My last visit to Taiping was end of February. Click here for the report. There were two reasons that I went again after a few months. I was invited for the wedding dinner of my friend Yeap’s son. And my Dutch friends Yolanda and Math would be in Taiping, after spending a few days with us in PJ, see the report Visit of Yolanda & Math.

Most of the content in this post will be familiar to my regular followers. As usual, I went by public transport. It was Muharram that weekend and when I booked, there were only a few seats available. Left the MRT to Sg Buloh, right the ETS.

I took a Grab to Furama and, after checking in, went out to have a look at the former Majestic cinema, around the corner of Furama. It’s been an empty shell ever since my first visit to Taiping. A few weeks earlier, there had been a fire (arson?). The building is still undamaged. I always wanted to have a peek inside, now I could, but there were police tapes around the entrance, so I decided not to trespass.

So tempting to go in! It looks like only the roof was damaged.

That evening I had dinner in Restaurant Yes with my gang, with Yolanda and Math as special guests. A Dutch party, each of us paid RM 30, unbelievably cheap.

These pictures show what we had. From the upper left, clockwise: minced pork tofu, Fried squid, fried chicken, Tempura Kangkung, Stingray curry, and French beans with dried prawns.

After our dinner, we went to the Aeon mall, a tradition for my gang, but an unexpected ending for my Dutch friends. We had an ice cream there as dessert.

The next day, Math and Yolanda went to Kuala Sepetang, and I went for a walk to visit my favourite haunts. First breakfast. Lian Thong had recently changed ownership, was renovated, and had lost its charm. But I found a suitable alternative in Jalan Pasar, where I had my favourite roti goyang (toast with “shaking eggs”).

Next I went to the replica of the market buildings. Still not occupied.

The same for siang malam, still an empty shell.

The other part of the Pasar, also empty. Will the vibrant market atmosphere ever come back? I doubt it.

A short stop at Ansari Cendol. A visit to Taiping is not complete without a refreshing cendol.

What I love about Taiping is the mixture of beauty and decay.

There is a lot of decay. Here is the Rest House, a heritage building (1894). A fire destroyed part of it

As an urbex fan, I used to explore the ruin, using a “lorong tikus”, but there was no need now, a real entrance was open.

Homeless people are still living here, butt I didn’t see anybody during my visit.

The other Shame on Taiping building also has somebody living there, but his/her bicycle was not there. I didn’t enter.

A few years ago an ambitious plan was presented to transform the two buildings into a boutique hotel . Since then all has been silence. The other pictures shows the counter window, familiar to many Taiping Lang.

I passed two of the huge murals, a specialty of Taiping.

It was a very hot day, so I went back to my hotel for a rest. I skipped lunch, because that evening I would attend the wedding dinner/ Later I went out again for a stroll at the Raintree Walk. Many people enjoying the holiday weekend.

I asked permission to take a picture of this nice group. No problem, but of course also a picture had to be taken with a Mat Salleh in the center.

The wedding dinner was in the Soon Lee restaurant, a short walk from my hotel. It was a big event, about 45 tables. Luckily, my friends Bok Kin and Teng Hin were at the same table.

I have known Yeap and his wife for many years, but I had never met the groom and his bride.

It was a traditional wedding ceremony, with the pouring of the wine, yam seng, a speech of the father, and a reply from the groom.

I had an enjoyable evening at my table, with a lot of alcohol.

The next day, I showed my friends the town. We started with a walk in the Lake Gardens and met my friend Foo for breakfast. We had chee cheong fun.

They were interested in the Perak Museum and we decided to walk. I had not been in the museum for a long time.

There was an event going on, so it was quite busy. There was a drawing competition for the kids.

The first floor is dedicated to the Orang Asli, the original inhabitants of Malaysia.

Outside the museum there were various means of transport.

Walking back, we passed the prison, one of the many “firsts” of Taiping.

The All Saints church was closed, we took photos in the cemetery

Time for lunch, I brought my friends to Prima. I ordered popiah for them, which they liked

More murals, of course I had to show them the (in) famous one of Amelia Earhart, who actually never landed at the Tekah airfield..

As they are also urbex fans, they wanted to have a look inside the ruined buildings. There was no bicycle outside, so we ventured in. It is clear that there is still somebody living there..

They also wanted to have a look at the Rest House.

The building of the Ceylon Association is an example of successful renovation. We skipped the Ansari Cendol, as it was too crowded.

I prefer this kind of murals.

At the end of the afternoon, Aric arrived in Taiping. We went for dinner to Mattang, the Lighthouse seafood restaurant.

Leaving the restaurant after a delicious meal, we heard music and had a look. A surprise, never before had we visited this temple.

It is called the Sam Teong Ong (Hock Chuan Keong) temple and supposedly very old (1838). A committee member gave an explanation. Must explore more during my next visit.

There was a lot going on during our short visit. A puppet theatre with front seats for the spirits.

I had a third, secret, reason to visit Taiping again. I wanted to take an ultru-light flight over my 2nd hometown. During my last visit, there were no time slots available, so this time I had made an early booking. But it depends on the weather conditions whether you can fly, so I had not told my friends about my plan.

The weather was perfect. We were at Tekah 7:45am and after registration and payment (RM 350 for me, RM 250 for Aric), we were strapped in our seats.

Ready for take off. Click on the picture to watch. Video taken by Aric before he started his own flight. The pilot is sitting in front of me.

Included in the package is a video of the flight. taken by a GoPro camera. mounted on a wing tip. Here it is, 15 minutes, from takeoff until landing. You can scroll through.

It was an unforgettable experience, worth every Ringgit. Here I am after landing with my pilot.

Math and Yolanda were so pleased with Taiping that they stayed one more night. Aric and I went back to KL, but first we had lunch together in the Casual Market.

On our way back we made a detour to Chepor where we visited the Seen Hock Yeen Confucius Temple, with a nice lake and a lotus pond.

It was a rewarding weekend, but I needed a few days for recovery 😉