The 40 Firsts in Taiping

photo from taipingtalk.com

While my recent post is about Taiping, let me show you what I found in the Wikipedia. The 40 Firsts in Taiping. So, that explains why my Hubby always talk about the oldest this and that in his own beloved hometown. I'll have to take note of this list and be sure to visit some of the places mentioned here.

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Due to the booming tin-mining industry in the 19th century and its previous position as capital of Perak, Taiping is the pioneer in many fields achieving many 'firsts' in the country. The list given by Taiping Municipal Council records a total of 40 firsts in the country under Taiping's belt. Dated as early as 1844, these firsts are either in monuments or events.

• Open tin mining activity in the peninsula (1844)
• Hill resort - Maxwell Hill (1844)
• Swimming pool - Coronation Swimming Pool (1870)
• Mosque - Masjid Tengku Menteri (1870)
• Rest house (1870)
• Artillery warehouse (1870)
• Magistrate court (1874)
• Balai penghulu (1875)
• Resident's house (1877)
• Port - Port Weld (1877)
• English school - Central School Kamunting (1878)
• Police force (1879)
• Government offices (1879)
• Post and telegraph office (1880)
• Lake gardens - Taiping Lake Gardens (1880)
• Taiping General Hospital, private and government (1880)
• Club - New Club (1880)
• Club - Perak Club
• Railway station and warehouse (1881)
• Museum - Perak Museum (1883)
• Market building - Taiping Markets (1884)
• Prison - Taiping Gaol(1885)
• Railway track - from Port Weld to Taiping (1885)
• Turf club - Perak Turf Club (1886)
• Anglican church - All Saints Church, Taiping (1886)
• English girl's school - Treacher Methodist Girls' School (1889)
• Clock tower - Taiping Clock Tower (1890)
• Esplanade - Esplanade (1890)
• Malay newspaper - Seri Perak (June 1893)
• English newspaper - Perak Pioneer (July 4, 1894)
• Tamil newspaper - Perak Verthamani (1894)
• Armed Forces - Malay States Guides (1896)
• Teaching college - Maktab Perguruan Melayu
• Ceylon association (1899)
• Punjabi association - Khalsa Diwan Malaya Association (1903)
• Indian association (1906)
• Recreation park - Coronation Park (1920s)
• Airfield - Tekah Airport (1930)
• Golf course (some claimed in Southeast Asia)
• Library - Perpustakaan Merdeka
• Fire brigade

Taiping, Perak Malaysia

Photo from taipingtalk.com

My Hubby is a proud Taiping Boy. I could just remember the time several years back when he would talk about his hometown such as having the oldest tree, the First railway track, the oldest prison, the oldest museum, the oldest zoo and etc. I would always retort, " Oh, I could just imagine old and very weak lions growling in your zoo."

But as years went by, the more I visit Taiping all the more I fall in love with the place. It's just a very quiet, serene part of Malaysia surrounded by beautiful mountains, huge trees with the cool, crisp air embracing you. But before , I get poetic here, let me introduce some of the places to visit in my Hubby's beloved town.

1) The Lake Gardens- This is a huge man made lake (which used to be a tin mine) surrounded by 100 year old trees. There are a number of activities you can do here aside from sightseeing. They have paddling boats for rent, food shops, playgrounds and kiosks. A very good place for relaxing and dating. :)

Photo from taipingtalk.com

2) Perak State Museum - Proudly the First Museum in Malaysia. I can't remember much what are the things inside though. We visited this museum 8 years ago, my Hubby and I were just newly married (few days old) , the only thing I remember was we were holding while while looking at each other, oppss ..at the artifacts, I mean. Hehehe!



4) Taiping Zoo and Night Safari. This is one must-visit place especially if you have kids. The Zoo is well designed where the animals are just like in their normal habitat. It has quite a big area and therefore a bit tiring to walk, but they also have a 'train' that goes around if you don't want to walk. We also tried to go for the night safari. It was quite interesting but I found the place too dark and eerie. heheheh! No, I was not afraid of lions and tigers who must have escaped at night but more on some strangers who might be lurking in the dark and ready to pounce on you to get your handbag. Anyways, I just hope they could a bit more lights around especially on the walkway.


3) Commonwealth War Cemetery. This is the graveyard for the Royal Malay Regiments, Burkha, British and Australian soldiers who were killed during the Japanese invasion of Malaya. Nice place to visit, it reminds you of past and makes you wonder how it was like during the war and admire these brave men.




5) Burmese Pool. I think this is the locals favorite place to hang out. I've heard a lot of memorable stories from my Hubby on this place. This place is just refreshing, you can hear the sound of the rushing water (which reminds me of the river near our house). The water is soooo cold and clean


5) BUkit Larut or Maxwell Hill. One of the 'to go places' for me too since I haven't been to this place yet. But I've heard it's a beautiful place. It's a resort on top of the Hill. We plan to spend a few nights on this Hill, hopefully next year.




Aside from the interesting places, Taiping also offers delicious food at a very low price. They are famous for their Popiah, Fried Kuey Tiaw, Cendul and etc. But my personal favorite food is the Mee Curry from the Chinese shop in Pokok Assam. Surprisingly, one bowl of my favorite Mee Curry only costs 1.20 RM. Another bowl, please!


Below is a photo of the Wesley Methodist Church in Taiping. I especially included this because this brings special memories to my HUbby. They used to go to church here when they were small and this is also the church where his parents got married. Nice church huh?