifully carved with malay influence. I wonder why the mansion is left vacant and deserted. The state of Perak has a long history dated back during Melaka sultanate. Aside to this mansion, there is another building appears to be a small abandoned prayer hall that might be used back then for royal ceremony aside to religious use for daily prayer congregation.

After minutes of walk around the area and some photos taken, we ventured deeper into the road. The road ahead has a bit of ascending upward before a short descend with lush greenery around where you can really enjoy the view. There is an orchard at a section of the road and as we cycled onwards, the road comes to an end with an entrance of a waterfall. Just a small waterfall and suitable for a quick weekend escape for the people living around. Since we have quite a distance to cover and the sun is getting high up, we turn back to the town and finally left the area cycling to the next stop.

The road towards our next cycling point is pretty much barren with less greenery with artificial lakes created from the tin mining. A very quiet road indeed with less vehicles on both sides of the roads. The only sound is our mechanical cranks that tirelessly pedaled to reach the next destination. After cycled roughly around an hour, we passed by a university campus of UTP (short for University Teknologi PETRONAS, the belongs to the national oil and gas company) and another roughly 45 minutes after cycled passed the campus, we then reached our next cycling point.

As we approaching Kellie’s Castle, the sun has already positioned above us and honestly it is super super hot! (we almost give up pedaling and to stop somewhere). Upon reaching the castle, we parked our bikes at the designated place and thought of buying the entry tickets just to see around the castle but that changed due to the heat. We ended up sitting at a cafeteria for drinks and snacks. Kellie’s Castle is actually a half completed mansion built by a colonial planter in the particular location called Batu Gajah. The construction is stalled upon his demise and never completed until today, only to be a historical site for tourism. If you google, there is plenty of haunted stories about this castle and the most famous would be the sighting of a lady in white. Architectural wise, it is mixed of colonial, moorish and indian styles, a very interesting architecture.

As the time approaching 2:00 pm, we continued on cycling to the last stop and distance wise about 15 km. On normal cycling day, 15 km can be completed roughly within 30 minutes the most but this last stretch is the killer. It feels like a never ending route with rolling hill under a scorching heat. This is when a friend of mine started to have trouble cycling as he begins experiencing leg cramps, not one but both legs!!. We have to frequently stop along the road and slowly pedaling to allow for his recovery. Thank goodness we came in prepared with electrolytes and muscle pain spray. Otherwise we need to call for hailing car which appears to be impossible along this route.

We finally reach our destination after more than an hour of pedaling and placed our bikes at the parking area just in front of the guard house. We bought some drinks and sit for awhile at the cafeteria to cool off our body. After minutes of resting, we slowly walk around the area and to see the tin mining dredge ship that is still well preserved. An Absolutely huge ship and anyone is allowed to enter with a fee but by the time of our arrival, the entry was closed for the day. The area is surrounded by tin mining lakes, with some being small in size while some as wide the eyes can see.

We spent a bit of time walking around exploring the area and looking at the gigantic tin mining ship across the artificial lake while sitting for some chats. I must say cycling is one of the best therapy , not just able to enjoy the scenery along the journey but also the conversations along the path that give a sense of relieve. The conversations not limited about the cycling alone but rather extended about life, work, problems, or anything the crosses the mind. Reason why we like our cycling to be non-competitive and to have more time such as this.

The clocking is ticking and shown time at 4:30++ pm as we pushed our bikes to the main road before resume cycling back to Ipoh. Based on Garmin route, the road back will be through the main roads but but there is an option for a detour that leads to a dirt road along a river directed towards Ipoh. So we decided to follow the detour path and cycled along the river. The path appears to be a jogging track but certain sections are a bit hazardous and too secluded for someone to walk alone. Overall this would be one of the best cycling route for the day with no traffic and shaded by ageing trees.

We slowly pedaled through the route and enjoying the scenery as the temperature tends to be a bit cooler now approaching sunset. As we reached the end of the path, we have to carry the bikes through an uphill dirt path before reaching a housing area where we resume cycling entering the main roads. We finally reached the car just before 7:30 pm and straight to our Airbnb. Upon reaching the Airbnb, we placed our bikes at the porch which are covered with dirt and even cow dung :P.

We cleaned ourselves before entering the house and took shower before proceed for dinner. Luckily we found an area where the eateries are still open for a quick dinner before proceed back to the Airbnb (since the period is still under movement restriction, the authority has limited the business operating time which some premises operate up to 4:00 am or beyond before the pandemic). Finally called it a day right after dinner and everyone was super sleepy by the time reaching the Airbnb. The next morning is spent on cleaning the bikes before getting our breakfast.

We left the Airbnb at mid day and drive to the center of Ipoh for lunch. Right after lunch, we spent some time to explore the town and cafe hopping before driving back to Kuala Lumpur. If you ever come to Ipoh, at least advisable to stay for a night here for exploration and enjoy the town. The town is not that big but to move around would need a car since most of the interesting places are not within walking distance except if you plan to just walk around the town itself. At the town and surrounding areas you can find good local delicacies and for accommodations, boutique hotels are available. It is really a slow paced town and best to enjoy with cafe hopping as well.

By the time we reached home it’s already nightfall and feeling exhausted from the journey. That is the end of our Ipoh cycling trip. It’s not a super distance cycling route but sufficiently distanced for exploration and enjoy the scenery along the route. Ipoh would like an ideal cycling destination for a long weekend aside to other locations due to easy access and traffic conditions. So that will be all for this posting and thanks for reading!.