Just after Christmas, Khong, George and I went for an overnight trip to Taiping. George is a real "Taiping Boy" and keeps telling us about the wonders of this town, the Lake Garden, the Burmese Pool, the food. There are waterfalls around and birding spots. A report.

Our first destination was the Kek Look Tong cave temple near Ipoh.

This cave temple is now a meditative spot but was once the driveway for a nearby tin mine.

After crossing the cave, you enter a real Garden of Eden.

The Kek Look Tong temple is less colorful than the usual Chinese temples. Very serene and impressive.

This garden is the home of Rock Thrushes and Khong is trying to take a picture of these beautiful birds.

The garden is extremely peaceful, ponds with lotus flowers, and the sound of birds singing

After this quiet start it was time for some adventure. The Trong waterfall, south of Taiping, can only be reached by a very steep flight of steps

The Trong waterfall attracts only a few visitors, which is a pity, as it is beautifully situated in a narrow ravine.

After a hazardous descent we were rewarded with this beautiful waterfall.

The main fall is powerful and has a nice swimming pool

The three adventurers, enjoying a well-deserved rest

Then it was time for some cultural activities

Back on the mainroad, in the small village of Trong, we came across a small shop, where pinang (betel) nuts were drying in the sun

The wood of the mangrove forest in this region is used for (very traditional) charcoal factories

In these kilns the wood is slowly 'burnt' into charcoal.

It was already late afternoon when we arrived in Taiping. No rain this day, quite exceptional for the wettest town in Malaysia!

A view of the Maxwell Hill waterfall, taken from the water treatment plant. It is not clear how to climb up to this waterfall...

And here are the famous Burmese Pools, with a big crowd, because of the school holidays

The beautiful Lake Gardens. I would not mind living in Taiping! We saw lots of birds here, herons, barbets,etc.

Night life in Taiping and the morning after...

Teh tarik at a mamak stall with Hakim, a friend of George, and an ardent Taiping-lover too.

We stayed overnight in the Taiping Resthouse, built on the grounds of the former British Residency. A nostalgic place. In those early days they knew how to build spacious rooms!

Taiping is a haven for foodies. Here we enjoy roast pork with noodles, a savoury breakfast.

On the second day we visited several waterfalls, north of Taiping.

This is the Lata Puteh Fall. Virtually unknown. It would be nice to climb up to the waterfall, but there is hardly a trail and the slopes are very steep. Something for a next trip.

The Tebing Tinggi Fall is easily accessible, as it is located beside the highway. Some shelters have been built, but even on weekends not many visitors will come to this isolated spot.

On our way back we visited also the Kekabu Fall near Lenggong. This is a well maintained fall, with easy access. Here George is measuring his strength with a forest giant.

Hmm... well-maintained, yes, but this bridge could do with some repair work.

The lower Kekabu Fall

And the Upper falls. The top fall is officially out of bounds, because of a small water catchment area. But who cares...

It was a rewarding trip. More pictures can be found in the Taiping and the Maxwell Hill galleries.