Concubine Lane’s past a holiday draw
Visitors get history lesson while sightseeing
IPOH: Since the school holidays began last week, Concubine Lane in Ipoh old town has been swarmed with visitors.
Holding on to two small children, dentist Zhafri Muhammed and his wife, Arikah Sadon, embraced the sights and sounds of Concubine Lane and occasionally stopped for wefies.
“We’re so excited to taste the many snacks that people have written about on the Internet, especially the ais kepal (ice ball).
“Yesterday, we finally tried the famous nasi ganja after hearing so much about it, and after this we’ll be heading to Kellie’s Castle in Batu Gajah before going to Klang,” said Zhafri, who is from Kepala Batas, Penang.
He said it was their first trip there, and it was good although a little tricky finding the place.
Universiti Kuala Lumpur pharmaceutical student Mohamad Farhan Abd Rahim, who was spotted taking photographs of the pre-war buildings, said he was surprised to find out that rich tin miners housed their mistresses at Concubine Lane and that the buildings were also opium and gambling dens at one time. (Concubine Lane is more than a century old.)
“I had no idea it had such a colourful past. I thought Concubine Lane is popular among tourists because of its carnival-like atmos-
The students are very excited. In fact, we teachers are also having a good time. Lam Shuk Fong
phere with all the stalls that have been set up here,” said the 21-year-old.
Ipoh old town, with its famous food and historical attractions, is also a popular destination for school trips.
Together with 15 of her colleagues, teacher Lam Shuk Fong was seen chaperoning 120 Year Six pupils from SJKC Kepong 2, Kuala Lumpur.
Lam said that they had visited the Ho Yan Hor Museum and the historic Hakka miner’s club Han Chin Pet Soo (Han Chin Villa) here before making their way to Penang.
“We’ll be back on Thursday to buy Ipoh’s famous produce and visit a soy sauce factory and the Gaharu Tea Valley in Gopeng before heading to the Kinta Tin Mining (gravel pump) Museum in Kampar.
“The students are very excited. In fact, we teachers are also having a good time,” she said.