A taxi came for me early, I had been worrying whether one was coming at all as an old holiday plan had me making my own way to the central train station for Kuala Lumpur. The central train station is a major hub for trains, the MRT, the LRT, and also is a shopping complex. I met up with my guide there and he shepherded me through the almost airport procedures to the train to Ipoh. This stopped more often than the train back so on paper took longer. We passed palm oil trees and rubber trees (spindly affairs) both of which the British introduced. We also passed a Sikh temple, Malaysia has so many different cultures which live cheek by jowl.

We reached Ipoh at the expected time and I found that Ipoh is very different to Kuala Lumpur. Many buildings are beautiful and reflect the colonial past, several designed by British architects. The British aspect of Malaysian history is something that modern Malaysia wants to erase, one can understand that, modern Western political movements want more bizarre rewritings of reality. Malaysia wouldn’t be the same without its British influence (laws schools etc) and the Chinese tin millionaires and the Indian professionals. Yes tin. Ipoh is famous for the tin mining, which has left scars on the land some turned into lakes some new housing some theme parks. The British sought to develop the tin mining, bringing in heavy equipment but it was the Chinese who really exploited it.

So Ipoh has a Chinese area where you can see the original White Coffee shop, where many goods can be bought wholesale. It has an Indian area making and selling jewellery and Indian wedding paraphernalia. It has a Chinese bestowed playing field dedicated to Queen Victoria which the Japanese in their occupation turned into a parade ground for forcing people to submit to the Japanese flag. The Japanese have left their mark on history here too. My guide showed the stark entrance to a hotel with prison like cells which nonetheless some like staying in.

My guide exchanged history with someone born in Ohio who was developing the tourist aspects of an Islamic mosque. We all need something to have faith in. Recently in Malaysia an Islamic charity for orphans was discovered to be run by extremists violently abusing the children in their care to turn them into terrorists.

My guide and I got back to the train station just as a ferocious thunderstorm started to rage over Malaysia. (Memo to self ensure you have toilet paper with you when travelling.) This thunderstorm may have caused our return train to be slow back to Kuala Lumpur. In the evening I ate at Villa Samadhi, the chicken satay was very nice but almost a meal in itself, I chose my main dish rather badly as the rice was rather spicy. It induced an unpleasant reaction and I had to take some rehydration salts.

I managed to avoid walking across the pools on the way, it was dark and wet.