More Than White Coffee – 7 Reasons Why You Need (At Least) 3 Nights in Ipoh

Do you remember the theme song to the sitcom, Cheers?
It starts like this – 

Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you’ve got
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot
Wouldn’t you like to get away? 

As someone whose idea of a relaxing holiday does not include lazing by the pool at a resort, who loves to eat like the locals, and yet who doesn’t want to come home feeling like I need a holiday to recover from my frantic, stressful holiday, Ipoh is our number one pick when we want to “get away”. 

It’s no secret that my family (Paul, Noah and I) loves Ipoh. We’ve made a point of not just visiting but staying there for extended periods on every single trip to Malaysia since we “discovered” it in 2022. 

It’s basically our home away from home, and each time we visit, we come home completely rested – albeit a few kgs heavier from indulging in the irresistible food there.

So it came as a surprise to me to see this headline – Perak Struggles to Attract Major Hotel As Tourists Skip Overnight Stays – because I can’t imagine spending any less than a week in Perak each time we visit Malaysia (combining Ipoh and places like Pangkor Island).

But let’s say you don’t have the luxury of a 2-3-week holiday; I would still argue you’d want to stay at least stay 3 nights in Ipoh. Here are my reasons why – 

1. The food – there is no possible way you can eat all the famous dishes in Ipoh/Perak in a day trip. If you consider yourself something of a foodie or a Malaysian food expert, you could never claim to know Ipoh food if you’ve not covered Ipoh white coffee, kai si hor fun, chicken and beansprouts, yu kong hor, tau fu fah, dim sum, rendang tok, dry curry mee, rojak buah, rojak mamak, all the “dai chow” dishes, chee cheong fun, yong tau foo, I could go on and on, but you get the drift – and tried them at multiple outlets so you can compare them all. Because in Ipoh, half the fun is arguing which stall is your favourite.

   

   

2. Ipoh works as a hub for all other places of interest in Perak – eg. the historic royal town of Kuala Kangsar, the food trails of towns like Teluk Intan, Taiping and Tanjung Tualang, the Lenggong Valley World Heritage site – all of which make for great full-day or half-day visits. 

   

   

3. If you think there’s nothing to do for the kids, think again. We weren’t sure what to expect on our first visit to Sunway’s Lost World of Tambun, thinking it was a small, local waterpark – but we were blown away by the world-class water slides, wave pool, amusement rides, and the hot springs (yes it’s a water park with natural hot springs).
   
   And because we go there during non-school holiday periods, we never have to queue up for the rides. Lost World of Tambun is Noah’s favourite theme park in the world, and we usually spend a half day there. 

   

   

   

   

4. Ipoh has its street art murals and historic laneways like Concubine Lane, but it’s generally not crowded, so you can take your time and explore the city on foot. Beyond that, Ipoh is famous for its many Cave Temples – Sam Poh Tong, Kek Lok Tong and Perak Tong among them – which are just a short Grab ride (Malaysia’s answer to Uber) away. 

   

   

5. We love the slow travel vibe of Ipoh; everybody is more chill, it’s not touristy, it’s not loud and chaotic, and we mingle with the friendly locals easily. The town is surrounded by magnificent limestone hills, and when we go there, it feels like we’ve landed in some sort of secluded, peaceful, secret place with endless food options. 

   

6. Ipoh is so much better value than other destinations; the food is ridiculously cheap even compared to some other Malaysian cities (and definitely when compared with Australia – eg. what you spend per person on yum cha in Sydney, you can feed your whole family with almost certainly better yum cha in Ipoh), and accommodation and Grab are very affordable as well. 

   

7. Speaking of accommodation, we’ve stayed in all kinds of places in Ipoh, and hands-down our best experience is at Travelodge Ipoh.Truth be told, Travelodge Ipoh is a deluxe hotel in the guise of a budget brand, and the bonus is that its rates reflect that of budget hotels (no, I’m not getting paid for this). I’ll also add that I don’t usually bother with hotel gyms, but Travelodge Ipoh has the most well-equipped gym of any hotel I’ve taken my Australian tour guests to, based on their feedback.

   

I just realised now after I googled the Cheers theme song, that some of the lyrics are somewhat iffy. But who doesn’t love the chorus – 

Sometimes you wanna go
Where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You wanna be where you can see
Our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows your name 

Not to say anybody knows our name, but that’s the kind of vibe we feel when we’re in Ipoh.

So next time you visit Malaysia, absolutely make sure you include Ipoh in your itinerary, and aim to do it some justice and stay multiple nights – you’ll thank me for it.

Don’t forget to download Issue # 25 of our Truly Malaysian by MOMC digital magazine, containing a Where to Eat guide along with recipes and articles; pick from two different cover options:

Cover 1 (Kopitiam coffee cup) – Click to View or Download

Cover 2 (Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun noodles) – Clicke to View or Download

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