My fourth visit to Taping this year! The main reason was the 9 Emperor Gods Festival. But it so happened that my friend Lay Chun celebrated her birthday, and she invited me to her birthday dinner. On Monday, 27 October, I took the MRT and ETS to Taiping. The train was fully booked. And freezing cold.

From the station I took a Grab to Hotel Furama; I always have the same room; it feels like my second home.

I went out for my lunch and walked to the Peace Hotel, where I had my Char Kway Teow. After Lay Chun introduced me to this stall, I became a regular visitor.

A few days earlier, there had been heavy rain with flooding and evacuations in several regions around Taiping, but now the weather was splendid, so I decided to walk around a bit. One of the reasons I love Taiping is the mixture of beauty and decay. Here are two examples. The beautiful Peranakan house on Jalan Stesen and a ruin, which also has its charm..

I passed the former Perak Railway Headquarters (later the PWD department), which was recently destroyed by fire. The third fire in a heritage-related, abandoned building in the last three years. Very suspicious, in my opinion. More about the “Shame of Taiping” later in this post.

Before returning to my hotel, I relaxed for a while at the Lake Gardens.

One month ago, Siang Malam reopened after the rebuilding. I was interested to have a look and when I mentioned it to my friends, they liked to join. Pleasant atmosphere, quite a big crowd. I had Wantan Mee, not bed.

The 9 Emperor Gods Festival is held during the first 9 days of the ninth lunar month. The main procession is on day 8, and the firewalking is on the final night. In 2019, I watched the procession for the first time. Click here for a report. I found it so spectacular that I came back in 2023 (report here), so this was my third time. Again, I was the guest of Ng Teng Hin and Bok Kin, in the townhouse of Ng Boo Bee, Teng Hin’s ancestor..

The Ng family always prepares an offering table. When the procession passes the house, they stop for a while and perform rituals.

Here are two short videos about the procession..

A few more pictures. The piercings were less extreme than in 2019 and 2023 but still fascinating. Mostly tongue and cheek piercings

After the floats and devotees had passed the house, I walked slowly back, again encountering the procession. Here, a float is passing the clock tower. The other picture shows Kavadi carriers taking a rest. The Hindu Navaratri festival takes place in the same period as the 9 Emperor Gods festival, and the procession has devotees from both religions.

Devotees are always supported by helpers, who carry a stool if they need to rest.

The floats can be large and are often impressive.

Later that evening, I was picked up from Furama by my friend Goh for the birthday dinner. Lay Chun had invited 17 guests and booked two tables. A delicious mix of Chinese dishes, the picture shows six of the eight courses

At the end of the dinner, of course, there was the traditional birthday cake.

The next morning, I had breakfast with Yeap and his wife. Indian food/

I was interested to (re)visit the old New Club Swimming Pool and asked Yeap if he would like to join me. The last time I visited the pool was with my friend Halim in 2019. The path starts near the Indian temple, just before the bridge. It’s an easy path that, in a few hundred meters, brings you to the pool.

After a few more steps, we reached the swimming pool. It was built in the early 19th century exclusively for New Club members. After the New Club built a new swimming pool near the club building, the old swimming pool was abandoned, but Yeap told me that in the seventies, as a teenager, he. had still been swimming here, organised by his school/

The pool was heavily silted, and the buildings (changing rooms, a canteen, etc) were long gone, but as a memory from the past, the pool could become an interesting heritage attraction..

In 2019, my friend Halim posed as a diver, and I did the same this time. In 2019, the pool was not yet silted!

Small steps lead to an upper terrace. We did not explore further and walked back to the road.

The Indian temple and the romantic footbridge

Next, we had a look at the Kempe Club, visited by me in 2019 (report here) when it was still used by old-timers. Now locked, but still in good condition. Yeap, a Rotarian, told me that the Rotary Taiping had used this club for their weekly meetings.

In the afternoon, I went out for lunch at Ansari Cendol, taking a different route. Again the charm of Taiping, a mixture of beauty and decay.

I like this kind of mural better than the huge “official” ones.

On my way, I passed the replica of the Pasar. At the moment an empty shell. Will it ever become a market again?

At Ansari, this time I had not only a cendol, but also a pasembor.

I walked back along Jalan Stesen. Two years ago, an ambitious plan was launched to transform the Rest House and the adjoining buildings (Perak Railway building) into a boutique hotel. Click here for the Facebook page. But until now nothing happened; it seems that there is a permission issue, with possibly racial undertones.

Officially, both buildings have been fenced off, but access was still possible, as I have shown in several earlier blog posts. As a result, homeless people have been staying in both buildings. Since earlier this year, the Rest House has even a real entrance gate. I went inside and noticed that the resident had parked his motorbike inside the compound..

