{"id":34760,"date":"2026-10-28T16:32:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T08:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=34760"},"modified":"2026-10-28T22:51:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T14:51:52","slug":"taiping-october-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuif.com\/blog\/?p=34760","title":{"rendered":"Taiping, October 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I last visited Taiping a year ago. Click here<\/a> for my report. This time, I had several reasons to go back to what I call my second hometown. I wanted to meet my friends and watch the Nine Emperor Gods Festival. Besides, my AMD<\/a> and old age limit my activity, so I wanted to see whether I could still travel on my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On 16 October, I took the ETS to Taiping. It is a convenient way of traveling; there is a canteen, and you have a reserved seat. I need help finding my seat number, people are always very friendly. Bring a jacket; it can be very cold on the train ;-).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My friends Lay Chun and Kar Seng picked me up from the station, and after lunch at the CRC, they dropped me at the Furama Hotel, where I know the staff and always have the same room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near my hotel, there is the ruin of the former Majestic Cinema, which was destroyed by fire a few years ago. Being a fan of Urbex<\/a>, I have explored the interior and wanted to have a look inside again, but a friendly passerby warned me that there were drug addicts inside, so I decided not to take risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Instead, I sat down for a while at the Lake Gardens, only a short distance away from my hotel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Later that afternoon, I had a meeting at the New Club with Barry Teoh, the club manager. He had collected lots of information about the history of the New Club, I told him about my research regarding the fountain in the Lake Gardens. It was an interesting discussion, looking forward to meeting him again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That night, I had dinner with Lay Chun, Kar Seng, and Young at the 83 Restaurant in Pokok Assam. I forgot to take more pictures, delicious food and nice company,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Back at the hotel, the reception told me that there would already be a procession for the festival, passing Jalan Tupai near the hotel, so I went to have a look. There are several temples dedicated to the Nine Emperor Gods in and around Taiping, and they have their own procession. Notice how, in the top-left picture, the bearers sway the sedan chair to indicate the presence of the deity. Many colorful floats and music bands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The next morning, I went to the Circus Grounds for CCF, one of my breakfast traditions. For many years, I always had a nice chat with the owner, Tong, who became a friend, but a few years ago he retired, handing over the stall to his son. It was an unexpected surprise to meet him, as he is now living in Singapore. He had come back especially for the Festival! I was actually too late for my CCF; it was finished already, but they managed to scrape together a last serving for me. It is nice to have friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also met my friend Foo there, but only for a short while, because the procession was starting already, passing the Circus Grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I continued to the townhouse of the Ng Boo Bee family. I had attended the festival in 2019<\/a>, 2023<\/a>, and 2025<\/a>, always enjoying the hospitality of Teng Hin and Bok Kin. An offering table has been prepared in front of the house, where devotees in the procession pause for a while to pay their respects. I was very happy to attend again this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Here are two aspects of the rituals. Left a flag bearer is approaching the offering table. He pays his respects and then strikes the ground three times with his whip. The other picture shows a devotee, personifying Ji Gong<\/a>, the Crazy Monk. A popular historical character in Chinese culture, he didn’t care about rules and regulations, wearing an unkempt, tattered robe, and he loved his Guinness Stout. He is popular with the poor and the sick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The sedan chair carriers take a turn and run to the table, stopping just in time. Many youngsters take part in the procession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2019, my first experience, I wrote a separate blog about the festival, the Nine Emperor Gods Festiva<\/a>l, with many videos. This time I took only one. Notice the Kavadi bearers, the Hindu Navar Festival falls in the same time of year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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