The railway museum at Kuala Lumpur old station

Continued from On towards Ipoh....

After a time we arrived back to Kuala Lumpur. Since we have covered places and scenes between KL and Ipoh let's just go straight to this city.

But instead of at KL Sentral station we decided to step down at the old station.



As usual we started taking pictures...

Then only we go to the waiting hall...

For information it has been turned into a museum for quite some time but this is the first time I stepped inside since then...

There are some interesting displays.

A number of minutes later we stepped outside...

Indeed the Kuala Lumpur old train station is a heritage that must be preserved.

On towards Ipoh...

The journey is continued towards Ipoh...

At Karai the train crossed the Perak river. One could see an old railway bridge (now unused) built during British colonial days...

Near Sungai Siput I kept watch for a certain hill...

Just look at its structure. I just can't help admiring it everytime I passed anywhere near.

I continued snapping pictures...

Hmm. If not mistaken this is in Chemor...

This signpost indicates we have travelled 167.75 km from Butterworth.

This one indicates we are getting very near the next major stop...

Welcome to Ipoh. For the record this is the 525th posting in this blogspot.

The hills on the way to Kuala Kangsar

Continued from Taiping and its station....

Some time after Taiping we started entering jungle...

We also started climbing some hills. Seen here is a new tunnel being built as part of the railway double-tracking project covering all lengths of the West Coast route. If I'm not mistaken the existing one-way railways tracks pass a total of 4 tunnels around this area.

Tunnels are necessary here as trains have to actually go through a number of hills.

Otherwise the tracks have to be built much much longer to circumvent the heights. Mind you, as far as memory serves me after having covered all still-functioning tracks in Peninsular Malaysia (except the one from Pasir Mas, Kelantan to the Thai border which is known to be level on low lands), these parts are the highest from sea level.

OK. Initially we passed the hills at Bukit Gantang followed by Bukit Berapit.

Then there's this limestone hill as we get closer to Kuala Kangsar.

But we still to have a pass few more hills before reaching the Perak royal town.

At the last this station.

Step down if you want to get to the royal town of Kuala Kangsar.

Taiping and its station...

OK. Continued from The lake called Tasik Bukit Merah.

Soon we could see a range of mountains, the most prominent one being Bukit (hill of) Larut, also known by the English name Maxwell Hill. Although it is called a hill, its height said to be 1036 metres from sea level (about 3,400 feet) qualifies it to be mountain albeit a short one...

Next stop is the Taiping station...

It serve the town of Taiping, situated at the foot of Bukit Larut.

Oh. Talking about Taiping reminds me of an old article did a few years back. Have a look at Taiping to Kuala Kangsar... A dangerous look at Malaysian history.

A look at the hills (or mountains) as we left town...

The lake called Tasik Bukit Merah

Some time after Parit Buntar the train began to pass a vast body of water...

Welcome to Tasik (lake) Bukit Merah, a sight much awaited for those who have plied the route...

You see the railway tracks actually cuts through the lake via a causeway made since decades ago.

However, currently the view is a bit 'spoiled' because of the new bridge being built under the railway double-tracking project extending from Johor Bahru in the south all the way to Padang Besar in the north.

Tasik Bukit Merah is also known to be a favourite for anglers due to the variety of freshwater fishes available...

Here's a view towards the east unobstructed by the bridge...

See how the causeway features? On its own (minus the uncompleted bridge that is) the causeway is part of the beauty.

At the moment the bridge seems to obstruct the actual beauty of this lake. Seen slightly in the background at the foot of the hill is the recreational area called Bukit Merah Laketown Resort.

However I have no doubt, once-fully completed and the train service has been transferred on it, the bridge would soon add to the beauty.

A patch of the lake as we began to leave its perimeters towards Taiping. Seems like a good place for fishes to play hide and seek...