The complex next to the Rest House, the former Railway Headquarters, consists actually of two buildings. A two-story timber structure, dated to 1885, and a two-story brick building, added later. It is this brick building that has been damaged by fire. The timber structure, shown below, had its own resident, access via a small opening in the fence.

No sign of a resident this time. I sneaked in to have a look at the murals.

No fire in this building, but for many years it has been a ruin, the courtyard has become a jungle. At the back, you can see the facade of the brick building..

Here is the brick building, where the fire raged. Too dangerous to enter, but I could take some photos from the outside. Left the Cross Street facade, right the main facade at Jalan Stesen.

The brick structure is still solid, but the roof is destroyed. Inside, it was vandalized years ago, and the wooden flooring was stolen. That’s why I assumed that no resident would live in this building.

But there is one location, outside the building, near the counter, familiar to many Taiping folks, that shows traces of human presence. Notice that there is a suitcase, a mattress. and some clothes.

I walked back to my hotel. Again, the charm of Taiping, the mixture of beauty and decay.

The beautiful Larut, Matang & Selama Land and District Office, a design by Caulfield, completed in 1897. One of the few heritage buildings maintained by the authorities, most of the other heritage buildings are preserved by private initiative.

On the other side of the road, the Kwangtung Association building, with a huge mural on its side facade.

The FMS restaurant (on the site of the former Raja Rest House) and the Silver Jubilee Jetty. Walking around in Taiping is always a pleasure.

In the evening, I went with Yeap and his wife to the 9 Emperor Gods Temple in Tupai for the firewalking ceremony. Waiting for them, I walked to the nearby Peng Loong kampong. The kampong had a bad reputation, but it is now peaceful.

The Tupai Temple is the oldest 9 Emperor Gods temple in Taiping, and attracts a crowd of devotees and other visitors during the festival.

During the nine days of the festival, devotees eat vegetarian food. In and around the temple compound, there are many eateries. We had dinner there, the traditional fare, nee rebus, curry mee, all vegetarian..

I had a look at the firewalking place, where they were busy preparing the embers. It is a small stretch, between the two black flags, where the devotees will walk..

I also visited the temple.

There are many rituals in preparation for the actual firewalking. Here is a video.

Preparing for the actual firewalking. The guy with the yellow “apron” is the leader and the caretaker of the temple. Notice the red glowing of the embers!

A video shows better what firewalking is. Some devotees walk slowly, even carrying a kid. Others run as fast as they can.

Teap told me that many devotees stay in the temple during the nine days and showed me the dormitories, with people going home

After the firewalking. preparations are made to send off the Emperor Gods.

A fascinating ceremony! Before I went to sleep, I needed to relax a bit at the Lake Gardens.

The next morning, I had breakfast with my friend Foo, Chee Cheong Fun at the Circus Grounds, , one of our traditions.

Later, he picked me up from Furama and dropped me at the station. I am fortunate to have good friends in Taiping!

Last month one of our friends told us that he would have vegetarian food during the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. This Taoist festival is yearly held during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month. The largest celebration takes place in Ampang, but there is also one in Taiping, which I had always wanted to see, but never had 😉 .

I asked my Taiping friends about details, and they told me that the main procession would be held on Sunday 6 October, and the fire walking on the last evening, Monday 7 October. So I booked my usual hotel Furama and arrived by train Saturday 5 October afternoon.

Taiping has become a warm nest for me, friends were already waiting at the station, and before sending me to my hotel, we had lunch in restaurant YES.

After a short rest in my hotel, and in spite of the drizzle, I decided to have a look at the Nine Emperor Gods Temple. There are three Kew Ong Yah (Nine Emperor) temples in Taiping, the original one is in Tupai, on walking distance from my hotel.

A lot of activity was going on. Devotees were praying in the temple and having (free) vegetarian food. Many of them were wearing traditional white clothes.

In the temple compound I saw already the floats and chariots that were going to be used during the procession.

That evening I had dinner again with my friends, this time in restaurant 8383 in Pokok Assam. As I said, Taiping is a warm nest for me. The food was delicious and really value for money.

The next morning was the procession. The husband of my friend Bok Kin is a descendant of Ng Boo Bee, the famous tycoon. In April they had taken me to Ng Boo Bee’s tomb, click here for the report. Ng Boo Bee’s town house is in Kota Road., the procession is always passing by there and it is a tradition that the family prepares an offering table in front of the house. Bok Kin invited me to watch the parade from there and of course I accepted her invitation.

