Guide no. 41 · Ipoh
We went four times over eighteen months and paid for everything ourselves. Nine places that everyone recommends are not on this list, and we say why. Nothing here is sponsored, and nothing here takes a booking fee.
Words & photographs · The editors
Jalan Bandar Timah · Old Town
Go at seven, before the tour coaches. The white coffee is fine and the reason to come is the kaya on charcoal toast, which they still make one order at a time. Cash only, and the aunty will tell you if you order badly.
Gunung Rapat · 20 minutes south
An hour up, forty minutes down, and almost nobody on it after nine on a weekday. The last stretch is a scramble rather than a walk — do not do it in the rain. The view at the top is of quarries, which is more interesting than it sounds.