Ipoh a Relaxing Weekend Exploring

Ipoh was on my list of must visits while living in Kuala Lumpur. Ipoh is the capital of Malaysia’s Perak state and travel by electric train from KL Sentral is approximately 90 minutes.

Ideally, we wanted to stay somewhere within walking distance of the Old Town with an agenda to escape the city buzz and relax walking around the Old Town, experience great food, and visit the cave temples.

The boutique hotel Sarang Paloh, only  a short walk of 600 metres from the train station sounded perfect. Sarang Paloh is a heritage stay in the Oversea Building and the Yick Woh building.

The art deco façade is beautifully restored along with the interior which is decorated with antiques and preloved old furniture. The restoration is of a high standard and materials as close to the original have been used. The staff are knowledgeable about Ipoh and very helpful. I loved my stay in at Sarang Paloh.

Sarang Paloh - courtyard
Sarang Paloh heritage hotel in Ipoh – Malaysia

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Joseph Churchward, QSM (1923 – 2013)

In September 2010 I had the honor of meeting Joseph Churchward at his Hataitai home studio.

I enjoyed hearing his narration of life thus far,  his interest in genealogy – my grandmother was Rubina Franzen (nee Churchward) and seeing his family photo wall – and the passion he exuded for his vocation.

Joseph is a master typeface designer, and through focused dedication to this art from a young age he’s created more than 690 hand-crafted fonts. Which include recognisable fonts in New Zealand such as the TV One logo, The Evening Post and The Dominion.

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