Before the procession started, I joined the family in burning joss sticks, not surprisingly nine sticks this time 🙂

Many people were waiting for the arrival of the parade. The cream-colored building is Ng Boo Bee’s townhouse

Start of the procession. In the background the iconic Taiping clock tower.

When the chariots were close to the house and the offering table, they made a left turn and almost ran to the table, stopping just in time.

Many participants were carrying whips, using them to make a cracking sound. There were also quite a few devotees, dressed in tattered monk robes, a fan in one hand and often a bottle of beer in the other. They personify Ji Gong. Fascinating to watch.

Rocking the chariot is a common practice. I had seen it before at the Chengay festival in Johor Baru.

I kept taking pictures 🙂 .

Most of the chariots were carried by men. This one was an exception.

This Ji Gong entered the house to pay his respect to the house altar and wrote something on a piece of paper before he continued.

Another Ji Gong. His robe is tattered. His cap is covering his eyes. Holding a bottle of beer in one hand and a fan in the other. The original Ji Gong (1130-1209) ate meat, drank alcohol and did not care about his clothing… 🙂

The most fascinating part of the procession are the many men, often still teenagers, who have been piercing their cheeks, walk with hooks in their backs etc. They are called masong. Most piercing is done with long, thin, metal poles, but there were a few devotees who had used heavier stuff, like this guy who was using two swords, and the guy to the right, using a gun. Can not imagine how that can heal easily.

Here are more pictures. One guy using an umbrella, another one a tyre pump, even one carrying a ladder! Notice how all of them have one or two helpers, carrying a stool. Understandably, sometimes they have to sit down for a while 🙂

An Indian drum band added to the festive atmosphere. My friends said that this year the procession was longer than before. Several temple are contributing, and also Indians take part in the parade.

Here is another way of self-mortification , similar to what I have seen at Thaipusam, where devotees pull a chariot with ropes attached by hooks to their back. No chariot here, but other boys, pulling back, while the masong are more or less hanging forward.

More piercing of cheeks.

The last part of the procession. Devotees are carrying kavadis. Both the kavadis and the piercing have their origin in the Hindu Thaipusam tradition. Actually, there is a Hindu festival, Navaratri, during the same nine days of the ninth lunar month, but not related, as far as I know.

Heavy stuff, no wonder they sometimes have to sit down for some rest.

One of the last floats. Sprinkling (holy?) water on the crowd.

The whole parade took around 1.5 hour. After cleaning the offering table, the family invited me for lunch. Vegetarian of course 🙂

The fire walking took place on the evening of the next day, so I had plenty of time to walk around in Taiping, meet other friends, enjoy (non-vegetarian) food, etc. I have written a separate post about it, Taiping, October 2019, and will continue here with the fire walking.

The next day around 7pm, my friend Yeap picked me up from my hotel and we found a parking place not too far from the Tupai temple, where the fire walking was going to take place. We were early, a big space had been cordoned off, and people were preparing the bed of ashes. It was shorter than I had seen in Sri Lanka, many years ago.

We had a look inside the temple, where Yeap introduced me to Ong Hean Hai, the caretaker. He is standing second from right, with his children . Later he invited us to his office, where he gave an explanation about the Nine Emperor Gods festival.

There were many food stalls in and around the temple compound. In one of them they were making Yeow Char Kwai, a favorite of mine, specially when freshly fried. The name translates as Oil Fried Devils and here is the explanation for that strange name 🙂

As we were early, we had dinner there. Vegetarian curry mee, very nice. And black coffee with Yeow Char Kwai, delicious when you soak them in the coffee. In the meantime Bok Kin and Teng Hin had also joined.

Preparing for the fire walking, the devotees, dressed in white, perform several rituals. They enter the inner temple, where other people are not allowed. They walk back and forth several times to the fire walking compound, chanting.

The Nine Emperor Gods Festival is associated with rain, and this time was no exception. When the fire walking was beginning around 9pm, it had also started to rain. Maybe easier for the devotees to walk on the ashes? For us onlookers, we needed an umbrella.

The lighting was not very bright, so it was difficult to take good pictures. Here are two videos I took. The devotees are circling a few times around the ashes, before they walk.

It is interesting to watch the fire walkers. Some of them walk slowly, others almost run. Some carry a child or a bundle of clothes. Because of the rain, you could not see any glowing ashes, but it still must have been burning hot. After the first group of devotees, also others try. It is said that you can only do it if you have been vegetarian during the nine days of the festival , but I doubt if that is true

AFter the fire walking was finished, we went back to the restaurant, where also many of the fire walkers were enjoying a drink, food and company.

The festival was a memorable experience for me. I took many videos dring the procession and the fire walking. Here is a collage.