Making Sens - Ipoh breaks tourism stereotype

THAT Lonely Planet named Ipoh the sixth best destination in Asia to visit this year – it is the only Malaysian city included in the listing – calls for a trifecta of responses: congratulations, caution against complacency and a candid review of oft-repeated canons of tourist development.
While many may be surprised the capital of the silver state was preferred over cities like Penang, Malacca, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, Ipoh's inclusion in the
Lonely Planet's top 10 destination list demolishes the mantra that mammoth steel-and-glass superstructures are necessary to attract tourists.
Consider this: Ipoh doesn't have the equivalent of Petronas Twin Towers, Malacca's Taming Sari Tower or even one of the country's tallest skyscrapers.
What Ipoh has – and in abundance – are towering limestone hills and caves. Among the best known are Gua Tempurung, the largest limestone cave in Peninsular Malaysia; Gua Tambun, which houses 3,000 year–old cave paintings; and the Gunung Lang recreational park comprising limestone hills and lakes.
Ipoh also boasts several natural wonders. These include the Rafflesia trek to an area where the world's largest flower thrives and the Gaharu tea valley. Because Gaharu is used to make incense and perfume, the tree is known as the "wood of the gods".
Other natural delights are the Kuala Sepetang fishing village where thousands of fireflies involved in a mating ritual can be viewed, the Royal Belum State Park (reputed to be older than the Amazon forest and the home of several exotic species), and the Nepenthes Garden with 55 different species of pitcher plants from various Asian countries.
Also listed as "musts" for tourists are birdwatching by cycling through Kinta Nature Park, whitewater rafting near Gopeng and visiting several temples nestled against limestone cliffs.
Indeed, these natural wonders were one of several reasons that prompted Ipoh's inclusion in the Lonely Planet List. Other major attractions are Ipoh's iconic beverage, food and fruits as well as cafes.
"Art-cafes like Roquette, Burps & Giggles and Everyday Lifeshop have appeared nearby, among creaky 'kedai kopi' (coffee shops) and elegant colonial buildings."
"But food pilgrims still clamour for Ipoh's old favourites: Lou Wong's chicken with crisp beansprouts, and 'tau fu fah' (tofu pudding) at Funny Mountain," Lonely Planet wrote.
Although not cited by Lonely Planet, Ipoh's well-known beverage is white coffee while edibles include salt-baked chicken, biscuits from Kampar, Tambun pomelos and guavas from Bidor.
Lonely Planet's top five destinations are Hokkaido in Japan, Shanghai in China, Jeonju city in South Korea, Con Dao Islands in Vietnam and Hong Kong. Ranked 7th to 10th are Pemuteran village in Indonesia, Trang islands in Thailand, Meghalaya – a matrilineal state in India – and Taitung city in Taiwan.
Ipoh's nomination as a top 10 destination by Lonely Planet should prompt state tourism officials to step up efforts to ensure the city continues to remain attractive to visitors.
Top of the list is greater connectivity between Ipoh and other areas in Malaysia as well as more Asian countries. Currently, there are no international flights to
Ipoh apart from Firefly, which operates twice daily flights from Singapore's Changi airport.
Ipoh is connected to Kuala Lumpur by rail and by Malaysia Airlines. However, more rail and air links could boost tourist numbers arriving in Ipoh and other places in Perak.
Additionally, Ipoh officials should make conservation a top priority while the construction of skyscrapers should be severely limited.
More multi-storey structures could overwhelm Ipoh's charming colonial buildings like the railway station, the High Court building, Town Hall, post office, St
Michael's Institution and the former office of the Perak Hydro Electric Power Company, previously the biggest supplier of electricity in this country
Furthermore, farmers of pomelos, guavas and other fruits grown in other places in Perak should be given long-term security of tenure over their land. This will enable them to offer better packaging, venture into the processing of these items and expand the range of crops grown.
Low-cost loans should be readily available without potential borrowers having to fill in a monumental number of forms paper that only those with high Mensa scores are able to complete.
Self-flushing and perpetually clean toilet facilities should be omnipresent in all tourist sites, including parks, forest reserves and jungle treks.
Furthermore, information about these natural attractions should be made available in Japanese, Korean, Mandarin, Thai and Hindi apart from European languages.
While top hotels like Hilton, Shangri-La and Hyatt are absent in Ipoh, two international chains are represented in the city – Best Western Premier, The Haven, part of the US-multinational hotel group; and Ibis Style Ipoh, a member of the French-listed hotel chain that includes Novotel, Sofitel and Mercure.
For those charged with developing tourism in this country, Ipoh is a strong reminder that for tourists, natural beauty and tasty edibles will always trump steel-and-glass structures and the visually unpalatable.
Opinions expressed in this article are the personal views of the writer and should not be attributed to any organisation she is connected with. She can be contacted at siokchoo@thesundaily.com