Some

Some
100 years ago, Long Jaafar arrived at a valley overshadowed
by the Bukit Larut mountain and discovered tin embedded in the
soil. Taiping prospered, they made the verdant jungle black with
industry’s soot, Chinese immigrants moved to the area bringing with
their customs and traditions and soon legendary feuds between
different clans began. Then the British arrived and the rest is
history: Taiping, meaning “everlasting peace”, fell into its
aforenamed tranquillity.

This is a city where people usually stop on the way to somewhere
else, a nowhere land in the shadows of great hills. A place where
either the young people have left, or stayed on to work long
tiresome hours in the family business. Nowhere else in Malaysia is
as wet as Taiping, which has an annual average rainfall of 3,000mm.
The rain usually falls in the afternoon and lasts for about an
hour. Huge rivers of warm dirty water run down the roads flood the
drains and splatter onto cars. Then the rain stops and thick
humidity rises out of the gutters and descends onto the streets.
The air is claustrophobic, perspiration clings to the skin,
everyone is slow. It is intoxicating.

Taiping may be smaller and slower than other cities but there is
something undeniably beautiful about this town. In the twilight the
sky has been cleaned by a day of rain and it becomes the softest of
blues. Lesions of mist cling to the hills and a glowing blue light
engulfs the city, as though we are submerged underwater. Taiping is
also unexpectedly lush; avenues are lined by fan palms with huge
leaves that shadow the streets, and magenta flowers spill their
petals like confetti. It is a nature lover’s dream: with
picturesque gardens, epic hikes and natural springs in easy reach
of the city centre. Taiping city can also become surprisingly
congested, and the shop fronts are faded by years of pollution.
These buildings are as impressive as nearby
Penang: post-modern houses have been built next to prestigious
clan houses, iron and wood are used in abundance and traditional
wooden shutters still hang over every window. These beautiful
blinds are hand painted with the shop’s name, or detailed adverts
for Milo and Nescafé.

Taiping has some of the best street food in Malaysia. Roti canai
and murtabak are handmade every morning at the Larut Matung Hawker
Centre, where you can also try typical Malaysian dishes like popiah
and nasi lemak. You might be surprised at where you will find
yourself eating when highways yield to street stands selling fresh
mango pulp, nasi campur and ais kacang. Some of its best-known
restaurants have been running for over a hundred years. Many of
these eateries are a gateway to Chinese lore, decorated in didactic
paintings explaining traditional folk tales. The genuine
hospitality of the ageing local community is heart warming and
you’ll feel the generosity in their smiles as they offer you
homemade sweets and bao buns, or proudly explain the history of
their traditions and town. You will easily fall under Taiping’s
spell. It is a city drenched in a daze from the past, with one foot
in historical China and one in modern Malaysia. It is a city in
harmony with nature, a fanciful place – how could you not be
enthralled?