Taiping
Taiping is a sleepy town built at the bottom of Bukit Larut (Maxwell Hill). It is one of the largest towns in the state of Perak, in the northen half of the Malayan Peninsula, but has missed out on the economic boom that overtook Malaysia in the late 20th century.
The town still boasts the Lake Gardens, a beautiful landscaped park built on abandoned tin mining quarries. The sprawling grounds offers clean air and abundant varieties of flowering trees and bushes. The locals fill the park every morning and evening with a passion rarely found in other Malaysian towns.
The town itself is characterised by rows of pre-war shophouses that are slowly decaying with age. Little has changed in the past three decades. The coffee shops still thrive with a faithful clientele and the local businesses manage to eke out a living from the light industries in the surrounding suburbs. Old fashioned industries still survive here long after they have disappeared from the urban centres. Family-run shops make kuay teow, toolsmiths build weighing machines, carpenters construct frames and mirrors, hairdressers with clunky hair dryers and tailors offer fashions from decades past - it almost seem like a snapshot from three decades past.
It’s all very attractive to an occasional visitor like me, who reminisce about carefree childhood days spent cycling in the quiet streets of the town, and savouring the little food stalls along the streets. I had lots of cousins there and school holidays were never dull in Taiping.
How things have changed. The slow pace of life has caused many of the younger folks to leave in search of better opportunities in larger cities such as KL or Penang or even Singapore. Few of the school leavers remain in town after they graduate. Even retirees are now moving out to join their children.